Post by marinersmedia on Jun 17, 2010 21:12:50 GMT -5
Mariners Ready for Pre-Playoff Games and Get Set for Championship Run
BALTIMORE, MD (June 17, 2010) – To become a champion in football, you must win on the road under adverse situations and amongst hostile crowds. There are three things that stand out in my mind from our last second victory in Erie: First, this team never quits. Second, as an organization, we came away with our first ever win in Erie. Lastly, we finished the season undefeated on the road. There will be no more games away from Baltimore for the remainder of the season.
It would be very easy to shut it down for the last two games of the season and coast into the playoffs. We could play our non-starters and allow our starters to rest and hang out at the pool until we begin preparations for the Eastern Conference Championship on July 10. An opponent’s fan expressed his concern that we would take it easy for the rest of the season to knock them out of the playoffs so we wouldn’t have to face them again. My reply was very simple, ‘We are not going to lay down for the rest of the season, nor are we are afraid to face any opponent, and never put your hope in someone else handling you’re business.’ The Mariners have not gotten to where we are at by playing easy opponents and coasting through the schedule.
As we move forward toward the post season, from now until we reach our ultimate goal of winning the AFIA Championship, there is work to be done. We will be challenged over the next two weeks. How we prepare will determine our ability to meet those challenges. Vince Lombardi was a great coach who knew what it took to be a champion. He once stated "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
I am treating these final two regular season games as pre-playoff games. Every day we must have the will to overcome ourselves and meet our challenges head on as a team. Hard work, preparation and focus are the tools that will push us forward to achieve our goal. You play how you practice. You play how you prepare. Our priority is to work on us, not against our opponent. If we are fundamentally sound in all three phases of our game, the outcome of the contests will take care of themselves. Lombardi made it simple, “Success demands singleness of purpose.”
There is a renewed sense of urgency with this team. A little more pep in there step as we prepare for New Jersey. There are only two more games for us to go out and achieve something no one has ever done in the AIFA. If we accomplish that, we have no other choice but to finish the season without a defeat in order to be champions. That is the burden we will carry and the challenge we will relish.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
BALTIMORE, MD (June 17, 2010) – To become a champion in football, you must win on the road under adverse situations and amongst hostile crowds. There are three things that stand out in my mind from our last second victory in Erie: First, this team never quits. Second, as an organization, we came away with our first ever win in Erie. Lastly, we finished the season undefeated on the road. There will be no more games away from Baltimore for the remainder of the season.
It would be very easy to shut it down for the last two games of the season and coast into the playoffs. We could play our non-starters and allow our starters to rest and hang out at the pool until we begin preparations for the Eastern Conference Championship on July 10. An opponent’s fan expressed his concern that we would take it easy for the rest of the season to knock them out of the playoffs so we wouldn’t have to face them again. My reply was very simple, ‘We are not going to lay down for the rest of the season, nor are we are afraid to face any opponent, and never put your hope in someone else handling you’re business.’ The Mariners have not gotten to where we are at by playing easy opponents and coasting through the schedule.
As we move forward toward the post season, from now until we reach our ultimate goal of winning the AFIA Championship, there is work to be done. We will be challenged over the next two weeks. How we prepare will determine our ability to meet those challenges. Vince Lombardi was a great coach who knew what it took to be a champion. He once stated "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
I am treating these final two regular season games as pre-playoff games. Every day we must have the will to overcome ourselves and meet our challenges head on as a team. Hard work, preparation and focus are the tools that will push us forward to achieve our goal. You play how you practice. You play how you prepare. Our priority is to work on us, not against our opponent. If we are fundamentally sound in all three phases of our game, the outcome of the contests will take care of themselves. Lombardi made it simple, “Success demands singleness of purpose.”
There is a renewed sense of urgency with this team. A little more pep in there step as we prepare for New Jersey. There are only two more games for us to go out and achieve something no one has ever done in the AIFA. If we accomplish that, we have no other choice but to finish the season without a defeat in order to be champions. That is the burden we will carry and the challenge we will relish.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.