"One saying that is always in the back of my mind - that I always think about is - 'don't give up what you want most for what you want now'. And I know, for me, I want to play college football - I knew that college was something that I wanted to do, I wanted to get a college degree. And if there was a way that I could get it paid for through football, if it was able to help me get a scholarship to pay for it, then that would be a huge blessing, and a big plus - not only for myself, but also for my family it would help out financially. It definitely meant a lot of sacrifices, but I wanted to play college football.
If what you want most is to play college football, or maybe even at the professional level, don't give it up for temporary things right now. Which might mean going and hanging out with friends all the time - not that it's bad to hang out with friends, but you shouldn't do it excessively. You should be going to the weight-room or taking care of your school work, doing those things that will help you to get to the next level, making those sacrifices. If you do those things, then you'll be able to accomplish your goals, so always keep in mind what you want most, and I think that's what has helped me even until now - I always try to set goals, and sometimes there will be temporary things that seem fun that I want to do at the moment, but if it's not helping me work towards my goal of finishing school or becoming a coach, (maybe for you it's becoming an athlete at the college level), then just think twice about the decisions that you make." -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
"I want to talk to you a little bit about what to expect on an official or unofficial visit with college football recruiters or coaches. More specifically - I know it sounds silly, but - what to wear. You want to be able to make a good first impression on the coach - you don't want to look sloppy or look bad. So what I recommend is wearing a nice shirt (maybe a polo shirt) and khaki pants - something comfortable, but also something you'll look nice in. Because you want to be confident when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches, and if you look confident you'll feel confident and then you'll come off as confident. First impressions is a big part of making connections with people, especially if you're talking to someone like a coach who you want to make a good impression on.
So, I know if sounds silly, but dressing nice on a visit where you're talking to a coach is definitely very important. It's a little bit flexible, depending on where you go. For instance - I went to Hawaii, and because of the culture and the climate I wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt with slippers, which was perfectly acceptable, but I still looked presentable. That's one thing you want to keep in mind when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches and making your visits to different colleges." -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)
"Some advice that I would give to kids that want to get recruited for football coming out of high school going into college: I'd tell them to work hard and make sure your grades are up - that's the most important thing, and it's the first thing that colleges look at. Other than your athletic ability they're going to check up with your GPA, your grades, what's up with that. Going into your senior year of high school I'd focus on that a lot, especially if you want to get recruited for football.
And then, also, heading into your freshmen year of college - the important thing is to work hard. When I was in college, the two things that I would tell myself are:
1. 'Do you want to be a hero or a zero' - and that means: do you want to take the easy way or the hard way. The hard way is to be a hero, and the easy way is to be a zero - to be a nobody. And so I'd always tell myself to be a hero: do things that are out of the ordinary, do things that are extraordinary. Let's say the team starts working out at 7:00am, I'd get there at 6:00am and get an hour extra. Because I know that if I'm doing it you've got to believe that someone else out there is doing the same thing as me. So you can never work too hard.
2. My dad used to always tell me 'winning is everything because the losers go home and cry' and you know, that's the mentality I had throughout my entire athletic career. You've got to win, and in order to win you've got to have that state of mind that if you lose it's the end. Because winners go on to be bigger, better, more successful and get recruited for football, and losers - they go home." -Jayson Rego (Running back for the University of Hawaii)
If what you want most is to play college football, or maybe even at the professional level, don't give it up for temporary things right now. Which might mean going and hanging out with friends all the time - not that it's bad to hang out with friends, but you shouldn't do it excessively. You should be going to the weight-room or taking care of your school work, doing those things that will help you to get to the next level, making those sacrifices. If you do those things, then you'll be able to accomplish your goals, so always keep in mind what you want most, and I think that's what has helped me even until now - I always try to set goals, and sometimes there will be temporary things that seem fun that I want to do at the moment, but if it's not helping me work towards my goal of finishing school or becoming a coach, (maybe for you it's becoming an athlete at the college level), then just think twice about the decisions that you make." -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
"I want to talk to you a little bit about what to expect on an official or unofficial visit with college football recruiters or coaches. More specifically - I know it sounds silly, but - what to wear. You want to be able to make a good first impression on the coach - you don't want to look sloppy or look bad. So what I recommend is wearing a nice shirt (maybe a polo shirt) and khaki pants - something comfortable, but also something you'll look nice in. Because you want to be confident when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches, and if you look confident you'll feel confident and then you'll come off as confident. First impressions is a big part of making connections with people, especially if you're talking to someone like a coach who you want to make a good impression on.
So, I know if sounds silly, but dressing nice on a visit where you're talking to a coach is definitely very important. It's a little bit flexible, depending on where you go. For instance - I went to Hawaii, and because of the culture and the climate I wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt with slippers, which was perfectly acceptable, but I still looked presentable. That's one thing you want to keep in mind when you're talking to college football recruiters or coaches and making your visits to different colleges." -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)
"Some advice that I would give to kids that want to get recruited for football coming out of high school going into college: I'd tell them to work hard and make sure your grades are up - that's the most important thing, and it's the first thing that colleges look at. Other than your athletic ability they're going to check up with your GPA, your grades, what's up with that. Going into your senior year of high school I'd focus on that a lot, especially if you want to get recruited for football.
And then, also, heading into your freshmen year of college - the important thing is to work hard. When I was in college, the two things that I would tell myself are:
1. 'Do you want to be a hero or a zero' - and that means: do you want to take the easy way or the hard way. The hard way is to be a hero, and the easy way is to be a zero - to be a nobody. And so I'd always tell myself to be a hero: do things that are out of the ordinary, do things that are extraordinary. Let's say the team starts working out at 7:00am, I'd get there at 6:00am and get an hour extra. Because I know that if I'm doing it you've got to believe that someone else out there is doing the same thing as me. So you can never work too hard.
2. My dad used to always tell me 'winning is everything because the losers go home and cry' and you know, that's the mentality I had throughout my entire athletic career. You've got to win, and in order to win you've got to have that state of mind that if you lose it's the end. Because winners go on to be bigger, better, more successful and get recruited for football, and losers - they go home." -Jayson Rego (Running back for the University of Hawaii)
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