Crunch Time

There are many sports cliche's that symbolize the serious nature of situations that have to be achieved in order to win.  Fourth quarter, crunch time, gut check, Mr. October, now or never, etc.  For me, today is my fourth quarter.  Tomorrow, September 30 at 9 am PST, the doors to H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC will be open to the public.  It's been a life long dream of mine to start my own business.  I've always had the entrepreneurial spirit in me and this what I was born to do.  As a sports junkie who watches any sport he can on television, it only made sense to start a company that tailors to athletes as well as motivate them at the same time.  So stop by tomorrow www.heartathleticsllc.com, take a look around and let me know what you think of the site.  I'm living my dream right now...and it's kinda cool.


John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

ESPN has NO clue what quitting looks like

I ran across this story just a couple of minutes ago and the title of it absolutely infuriates me.  For ESPN to say this kid is quitting is entirely false.  This kid IS NOT quitting, he is attempting to ensure the rest of his life isn't filled with the effects of post concussion syndrome.  Quitting in the regular Americans mind is giving up when you feel like it or just plain ol' quitting because you CAN'T handle whatever situation you find yourself in.  This kid is looking at his future, not the situation he finds himself in currently.  Tell me if this sounds like a quitter to you...You sign a letter of intent to play for a University that can recruit in its state alone and NEVER...EVER have to recruit outside of Texas.  You have a history of concussions, but still try to play.  You redshirt your Junior year because of a shoulder injury but still come back the next year (*blogger note* redshirting means you sit out the entire year, you get to practice but can not play in the games.  But as you sit and watch, others are getting the chance to play meaning that you have to earn your way onto the field...again).  Does THIS sound like a quitter to you?  ESPN, you are full of people who have no clue of what H.E.A.R.T means...no clue.

There is NO such thing as an Off-Season

Too many people dislike Monday.  Why?  What did Monday do to you?  If you think about it, it's not what Monday did to you...it's what you did to yourself over the "weekend".  I'm sorry to point this out to you, but the weekend is nothing more than a marketing tool to not only let your guard down, but for you to spend money and do other activities which are called "relaxing".  I can't lie, I used to fall into that weekend mode, but working for myself and running my own company, the weekend is just two regular days in my book.  The same can be said in the sports/competition world. 

In any type of sport that is done competitively, there is a season where you compete against others (or yourself) and there is a time a year called the "Off-Season".  The off-season is allegedly the time of year when your rest and recuperate to get ready for the next season.  Just like the weekend, if you let your guard down too much (or at all) it's harder for you to get ready again for the up coming season (or Monday).  This is why some teams and individuals have such a slow start to the season and why Monday's are frowned upon.

By the end of this week, my WEBSITE will be up and running (it's still being worked on, but you can cruise around a little to see what it's like) and my "Off-season" shirt will be ready for public consumption.  This shirt is aimed at keeping you ready and alert, even if you think there really is an off-season (or weekend).  Every day is just another day and you should always stay alert and keep moving.  Taking a day off is fine...taking a season off (or off-season...see how the words are just reversed...?) can be disastrous...You can't move forward by stopping.

John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

Never Go Down Without a Fight

I was taking a break this morning from work and I came across this little gem on the internet.  I love plays like this because it's part skill, part luck and part determination.  It would have been easy for the QB to take the sack, but even as he was going down he KNEW where his receiver would be.  Now don't get me wrong, throwing in this situation is wrong...absolutely wrong and usually winds up being intercepted.  But it worked, because of practice and determination.  Sometimes you have to go against the grain to achieve your goals. 

John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

Gabe Levand

This past Saturday (10SEP11) I went down to Carson City to shoot the Pop Warner games and to watch my little cousin play for the Carson City Senators.  One of the things I love about amateur sports is that the kids generally have such passion for whatever sport they're playing.  They generally don't care about being in the paper or being on television, they just want to play.  My cousin, Gabriel Levand is one of those kids (#75).  He's not the fastest kid, and this is only his second year of organized football, but he has such a passion for the game and wants to get better.  Most of the game he was double-teamed or he had McQueen's HUGE offensive guard (who outweighed him by at least 50 lbs.) blocking him.  He never gave up, never complained...he just worked his tail off.  By the end of the game (even though they lost 16-0) Gabe had 4 tackles and two 1.5 sacks.  I'm not only proud of Gabe, but the entire Carson City team.  They went up against tough odds and never gave up.  The lesson here is that when you play hard, play with H.E.A.R.T and play smart, the odds of you coming out on top increase.  Even though they didn't win, McQueen definitely didn't see this dog fight coming.  You guys (Carson) played a good game, you should be proud.

John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

New year...Same expectations

Everybody knows I'm from New Jersey.  I have nothing but love for my Haddon Heights teammates and the Garnets...but, it was just meant to be for me to have the opportunity to be a Linganore Lancer.  When my parents divorced, my Pops stayed in Mt. Airy and my Moms moved to Jersey.  So even before I was old enough to appreciate the "tradition" of a true powerhouse team, I was already a part of it.  At Linganore, anything short of a Chip (Championship) is viewed as failure.  I came across this quote on the MVAL website, "Some teams would view a 7-3 record a successful season. Not the Lancers. Anything less than a state championship run is viewed as sub-par in Mt. Airy. Coach Rick Conner believes if the Lancers stay healthy they can compete. Maryland commit RB Joe Riddle will lead the Lancers. The I-70 rivalry with Urbana could settle the conference title and a playoff spot in the ultra-tough "region of death" (3A West). Coach Conner and the Lancers know a 7-3 record will not be good enough to get Linganore into the playoffs in 2011, so every regular season game is a playoff game to them".  With Championships in the 80's, 90's and 00's, winning (7-3) is acceptable...Championships are.  Aim for the moon, if you miss, you're still among the stars...aim for the ground and you'll probably wind up in the gutter.

John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

What good is your team if it doesn't work?

I understand that teams are a collective of individuals geared towards obtaining a (or several) main goal(s).  Teams can be as large as a college football team, 85 scholarship player not including walk-ons.  Or they can be as small as a Mens/Womens Tennis Doubles team.  Regardless of the size, there are going to be times when at least one person is going to need help or an encouraging word from someone else on their team.  This is where the other teammate(s) need to step up and provide some form of help.  Even though I no longer play organized sports, I still have a set of teammates that are there to pick me up when I'm down or need the motivation to keep going.  Being a good teammate isn't about putting up gaudy numbers or garnering a lot of attention, being a good teammate is being there for your team when they really need you.  When someone needs your help, whether it's on a busted play, or weakside help, or if they lose their job...will you be there to have their back?  Individuals are only as good as their team, and a team is usually only as good as its collective individuals.

John H. Harris II
Owner/CEO
H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC