Alumni

I lifted weights today, but refrained from doing any sprinting or running so I'm relatively fresh for practice. Fortunately that mentality will end after today, which is our last practice before the break. The girls had a beer practice today, which I encouraged the team not to go to. I took a lot of flack from alumni for that one, but I stand by my choice. Like Jake said, a lot of these guys are just geezers sitting on their porches reminiscing about the glory days.

The alumni are great, and I hope they stay a part of this team, but they are more vocal than the current team. I think being an alumni means walking the line between staying involved and trying to make a team too much like you were, and not letting them be themselves. I also think they are too stuck in their ways. It's like when I asked Shy last year why we didn't have track workouts starting in the fall, and he said, "because that's just not how the Brain's have done things in the past," and I mentally replied, "right, and how many times have we gone to nationals?"

None. We have never gone. Things need to change, we have to take this more seriously, and the alumni have to realize that some of the things that they enjoyed about the team will fade, but in return we will get the fun and the glory that comes with winning and being a feared team.

I'm not here to play hippy bullshit. Winning is fun, and most of the alumni have never had that opportunity (really). What kills me is that after being hospitalized before So Cal Warm-up (despite the fact that we had decided not to take it seriously), I sound like a big hypocrite. Fortunately, that experienced has allowed me to step back and see that the team does too much drinking to be good, and that I do too much drinking to be the captain of a great team. I haven't drunk since then, and from now on it will be rarely and moderately. I have more fun winning tournaments than I do in ten nights out drinking.