Riley Jensen

Husband | Father | Best Selling Author | Mental Performance Coach @WeberState Athletics | Keynote Speaker | Former @USUFootball QB | @SnowCollegeFB HOF 🧠💪🏽

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

30 years ago I was the starting QB at Utah State University. My senior year I got benched. For the next 15 years I walked around feeling like a certified loser. Then I read this quote from Pat Summitt:
'Winning is fun… Sure. But winning is not the point.
Wanting to win is the point.
Not giving up is the point.
Never letting up is the point.
Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.'
It snapped me out of it. If you’re still carrying a sports setback, a benching, a missed opportunity, or any “I’m not enough” story… this is your permission slip to drop it. The game isn’t over. Your story is not yet written. You are still a work in progress. The point is you keep wanting it. You keep getting up. And you listen to that quiet voice that says, "I will try again tomorrow."

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

“Hear Me…”

Mike Tomlin GOLD 🥇

“It’s not what you are capable of; it’s what you are willing to do. Plenty of people are capable. Fewer people are willing.”

This message is the ultimate TRUTH in sports. https://t.co/mmYvAOZyvs

[The Vigilant Fox 🦊 @VigilantFox]

Tom Brady reveals the overlooked reason practice squad players never succeed in the NFL

It’s not a lack of talent.

Brady watched it happen for 20 years. The pattern was undeniable.

As soon as a practice squad player got promoted and had to perform under real pressure, they crumbled. It took years for Brady to understand why.

“There’s 53 guys on the active roster and there’s now 15 guys on the practice squad. So there’s 68 players. But those practice squad players are important because if anybody on the active roster gets hurt, they can get elevated to the squad.”

“These scout team receivers would come in and practice with the scout team and they do really well. And I’d be watching. I’m like, ‘Man, we got to get that guy. Let’s get him up on offense. He’s making a lot of plays.’”

“Then all of a sudden, we’re like, ‘Hey man, you’re doing really well. You got to come over here and deal with the pressure of succeeding now that you have expectation.’”

“And these guys are like, they weren’t prepared for it. So whatever we saw in practice against where there was not a lot of pressure, now when they’re put in a situation where there’s an expectation for performance, they’ve never had to personally deal with that and then they fail.”

“And then what I realized was a lot of guys on those practice squads, they don’t want to be elevated to the roster.”

“They’re very happy living this life where they could tell their family and friends, which I have no problem with that. But the reality is a lot of guys don’t want the pressure of dealing with top.”

Twenty years in the league and seven Super Bowl rings later, Brady learned that talent wasn’t the hardest thing to find.

It was people who actually wanted the pressure that comes with being great.

[Utah Jazz @utahjazz]

On this day in 1997…

John Stockton called game 🚨

[Josh Chambers @JoshChambers]

The mindset shift that took Sam Darnold from questioning whether he belonged in the @NFL to becoming a Super Bowl winning starting quarterback with the @Seahawks is something anyone can apply to their own growth:

You build a great house with a hammer. 🔨 You sustain it with a brush. 🖌️

The same self-criticism that got you here won't always take you where you need to go next. At some point, you stop building the foundation and start believing in the house you've already built.

The habits that build confidence are hard work and self-discipline. The habits that protect confidence are self-belief and self-compassion. 🧑‍🎨

You don't reach the top without being hard on yourself. But eventually, growth requires believing in yourself as much as you've challenged yourself.

Learn to trust the work, believe you belong, and move on from mistakes faster.

The hammer builds the house. The brush helps it last. 🏠

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

There are a variety of reasons that negative self-talk is so high. Sometimes it is a good idea to “talk” to ourselves, rather than “listen” to ourselves. It puts us in the driver’s seat.

[La Giornata Tipo @parallelecinico]

A sinistra, nel 2016, un ragazzo si trova in Nicaragua, è lì da due anni dopo aver abbandonato il basket e la famiglia per “portare la parola di Gesù Cristo” tra le persone più disagiate del paese. Una notte subisce una rapina e viene malmenato da quattro persone: gli serviranno sei mesi di cure dentistiche e due denti finti nuovi.

