VIZE EUROPAMEISTER!!

Ganz ganz toll was diese 12 jungen Damen in der letzten Woche für Deutschland geleistet haben!!! Sie haben den deutschen weiblichen Basketball auf die "Europa Basketball Karte" gesetzt. DANKESCHÖN! Hut ab an unsere Allstars, Leonie und Luisa Geiselsöder!!! Was für eine Ehre für Deutschland gleich zwei von Euch im Europa Elite Team zu haben. Und Luisa Geiselsöder: RESPEKT DU RAKETE, es wird selten ein MVP aus der "Verlierer"-Mannschaft des Finals gewählt!

Als Competitor verstehe ich natürlich wie sehr das Scheitern im letzten Spiel Euch allen in der Seele brennen muss, und ich bin mir sicher, dass das die "was wäre wenns..." und "hätte ich dochs...." Euch in den nächsten Tagen oft im Kopf gerumsausen werden.... ABER eines kann ich Euch mit Sicherheit sagen, dass wenn ihr eines Tages auf Eure Karriere zurückblickt, dieses Turnier zu euren Top Basketball Momenten gehören wird.... BEST WEEK EVER!!!! Klasse Mädels, ich bin echt ganz stolz auf Euch und freue mich dass ihr Eure Zimmer jetzt mit einer schicken Silbermedaille schmücken dürft!!!! SEID STOLZ AUF EUCH!!! Geht selbstbewusst und motiviert in die kommende Saison mit Euren Vereinen und seid LEADERS!!! Walk, Talk und Breathe like Leaders. Macht die Spielerinnen um Euch besser, während Euer persönliches Ziel sein sollte, in jedem Spiel und jedem Training zu dominieren. Denkt wie Medaillen Gewinner, aber arbeitet wie 2. Platzierte, die noch Etwas zu beweisen haben!! Ich hoffe wir kriegen bald eine neue Chance, denn nächstes Mal kriegen wir sie!!!

Marja Wucherer, Tessa Strompen, Julia Forner, Jenny Strozyk, Nina Rosemeyer, Emily Bessoir, Leonie Fiebich, Luisa Geiselsöder, Elea Gaba, Merit Brennecke, Emily Kapitza, Jessika Schiffer

Und natürlich EINER MEINER PERSONAL FAVORITES: Coach Imre Szittya!!!!!! Er verdient es genauso wie die Mädels!!!

13 WAYS TO REMAIN POSITIVE

1. Stop saying, “I can’t.” If you hear it too often, you’ll start believing it. Instead, say, “I’ll try my hardest,” or, “I’ll do my best.” 
2. Don’t make excuses. Whether you speak them out loud or simply keep them to yourself, don't make excuses!
3. Don’t be a victim. Hosting a pity party and hoping people will feel sorry for you won’t make things better. The world is not against you. Have the mindset of a winner.
4. Learn from your mistakes. Thinking positively doesn’t mean you should block out all negativity. We all make mistakes—we have to, to get better and to improve as human beings. Learn from them. Reflect on how the situation could have been handled differently and adjust accordingly. 
5. Visualize your success. Lebe Deine Vision. Live your vision.... before you draw up a plan you got to see it though!
6. Sit up! Slouching is bad for your posture and your attitude. 
7. Help someone else. Often times, we get too wrapped up in our own stuff. Volunteer somewhere and extend a hand to someone who might need a boost. You will be amazed at how helping others helps you. 
8. Send someone a thank you note. Be grateful for the people in your life and the ways they help you become a better human being. 
9. Go somewhere new. Explore things you’ve never noticed before. Venture down a new walking path, eat at a new restaurant, visit an art gallery. 
10. Smile. Just smile–even if it is for no reason at all. It's contagious and laughing is the best medicine.
11. Fill your vocabulary with words of success, strength, encouragement, motivation and optimism. 
12. Assume the best. Don’t go into a project with a negative mindset, convinced you will fail. "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right".
13. Give yourself a pat on the back. Find things that you are awesome at!!!

DO WHAT YOU LIKE

I've been blessed to be a part of a book this year called "Dreampions" which is about people who have reached their personal dreams. It is a compilation of short articles written by people who share their individual stories on how they personally got to grab their dreams and chase them until they caught them.

