Second Wind

There seems to be no consensus to the exact meaning of "second wind," as a visit to wikipedia will reveal, but in my experience, it is a very real, physical and psychological phenomenon. Here is the way that normal people can experience it. Begin jogging or running and go as far as you can at your current level of fitness. When your body cries out in pain for you to stop and you begin gasping for breath and feel you can't possibly take another step, you are almost there. Trust me. Just keep on putting one foot in front of the other. Find yourself gasping for breath and then, focus on expelling air as hard as you can, to remove carbon dioxide, and allow yourself to gasp in more oxygen, and keep going.
This is where mental toughness comes in. Your body says, "No," but your mind has to say, "Just a little more." Here is where I sing the chorus, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall rise up with wings, as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. Teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait." [Robert M. Ridley put these words to music in the 60's on a tape he gave me as a wedding present.] You have to take it on faith that you will "run and not be weary," but keep going, just a little farther.
Depending on how out of shape you really are, and how mentally tough you really are, and whether or not you have a running coach or partner, you might not make it, this time. But try it again, in two days, and again, two days after that. Don't give up. You will find, once your body has gotten used to this treatment, and once your mind has gotten you to push a little farther, that you can cross this threshold, and then you can keep running. It will become easier, and your breathing will become slower and regular, instead of gasping, and then, you can keep running for any distance you want. You will have gotten your second wind!
As you persist in your training, you will find that the second wind comes at a predictable time. For me, it has been somewhere between the two and three mile mark. Once you have achieved your second wind, you are somehow more coordinated, your can sense more of the world around you, and you can focus better.
Basketball players should run and get their second wind, and then go practice, scrimmage, or play. You will find your passes are more crisp. You can see the court. You can focus on the goal. You lose the me-centered consciousness and can do more for your team. You can play a full forty minutes. You will really feel yourself rise up on wings as eagles.
Go for your second wind!

2009 MSU Men's Basketball

MSU Men's basketball played SE Louisiana last night. The result was a win for the bulldogs, but a disappointment to an old coach's eyes. We do have some great talent--don't get me wrong--but what was missing is going to cost us championships.

For example, one of our top-rated players was winded after three trips up and down the court. As a forward, he should be leading the pack in defensive transition, so he should be the first man to defend the basket. But he waited at half court before he decided whether or not it would be worth his time to help his team defensively. This same star player had just about the same upper body and upper arm size he had at the end of last season.

In short, he demonstrated that he had not paid the price of greatness in the off season. It is quite a simple formula: if you don't pay the price of greatness, you will not be great. For basketball, the off season price consists of weight training and long distance running. The not-so-great players, instead, spend the off season only playing basketball, generally, half court, and generally, with opponents of their own skill level or less. As a result, they come to mid October's first practice as worse players than they were in their last game of March Madness.

The only reason a team like ours doesn't get totally humiliated at the beginning of the season is because the other teams follow the same pattern. They are starting over each season, just like we are.

From time to time, a truly great player comes along. He has a great work ethic (as it is called) and does his physical training and conditioning on his own time and spends the team practice sessions working on basketball. His passes are crisp and his turnovers are low because he has energy and is in shape.

Unfortunately, I did not see him last night.