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The entire Mizzou Spirit Squad will head to Daytona Beach, Fl. to compete in the National Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship April 9-13, 2014. During the last year’s competition, the Mizzou Golden Girls and Cheerleaders placed among the top 10 in the country.

As both teams look to defend their titles, Truman the Tiger will also be competing in the National Mascot Competition. Truman is one the 11 mascots that qualified to compete in April.

The competition will also be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network for fans to watch as dance teams, cheerleaders and mascots from across the country compete to be the next national champion.

The Zen Zone

Definition of the Zen Zone

Zen was developed through martial arts and fine arts. Zen zone means becoming “one” with what you are doing during each moment you are actually doing it. It is being all here, totally present, absorbing yourself in, connecting yourself to the moment, and becoming one with your body and your trust: when you are totally engaged in the process of doing, in a sense, you become what you are doing and suspend all judgments about yourself, others or your performance. If you begin to reflect, deliberate, question, condemn or judge along the way, you lose your pure connection or become disconnected, inattentive or distracted. There are times for thinking and reflecting, but there are also times to connect totally with what you are doing and to leave your conscious thinking behind. Performance is a time for connecting rather than reflecting.

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Ridding Yourself of Obsessions

The mind that is filled with obsession is a mind that will not let the athlete focus and perform to his potential.

The obsessions you must get rid of are:

–       The desire for victory

–       The desire to out-psych your opponent

–       The desire to worry about other expectations

–       The desire to play your best and display all that you have learned

–       The desire to over-awe the enemy

–       The desire to not make a mistake

–       The desire to focus on mistakes while competing

When one of these obsesses you, you then become a slave, as it makes you lose all freedom you are entitled to. All of these obsessions hinder your focus and ability to perform at your best.

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The Zen Performance

The zen performance is to train your mind to think and focus the right way to enhance your performance.

–       You focus on the experience, not winning or losing.

–       You don’t think; you react.

–       You focus on the experience of that one play.

–       Have nothing in your mind, keep it thoroughly cleansed of all obsessions, and focus on the one single play.

–       Turn yourself into a doll made of wood. It has no ego. It thinks nothing; let the body and limbs work themselves out in accordance with the discipline and teaching they have undergone. This is the way to win.

–       If you are thinking, you miss the point. If you are in total focus at that moment on that play, never concerned about the consequences, then you are on your way to the zen perspective. You must be relaxed and confident because you have prepared.

–       The event is the focus; the one play is the focus. You must relax and enjoy the one play.

–       Certain things cannot be forced. You must free yourself to let them happen.

–       You don’t have to consciously try to win in order to win. During the game, you get absorbed in the experience; be in the present (one play), trust your body, allow the performance that you have trained for to unfold, and the winning takes care of itself.

Three Mizzou Tiger Legends were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Football’s Andy Hill, basketball’s Gary Link and medical specialist Dr. Mark Adams will be showcased permanently at Missouri’s highest level.

Hill was surprised that he would even be there.

“In November I got a phone call,” Hill recollected, “and I thought it was someone trying to get a phone number for Chase Coffman, Jeremy Maclin or Justin Smith. So I called him back and said, ‘What can I help you with?’ And he said, ‘You’re getting inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.’ You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Link described his induction experience that he shared with a couple of good friends. “Going in with Andy Hill, going in with Dr. Adams, that’s what makes it really special.”

Dr. Adams echoed with the same sentiment saying, “I found out not long after that I was going in with two very close friends, Gary Link and Andy Hill. It’s just an honor to be around all these athletes, people who have contributed so much to sports.”

 

National Signing Day is less than two weeks away, and Head Coach Gary Pinkel and the Tigers coaching staff want Mizzou Nation to be part of the action.

On Wednesday, Feb. 5th, Tiger fans are invited to the first-ever #MizzouMade Recruiting Reception. The event is free and open to the public, and will be held at The Hampton Inn & Suites (1225 Fellow’s Place).  Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program, which will include video highlights and commentary on each of Mizzou’s newest signees, will begin at 6 p.m.

Join us in celebrating the newest additions to the Mizzou Football Family.