I finally received the book this week and have been reading through it, enjoying one story at a time. It is so interesting to read about different people of different background and in different paths of life, who all are dreaming their dreams. 

Henry Wedell, one of the editors of this books says this:

Background is that Verena and I always liked to "give back" via projects that were not directly linked to our profession as Finance experts. This time, we embarked on a project on the topic of "live dreams". We started off by asking people who had fulfilled their individual life dreams, if they were willing to tell their stories in a book. Their reaction was overly positive and now our book is filled with 25 stories from prominent and not-prominent people that have made it to their dream jobs, moved to or visited dream locations or fulfill their dreams by helping those in need. Amongst others, there is an Olympic rowing gold medal winner, a former NHL-Pro, a former WNBA-Pro who now works with girls in her hometown, Europe's most successful game developer, the European speaking champion, ... and people who moved to the US and even China to fulfill their dreams.

Important was for us to highlight that rewarding dreams are not so much about material possessions but about experiences, growth and helping others. Therefore, we have a dedicated chapter with people who achieve their dreams by helping others to fulfill theirs (e.g. a development supporter working with the poor in Africa, the R&D leader of the worlds biggest company for mobility prothetics and a German TV-moderator who is the country's UNICEF ambassador. The preface for the book is by the CEO of "Welthungerhilfe", the large German-based company who prevents people in Africa from starvation.

Even though the stories are very individual and different, the way to success appears to be be very similar most of the time. 

I loved how Juliane Wurm, a German World Champion in climbing put it. She said, "In athletics and in many other areas of life a cycle exists: when you really love doing something, there is a higher motivation for practicing it. When you practice a lot, success follows. And when you are successful, you really enjoy doing it.... and the cycle is back at the start." Words of wisdom for our #WisdomWednesday from a young athlete who has proven to be the best in her sport in the whole wide world!!!

I want to challenge you this week to identify what you love to do. How can that be integrated into your daily life? Do you have to make some sacrifices, or changes in your life to live your dream with all that it entails every day?

P.S.: You can purchase it on Amazon in Kindle or paperback versions

FACTS ABOUT COLLEGE AND THE PROS!

This past weekend the Fro13 Highschool teams started off their season at the 5th annual Linda Fröhlich Invitational (LFI). It’s the season of hard work, extra grinding, high hopes and unfortunately lots of misleading guidance.

I am shocked to see the false information or fluffy realities that are being sold to young athletes and their families, which in turn lead into unrealistic goals and expectations- and can then quickly turn into a nightmare for any Highschool coach in the upcoming season. A vicious cycle has started spinning, and most of the time won't stop spinning until it is too late, or a lot of time (and money) gets wasted with chasing hot air.
Let’s look at some stats to get a clearer understanding of what I am talking about.

In 2013-14 there were 433,344 active female Highschool basketball players and only 3.8% made it onto a college roster. That resulted in approx. 16319 active NCAA players.

 
After 2% of Highschool athletes are awarded some form of athletic scholarships, it is actually as little as 1% of women's basketball players who will receive full-ride scholarships.That means out of 16319 active NCAA women's basketball players in 2014 only 163 received full scholarships.
After college athletics are done, 0.9% of female college players will then get drafted into the WNBA… and even there the drafted players, except maybe the top 10 players, have no guarantee on actually making an actual WNBA roster that year.

(Use your due diligence and check the facts if you don't believe me!)

With that being said:
I believe that it is important that we as role models and leader in the lives of these young women have to focus on supporting their dreams but also on giving them a real picture of the road ahead (and all the work, sacrifice, etc. that come with it).

We need to encourage them to reach for the stars in the basketball sky, yet inspire them to become well rounded young ladies who can conquer the world with values and skills they acquired through the sport of basketball.

And while only a few may make it to the "Big Time", everyone should "Be Big Time"!

ASSESSING A RECRUIT'S PARENT

Building a basketball academy has been challenging in ways that I could've never expected. I thought it would be as simple as teaching a girl how to shoot a lay up or footwork on defense, but it has been a lot more complex than that. As a competitor, I DO LOVE THE CHALLENGE that comes with it. Dealing and communicating with parents of the athletes has been a big part of my daily job now. I thought that this video was very interesting and I wanted to share it with everyone. I am not sure how many parents are aware of this ‪#‎foodforthought‬