Deep Breath

I am excited about this weekend for a myriad of reasons.

The first is that it is Labor Day which ironically means we don't work.

I have given our players the weekend off which started after their classes let out yesterday. I did a couple of class checks to make sure no one left early and I am happy to report that we were in class in the first two rows like we were supposed to be.

The second reason I am excited is that we finished our first phase of conditioning on a high note. We ended up doing 56 40-yard dashes in 7 seconds or less. Our players did a great job encouraging each other and staying mentally tough. I am already thinking ahead to the next phase of conditioning with eager anticipation and a bar that has been raised to a higher level of excellence.

The most important reason is that this holiday comes at a great time to just stop and take a deep breath. It helps slow the whirlwind of new players, new program, new assistants, new home, new schools for kids, new culture and new churches. It gives a moment to pause for reflection and then for planning the next segment of recruiting and pre-practice conditioning.

This deep breath will allow me to catch up with my wife and kids, to spend some much desired time with them even if it is just watching movies or taking naps on an adjacent couch, floor, or chair...just to be with them.

This deep breath will also allow us to focus on narrowing our search for a church home that is a good fit for us. The good news about Montgomery is that there are alot of church options. The bad news is that there are alot of church options.

This deep breath will allow my assistants to get away from the demands of being around me for any length of time and hearing me say, "What do you think about...(fill in blank)?" They need some rest and alone time.

This deep breath will allow the majority of our players to go home for a long weekend and be pampered by their mommas and spoiled by their daddies, to reload on supplies, and to reflect on what they have accomplished so far.

Jesus, in the midst of the demands of life, always found a way to get away and rejuvenate through prayer and time away. I hope that we all have a great respite and the battery is recharged next Tuesday.

Blessings,

Coach S





Deep Breath


Written By - Ty Waller


I take a deep breath to pause my sacred life and to regain a sense of peace in my life.

I take deep breaths to feel alive and accepted, but sometimes my breath is cut short.

My sense of peace gets lost, and I don't know if I can regain it again.

I inhale hatred and issues and I exhale peace and tranquility as some people try to cut my peace short, but I continue my deep breath.

I take deep breath after deep breath after deep breath, but it doesn't seem to work.

I can't regain my peace and tranquility wondering what's going on, because I'm still breathing in hatred and issues, but nothing is coming out.

It seems like I'm getting madder by the second wondering why I'm subconsciously bottling up my emotions one by one, as they keep going through my mind.

My mind is thinking peace and tranquility but it stops at the heart. So maybe my heart is trying to tell my mind something and my mind won't listen?

But what could it be? I think my heart wants me to come to this realization that my emotions need to be set free.

Because all this time I have been thinking that I was breathing out peace and tranquility, but I was really breathing out nothing.

Why? Because I was bottling it up inside and maybe with one last deep breath I can set it all free but it will be the longest breath of my life.

I inhale a sense of purity, peace and tranquility. I exhale a cosmic Farris wheel of emotions all at once, and it felt like it was draining me.

I was happy, sad, mad and furious at the same time and for a moment I went blind seeing nothing but darkness. But then I came into the light and a few seconds later I fell unto the ground still exhaling the devils curse.

So therefore, the last thing I remember is peace, love and tranquility.