Never take your eyes off an opponent

Athlete diary

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

"Never take your eyes off your opponent…even when you bow" –– Bruce Lee

In martial arts, which dates back thousands of years, there's a practice of bowing to your opponents before and after a contest.

Taking your eyes off of your opponent, even for a brief second, shows a break in concentration and could lead to a quick defeat.

We must stay focused. Throughout the season we've overcome many obstacles and we're not done.

These upcoming weeks will prove one of two things. It will prove either that this North Point football team can go to the next level or that this team could be just another good team from SMAC who reached the playoffs but failed to advance.

First things first: our final regular season game at Thomas Stone.

For the Cougars, this is their championship. They have nothing to lose. Stone is going to lay it all on the line. For us, we have to continue to grow, get better and go into the playoffs with momentum.

For the seniors, it is our last SMAC contest. And, as a whole, we'd like to go out with a bang.

Over the past two weeks we celebrated senior day and homecoming. Leonardtown came into Eagles Stadium with hope of derailing us. We took care of business with a 42-7 win and then enjoyed the homecoming festivities.

Great Mills was a different story. The Hornets were our first 4A opponent of the season and were one of the biggest and most physical teams we've faced so far. The game came down to a battle of wills. It was all about who had the mental, physical and emotional stamina to prevail. In the second half, we proved ourselves.

Great Mills brought out the best in us. We had to dig deep and it showed us that if we pull together as a team and play to our potential we can achieve great things.

Bruce Lee believed that emotion was an important factor in every contest.

Physical agility and strength are important but so are desire, will and determination. If you believe and trust in yourself and your teammates, you've won half the battle.

Never taking your eyes off of your opponent doesn't mean you don't trust them or you feel they're going to do something sneaky. It shows that you're looking through your opponent to reach your goal.

We've accomplished a lot so far and I hope that we continue to progress and do great things as we look to enter the playoffs.

Come out and cheer us on tonight. Having the crowd behind us only motivates us to perform better. Hope to see you at the game.

Cassius Sendish

North Point football, No. 8