Before we start in on our ‘Game Plan’, its important to think about where we are going. As I watched the Philadelphia Phillies battle for the World Series Championship last night, I thought back to what their spring training meetings might have been like, when they sat around, looked at their team and thought, ‘Hey, we might actually have a shot to win it all’. I’m sure it was spoken in hushed whispers, as superstitious as baseball players are, but that is the goal of of every team, in every sport…to win the championship.

What’s the championship in your life? What are you striving for in your business, family or personal life? What is the ‘trophy’ that you would hoist at the end of your ‘season’ and have the gratifying feeling and ‘I can wait to jump on a victory pile with my teammates’ satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have accomplished your goal, gained victory and can revel in the joy of success? It should illicit the same type of response as Brad Lidge, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies when he said about the World Series victory, “This is the greatest moment of my life”.

Every plan and every practice is driven by a motivation to obtain something. In sports, coaches and players strategize and prepare to win a game or to win a championship. Within the overall motivation, there are miniature motivations. A player is motivated to start or to play, to be the star or to impact a team. For each motivation, there are steps that can be taken to achieve or have an opportunity to achieve every goal. In sports competition and other competitions, the dynamic is that others are competing for the same goal, a victory in a game. And so we strategize and plan not only to acheive a goal but to be one step ahead of someone else trying to achieve the same goal.

What is a clear, concrete goal to strive for? What is a change you want to make or a obtainable, measurable beacon of acheivement that you can lay out in your life or business?

Ron Prince, head coach of the Kansas State Wildcats, said of his quarterback, Josh Freeman, “…he means a lot to us from a running and passing standpoint, but more importantly, from a leadership standpoint. He has been successful but also been there when things haven’t gone well. And the guys on the team know that no one on this team is under more scrutiny that he is.” The comment came during their battle this past weekend with Oklahoma, which they lost, 35-58. But Freeman, threw for a career-high 478 yards for K-State, with all three touchdowns coming as the Wildcats mounted a comeback to tie the game at 28. Unfortunately, Oklahoma was a bit too much for the Kansas State team.

But Josh Freeman is a great example of one person making a significant impact on a sports team. Just as I mentioned in my last post, ‘The Truth About Every Team’, that everyone on the team is responsible for doing their job and helping their team be successful, this same mantra is true, ‘individual people can make a difference on any team’. While these two statements may seem like a paradox, they actually are both needed on any team, in any business or family.

Take for example, Sam Paulescu, the Dallas Cowboy’s punter. He is the fiance of a friend of mine, and has been signed and dropped in the NFL over the first few weeks of the season, and has landed in Dallas. While punters are an important part of every football team, they often get overlooked or viewed as a ‘special teams’ player that doesn’t get the praise and the celebrity status that a quarterback or wide receiver would be given. He made a huge tackle in Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay that ignited the crowd and his team and helped them get the win. He made a difference in the outcome of the football game. Check out the video at Dallas Cowboys.

At Everyday QB, we’re going to be taking a look at the week of a college quarterback and his preparation for the game on Saturday. This ‘work’ week, can apply to your business and home life as well, and prepare you to be successful and to tackle life head on, with a game plan in hand and tips and motivation to make a difference. Its important to lay the ground work first, no athlete jumps into game week without preparation. There is always a practice week, daily doubles, learning the ropes and learning the plays. Today’s lesson is an important one: Every person can make a difference on a team. They can have a significant impact on a situation and always contribute to a team’s success. No matter what your apparent status or rank, age or title, whether you’re a quarterback, with all the pressure and scrutiny that Josh Freeman has, or you’re a special teams player like Sam Paulescu, you can help your team be successful.

Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.    
- Vince Lombardi

I found no greater joy in sports than when I was able to contribue to helping my team win. There is a healthy pride and a satisfactory contentment that comes when you know that you made a significant contribution to a game or situation, because I was tested and found reliable, and I supported and helped my teammates.

