A Knights mission statement/Pledge

This was written, signed,  and delivered to me by an amazing young man! He exemplifies what it means to be a gentleman, a servant, a rugby player, and most certainly, a Knight. I admire what this young man has become, and look forward to seeing the effect he will have on this struggling world. It's absolutely worth reading, and re-reading.

-Jeremy

Brad's Pledge/Mission Statement

St George Knights

“The Fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road. Long before I dance under those lights….I hated every minute of training, but I said to myself. Don’t quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion.”    - Muhammad Ali

I will train my mind and my body to focus on the task at hand and the task is becoming champions both on and off the rugby field. I will train so that pain is not a stumbling block but rather a building block for success. Discipline through pain and respect for and from others is what I will seek for. I will apply all that I learn on the field in my life and make it a vital part of me, and in return I will be a champion on and off the field.

Champion develops a world class belief long before they become champions:

They can . . . because they think they can. The average man is more concerned about survival rather than success. They create within themselves a “playing not to lose” mentality and that over all limits the desire and drive within them to succeed in this life. Average people see champions as intelligent. The truth is that intelligence plays but a small part; belief is the real reason for a champions success.

“All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They will say you’re the height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you NO, a thousand times NO, until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you NO, quite firmly and very quickly. But you will tell them YES”

Believing in me and the others around me on the field and in life is key to becoming a champion. I will trust and be trusted by others on and off the field. I will believe in them because they believe in me. Together we will all believe that we are great and can become great. I believe greatness come through hard work, dedication, sacrifice, heart, and a firm belief in one’s self-worth as a player and person. I will believe in my coaches and my mentors because they can help reach my full potential. I will be great because I believe I am great and because the others around me believe in me and in being great. This is my creed and my hopes for rugby and life.

I promise myself, my team, and my coaches to Be my very best every single day.

-Brad

Rugby, the Gentleman's Game!

There is an old Brittish saying of an unknown origin which says: "Football (soccer) is a gentleman's game played by ruffians, and rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen." We know that Rugby is the "Gentleman's Game". But the problem is, there are few in the contemporary world that can clearly define what a gentleman is, or how a gentleman is supposed to act. I stumbled across this today and thought it was worth sharing.

10 ETERNAL TRUTHS OF THE

GENTLEMANLY LIFE by John Bridges

1. A gentleman says "please" and "thank you," readily and often.

2. A gentleman does not disparage the beliefs of others-whether they relate to matters of faith, politics, or sports teams.

3. A gentleman always carries a handkerchief, and is ready to lend it, especially to a weeping lady, should the need arise.

4. A gentleman never allows a door to slam in the face of another person male or female, young or old, absolute stranger or longtime best friend.

5. A gentleman does not make jokes about race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation; neither does he find such jokes amusing.

6. A gentleman knows how to stand in line and how to wait his turn.

7. A gentleman is always ready to offer a hearty handshake.

8. A gentleman keeps his leather shoes polished and his fingernails clean.

9. A gentleman admits when he is wrong.

10. A gentleman does not pick a fight.

Rugby 7's Collegiate Championship

Gentlemen,

This is worth a watch. It gives a picture of why the teams fail or succeed. In particular I want you to be able to identify what are the key factors of winning vs. Losing. I would appreciate some feedback after you've watched these so I know that you've taken the time.

-Jeremy

p.s. I've included the link to the international 7's. Enjoy!



http://www.hulu.com/watch/155841/rugby-7s-collegiate-championship-invitational-part-1

http://www.hulu.com/watch/155785/rugby-7s-collegiate-championship-invitational-part-2#s-p1-so-i0

http://www.hulu.com/usa-7s-rugby

Daily Personal Running/Workout Schedule (Beta)

· Monday: 2 minute Push-ups, 2 Minute sit-ups, 2 mile run timed e-mail results by Tuesday (Plus, 50 P/U’s, 70 S/U’s@ your own pace, & 5 cycles Tabata squats).

· Tuesday: 2 miles, 10-40’s, 10-100’s, & 10 standing long jumps.

· Wednesday: Stair day@ stadium, 2-laps(warm-up), 3 half-speed stair run, 3 full-speed, 4 start half-speed@ half sprint to top, finish on track with 3-40’s & 4 slow lunging stairs.

· Thursday: 2 miles, 10-40’s, 10-100’s, & 10 standing long jumps, & 8 cycles Tabata
Squats

· Friday: 10 hills, 10 sprints (fence to fence), finish 2-Iron mikes (fence to fence).

