Losing sucks but I look at more what I gained as an individual, as an athlete..sometimes in losing you learn a lot.
My daughter's mother and I are no longer dating, and the people I'm most likely to date are those around me, who are athletes.
I am a National Football League player of American Samoan heritage. Because of my status as a professional athlete, I have been blessed to play a role in educating players and fans about the culture and history of America's southernmost territory.
(About importance of focusing on one sport at a time) I've never tried to do that, we have more of a holistic approach. We want to become better decathletes and better competitors. I think for us that means just toeing the line at whatever it is we're doing that day and being confident in preparing as best as we can. Later in the year, late in the season when we have all of the thousands of reps under our belt, we can try to maybe focus on one or two things and leave some stuff off one week. Really, we like to keep everything inside the routine and part of the process.
(About events he will take part in) I vaulted today, and I'll throw the discus tomorrow around one o' clock. Then I'll race in the 100-meter final at 3:45 on Saturday.
(About plan during Texas Relays) Have fun, be healthy, and enjoy the Relays for what it is. I'll just try to use the crowd and get some adrenaline and have a good time; just work on some things in this environment. This is almost a championship environment when you get down to it- with all of the fans, the energy and the adrenaline you get lining up. It's good rehearsal for the bigger stages and it's the season opener. This is the starting point. We're just looking for some starting points and to use some adrenaline to our advantage.
It's not enough to just test athletes. The athletes themselves need to fight for their right to compete against clean athletes.
I have never heard a doping offender say he felt good about doing it. Not a single one. Some athletes justify their actions by saying it enabled them to afford a bigger house or a better car. But they are never really happy. They know that they are not real winners.
In the old days, athletes got worked up about the strict rules - today they get worked up about these rules being ignored elsewhere.
Something is swelling up among our athletes. Many of them are frustrated, everywhere in the world, and they are looking for a way out. Either they start doping themselves, or they give up the sport. Or else they stand up and demand that those who have the power to should change the system.
Madonna is an athlete; she has to be treated like a professional athlete. She doesn't work out for six hours a day, though, like some of the press says. She never works out for more than two hours a day, and then only when she has the time.
Regarding the psychological, your goal must not be "I need to lose X pounds" but "I'm going to regain my identity," whether as an athlete, a conservative, a sexual being, a together person, whatever.
I hated motivators - never been a motivator. Motivation is like a warm bath, and you should take a bath probably, but you need more than that; you need strategy. I was a strategist, but nobody responded to that, so I was, like, "OK, what am I? I'm a coach. I'm not a guru." As an athlete, I had great coaches, and I was a better athlete than many of them, but they still were better than I was as a coach because they could see when I couldn't see. I thought, that's great, because I'm not better than anybody, but I do have the skills that I can help people.
I can't give other people what I've not experienced to some extent myself. It sharpens your game and also, like any athlete, you're more fit because you have to be. You're getting ready because you have a reason to.
I would want America to know our kids need us. Spend as much time with your kids as you can. Enjoy them. Be with them. Hug your children; You never know when it will be the last time.
If you want to be an athlete, then getting good grades, going to college, and developing your intellectual skills are important.
Is it going to make me feel any better to make an extra million? That million might be more important to the team.
As an athlete, when you are on that field and the fans get really engaged and you can feel their energy and passion and true love of the game, it is absolutely a spiritual experience.
I work with a trainer called Ruben Tabares. He's a nutritionist, strength and conditioning coach, and an athlete. So I literally just train like an athlete.
The Olympic Games are always in the head of every sports athlete. We work for that.
I became immersed in the cult of improvisation. I was like one of those athletes trying to get into the Olympics. It was all about blind focus. I was so sure that I was doing exactly what I'd been put on this earth to do, and I would have done anything to make it onto that stage.
We understand that athletes aren't necessarily role models, but we at least expect them to abide by the basic laws of the state.
I mean, as an athlete, as a competitor, you have to have that belief in yourself.
I do not look back at what might have been. If I did that, playing golf would drive me crazy.
It provides a different type of element and mental strain athletes love. That's what makes the game of golf so special.
