J.J. Standring

[Baseball’s Greatest Moments @BBGreatMoments]

Tim Stoddard and Kenny Lofton are the only players to appear in a World Series and a Final Four. They also went to the same high school.

[🍀Southside Catholic Conference🍀Football🏈 @S_C_CFootball]

Fr. Tom said at our league Mass: “Give Thanks, Be Thankful, and Dream Big”

From
St. Linus in @SCC_Football ➡️ @StRitaFootball ➡️ @AlabamaFTBL 🐘

Conor Talty is living proof that big dreams start right here. 💪🏈

#DreamBig

🍀SCC🍀F🏈🏈TBALL🏟️ALUM

[Mustang Legacy @LegacyStangs]

We ask our St. Rita Football family to rally around one of our own — Ryan Donahue ’06. Ryan is facing a difficult battle, and every bit of support makes a difference.

Please consider helping if you’re able:
https://t.co/TcrFJWcKZx

Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang.💙❤️

[Chris Parker @chris_parker222]

Situational Football is always in style. Here is the list of situations I would pull from to create practice plans. Maybe it can help someone out today.

[Chris Sailer Kicking @Chris_Sailer]

Announcing the 15th Chris Sailer Kicking TOP 12 Camp Selection… Congratulations @SaulR_3277 (2026, IL) ✅. Saul finished 2nd on KO and competed well on FG. He is a hard work who is developing at a rapid pace! #TeamSailer #TOP12 #5SpotsLeft

[Northwestern Baseball @NUCatsBaseball]

📰 How Northwestern QB Jack Lausch is adjusting to the diamond

✍️ @ESPNRittenberg

[David Klein @CoachDavidKlein]

Why My Son Didn’t Want to Play Catch With Me (And What I Did About It)

My son says his favorite sport is baseball.

But his actions tell a different story.

He’s always most into whatever sport is in season.

In the fall, it was all about football.

In the winter, it was all about basketball – even though he wasn’t playing organized basketball, just watching it on TV and practicing in the backyard. He's 7 btw...

The other day, we were shooting hoops, and I casually asked, “Hey, want to play some catch?”

He said no. As he usually does.

Kills me every time, as there’s just nothing better than playing catch!

That got me thinking...

Why doesn’t he want to play catch?

If baseball is his favorite sport, why doesn’t he ask me to throw the ball around?

I had to take a step back and reflect.

And then it hit me.

When we’re playing football or basketball, we just play.

There’s no coaching. No correcting. Just fun.

But with baseball? I was coaching too much.

Without realizing it, I was giving too much instruction.

Maybe being a bit hypercritical. It’s just my nature – I’ve spent my life coaching baseball. But it’s different when it’s your own kid.

Maybe he felt a bit more under the microscope?

So I made a change.

For the next few catch sessions, I made sure to give zero instruction. I just focused on making it fun.

We pitched in the backyard, called balls and strikes, and sometimes I’d pretend a player hit a ball that he had to field it. He'd catch pop fly's. Challenging ground balls. We'd even turned pretend double plays.

And you know what?

He absolutely loved it.

He wanted to keep playing.

I also made one more adjustment.

The last few times we’ve gone out in the backyard to practice pitching, I’ve made it a point to only give one piece of instruction the entire time.

And before I even share it, I ask, "Hey, is it OK if I show you a little something?"

Getting his permission to coach – and keeping it to just one tip – has made a huge difference.

That’s when I realized something important: If we want our kids to practice more – and actually enjoy it – it’s got to feel like play, not a lesson.

Even if they’re practicing bad habits sometimes, that’s okay. The goal at this age is to build a positive association with practicing at home.

If we drill them too hard or give too much instruction, they’re going to gravitate toward sports where they can just play freely.

Sometimes, the best way to help your kid love the game is to just let them play!

Hope this helps someone out there!

On your team,

-Captain Fun

[StRitaBaseball @StRitaBaseball]

We are just over 72 hours away from our 7th Annual St.Rita Baseball Fundraiser at the new Lawlor's Bar....great auction items, great apparel, and a great time with friends this Saturday 6-10pm. #SRBaseball

[StRitaBaseball @StRitaBaseball]

Two weeks from today (Feb 22) join us for our 7th Annual St.Rita Baseball Fundraiser at the new Lawlor's Bar! Hope to see everyone there! #SRBaseball
https://t.co/OdBf9WTGua

[St. Rita Chicago @StRitaHS]

St. Rita Baseball invites you to their 7th Annual Fundraiser on Saturday, February 22, from 6 - 10 PM at Lawlor’s Bar’s newest location.

Consider donating to SR Baseball today to help with travel, equipment, and field maintenance needs.

Learn more: https://t.co/Lk3wlLAh7e

[Matt Grzyb @Grzyb5Matt]

Full regular season highlights weeks 1-9

https://t.co/TBvnlMM0VI
@JJStandring3 @CoachMHopkins @ExpoRecruits

[Tim O'Brien @Tim_OBrien10]

Jay Standring named honorary captain as St Rita battles Leo in a CCL/ESCC crossover. Check it out in the @BevRevNews!

@StRitaFootball @StRitaHS @StRitaAthletics @CoachMHopkins @LeoCatholicFB

https://t.co/Nla1zAj7uR

[Coach's Diary @ACoachsDiary]

Kirby Smart: Tuck in your shirt. Touch the line. Do simple better.

[St. Rita Chicago @StRitaHS]

At last week’s varsity football game, we celebrated legendary St. Rita coach and proud Leo High School alum, Jay Standring ’66!

We thank Coach Standring for his contributions to St. Rita and Leo! His legacy continues to inspire generations of athletes.

📸: Terry Hixson

[St. Rita Chicago @StRitaHS]

We invite all 3rd - 8th graders to be a part of a long-standing St. Rita tradition 30 years in the making at Camp Swoosh!

Join longtime SR coach and faculty member Jay “Jaybird” Standring for instruction in a variety of fun activities!

Register today: https://t.co/aIfKzGLY4s

[Inside NU @insidenu]

Braun on kicking on the lakefront: "I think Evanston has always been a problem for kickers, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage having experience with it."

[StRitaBaseball @StRitaBaseball]

Mark your calendars for the 6th annual St. Rita Baseball Fundraiser on Feb 24th at Lawlor's Bar.
https://t.co/dyrkkbeG2V

[Adam Rittenberg @ESPNRittenberg]

As several have pointed out, a similar invalid fair catch by Wisconsin against Northwestern in 2015 wiped out a punt return touchdown.

https://t.co/2JoFMzkRPS

[Shayne Graham @Shaynegraham17]

Fun fact… free kicks like this one (40 yards not 47) can happen in HS and the NFL. But NOT in college.
This play is the result of a fair catch and the receiving team as the option for a “Free Kick”

I’m not sure why college excludes this from its rules, but I’ve seen it applied a few times. But never got to attempt one during my playing days. Only went over it in practices in HS and the NFL.

[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

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