What Your Reading?

I'm starting this blog to help keep everyone in the loop on my football training so I hope you guys enjoy. I'll apologize in advance for the possible imperfect punctuation or spelling. As I've come to find, my girlfriend Haley is the first phone call I get for ALL my grammatical errors LOL. But ill do my best to keep them interesting and easy to follow. I will also try to post pictures just to help give a visual to different people, buildings, and events.

* Feel free to leave comments if there is anything you want to hear more about that im not covering.

** IMPORTANT: If this is your first time reading the blog you're going to want to start at the bottom and work your way up to the current.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

"Welcome to Arizona"

On Tuesday, I got into my first car accident.  I was in the right lane and an old green pickup in the left shot over to my lane cutting me off and in the process busted my left light out and dented up the front side of my car so we did the usual pull over to nearest parking lot.  Of course just 3 hours earlier I lost my phone which prevented me from the typical call the rents.  After a few minutes of chatting he didn’t want to call the police  which is usually kind of sketch and I literally couldn’t so I mean I pretty much had to make it work.  Turned out that he’s a mechanic and has his own body shop business so he gave me his number and we agreed to meet the following day to fix everything up (and its not like my car is a precious jewel or anything).  So after I left, I started thinking about all the things I should have done differently to handle the situation.  Could have looked at his ID, wrote down his insurance information, and made him call my number but no I just got his name and number.  Idiot I know but he seemed like a “real straight shooter” although he wasn’t the cleanest looking gentlemen.  Finally got to Pro Edge and told them about the accident and one of the first things Tom, my trainer says is, “welcome to Arizona haha.”  I guess Arizona is known for having terrible drivers from all the snow birds, spring training fans, to just bad drivers.   Anyways after about 3 hours of sweating it out I called the number for the second time and he actually answered and set the location and time to meet for him to fix my car.  So in short he kept to his word and fixed my car up.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Very Much Appreciated

I sincerely want to thank everyone for their support! I really mean it, the encouragement I've received on a daily basis through this blog, Facebook, text messages, letters, and phone calls has been UNBELIEVABLE! I started this blog as kind of an experiement to keep people informed and would have quit after week two if it wasn't for people on my case about updates! So just wanted everyone to know that their encouragement the past few months has meant a lot to myself and my family. God Bless!

Convicted.


1 Corinthians 10:13

"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it."



This Sunday I was at church and started to feel convicted by the Holy Spirit.  To be completely honest, about one time every week I have an anxiety attack that lasts for a about an hour or two.  Random things will set me off but it usually comes down to all these things running through my head at once: my time constraints to preform, will I be ready for my proday?, what if I run slow?, will I get invited to a camp?, what if I get cut from mini-camp (that would be embarrassing), this window of opportunity to play football is only getting smaller I only have one shot at this, I don’t want to let everyone down, ect..… the list goes on.  I felt convicted and ashamed because I had lost faith that everything I’m going through is for a reason and that I have a divine plan in life whether that’s in football or without football; I have to accept the fact that I am NOT in control which is humbling.


   I vowed on Sunday that I would:
    a.)    put God first in my ambition


b.)    submit that I am not in control; stop worrying


c.)     be grateful for the opportunity I have


d.)    put myself in the best opportunity to succeed


What happens from there happens and I will be ok with it.  I know that sounds like the obvious plan to start with but I’ll tell you from first-hand experience that it’s much easier said than done. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Step in Right Direction

For the first time in 3 months I jogged on the field. Nothing crazy, just a few 30 yard build-ups and that was it.  Honestly it didn’t feel as good as I was hoping but none the less it is progress so I’ll take it. Saturday night which was St. Patrick’s Day, I went to Derricks (ProEdge Owner) birthday party at his house; after that just went home and watched a couple of movies at the house.  Foot was kind of swollen so figured it would be best if I stayed for the night.    

Sunday, March 18, 2012

ASU Pro Day

Video: Cameron & Dan 40yrd Dash


Went to the ASU Pro day on Friday to support Dan (OL) and Cameron (Longsnapper) on their big day. It was a beautiful day and there several NFL scouts/ coaches in attendance. Both had a good day but it was Dan who stole the spotlight by the end of the day. He came to Pro Edge weighing 279lbs and honestly not on the radar of NFL teams.  On Friday, he weighed in at 304lbs (that’s 25lbs in just over 2 months people, think about it). He came in benching 225lbs thirty two times and hit forty one reps (tied for first as the top overall bench press of all OL in the country) on Friday only because he hit the rack three times on the way up which killed his flow or he would have hit 45-46 times! He clocked in at 4.98 in his 40 yard and offensive linemen his size is very impressive.  So it’s fair to say Big Dan put Pro Edge on the map and more importantly himself! He had scouts drooling over him by the end of the day.

Terrell Resonno's (DL), another athlete I worked out with at Pro Edge had his Pro day on Thursday at Mizzou where I’m told he also did very well despite a strain in his quad.  I wasn’t there so I can give all the details but all the same, real happy for him.


