Coach Adam Scarpino

Division 1 FCS - SPTM’s & WR Asst. Coach @MercyhurstFB | Mercyhurst ‘26 | Clarion ‘24 | Jeremiah 29:11

[Mercyhurst Football @MercyhurstFB]

Our camp scheduled for tomorrow, July 18, has been 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 due to air quality issues.

[Kellen O'Neill @CoachO_Neill]

Camp with the Lakers in July ⚓️
✅ Division 1 Football
✅ High Academic Institution
✅ 5 Miles from Presque Isle State Park
✅ 14:1 Student/Faculty Ratio
https://t.co/q4Sftr7C9Z

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Excited to start the next chapter of my career! 🟢⚪️

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Do your job, and do it to the best of your abilities

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

After his second year at Michigan, Tom Brady wanted to transfer.

He wasn't playing in games, and he was so low on the depth chart that he only got 2 reps in practice.

Brady met with his coach to express his frustration, “The other quarterbacks get all the reps.”

Coach replied,

“Brady, I want you to stop worrying about what all the other players on our team are doing. All you do is worry about what the starter is doing, what the second guy is doing, what everyone else is doing. You don't worry about what you're doing.”

Coach reminded him, “You came here to be the best. If you're going to be the best, you have to beat out the best.”

And then he recommended that Brady start meeting with Greg Harden, a sports psychologist who worked in Michigan's athletic department.

Brady went to Harden's office and whined, “I'm never going to get my chance. They're only giving me 2 reps.”

Harden simply replied, “Just go out there and focus on doing the best you can with those 2 reps. Make them as perfect as you possibly can.”

“So that's what I did,” Brady said. “They'd put me in for those 2 reps, man, I'd sprint out there like it was Super Bowl 39. 'Let's go boys! Here we go! What play we got?'”

“And I started to do really well with those 2 reps. Because I brought enthusiasm, I brought energy.”

Soon, it went from getting 2 reps to getting 4 reps. Then from 4 to 10, “and before you knew it,” Brady said, with this new mindset that Greg instilled in me—to focus on what you can control, to focus on what you're getting, not what anyone else is getting, to treat every rep like it's the Super Bowl—eventually, I became the starter.”

Takeaway 1:

Greg Harden telling Brady to just focus on being great during his 2 reps reminded me of a piece of advice from the entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

“People come to me all the time and tell me they're stuck,” Cuban explained. “They're stuck in a job they don't like. They're stuck working for a boss they don't like. They're stuck on a team they don't like.”

“I just tell them, 'Be great.'”

“The reality of life is that you can't just always quit your job. You can't just always go to your boss and say, 'Give me the promotion, or I'm out of here.'” You can't just always go to your coach and say, 'Give me more reps, or I'm transferring.'

“So when you're stuck, you've gotta find it within yourself to say, 'Ok, this is where I am. And if I'm going to be here, I'm going to be great.'

Because if you're great at your job, typically other people and companies find out, so it creates opportunities.”

Takeaway 2:

I've written before about “lead measures”—the actions and behaviors that predictably drive success.

The core characteristic of a lead measure, the authors of The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) write, is that “a lead measure is influenceable; it can be directly influenced by you.”

To achieve your goals, they recommend (echoing what the Michigan Coach told Brady), apply a disproportionate energy to the things that are in your control.

Starting at Michigan and for the rest of his career, that’s what Brady did, that’s what drove his success.

In his first media call after he was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, Brady was asked: “Are you aware that [along with starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe] there’s another quarterback here that they drafted last year?”

Brady said he was aware of that. “And I know he’s a heck of a player,” Brady said. “But I’ve always really concerned myself just with the things I can control. I don’t put a lot of thinking into the other guys because I know I’m not at my best when I’m not just thinking about playing as well as I possibly can.”

- - -

“I never once in my life ever said I wanted to be the best of all time. Ever. I wanted to be the best I could be, period. I learned that in college. It didn’t matter what the other guys were doing. It mattered what I was doing.” — Tom Brady

Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Just wait till next year…😈

[Eric Scarpino @Emscarps15]

Got the win today over Clarion and the ability now to pick on little brother for the rest of the year @FootballGannon #FamilyOverEverything

[Clarion Football @ClarionFootball]

Only 50 more days till kickoff! #wingsup🦅

[Clarion Football @ClarionFootball]

The stage is set❕❕

#WingsUp 🦅

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

I am very excited and proud to announce I have committed to Clarion University this fall to play football with the Golden Eagles! I would like to extend a big thank you to the Erie Express for giving me the chance last summer to improve and grow all around! #wingsup

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Square One never blind-sided me so badly before…

“When starting from scratch, you are now equipped with knowledge from prior experience”

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

First collegiate snap almost 2 years after graduating HS………it’s been a long road but it’s nowhere near close to finishing

[Rock Athletics @Rock_Athletics]

FB: The Rock football team will host the annual Green vs. White Spring Game Friday at 6 p.m. Admission and parking is free. More info: https://t.co/L7ldhA6RFu

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

@dre_wakefield Been on the visit already, just waiting for that call…📲

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

@CoachBrown_LHU Highly looking forward to the visit Coach!

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

It’s called a business trip for a reason, and we handled business…#ringme
A huge thank you to the Erie Express for giving me the opportunity to refine and showcase my skills on a national scale

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

The highlights of my rookie season of semi-pro are up! Give it a watch and drop a like!

https://t.co/pVuj9FJVje

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Remember, kickers are people too

I’m just glad I finally got my first trip to the end zone

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

@PrideoftheBison @save_an_eye Would’ve loved to be there, I had a game for the Erie Express in Pittsburgh🙌🏽

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

What’s the point of playing good football if you aren’t having a blast doing it. 2-0 feels good atm but you can’t be satisfied this early

#Firstofmany Special Teams Player of the Week

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

Locked in and ready for the summer... 💪🏽🏈
#GoExpress

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

@slipperyrocku Adam, Waterford, Mechanical Engineering, 🏈💪🏽😄

[Coach Adam Scarpino @CoachScarp1]

@jsteadman_ Honestly either one is good so it’d just be creator’s choice