Quote of the Day

"I do not pray for success; I ask for faithfulness."

-- Mother Teresa

Spring Practice & Beyond

The Bisons concluded spring practice with a scrimmage Friday night. It was a very successful and productive spring for us. Now we must build on this progress as we continue to work this spring on our strength and speed.

Today, we will have lifting sessions for groups 1 and 3A at 3:15, and groups 2 and 3B at 4:15. Don't be late.

Spring Break

Anytime you travel you run the risk of being at the mercy of things that are out of your control, namely the weather. On the way back from our spring break mission trip we ran into some weather problems. Rain inundated the entire east coast, and flights all over the US were subsequently delayed and cancelled. We spent Saturday night at LaGuardia Airport, which was an event I will never forget. We slept in the airport on cots. They weren't very comfortable, and the blankets were scratchy, and the pillows were less than desirable, but at that point, I was thankful for them. The best part of the whole experience was the way our guys responded. Everybody was ready to get home, but nobody pouted or complained. They made the best of it, and we eventually made it back.

Quote of the Day

“Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.”

-- Samuel Johnson

Spring Break

We were able to get a lot of work done on the ranch during the day while the boys were in school. We had crews doing demo, landscaping, fencing and new construction. Our guys worked hard all week long, and we were able to help the ranch tremendously. Some of our guys were skilled and experienced, and some were green. Regardless, all worked hard. One of the best compliments of the week was by one of the ranch's managers who is in charge of construction, and is also a retired contractor: "All of the guys are willing. They may not be able, but they're all ready and willing to do all they can, which says a lot about the type of young men they are."

Quote of the Day

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

-- Leo Tolstoy

Spring Break

A great part of the trip for us was getting to spend time with the boys who live at the ranch. The way our guys stepped up and tried their best to form relationships with the boys was downright inspiring. The neatest thing was to watch the relationships grow daily. By the end of the week, there were new found friendships that will hopefully last for years to come, and even through eternity. Thanks to the boys from the ranch for welcoming us with open arms, and thanks to our guys for their willingness to be there for the boys.

Quote of the Day

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'"

-- C. S. Lewis

Spring Break

One of the highlights of the week was when our guys got up and publicly shared a devotional thought. Terone Shephard started us off with a great sermon at our Sunday morning worship service. Eddie Russ spoke Monday night, followed later in the week by Luke Tribble and Josh Aldridge. All four guys spoke from the heart with great transparency. They shared things that were very personal, and even painful, which allowed the boys at the ranch to see them, and all of us as real.

Opportunity

As you know, Coach Perry is moving from Searcy to Nashville, AR. He needs about 4 players, who want to earn some money, to help him load their furniture and appliances into the moving van next Tuesday, March 23. If anyone is interested, you can get in touch with Coach Perry at 501-551-3954 cell. He says he will work around your schedule, but most of the work would be in the morning.

True Happiness

A great message from www.allprodad.com:

In 1923, eight of the world's most successful business leaders met at a hotel in Chicago. Among them was the president of the largest independent steel corporation, the CEO of the largest gas company and the president of the New York Stock Exchange. Quite an impressive crowd. Now fast-forward 25 years. By then, three of the men had committed suicide, two others died broke, two more had spent time in prison, and the last went insane. Looking at the characteristics these men shared, money and power, far from bringing happiness, was the catalyst for disaster.

Quote of the Day

"The most important word in our language is love. The second is balance."

-- Coach John Wooden

Loyalty

Legendary Coach John Wooden epitomizes loyalty. Watch this video on Coach Wooden to be inspired.

Quote of the Day

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one."

-- Mother Teresa

Update

Sorry for not updating last week. I went with the group of guys on the spring break mission trip, and we stayed so busy that I didn't see a computer all week, which isn't entirely a bad thing. I'll give a more detailed update on the spring break trip later, but in short, it was an amazing experience. I am very proud of our guys. God worked through us and on us, and I think we honored Him, too.

We'll resume with spring practice today. It will be good to get back on the field.

Quote of the Day

"Don't permit fear of failure to prevent effort. We are all imperfect and will fail on occasions, but fear of failure is the greatest failure of all."

-- Coach John Wooden

Tuesday

DEFENSE will start their meetings at 3:10pm.

OFFENSE will start their meetings at 3:15pm.

Come to the meetings dressed for practice. Let's have another great day.

Quote of the Day

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Matthew 12:41-44

Today's Schedule

Offense in the weight room at 3:15pm. Defense/Specialty guys are in meetings at 3:15pm unless your coach told you a different time. Come dressed for practice to the meetings. Defense will lift after practice today.

Message from Coach Beason

Bisons,

First of all, I felt like we tested as good as we could have for where we were in our training last week. So, good job! Are we "there" yet? No way!

I felt it important to explain to you something about the bench press testing. Please don't let this sound like an excuse for you, but it is a valid piece of information. I just want to help educate you a little more. Several of you felt like you did not test as well as you would have liked. Let me give you a few reminders:

1. We don't want to be our strongest in February. We don't play until August. Our focus on the first part of this off-season was NOT on strength. It was on Hypertrophy (this means gaining muscle mass). I feel like we have been successful in getting most of you guys "set-up" to now get stronger. Our sets, reps, and rest intervals have been set up to gain muscle mass. Now that we have the muscle bigger, we will get it stronger. Doesn't it make sense that a bigger muscle has the potential to get stronger than a smaller muscle? Besides one week, our first 6 weeks were sets of 6 reps or more using dumbbells.

2. We will do a lot more BAR bench press for the next few weeks of workouts. That is how you get better at the bench press.....by bench pressing with a bar. The dumbbells are great for helping to maximize flexibility and to gain muscle mass. That is why we have used those so much.

3. We have 3 weeks of spring ball practices plus another 3 weeks to work on speed work and strength after spring ball. It would be IN YOUR BEST INTEREST NOT TO LIFT VERY MUCH (IF ANY) OVER SPRING BREAK. Your body has got to take a break if you want it to make big gains. Some of you, no doubt, know how to work your tails off. Now you need to couple that with working smart. I have seen several guys over the past few weeks doing chest work on our non-chest workout days. Your body will not make as big of a gain without being able to recover between workouts.

4. Obviously, rest and nutrition have a huge impact on your strength and conditioning. Take these areas very seriously.

5. Finally, when you test, make sure that you have a "successful" test at a weight you know you will get before moving on to a higher weight. Some of you wore yourselves out because you started too heavy and did not warm-up to the weight you tried to test at. You don't go out and time a 40 yard dash by just stretching your hamstrings, so don't ask your pecs to be at their peak by just doing a set or two to "warm-up."

Overall, I think the first phase of the off-season was very successful in what we wanted to accomplish. Let's be great during spring ball and then end the semester faster and stronger than when we started it!!! Go BISONS!