Yoga
Sometimes I moonlight as a Yoga instructor...
I just finished my 9th year in the NFL...
Coach Singletary is IN... Martz is OUT... And I'm off to Arizona to enjoy my offseason.
After our victory over the Redskins, Jed York announced that Singletary would be our coach for 2009. We all did a "happy dance" and Coach Sing announced he was going to adopt Patrick Willis (just kidding). The next morning we checked out for the season, meet with our coaches, and packed up our ish before heading home. The NFL will not let us play anymore games this season and that sucks.
This was the first season in a while that I did not want the year to end... I wanted to keep playing and winning more games. Hopefully next year we will get off to a fast start, win at least 10 or 12 games, and go into the playoffs playing strong football. But for now I'm starting my offseason.
On my way to AZ I stopped in LA (Pacific Palisades) to spend a few days with a doctor (Ed Wagner) I regularly visit. While eating lunch in Malibu the other day, I saw John McEnroe. I stopped by his table and told him he is the "greatest dude ever" (my life is so random). Later, I spent New Year's with some friends and we ended up at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. I like the Viceroy because the rooms have a lot of personality... "Personality goes a long way." - Pulp Fiction
When I get to AZ I plan to play golf, go to school, practice yoga, instruct yoga, work out for football, and hang with friends and family (not necessarily in that order). I may find myself on a date here and there so we'll see how that goes?
I am looking forward to Blogging and hopefully adding some video of these activities (probably not the dating part).
My dog has been my wingman during this road trip home so I am including a picture of her enjoying Zuma beach in Malibu.
Go Team
Yardbarker,
We just finished our walkthrough for the St. Louis Rams, Edward Jones Dome. As we left the field we met the East St. Louis High School football players who recently won the state championship. The kids were impressed with Isaac Sopoaga's ability to throw a football a mile. It was pretty funny.
I want to thank everyone for their comments and questions. I will use your comments as material for my blog.
The first comment (from Polevault1542) asked about Coach Singletary, a question I get almost daily, so I thought I'd write about that. Mike Singletary is taking the NFL and sports world by storm. During the course of the last four years, I have been fortunate to be exposed to Coach Singletary's words and actions. When he speaks we listen. He is inspiring, motivating, and empowering. Mike Singletary is a leader and our coach.
Like the kids from East St. Louis High, I first met Mike Singletary when I was a kid. During one summer when I went to visit my grandparents in Iowa, my Grandfather (Jackson) decided to drive up to watch the Bears practice (training camp) in Wisconsin.
It would have been in 1987 or 1988 and I would have been eleven years old or so. I grew up playing baseball and had not played organized football at that point in my life. Arriving at the training camp we walked across the grass and found a place to watch practice. I remember William "the Refrigerator" Perry striking a one man sled at throwing it 5 yards in the air.
Then the shrieking sound of wood twisting and cracking commanded our attention. The linebackers were hitting spring loaded pads that were attached to railroad ties. Each linebacker went down the line hitting the pads one at a time, but the sound was #50 striking the pads.
My Grandfather reminded me who #50 was, Singletary - the Bears' linebacker with the intense eyes. I knew who he was, when I played football with my friends, I would either pretend to be Ronnie Lott or Mike Singletary.
As practice ended we walked over to where the players exited the field. Dan Hampton walked by me and he appeared to be ten feet tall, then my Grandfather was able to get the attention of Mike Singletary. He stopped and spoke with me for a moment. Singletary's intense eyes where replaced with a kind confidence. He encouraged me to do well in both school and sports. I left that brief encounter with a totally new perception of both Mike Singletary and myself. For some reason I believed I could become a professional athlete. Mike Singletary who was one of the most feared players ever, was actually a "nice" person.
When Coach Nolan was hired, Mike Singletary came to coach the linebackers. I was excited to tell him that I met him at the Bears training camp all those years ago... Although he did not share my enthusiasm, he was happy to hear that I was influenced so greatly by our chance encounter.
Who knows maybe one of those kids from East St. Louis will be inspired to realize their dreams.
I look forward to reading comments.
Have you ever had a chance encounter someone who had a dramatic influence on your life? Whom do you admire and respect?
Go Team
Hey Yardbarkers--
As I was trying to figure out what to write in my first blog in the 'Yard, I went to Whole Foods to get some dinner. I ordered a sandwich, and as the lady who made it began to cut it, I kinda cringed. She cut my sandwich in half from the side, not on a diagonal. Although probably insignificant to you, for me that single cut evoked a long-repressed childhood memory.
When I was a kid my brother (Mark) and I constantly competed--all sports, wrestling, riding skateboards or bikes. I even learned to tie my shoes by racing my brother (to win I went to Velcro for a year). When it came to eating or sharing food we did not let up. At all.
Because I was the youngest by three and a half years, it took me some time to figure out how to compete and eventually win in these kitchen contests. For an extended period of time, my brother would both cut the food that was to be shared and pick his "half." Eventually I made a rule: one person cuts the food, the other person gets to choose his piece first. Mark quickly agreed, but as he started to cut into the prized chocolate bar he paused and said, "That's not fair." He realized his scam would no longer work. He handed me the knife and I confidently made my diagonal cut. He could not distinguish which side was larger and for the first time in my life I got my fair share.
I love to compete; I've done it my whole life. I look for angles, strategies, and techniques that will result in victories. I have been snapping footballs for the 49ers for the last 9 years and I love the ruthless competition of the NFL. I often teach college and high school kids how to long snap. Here is what I tell them:
I can teach anyone to long snap, but I can't teach anyone to want to do it. It takes all of the following:
Orientation - put your body between the ball and the target
Stance - kinda like you're about to do a power clean but set your feet wider.
Grip - like you throw the ball overhand with the opposite hand mirrored symmetrically
Aim - aim small, miss small, to hit the target
Decide - visualize the desired result
Fire - let go and let God
Follow through - patience as the ball leaves your fingers
Balance - block your guy
Start by snapping a round ball (soccer or volley) like a chest pass in basketball but through your legs. Practice doing it correctly. Always start with perfection then advance from there to make progress. For example, fifteen yards is pretty far, so start from nine or ten. Once you get a perfect snap from that distance advance one yard, then repeat. Do not practice a crappy snap from fifteen yards, practice a perfect snap from an appropriate distance. Perfect practice makes perfect. Build velocity by snapping a medicine ball six or seven yards.
Now comes the hard part. Practice until you believe you are the best in the world. Practice until you know that if you make a mistake there was nothing you or any other mortal person could have done to prevent it. Practice until it is not possible to miss but if that unfortunate day should come, you will have done everything in your power to avoid it. Practice until you know you can not fail.
My fundamental approach to football comes from a book called Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Martz. If you're interested, and you probably are because you're reading this, this book will give you a greater insight into the minds of successful athletes.
I listened to the audio version of the book.
I hope they cut my sandwich on a diagonal next time.
My brother insists on cutting everything.
Go team.
