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Life's an Attitude....
Make it a good one..... (Pali)
Click on some of the stories below for more thoughts on Attitude.
1. Shay...... 2. What do you say to your son before his first game? 3. This is to have succeeded.....
4. Courage..... 5. It's not the critic that counts.... 6. Attitude... 7. What is a workout?

Some thoughts from Dr. Pohl (the old coach)
In most of my team sport classes I try to stress the value of sportsmanship. A quality that has seemed to have been lost in the american sport culture. With the news media and ESPN always focusing on the more negative things in sport that seem to dominate our news reports, I like to emphasize the older values of honor, respect, determination, and the never quit attitudes of competition. I once was a "win at all cost" type of competitor too. I hated to lose at anything. Over the years in education I have learn many things and one of the most important I believe is to compete with honor. Respect the game, your opponenets, your teammates, and yourself. The old adage, "it's not whether you win or lose the game, but how you play the game" is really a true statement. I have coached national championship teams and teams who went a season without winning a single game. I have played on undefeated teams and on defeated teams. That doesn't prove anything. What counts is trying to win. Trying to do your best. Take what comes and be respectful of others. If you develop these humanistic skills in you approach to competition you will become a better competitor and a better person. The other piece of advice I have in addition to having good sportsmanship qualities, is to keep competing for as long as you can. When I attended the University of Utah, I used to watch the medical doctors playing in a noon time basketball league. The average age was probably around 60 years old. They ran up and down the court like 18 years olds but with better skills. I like to ski. Recently I met an older gentleman who was skiing at the age of 77. For the last 10 seasons he had not missed a day of skiing that this particular resort had been open. I was really impressed with his accomplishments. Then he told me of a skier in the U.S. who was 104 & skied everyday in Lake Placid, NY. Attitude & Age is a thing of the mind. Keep moving, keep competing, and keep playing. Life's an attitude, Make it a good one.
Be a good sport, try your best, and keep training, keep active, and most of all: have fun. Plan things you like to do and look forward to doing them. This will get you though the tough times. Make others feel good about themselves. Be appreciative of what you have.


A more recent update is that I have retired from coaching and teaching. In the year 2009 my goal was to ski/snowboard a hundred days and to surf a hundred days. I accomplished the goal along with having knee surgery the same year. I don't say this to bolster my accomplishments, but to suggest that everyone can set goals, stay active, and most of all have fun. Try to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Whether it be a sunset, a walk, or just thinking, find the beauty in everything.