A Stadium Summer
After accepting nearly 50 resumes for one SP full-time paid Summer internship position, we proudly landed on Johnny, a University of Buffalo four-year rugby player with his eyes set on a Physical Therapy track. After 8 weeks under the wing of Uncle Joe and the greatest athlete culture in existence, Johnny returned home with a few words he’d like to share and with many more thoughts he’ll need much “more time to let marinate.”
Providing an environment for college students to learn in a non-judgmental establishment is an ideology that has far drifted down the stream of “what once was.” Rather these days, dating back as far as my days with the Los Angeles Kings, Strength Coaches will go to great lengths to defame and slander previous interns who have since deviated to a more profound path – a path or methodology that identifies more appropriately with themselves. Here’s to Johnny (raising a toast) – to the intern who has the greatest potential to oppose the “Boylist” movement and create something much greater than what he has learned here; something that will take our culture, our power, our methodology, and our dreams to Europe, Australia, or far beyond. Cheers Johnny. Thank you for being you. #TheNewCulture
9 pounds in 8 weeks, 3 inches on my vertical jump, and 20 pounds on my max front squat. It has been a fruitful summer before my senior season of rugby but to define it by numbers would do the facility, my mentors, and my peers a disservice. What I have learned from Stadium Performance can not be added to a barbell. Character can not be quantified. Grit is not shown on a scale. Stadium Performance stands as a moral lighthouse in a sea of scholarships and waves of untold athletic potential. There are very few athletes who are successful without good coaching: there are none who are good people without sound guidance. Any patron of Stadium Performance can see #TheNewCulture commandments on the walls of the facility, but it is more clearly seen in the activities of its athletes.
Beginning training at Stadium Performance is like jumping into a flowing stream; pace is steadily accelerating and you find yourself traveling faster than you could have thought possible. The pace never declines, rather you learn you are capable of keeping up. On my first day of work I was taken through my first SP workout. An athlete from youth until present day, a student of the gym since riding the freshman football bench, and a nearly completed degree in Exercise Science made me think, how much left was there to learn? The answer came to me halfway through the workout, cut short because I simply could not keep up. As I looked up at ceiling fans dissipating the scent of my failure, I came to a wondrous realization; I know nothing and I am in the right place to fix it. Thus my schedule and learning began, a dichotomy of intern by day, athlete by 5:00 class.
When training among like minded individuals an unsettling thought arises, what separates them from me? Strength is relative, fame is fleeting, but hard work and character are absolute. SP is truly a unique environment because of its unique stimulus. Following a training program is one thing, but accepting and living an ideology is another. Injuries happen when you are weak and can not handle force appropriately; SP aims to make you strong when you are weak. Character is tested when you are at your weakest: SP teaches you to display character when the odds are against you. SP draws the similarities and athletes reap the athletic and personal benefits. It’s athletes are the most durable in both mind and body by product of rigorous training. You will never find an athlete inside SP who will not lend a helping hand, applaud your efforts, or challenge you for all you have to give. You come to SP to become to the best possible version of yourself. When you train at SP, you realize this is a group effort rather than a solitary one.
There is not much to talk about at SP, only so much left to do. Every athlete is on their own course, but squat, sprint, and jump their way through self discovery. Athletics and morality are not necessarily contiguous, but physical discipline withstands the test of time for moral development. Where SP truly excels is not in decreased sprint times or heavier squats. It is when blades hit ice, when the presentation starts, and when cleats get retired for dress shoes is when the true value of SP shines through; SP makes great people first, and great athletes second. It is upon this commitment to all around excellence that makes it so successful. Big egos make newspapers. Big hearts make textbooks. Everyone has a story to tell, how durable is the paper you’re writing on?
Johnny, SP Summer Intern, 2017. “We Possess Only What We Have Earned.”