The Hustle

Championships are won in the off season and those are words I have always heard, once football season was over.  Well i can honestly say all of my coaches were right and I'm pretty sure my old teammates would most likely agree, because the off-season is where you get time to recover and clear your mind.  And by that I mean that is the time to hit the weight room and start to work on things, and improve yourself and get better as a player.  While everyone else is being let out of school for the summer and getting ready to enjoy the next couple of months off from classwork, making vacation plans and laying out tanning on the beach, Athletes are are only bracing to reload and hit the gym even harder because now there is even more free time to get gym time in.  This is all part of the hustle, the pain , the blood, the sweat and tears, its all part of the process to being great.  Sometimes there are sacrifices to be made in order to achieve the ultimate goal of being a champion, and I went out and talked to a couple, of Athletes around the Mercyhurst University campus and got some good feedback about off season training and how vital it is for everyone to be on board, because it can mean the difference between a good season and a horrible one.

Former Mercyhurst football player Dan Kruper told me " Yea it is for sure a lifestyle and habit you build over the years of playing sports for so long, you already know your summers will be cut short and the days your suppose to have off you are in the gym working and grinding".  Not many people can handle the commitment of being an Athlete because they aren't willing to make the sacrifices it requires in some aspects of their lives.  There were many instances where an important event would have to be missed or cancelled due to prior commitments of the sports athletes play.  I know one instance where I had to miss my aunt's wedding ceremony because of a playoff football game my team was involved in, it was a huge decision but when it came down to it, my family understood and excepted me missing the ceremony.  If athletes are pursuing greatest, they must not let anything deter their main objective.  Former college basketball player Abby Allen also mentioned "  It is for sure not for the faint of heart, for instance you think the summer is a chance for a break, not at all no time for the beach or planned vacations, it can be rough at times which is why not everyone can do what we do."