Athletics & Average Advice: How to be a mindful superstar

Learning the ropes & molding your mind

Now, I'm sure that most of you have been a part of some sort of team, whether it be a sports team, academic team, or even a simple group project. In those kinds of settings, you had to learn the basic principles of what you needed to do in order to be successful. In basketball, you learn how to dribble the ball, shoot the ball, and learn basic footwork and defense prior to being able to do a lot of the fancy things you see the professionals do. On an academic team, you learn the basic information that will be asked at a competition so that the team can be successful. When doing group projects, you read the rubric to figure out what your teacher is asking and then set a foundation of what the team needs to accomplish. The point I'm trying to make is this: You need to start from the beginning and learn in order to make yourself successful in the long run.

During my years in high school, I participated in football and ran track as well. I had been running track since the sixth grade. So, it wasn't particularly foreign to me. Prior to high school, I had never played football in any type of organized setting. Essentially, I had to learn some of the basics. I had knowledge of the game, but I had to learn the skills needed in order to see playing time on the field. One thing I had to do was have a listening ear. In order to learn, you must listen. Sure, you have people that are hard-headed and unwilling to move on from their ways, but if you plan to grow and elevate as a human being, you must be open to learning and have a listening ear. It's a process, but once you learn to do that, the opportunities presented to you become limitless. I ended up starting at slot receiver as a freshman and used my listening ear in order to find ways and gain advantages on the field over my opponents. The same concept applied for track and field in high school as well. For most people, all the sport of track and field is just "running in a circle." As a young teenager, I thought the same thing; but it was just a fun way of passing time in my opinion. I hadn't known a single thing about the time and effort that was put in to be a great track athlete. I learned the concept of form, a proper warm up, and even how to use starting blocks. The point here is, in order to be successful, whether it be in sports, life, your career, and your relationships, you must learn the basics of what it takes to be successful. Without them, failure is more than likely inevitable and you're going to end up frustrating yourself. I didn't start taking track seriously until the end of my sophomore year of high school when I noticed that I really was good at it. I played football all through high school and had some success in the sport; however, this wasn't the sport that allowed me to get a free education at the next level. Track and field is and always will be, my first love and was the sport that allowed me to live the life of a student athlete a little longer. My freshman year of college was an interesting year, and I learned a lot about myself as a person and as an athlete. I learned the ropes and began the process of molding my mind from an athletic, academic, and personal standpoint. The story of my first year will give you some insight on me as a person and hopefully, you'll take away a few things from my experiences.

Prior to even stepping foot on campus, I had to learn how college worked and I had to prepare myself. My parents are college educated and both attended a HBCU, so they would tell me some of the things that I needed to expect prior to stepping foot on campus. My father was a collegiate baseball player, so he knew what it was like to live as a student athlete. He once told me that he wishes he got me into baseball at a young age, but I'm not sure how that would have turned out. Everything happens for a reason. Right? Sometimes, I wish I knew that reason, but it's a part of life. Anyway, going into college and prior to stepping foot on campus, I knew I was one of the most talented people that was going to be on the team and knew that I had a lot to learn in order to become a better track athlete. The freshman were required to move in a few days prior to classes starting. My father and I were on the road for about three hours prior to arriving at my new home for the next four years. I was excited to be away from home, but also nervous about being in a new environment. Growing up, the only city I had known as home was Raleigh, North Carolina. Now, I was starting over in a new town, with new people, and new teammates. Move in and everything went smooth, and I ended up meeting some of my other freshman teammates. We didn't have practice the first week of classes and for the first half of that week, I stayed to myself frequently and didn't care to interact with any of my teammates just yet. I was trying to learn my way through campus as well as learn what it took to be successful in the academic setting of a college classroom. As a requirement for all freshman athletes, we had to serve eight hours of study hall every week or get penalized for not doing it. Looking back at it, study hall didn't really teach me anything, but it did give me an incentive to get my homework done and even get help with tutors and have access to study tools through them as well. The first week of college went well. I began to grasp the concepts of being a student first. Sure, you're a student in a primary school setting for most of your life. Whether you in college, went to college, graduated college, or not, you've sat in a classroom at one point in your life and learned the discipline it takes to be a successful student. Honestly, I (and possibly a lot of you), could get away with not studying in high school. I learned very quickly that I couldn't just breeze by and not put in any effort in my classes in college. Well, I could the first semester of freshman year, but after that I knew I had to buckle down and study. I will say this, once you learn the ropes of something, whether it be a new skill, a new career, or how an individual operates, the likelihood of success increases tenfold. I promise you it will.