It’s been a few years since we had this much snow on the ground. Had to get the rock skis dusted off and ready for 36th hill. What a joy. There are quite a few people out playing in the snow today. Terry’s Office Tavern was bustling and the turns on the east facing slopes were… nice.. for urban skiing. Where will the big snowball fight be tonight? I hear Jane Clark Park is going off. Point Defiance never disappoints. So much to do and so little time. Have fun out there and be careful. Here’s a clip of 36th:
Tacoma’s Trevor Moawad gets 2nd national championship
(photo courtesy of IMG Academy)
Trevor Moawad grew up in Tacoma, Washington. Of course the family home sits on land now known as Lakewood, but it was still Tacoma when he lived there. Trevor’s father Bob was a nationally renowned motivational speaker and Chairman of The Edge Learning Institute in Tacoma, which continues to teach his principles on positive thought to this day. I had the opportunity to see Bob speak a couple times and he had me captivated. Bob was a storyteller. By nature his perspective is motivating. You wanted to be motivated when you listened to Bob.
The acorn does not fall far from the Garry Oak. Trevor Moawad is currently bringing the power of mental conditioning to college football’s biggest stage. He was on the sidelines in 2009 when Alabama won a national championship. And it happened again last night. The kid from Charles Wright Academy just earned his 2nd title ring in 3 years when Alabama shut out LSU 21-0. The previously unbeaten #1 team in the nation was trounced by a wave of defensive perfection. To pull off this level of performance, a team needs to do everything right. They need to execute their plays exactly the way they draw them up. That is where Trevor comes in.
Vision. That’s all it takes. Envision perfection consistently and you will be successful. It’s a relatively simple principle that is perhaps revolutionizing the way college and pro teams prepare for competition. Trevor Moawad works with athletes to visualize success and proper execution and he works with multiple teams. Just last month he was on the sidelines helping coach Florida State to a victory at the Florida Citrus Bowl. As far as I know he’s the only coach winning 2 or more division 1 bowl games in a single season.
Moawad’s personal brand of mental conditioning requires athletes to ignore all distraction and focus solely on the goal and how to achieve it. Trevor’s teaching transcends the sports arena and ultimately aims to make his athletes better people on and off the field of play. As their personal lives improve, so does their athletic performance. Trevor calls himself a coach and he works with athletes, but his real goal is to make players better people who have the tools to succeed in life, long after their playing days are behind them.
Just in case the 3 high-profile college bowl wins aren’t convincing enough, I present another example. The NFL’s Tom Coughlin brought Trevor in to work with his New York football Giants in 2007. Eli Manning was starting to take a lot of flack for living in the shadow of his brother and possibly being a bust. The Giants were said to have no shot against the seemingly invincible and also undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Against all odds, the team that worked with Trevor came out on top. Super Bowl champs. Eli Manning happened to be voted MVP of that game. Evidence of Trevor’s effectiveness keeps piling up and will soon be undeniable. I believe more universities and professional teams will take notice before long.
For me, this is a local story. The teams he coaches may be thousands of miles away, but Trevor Moawad and the principles he’s always believed in are fruits of Tacoma, Washington. ESPN and Sports Illustrated have been following his career for years. I can’t figure out why this hasn’t become a bigger story in our local sports media. College football teams are changing the way their players prepare mentally as Bob Moawad smiles down on Trevor’s accomplishments. He always envisioned success for his son, and what do you know? It happened.
[Videos of Trevor from the IMG website.]
Polar Plaza, game, set, match
The single greatest thing to happen to downtown Tacoma in the past 5 years is Polar Plaza. Ice skating and cheap Christmas trees. That’s all it takes to transform an awkward waste of space into something magnificent. Kudos on a job well done to whoever is behind this. We cut ourselves a fresh tree out at 4A on 72nd or you can be sure we’d have been down at 2-5-Trees. Hopefully these ventures are a success and the ice will be back next year when my little one should be old enough to give it a try.
It seems seasonal business in Tollefson Plaza should extend year-round. What are some ideas out there for spring/summer season? How about a symphony? Volleyball courts? I’m enjoying the concept of humans existing in the concrete jungle that is Tollefson. Myself, I hadn’t been down there since working on a 72-Hour film back in 08. Hope I’ll have a reason to go back sometime soon.
To those responsible for the Polar Plaza, I say “Encore!”
State of the world fireside chat
Just when it seems our economy may be avoiding a double dip recession, European and Asian markets go and wet themselves and the whole system starts to shake.
The job market here in Tacoma could be better and unemployment rates nationwide are high. I don’t think unemployment rates have anything to do with Obama policy, but many people believe they do. Our nation is in an odd situation. The 90’s were fueled by the technological revolution and then suddenly the fruits of this revolution created a yellow brick road to widespread outsourcing of labor and importing of goods. I’m not talking about Walmart buying from China and selling to you.. I’m talking about you now having access to bottom dollar doohickeys straight from Chinese sellers online. Ebay, Amazon and individual websites across the innersphere are chock-full of deals that grossly undercut even Walmart prices. This is often irresistible to the consumer.
And so the story goes. People hollering, demanding politicians make new jobs out of thin air and political hocus-pocus.
IMHO, Politics and tax manipulation will not be key elements for creating the majority of jobs for the future. I don’t care if you are on the left or the right of me; I’m walking the line of reality not principle – application, not ideology. The lost jobs in old, cash cow industries of the late 20th Century are never coming back. If you are on the sidelines waiting for your industry to “pick back up” you are probably going to need to consider a different angle.
The only thing that will save our economy, and the global 1st/2nd world economy for that matter, is innovation. Invention. Without it we are in big trouble. What is the next realm of life-changing innovation? I am stumped. The world is stumped. I do, however, doubt that fancy technology will be the ticket.
Most of the world seems to believe new technology drives all significant current and future innovation.
Consider this: I can already get my current GPS coordinates from a satellite and send them to you with a picture of my smiling face, order a pizza, play multiple games of scrabble and chess with friends from the real world, converse with Alec Baldwin on twitter, buy music, sell used pants and publish information accessible within seconds to anyone in the entire world… from a handheld device in my bathtub.
Advances in technology are becoming expected and/or ho-hum. Might the next, truly BIG THING not involve cutting edge technology at all?
Tacoma’s own Hollywood murder mystery
Now you can read all about the David Brame saga at your leisure. Tacoma Confidential is perfect for any coffee table. Get yours today!