 

//FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE//                                               Contact: Chad Moller / (573) 882-0712  mollerc@missouri.edu

January 22, 2014                                                        

Fans Invited to Feb. 5th Football Recruiting Reception
Gary Pinkel and Staff Will Showcase Newest Group of Tiger Recruits

COLUMBIA, Mo. – On the heels of a 12-2 season that saw his Mizzou Tigers claim Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and Cotton Bowl Classic titles, Head Coach Gary Pinkel and his coaching staff invite all Tiger fans to learn about the 2014 recruiting class, at the first-ever #MizzouMade Recruiting Reception.

The reception is free and open to the public, and will be held at the end of National Signing Day, on Wednesday, Feb. 5th.  The Hampton Inn & Suites (1225 Fellow’s Place) will host the event, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m., and a program following at 6 p.m.

Extensive video highlights and commentary on each of Mizzou’s newest signees will be given by Pinkel and his coaching staff.  Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available at the event, as well.

RSVPs are welcomed, and can be registered online at www.tsf-mizzou.com/events/1mizzoufb.

For all the latest on Mizzou football, be sure to stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and www.GaryPinkel.com, or follow the Mizzou athletic department on Twitter @mutigersdotcom.

– M . I . Z . Z . O. U. –

 

 

Memorial Stadium is in phase two of its expansion renovations. The north concourse expansion included moving the Rock M closer to the field and complete renovations of the west tower and press box.

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These renovations included the addition of suites and indoor loge boxes and were completed prior to the 2013 Mizzou Football season.

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Currently, Memorial Stadium is undergoing expansion of the east side. This expansion will add an upper deck with approximately 3,500 seats, an indoor premium club level, outdoor premium club seats and loge boxes.The expansion will also include an additional concourse space with a new plaza entry. The east side expansion is scheduled to be completed prior to the 2014 season.

Check back to GaryPinkel.com for updates on more renovations starting in The Zou soon.

Pinkel Recruit Reception

Gary Pinkel and Staff Will Showcase Newest Group of Tiger Recruits

COLUMBIA, Mo. – On the heels of a 12-2 season that saw his Mizzou Tigers claim Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and Cotton Bowl Classic titles, Head Coach Gary Pinkel and his coaching staff invite all Tiger fans to learn about the 2014 recruiting class, at the first-ever #MizzouMade Recruiting Reception.

The reception is free and open to the public, and will be held at the end of National Signing Day, on Wednesday, Feb. 5th.  The Hampton Inn & Suites (1225 Fellow’s Place) will host the event, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m., and a program following at 6 p.m.

Extensive video highlights and commentary on each of Mizzou’s newest signees will be given by Pinkel and his coaching staff. Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available at the event, as well.

RSVPs are welcomed, and can be registered online at www.tsf-mizzou.com/events/1mizzoufb.

For all the latest on Mizzou football, be sure to stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and www.GaryPinkel.com, or follow Coach Pinkel on twitter @MizzouFootball.

Mizzou senior defensive end Michael Sam had an incredible season in the Tiger uniform. But he has one more game in a Mizzou helmet left.

Sam will be representing Mizzou in the 64th Senior Bowl this Saturday. The Senior Bowl will be televised by NFL Network from Ladd-Peebles Stadium (38,888) in Mobile, Ala. He will be among the best players in the nation at the prestigious post-season game and a standout at his position among peers.

Interestingly, Sam is one of 21 total players from the SEC, but the lone SEC player on the North team. The other 20 players from the SEC are all on the South team roster. There will be a bit of a southern rivalry to the game as the North will be coached by Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith, and the south by Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Gus Bradley.

On December 18, 2013, Sam earned a Football Writers Association of America’s (F.W.A.A.) 1st team All-America selection, which gave Sam his fifth overall 1st team selection–a clean sweep–making him the second unanimous 1st team All-American in Mizzou football history. The first unanimous pick under Gary Pinkel, Sam joins Tiger great Danny LaRose, a standout on the team from 1958-60.

Sam was also named the Associated Press’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year for his performance in 2013.

Michael Sam ended his playing career for Mizzou with a game-winning sack on Oklahoma State’s quarterback in the Cotton Bowl to force a fumble that sophomore defensive lineman Shane Ray would return 73 yards for a touchdown.