· Saturday: PT Test (2 minute P/U’s, 2 Min S/U’s, & 2 Mile run timed. Plus 5-40’s, and
5-100’s

Enjoy!

Inspiration for the Masses (OK... apx. 20)

William Blake: Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Unknown Author: Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic.
Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, never give up.
Dag Hammarskjold: Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.
Al Neuharth: The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.
Robert H. Schuller: For every mountain there is a miracle.
Denis Waitley: Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating.
Sir Edmund Hillary: It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.
John Wanamaker: One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.
Lena Horne: It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.
Norman Vincent Peale: Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.
Robert W. Service: It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe.
William Faulkner: The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Unknown: It’s the degree of commitment you put yourself through with others, that determines what you get out of it in the end.
Henry Drummond: Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can.
Tony Dorsett: To succeed... you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.
Henry Kaiser: Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.
Henry Ward Beecher: Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.
Mark Twain: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.
Winston Churchill: If you're going through hell, keep going.
Richard Cumberland: It is better to wear out than to rust out.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: It was high counsel that I once heard given to a young person: Always do what you are afraid to do.
Walt Disney: It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
Mark Twain: Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward, it is not a compliment to say it is brave.
Napoleon Hill: Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.
David O. McKay: Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.
Milton Berle: I'd rather be a "could-be', if I cannot be an "are'; because a "could-be" is a "maybe" who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a "has-been" than a "might-have-been', by far; for a "might-have-been" has never "been", but a "has" was once an "are'.
William Carlos Williams:
The better work men do is always done under stress and at great personal cost.
John D. Rockefeller: The common denominator for success is work.
Tommy Lasorda: The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.
Michelangelo: The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.

George Schultz: The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.

Vince Lombardi: The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it.



Napoleon Hill: The strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.
Orison Swett Marden: Obstacles will look large or small to you according to whether you are large or small.
T. S. Eliot: Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
Jean De La Bruyere: Out of difficulties grow miracles.
John Quincy Adams: Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
Claude M. Bristol: It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance, sweeps away all obstacles.
Ella Fitzgerald: Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there’s love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.
Sir Winston Churchill: Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.
Dale Carnegie: Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths.

Nationals here we come!

U19 Eligibility Finally Straightened Out
Courtesy - ERugby NewsFebruary 17, 2009 - This weekend the USA Rugby Board of Directors approved changes in the U19 club player eligibility.Once USA Rugby established a girls U19 National Championship, and also split the Boys Championship into separate High School and U19 tournaments, the discussion of what makes a U19 club player, became heated.Last year, the rules stated that a player on a U19 club must be under 19 and in high school. Several, (including opinions on ERugby News) argued that a U19 club should be played on age-grade eligibility only - if a player is young enough to be in high school, college, or neither, it shouldn't matter.This weekend, the change was made. Effective immediately, U19 clubs may field players not in high school, as long as they are the right age. Players must be under 19 on September 1, of the season in question (so for this season, a player who turned 19 on September 2, 2008 would be eligible as a U19 player).This change will be lauded by many who say it is simpler than the old way, and more inclusive. Young players not in college won't be forced to play senior club rugby.Following is the text of the rule. Note, these rules address games that lead to a National Championship. They do not address friendlies or leagues that don't lead ultimately to Nationals - those games and leagues can choose their own rules.NATIONAL U19 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP6.1. Club Eligibilitya) Club can be represented by players that meet the requirements of 6.2 provided there are not more than five (5) non-resident players on the Roster for any particular match that may in any way lead to the applicable USA Rugby Championship Event.b) Club may carry an unlimited number of players on its Roster.6.2. Player Eligibilitya) Players are eligible if they have not reached their 19th birthday by the September 1st that occurs at the start of the competitive season.b) Players must have played for the club in at least two (2) Qualifying Matches or second-side match associated with a Qualifying Match during the competitive season at least a week apart from each other prior to participating in a USA Rugby Championship event.c) The player must not have played in a Qualifying Match for any other club during the fifteens competitive season - including in High School, Collegiate or Senior competitions.

02-11-2009 No practice/ Hill Sprinting

We will not be having practice on Wed. night. Which means you need to go running on your own, get to the gym, and bring a buddy,etc... . I received several comments on the marked improvement in fitness that we demonstrated in our last game. Without reservation I can attribute it to running the mountain. Remember seven times is the minimum, ten is expected by March. It will make you faster, stronger, more explosive in every aspect of rugby so push yourselves. Knights never quite.

p.s. Here is an interesting article on hill sprinting. http://www.islavista.net/weightlifting/high-intensity-training.html

-Jeremy