"We are what we repeatedly do...."

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 "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore,
is not an act but a habit."
- Aristotle

  I can't understand not practicing hard. Period. And I never will. Practice is a place to get better. And it's where you form your habits. If you practice at 50% and then try play at 100% only for games, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you won't be prepared for the games. The adjustment will be too great, and the pace will be too quick.

Poland - All Star game. 2006.

  You know the old saying, "Practice makes perfect." We've all heard it a thousand times. But really, that's not an accurate statement. Because if you repeatedly practice a bad habit over and over, then you're just reinforcing that bad habit. So the saying should be, "Perfect practices makes perfect." Yeah I know, there's no such thing as perfect. But don't you want to practice doing something as well as you can possibly do it?

Playing in Germany 2009-2010.

  To me, that means going full speed in practice. Whether it's a drill or scrimmage, go as hard as you would go in a game. That's the only way you're going to get better, and that's the only way you'll be prepared to perform during games.

  Excuse the running comparison, but it's like training for a half-marathon, and then deciding at the last minute to run a full marathon. Or maybe a better comparison would be, training to WALK a marathon, and then at the last minute deciding to RUN a marathon. Either way, it's not the smartest move, is it? Sure, some people might be able to pull it off occasionally. But week after week, game after game, it's going to catch up to you. You surely won't be at your best.

Poland - All Star game. 2006.

  And that's all we really want, isn't it? To be at our best on game day, when the lights come on.

  So in my book, if you're not going to go hard, don't waste your time ("Go hard, or go home," right?). Put in your work, and play hard.

  Make your habits excellent, and I'm willing to bet you'll be on the winning team more often than not.

  Be great! ~ Sabrina