In my younger days, one of my favorite publications to grab ahold of and scan with great interest was Sports Illustrated Kids (SI Kids). A spin-off of its elder, Sports Illustrated, SI Kids was a magazine chock-full of sports content for the next generation of physical competition enthusiasts. Every other month, subscribers would receive a fresh magazine that featured great stories, a set of flimsy trading cards, and a flashy two-sided poster with a different athlete represented on each side.
Oftentimes, the chronicles in the periodical would involve a notable athlete or coach, who was either getting interviewed or starring as the focal point for a piece. When you’re a kid, professional athletes feel larger-than-life, so having the opportunity to read about them and their perspective on whatever was being discussed was super cool.
Since this publication blended everything I loved (sports content, writing, trading cards, athlete-based art), I often dreamt about contributing in some form or fashion at a later date. There was just something special to me about their hyper-focus on elevating the relationship between the young fans and ballplayers.
Like many aspirations, I was unaware of how I would go about contributing in this space, yet, as I’ve come to learn, as long as you hold the intention without resistance toward it, the “how” takes care of itself in miraculous ways.
While it wasn’t SI Kids at the time my number was called, someone even cooler gave me a ring. When my first book, Trust The Grind, was published back in 2020, I was granted the opportunity to speak with the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS). For those unfamiliar, NAYS is a non-profit 501 organization with an inspiring mission statement: To educate, equip and empower youth sports leaders, volunteers and parents so all children can enjoy the lifelong benefits of sports (via NAYS.org).
In 2005, NAYS launched SportingKid Magazine, a bi-monthly publication aligning with their core values. Ten years later, with the world pivoting to digital content, NAYS created SportingKid Live, an online version of their magazine. Like SI Kids, SportingKid Live features interviews with legendary athletes, who offer wisdom to their target audience. They’ve collaborated with some of my favorite athletes, including, but not limited to, Nomar Garciaparra, LaDainian Tomlinson, Kobe Bryant, Joey Votto, Terrell Davis, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Dawkins, Chris Bosh, Kurt Warner, Orel Hershiser, and Don Mattingly.
When I found out I was getting the chance to etch my name into their illustrious catalog, I was head over heels, and immediately thought about my younger self. Though to be fair, that version of me wouldn’t believe that I would one day be in the same index as Nomar and LT. I had figurines and jerseys of these guys, so to be connected in some capacity is nothing short of a blessing.
For my SportingKid Live piece, I touched on a few elements from my book that I thought would be beneficial for both youth sports coaches and young players themselves. Concepts in my book like the power of visualization and the benefits from journaling, were covered, as I referenced a couple athletes (Jason Kidd, Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, and Mike Modano) that were featured in the book. To provide value to this blog, I figured I would toss in a few inspirational quotes from not just my piece, but some of the others mentioned.
“I think the consensus among anybody who achieves anything – it doesn’t matter the craft – is that it takes time and it requires steadiness and perseverance.” – Joey Votto, SportingKid Live
“The more you ignore fear the more it controls you… I’ve found that the most important thing to do with fear is to just look at it.” – Kobe Bryant, SportingKid Live
“Love the game and work at it.” – LaDainian Tomlinson, SportingKid Live
“When you step in that box, first and foremost, you better have confidence… That’s what hitting is, it’s about being confident.” – Nomar Garciaparra, SportingKid Live
“I don’t care what you want to do in life, you have to have some sort of a plan when you wake up.” – Jeremy Bhandari, SportingKid Live
“I think it is always important to remember that to get what you want you have to work hard—it’s always ok to need help and work together along the way too.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr., SportingKid Live
“In order for someone to do what they’ve never done, they must think like they’ve never thought and act and behave like they never have before.” – Brian Dawkins, SportingKid Live
“You have to see yourself being successful. You have to imagine it every day.” – Chris Bosh, SportingKid Live