The bond between teammates can be one that can run deeper sometimes than friendships and even families. It is similar, perhaps, to the bond experienced between soldiers at war. While the stakes are different, the concepts are the same, that you are in a type of battle, a struggle, a fight, and you MUST rely on the man or woman to your left or to your right. When you have the peace of mind of knowing that that person next to you is working just as hard not to let you down as you are working to hold them up, the you have a real TEAM.

Teams can be found anywhere, on the field, in the office, in an organization and in the home. Teams function for all different purposes, whether its to win a competition, be succesful in the market or raise and love children and spouses in a healthy environment. While each team is different, every team needs the same thing: Individuals committed to helping the team be successful.

In NCAA College Football, the Big 12 conference is experiencing incredible offensive success, with 31% of the teams in its conference games gaining 500 yards or more. 26 times offenses have risen above the 500 yard mark. The reason: Individuals committed to a group effort. Big 12 teams have learned the concepts of teamwork and working together towards common goals, effectively executing their part of the play to produce a positive end result.

I believe that football, unlike many other sports, heavily relies on EVERY person on EVERY play to do their part to help the team be successful. While a pitcher on a baseball team or a point guard on a basketball team can ‘take over’ the game, football requires each position to do their part, otherwise the play will be unsuccessful. A linemen must get his block to open the hole or create and maintain the pocket, the quarterback must make the right read and deliver the ball accurately, the receiver must run the right route and be in the right place to catch the ball and the running back must block the blitzing linebacker or move the football down the field. All these things need to happen for the play to be successful.

Each of us are a part of many different teams. We have families, jobs, friends, sports teams, community organizations, where we are called about to make an individual effort for the benefit of the group. Everyday QB is about understanding how we as individuals can face challenges, develop strategies and effectively execute plays to help our teams be successful.

Our next post will focus on the layout for Everyday QB. A week and schedule that will prepare you for any ‘game’ or ‘competition’ you may have in your life. The week will be an insight into the life of a college quarterback, but will be relevant for you, the individual, no matter what teams you are a part of. Because we are all striving to be successful and striving to contribute to our teams, learning how to commit and effectively carry out the play is the key to any team’s success.

The age old saying that goes, ‘if life throws you lemons, make lemonade’, can work for some…but i prefer, ‘if life throws you a curve ball, wait on it and hit it out of the park’! Better yet, ‘if life calls a blitz on you, make an audible and throw a touchdown’.

My name is Ryan Thorson and a love of sports is in my blood. Through little league and flag football, to pop warner and summer basketball, tennis tournaments and league championships, sports and its axioms and lessons have been ingrained into my life and my attitudes, habits and skills. Sports are an incredibly accurate reflection of life. The concepts and truths that are found in sports can be applied to real life, the business world and family relationships. That’s what this site is about: Finding truth and strategies in sports and competition and applying them to your life, where you’re at, what you’re going through.

After graduating from high school as a four-sport lettermen, I went on to play football at a local Division II university. My experience there has shaped who I am and what I will be in my future. I learned valuable truths about teamwork, focus, preparation, strategy and chemistry that I take everyday into my relationships and into the workplace. I learned how to call an audible when life throws you a blitz, I learned how to struggle through adversity, to show grace in triumph, how to work hard and visualize success and to build relationships and confidence in others.

During my time as a college quarterback I learned that I could be most successful if I did my best to prepare for each upcoming week and do my part to help our team win. Whether I was on the field, in the thick of the battle, or on the sidelines, supporting and encouraging others to succeed, I found that concepts like camaraderie, a positive attitude and a determination to take on whatever came my way were codes that were foundational to winning the battle, no matter what the score board said at the end of the game.

I hope to give you, the reader, an insight into the life and week of a college quarterback. To bring sports news, concepts, strategies and methods, as well as my personal experiences, to this site and reveal how they could impact your everyday life. Whether you’re a high school athlete, a businessperson, a parent or just someone who loves sports, Everyday QB is a place where you can learn more about sports and give you a ‘game plan to tackle life head on every day’.