Goodwin: 'Riders keep focus on big goal
(Editor's Note: Center quarterback player Ryan Goodwin has allowed PineyWoodsSports.com to once again go 'inside the huddle' and give fans an up-close-and-personal look at the Roughrider football team in 2010. Goodwin is a senior this season. His column will run twice a week throughout football season.)
We weren't able to practice Monday due to the weather and we had to live with just getting mental reps inside instead of physical ones outside. That just means we had to make each play and every rep we got the rest of the week even more efficient.
"Do y'all know what the hardest obstacle you have to overcome when you’re trying to do something like we are trying to do with this football team?" Coach Goodwin asked us after practice this week. "I'll give you a hint; it's between your ears. The toughest obstacle to get past is your own mind.
"I'll tell you something else though; if you have your eyes on your goal then you won't even see any obstacles. You will just keep trucking right on by them like they weren't there. That's what we have to learn as a team. That goal I'm talking about is us still playing Thanksgiving weekend. That's what everyone here should be working towards."
We made errors last Friday against Rusk and we know that we have to eliminate those types of plays this week. To do that every player we have, whether they are a senior who plays on both sides of the ball or a JV or freshman player that plays on Thursdays, has to be willing to do what it takes to make the team better. We can't have any weak links in our chain, because if one breaks the whole thing falls apart. We have to be mentally solid as a team.
We can't let ourselves believe we are anywhere close to being as good as we can be. When you start thinking you are good you stop working to get better. We won't be satisfied until we are playing on Thanksgiving weekend. Nothing up until that point will come close to filling the hunger we have as a team.
We know that winning one game only takes us one step closer to that goal of playing this Thanksgiving. Last week's win won't take us anywhere further this week than it already has. We have to go out this Friday and win again to get another step higher.
We hope fans come out to see us, because we have been working hard so we can give an even better show than last week.
Thanks for the support 'Rider fans!