Special Delivery: Fueling the Fire

“Bring that intensity guys.” “We gotta come out intense…” Where’s the intensity?” “Get down on that pull. Show some desire. Show some intensity.”

Our team throws around the word “intensity” a lot, but what does intensity mean? Watch the sectionals championship starting when we’re down 13-9. In particular, watch Pat. In the last 11 points, he clearly plays at a level above everyone else on the field. That’s intensity in raw form.

Now, how do we get the entire team to play like that? Do you remember pool play in Vegas? Do you remember playing Texas in New Orleans? Do you remember playing Stanford in Austin? Do you remember every time we’ve played Florida?

Here’s what I remember.

No one gave us a chance in any of those games. The league wouldn’t give us any respect, so we had to take it. The vengeance factor also fueled our desire. We owed Oregon. We owed Colorado. Mixing these factors together, we came into each game pissed off, demanding respect and doling out revenge.

Playing off pure anger never yields positive results. This raw emotion leads to wild play and stupid mistakes due to lack of fundamentals. So, clearly we had something else going into these games. This something kept us focused.

Determination: obsessing over a particular goal, never letting one’s focus deviate from the desired end result, playing ultimate at a level that makes it look like the other team doesn’t exist.

You’ve got to want it. A big reason why good teams lose games is because they expect the victory to come to them. We’ve got to go get the victory, boys. The way we’re playing right now will not move us past regionals. Michigan wants it. Ohio State wants it. North Park wants it. Are we gonna take it from them?

You’ve got three days.