Picture: Marvin Lewis, Head Coach of Cincinnati Bengals amoung scouts at the end of the 40 yrd dash (to the right of red shirt in black and white)

On a Side note: Being able to attend the ASU Pro day gave me a spike in motivation and also the opportunity to get a feel for what the day felt like and to see the drills the scouts had the WR's doing.  ASU had five wide receivers working out, one of which has a 2nd round draft grade, so I got to watch them run their routes and size them up an all that jazz;  but I’ll tell  you what I found interesting. While I watched them all run their routes on air, there were slight differences in their route running and skill but overall, they really all looked about the SAME.  They all had very close to similar size, speed, and strength.  You figure, these scouts are looking at approx. 2-5 WR per/school you wonder what it is they are looking for or more precisely what can set you apart?!   I’ve been told several times by relevant and respected sources that you never know exactly what a team is looking for and more importantly, you don’t have to make them ALL like you, you only need ONE scout/coach/team to like you.  That honestly what I fall back on when I start breaking down all the odds, all the players, and so FEW roster slots.  "Control the controllables" 


Sunday, March 11, 2012

Another Day at the Gym

Hit the boxing workout and this was the first time that I actually got to do the boxing workout at the same time with Lance so you already know that I was putting a little extra juice on all the punches and trying to look crisp.  Not sure how well I accomplished that but I did get a “mmmmm okkkk” out of him so I’ll take it.  Before I have you convinced I’m this great boxer the first thing my trainer Billy will tell you is that I need to loosen up.  It’s easy to get caught up thinking too hard and trying to throw hard punches but is actually when you’re in fluent motion and are relaxed you throw the best punches.  I’m hoping the boxing will also help me in my press releases to stay relaxed and smooth.   I’m typically pretty good off the line but with the broken foot this year I lost a little bit of my confidence not being able to move as quickly off the press so really looking to improve on this area before I get to a camp.

Side Note: Took my dad to the airport on Monday. All in all had a great time with my Dad out here.  It’s been a long time since it’s been just the two of us so I’m very grateful he took the time off work to spend the week out here with me and experience what I was doing.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sedona


On Saturday, after my morning workout we went to Sedona where they have beautiful red rocks and scenery.  We rented a mustang convertible for the trip of 2 hours up to Sedona which was well worth it in my opinion.  When in Sedona we took a Jeep tour up through the trails, which is what you have to do to get the best sites and scenery (of course) but we ended up making the last tour of the day so it was only us.

Sedona is was a very “spiritual” town.   I saw a
large sign reading “Sedona,  the New Age Spirituality
 of the Future.”   I guess the big thing there is the vortex’s. 
Which is where there is something about charges in the
 earth’s core and ions blah blah blah and would be
 compared to something like the Bermuda triangle. 
 So everywhere in the town there were fortune tellers,
 palm readers, and physics; nice people in the town
just a little out there!


Here are a few links on Vortex information:
http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/article/id/896/page/1

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Big Unit vs Chris Soy

Friday night my dad and I had a date at Alice Coopersland Restaurant in downtown Phoenix.  My dad was bound and determined that we were going there.  He is obsessed with the show Man vs. Food on the food channel and saw a special they had on “The Big Unit : Bases Loaded” which is a 22 inch long hot dog with over 10 toppings and weighing in at just over 3 pounds. I had about a ¼ of it and my dad actually handled the rest of it pretty well.  

80/20 Rule


So, last Wednesday night I picked up my Dad (Chris) at the airport who visited for the week.  He doesn’t get a lot of vacations because of his business so he ready to get out here and enjoy the weather.   So, we wake up Thursday and head to Pro Edge so I can show him around and have him meet all the fellas, which he did.  I didn’t know he was going to work out but I wasn’t against it so before I knew it he had made himself at home.  He was walking on the tread mill, hitting the punching bag, and then eventually Billy (trainer) got him down working and doing a few sets with our “Pro Day” group which was hilarious cause if you know my dad at all, you know he still thinks he’s 24 years old in his mind and has way to much pride to give up!  In short, he was like a little kid in a candy shop getting to hangout at the gym with a bunch of athletes and getting coached up by some of the top trainers around; so he was definitely in his element which was good to see…..most of the time.
Hanging out with your parents is always fun but you can usually fall back on the 80/20 Rule.  That is, 80% of the time you’re having a great time and enjoy their company while the other 20% your shrieking as they're doing everything in their power to embarrass you in every and anyway possible.


I think It was Monday morning we drove to the gym and I saw Lance Briggs' car outside, so I gave my Dad the talk that he was there and he had to ya know, “play it cool”and stay under the radar, so to speak (he’s a big Bears fan). So, he was all like “yea of coarse you don’t have to worry about me.”  So I go in and start walking on the treadmill to warm up, not even 2 minutes later I look in the mirror to find my Dad with his FULL size camera snapping photos of Lance boxing about 4 feet away from his face!  So yea he at least got a solid 10 pictures from all angles before I jumped off the treadmill and gave him the look of unapproval and motioned for the door where I followed him out!  “He said I could!”, he was already saying, I was like, "Dad, I told you to play it cool, I gotta see these guys every day!" But Lance was real cool about the situation and later when I was working out he walked up to my dad and got a picture with him so that was a nice gesture on his part……But as embarrassed as he was making me, everyone at the gym was like “Soy, your Dad is the freaking man!” Soooo dad, I suppose I can keep you around a little longer!