Early Risers

Last week marked the beginning of our conditioning and fitness workouts.  Fall is an important time for a basketball team.  Not only do we get in shape-we team bond.  Something about shared pain brings people together.  Teammates find out a lot about each other as they file into the gym before the sun is fully up.  Sometimes it's hard to understand how chasing tennis balls around the gym floor and trying walk with really tight bands around your ankles is going to lead to hitting 40% of your 3 point shots.

Playing college basketball is a huge commitment.  We are running sprints on September 15th in order to have a shot at being in a championship game on March 15th.  Fall is the time when toughness is revealed and team cultures are formed.  Players have to ask themselves "how much do I really love this" because it is way too hard to fake it.  

I love this time of year and sometimes my smiles during a particularly grueling session are viewed as sadistic.  But I smile because I know our team is being transformed.  I know we are going through a fire that, if we embrace it, will make us resilient and unbreakable when we are being tested.  There is no glamour or fanfare this time of year.  No family or friends make the trip to be in the stands at 7 am to cheer for a perfect plank.  It's just you and your teammates, pushing each other to get better and leaning on each other to get through that last sprint.

It's when the championship dreams come to life.