The most important type of motivation is self-motivation. A coach can give great talks but unless a player takes the initiative and makes himself a better person and player, he will never find true success. I thought you did a great job last summer of making a decision to improve yourself through weight training and running. You got bigger, faster and stronger and you were clearly a better player. This was a decision that  you made on your own. It is the type of decision that more of our players have to make.

Your job this year will be to encourage others to be more self-motivated. I expect you to lead by example. We need to get as many players as possible involved in our off-season activities. Remember that our motto is  No Excuses. When you hear one of your teammates making an excuse for not being self-motivated, let him know. On the field, if you hear or see a teammate making excuses, remind him that he must take the initiative and make himself better. Tell him to stop waiting for a coach to “motivate” him before he acts. 

Self-motivation is probably the key to our success next year. I sincerely believe that everything is in   place for us to have a great year. What we need now are enough people stepping forward and making the personal sacrifices necessary to ensure success in September. I know you’ll do great job carrying out this responsibility.