What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Check your Twitter? Read your emails? Inspect your missed texts? Examine your Facebook notifications?

It is the fourth quarter, the ninth inning, or the last period. Quick! What is your battle cry? For some it is, “So glad this is almost over!” but for others it is, “What an opportunity this has been—I am going to give it everything I have until the final buzzer!”

You find yourself looking at the scoreboard as the final seconds tick off the clock. You visualized the outcome of this game at least a hundred times, but not like this.

Are you the player who watches your diet and puts your sleep schedule above your social schedule, because you have learned through the years that healthy, well-rested athletes have more success?

Since my husband is a coach, I have often heard him talk about the body language of the players on his team and on other teams as well. He notices when shoulders slump and heads hang.

Many college athletes go through a redshirt year at college. It is a year of putting forth much effort gaining speed and strength to become more prepared to compete at the college level.

Dear Lord, I thank you that I am about to begin a season of college athletics. I have some expectations in my mind, but in all honesty… I do not know how everything will pan out.