Strategy Day: Hurdle the Obstacles

On Wednesday in the week of a college quarterback, another day of practice begins to focus more and more on the upcoming game. You begin to talk about certain strategies and plays that you are going to try against your opponent, based on the film that you have been watching and the game plan that your coaches have prepared. You make certain adjustments and begin to understand the personnel of the team you are playing against. This is where your own teammates who are ‘representing’ the other team in practice (called a scout team or practice squad) become very important. They are responsible for trying to give you the most accurate reflection of the team you are going to see on Saturday.

Individual players and personnel of the opposing team have strengths and weaknesses, just like you and your teammates have similar strengths and weaknesses. With a proper understanding of the weaknesses, you are able to exploit and use those strengths and weaknesses against your opponent in order to be successful on Saturday. Preparing for those situations, therefore, becomes very important on ‘Strategy Day’.

Each of us has opponets and obstacles that we will face throughout each of our weeks. Possibly an unexpected event that might delay a deadline, or something happens to one of our family members. We can respond to those obstacles in a few different ways.

1. They can paralyze us, leaving us confused and motionless and the obstacle can seem insurmountable.

2. We can try and attack the obstacle head on and do everything we can in our strength to defeat that obstacle.

3. We can rise above the obstacle, acknowledging its presence, but refusing to let it keep us from our destination, our goal.

Here’s an example of a friend and former teammate of mine, Kevin Boss and his ability to ‘rise above the obstacle’ in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles:

Rising above the osbtacles you face in life and give you the positve attitude and momentum you need to reach your goal. While facing an obstacle head on can be productive, you can get bogged down or overcome with worry and exhaustion and get ‘tackled’ to the ground. Instead, keep your eyes fixed on your goal and ‘rise above’ your obstacle.