A destra, questa notte, c’è un ragazzo che ha trascinato Cleveland in finale di Conference dominando gara 7 contro Detroit, con 23 punti in 25 minuti in uscita dalla panchina. In bocca ha il paradenti perché, per esperienza, sa bene che i dentisti possono costare come un attico in centro storico a Milano.

Entrambi i ragazzi rispondono al nome di Sam Merrill.

[Utah State Filmroom @usufilm]

“[Sam Merrill] is a fighter. We talk about Max Strus being a maniac…Sam's quietly right there.

I'm glad he has his moments like this where the world can see it. I think a lot of times it gets overlooked.

When you have guys like Sam Merrill…it's huge.”

- Donovan Mitchell

[Utah State Filmroom @usufilm]

“I don't know if this will go down as the Sam Merrill game or the Jarrett Allen game, but [Sam] was unbelievable. We weren't rolling until he came in the game. His 3s opened things up. Took the charge. Got his tooth knocked out. That guy is a winner”

- Head Coach Kenny Atkinson

[MrBuckBuck @MrBuckBuckNBA]

Sam Merrill full highlights vs. Detroit Pistons tonight (125-94 W) - Game 7 - Eastern Semifinals - 2026 NBA Playoffs:

23 Points on 7/10 FG, 5/8 from 3 (62.5%), 4/4 FT, 1 Offensive Rebound, 2 Assists (2 TOV), 1 Steal, 3 PF, and a +/- of +22 in 25:17 minutes played off the bench

He was the huge X-Factor tonight.
The Cavaliers win game 7 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face the New York Knicks.

Also on YouTube:
https://t.co/POHf7UqGEX

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

Big shot Sam!

[tony franklin @coachtf]

We set an NCAA record: Colby Cameron threw 444 consecutive passes without an interception in 2012 at LaTech making us the #1 offense in college football with 51.5 ppg.

Nobody ever asks about the real reasons. I'll tell you.

1/5
The obvious answer is system. We had a system that minimized risk. That's true. But a system doesn't run itself. Quarterbacks do. Colby played without fear of making mistakes because of his training and experience of failures and successes.

2/5
The real reason: we trained for what we called "the throw you don't make." The most dangerous pass in football is the one that feels open
but isn't. We practiced saying no. Our motto was “Take what’s easy and trust your team-mate to make a play.”

3/5
In business, in relationships, in life — the decision that ruins you is never the obvious bad one. It's the one that looked fancy and eloquent in the moment because you didn’t trust your training to “take the best win”.

4/5
444 passes. The record isn't about what we threw. It's about what we didn't throw. Discipline is knowing which opportunities to leave on the
field. The best decision you can make today might be the one you don't make.

5/5
The record proves it…Do what’s easy and train the difficult to become easy. The moment the difficult becomes easy you are separating yourself from average to greatness.

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

@glenroundy So true

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

This weekend an 11-year-old reminded me why I became a mental performance coach. Game 1: 3rd game in 3 days, cold, late. Gives up 5 runs in one inning. Walks up to me with tears. I tell him: “It’s not what happened. It’s how you respond.” Next inning he rips a triple, scores 3, puts his team back in it.

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

@Janimal84

[College Football Classics @ClassicsCFB]

#15 BYU vs Washington (2008)

[JazzBasketball @Jazzbasketball1]

📽️ 5.14.1999 - OTD 27 years ago the #UtahJazz were facing elimination to the Sacramento Kings and the Arco Arena cowbells when John Stockton hit the game-winner to cap a dramatic finish & send the series back to the Delta Center for Game 5 (Best-of-5).
#JazzBasketball #TakeNote

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

E + R = O.
Event + Reaction = Outcome. The event is out of your control.
Your response is everything. Proud of that mindset. Even prouder he’s living it. What’s one tough break you turned around lately? #MentalToughness #YouthSports #ERO

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

Game 2: First at-bat, called strike three on a pitch that missed by 3-4 ball widths. Tears again. Before I can say anything he looks at me and goes:
“It’s how you respond… right?” Next at-bat: first homer of his life. 3 RBI.
At-bat after that: second homer. 2 more RBI.

[Riley Jensen @RileyJensen]

QB Training…. https://t.co/ieZe2HtrnB