Game Plan Academy (GPA) is awesome: the students are awesome (they represent Monterey Trail, Hiram Johnson, Rosemont, Highlands, Burbank, McClatchy, Rio Linda, Sheldon, and Florin High Schools), the facility is awesome (Hiram Johnson High School), the mentorship team is awesome (see www.GamePlanAcademy.com), the guest speakers are awesome (they include Mayor Kevin Johnson and Marty McNeal, to name a few), the sponsors are awesome (they include the Positive Coaching Alliance and Wells Fargo), the concept is awesome (the goal is to develop well-rounded student-athletes), and the camp is going awesomely (come out this Sunday from 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM to see the program in action)!

With so much 'awesomeness' in action, students at GPA reflected this past Sunday on their experiences and thoughts thus far. Here is a handful sampling of some of these reflections; Sunday was a cold, windy day, but the students did an awesome job both on the field and in the classroom, working hard to improve their academic and athletic skills (the goal of this short reflection session was to simply have the students write and think):

STUDENT 1
Today was a pretty cool day today. I woke up at about 9:30 and went to the donut shop. I bought a really big Cinnamon Roll. After that I went to the GPA camp. Now I will be on my way home. When I get home I am going to study algebra II homework for finals this up coming week. I have a C in the class and I want to push it to a B. It is 2:32 and I am about to leave. It was really cold and windy when we were practicing. My girlfriend went to Southern California and left me bored. 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ZERO!

STUDENT 2
Today I learned that to understand or comprehend anything you must first pay attention. Paying attention is the key to everything, ex: healthy relationships, good communication, politeness. My girlfriend is hella hilarious she just sent me a text on how I shouldn’t act like superman and she loves me. This make me really…

STUDENT 3
Today was an ok day for me. It was very windy outside so a lot of my throws were off mark. Instead of me improving, I felt like my value decreased today. I could have don’t a lot of things better. In the classroom, it was fun. We talked about our Pere Carroll articles.

STUDENT 4
Today I woke up at 8:47 and went to the GPA Academy. I read and went over a fascinating article about a football coach. We also read a article on communication and paying attention. I thought the articles were pretty fascinating. I’m kind of worn out today from the athletic part of the academy. I think I’m going to go home an rest up for school tomorrow. I have a whole bunch finals.

STUDENT 5
Today GPA camp was alright, came extra early so I wouldn’t have been late, cause I hate been late for something. We practice, it was a litte hard work, last week felt easier. We eat lunch, watch film, and learned what I have to do in my 3 step drop and 5 step drop and 7 step drop.

STUDENT 6
Today I learned about patience. It is an aspect of life. I also learned that I should wear legging because it was cold. I learned that you have to adjust your weight when you do routes that you have to make sharp turns or stops. I learned to look the same from the beginning to the end of a route. I learned to stare down a DB at the high school level. I had to put trust in my hands. I learned that my time management skills need to improve. I learned about a few negatives in my life that cause me to have poor communication skills and poor time management. I learned that I am coachable academically and on the field.

STUDENT 7
Today wasn’t a really good day. I was cold, windy, and I was tired. I dropped a lot of balls in the beginning. But I did not get discouraged. I keep on being focus on the ball and never give up. It really helped at the end. The lunch was good. The classroom session taught me a lot. The article taught me whi is life, life. Why we act the way we are. I really want to start thinking a lot on college. I should really start doing a lot more research on the college I want to go to. I can’t wait till next week. By the way, the agility drills was a killer. It made me a lot more tired than I was and it made my feet burn.

STUDENT 8
Today was very windy. It kinda cold. The workout was very intense. We got a lot of reps. I think we should stretch before we run because my legs start to get tight if I don’t. Lunch was koo. The class period was koo.

STUDENT 9
Today during the football part of the camp I learned if I keep my knees up during the ladder drills it will be a lot more easier to get through. So what I did was started brining my knees up and it was a whole lot easier on me. I also learned if I stay low coming out of my cuts the cut will be a lot more crisp and sharp. I would come up and slip, so I was told to stay low and it worked. During the class part I learned that understanding someone doesn’t mean understanding what they are saying, but understanding them. I also learned that to understand means to “stand under” and let ideas come over you.

STUDENT 10
I liked the football session, it showed me some drills I could work on to improve on the field. For my first time being here I enjoyed the program and what it has to offer. I like the Pete Carroll article; and I admire what Pete Carroll did throughout his career. Overall the article today really caught my attention. Mainly because of what it brought out and how it obtains to me.

STUDENT 11
I learned what benevolent means. I also learned about a nice quote and it says, “When love fails, at least be cordial.” – Kurt Vonnegut. Today I also learned about how to understand people and to improve your own people skills. Today during the football portion I learned to stay low on my breaks when running my route.

STUDENT 12
Well on the field I learned a lot from both Alex and Gio. I learned that all your routes should look the same in the beginning and you want to keep your arm pumping when breaking and do not look to early for the ball. In the classroom I learned some every interesting facts, clues, and ideas. I also gained some knowledge that will help me on and off the field. Patience is the key. Patience can get you through the day and pretty much make your life easier. Simple exercises can help you. And keeping your mouth shut can help things our and being calm.

STUDENT 13
Today was my first day at GPA and I end up learning a lot from how to stand and deliver to ball to being patient when things don’t go your way. Out on the field today it felt like we started the football season all over again. I was tired after only doing warm-ups but I stick in there and challenged myself to go on with the drills. After the drills we went to our positions and worked on quarterback things.

Five Sundays remain in GPA, and, the chances are, they are going to be awesome experiences for all those involved!