Throughout his career, Sam has had key plays for Mizzou, such as causing a key fumble against No. 1 ranked Oklahoma as a freshman. His 2013 numbers of 10.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss ranks him in the top-10 of both categories nationally. Sam is projected by virtually all NFL mock drafts as a first round pick.

The Senior Bowl will air on NFL Network at 3 p.m. CT this Saturday, January 25th.

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Your images lead to reality. They always have, and they always will. With imagery, you can visualize a high-quality performance and coach your body to follow. Being able to picture yourself achieving your goals will help you realize them.

1.    Mental Imagery

Mental imagery gives you a chance to deal effectively with a problem or event in your head before you confront it in real life. Your feelings will be “I’ve been here before.” “It’s not big surprise.” “There’s no reason to panic.” “I’ve prepared for this; I can handle it.” 

Many athletes find it helpful to imagine and feel themselves performing skills perfectly immediately before competitive performances. Run through key offensive moves, quick transitions and great defensive moves. This process strengthens confidence by calling up the feeling of best performance and focuses full attention on the task at hand.

Mental imagery can also be valuable after a particular successful performance, when the performance is still fresh. It allows you to re-experience and hang on to successful aspects of the performance, which can help in preparing for your future best performances.

The world’s best athletes have extremely well-developed imagery skills. They use imagery daily to prepare themselves to get what they want out of training, to perfect skills within training sessions, to make technical corrections, to overcome obstacles, to imagine themselves succeeding in competition and to strengthen their beliefs in their capacity to achieve their ultimate goals.

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As a general rule, you should get into a pattern of doing about 10 to 15 minutes of quality mental imagery every day. In addition to helping you perfect physical skills, imagery is a good focusing exercise. Take your time and move into it gradually.

As you become more skilled at feeling imagery, the sensations and emotions associated with great movements will surface more naturally when you imagine and perform your skills.

You can use mental imagery to learn new routines, plays or patterns, and to familiarize yourself with a particular competition site.

In your mind, if you can see yourself, hear yourself, and feel yourself respond the way you would prefer to respond, you will be better prepared to respond accordingly in the real world.

2.    Executing the Strategy

The usual sequence is to begin with mental imagery. Then, practice the imagined skill or coping strategy in a real-world training situation, followed by a simulated situation, and finally the event itself.

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If you can imagine the passion and focus you want to bring to today’s practice and feel the perfect execution of important skills before you do them in training and competition, this will help you to:

–       Focus on what you want to do.

–       Remind you of what you need to focus on.

–       Improve your imagery skills.

–       Set the stage for an improved performance.

Mizzou Assoc. AD for Athletic Performance receives national recognition

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Performance, Pat Ivey, has been recognized as the 2013 FootballScoop Strength and Conditioning Coach of Year, presented by ProGrass.

Responsible for Mizzou Football’s entire player development program, Ivey additionally oversees the development of Mizzou’s remaining varsity sports. Ivey was named a finalist for the FootballScoop award based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directions and athletic department personnel from around the country. Prior winners selected Ivey as this year’s award recipient.

Thanks in part to Ivey’s hard work and dedication, Mizzou Football recently completed an outstanding 12-2 campaign that saw the Tigers claim a Southeastern Conference Eastern Division championship and Cotton Bowl Classic title.

Ivey_1243A former Mizzou Football letterwinner (1993-95), Ivey received his undergraduate degree in 1996 in Hotel and Restaurant Management with an emphasis in nutrition. He completed his master’s in health education in 2000 while serving as a graduate assistant and assistant director of strength and conditioning at Mizzou. Ivey returned to Missouri in 2005 in the role of Director of Strength and Conditioning after serving in the same capacity at Tulsa (2002-04).

Ivey holds certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association and United States Weightlifting.

Previous winners of the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year award are Don Sommer (TCU, 2008), Joey Batson (Clemson, 2009), Kevin Yoxall (Auburn, 2010), Shannon Turley (Stanford, 2011) and Kaz Kazadi (Baylor, 2012).

Created in 1999, www.FootballScoop.com is the premier source for coaching job information and has evolved into the most widely viewed website by coaches, athletic directors, strength & conditioning coaches, operations and equipment staff across America.