"Talent is a gift. Elite is a Choice" - Wednesday Words of Wisdom

“Talent is a gift. Elite is a choice.”

Great insight from @TimothyKight on what it takes to get to the edge.#Bearcats pic.twitter.com/njuFzJoBxh

— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) April 2, 2018

​ "The edge marks the place where you make the decision, you make the CHOICE, to do the things the AVERAGE guy won't do." ​ Tim Kight - Focus 3 

What it takes to be a student-athlete

Scout Trout has recently began using Twitter. While scrolling through the Bearcats' timeline, I came across the Owner of Focus 3, Timothy Kight who is certainly an ELITE coach with his invaluable words of wisdom that every athlete has a choice to be elite or not. The quote above is simplistic in nature, but if you know the inner fabrics of college and pro football and what it takes to truly be elite, then you would understand the true meaning Coach Kight is so vividly portraying in my mind. Having been around the world of sports for so long, I have made and seen others make the elite choices, while many others, myself included have also made choices that left us in a average position in our careers. So what are the elite choices and what are average choices? There are poor choices and then there are average everyday choices, which need to be catered to in a way that creates optimal growth athletically, mentally and spiritually. 

The edge is where average stops and ELITE begins

How many of you have read a book that taught you what emotions are, where they come from, how to use them and how steer them to better direct your life and work?

A quick lesson on young student-athletes from MAddy Sperling

Generation Z Athletes

Emotions run high for adolescents and understanding them in a leadership role is key to developing our youth. Four years at an American university can cost up to $60,000-$100,000. Today, most Millennials and now Generation Z (born after 1996) have and will continue to suffer under the weight of massive student debt. For the blessed student-athletes who's talent and hard work has afforded them a free education, the crushing weight of student loans will not follow them throughout their lives. However, to earn this relief, talent is not enough. From the age of 14 until the day you graduate or retire from pro football, you will be tested on the field and in the classroom. 

There are a myriad of distractions available to Generation Z and they've gotten to a point where they are almost inescapable. The same goes for commercial messages that are constantly being shoved down young people's throats through music and popular culture. Whether it's a Gucci belt in a hip-hop video or a John Deer tractor in a country song, brands and representative lifestyles are habitually targeted at teenagers and young adults whose true identities are not yet fully developed. For many older generations, the damage has already been done and brands have already forced commercial identities on Americans to make them better consumers. But young Millennials and Generation Z still have the chance to make their own mark on the world free of the preconceived superficial concepts of success that have plagued so many generations of Americans in the past. 

So, before you share that post about how Millennials are entitled and ungrateful, remember that you're talking about the future of our country and belittling them makes you no better than the cavemen who complained that the invention of the wheel was making young homo sapiens lazy. No one is inherently lazy or entitled, our youth are entering one of the most intense political climates that has been thrust upon them since they were old enough to access a computer. As the older generation, it is your job to help the next one navigate the digital world and reserve your judgement until they've had the chance to define themselves and make their mark. Until then, let's be the leaders young Millennials and Generation Z needs. 

Final word from Scout Trout

How to be a better football player

After having to step away from the game after experiencing a traumatic concussion, I began to evaluate and break down nearly every choice I have made since 8th grade. I also evaluated those in leadership roles around me and found that I lacked the support needed around me in crucial times of my life and playing career. The list of pro teams that cut me a check or released me was 19 or 20 the last time I checked, after leaving collegiate football. I have made many close friends and now condensed my circle down to those who are truly elite in their everyday lives. This program is an inevitable way to weed yourself out from the weak and begin to build yourself into an elite prospect that coaches truly desire. ​College coaches look for players who are willing to make sacrifices not only for the team, but for them to fully mature overall on and off the field. What are you willing to sacrifice today to become an Elite Student-Athlete today? What steps are you going to take to ensure you manifest your destiny?Will you refuse to be average or will you rise up and join the Elite?

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