There was no greater underdog in sports than Rocky Balboa and Mickey knew it. He knew that turning Rocky from a fourth-rate fighter to heavyweight champion would require the most intense training he could conceive. Mickey gave him the tools but Rocky supplied the desire.

The following list of Mickey Principles and Quotes is provided by: www.blogs.amctv.com

1. A Man Should Never Be Afraid to Repeat Himself in Order to Get His Point Across

• Mickey lives this piece of advice. Telling Rocky he needs to be faster doesn’t do the trick, so he says, “You got to get speed, demon speed. Speed’s what we need; we need greasy, fast speed.”

Chicken Chasing

2. When In Doubt, Go Back to Basics

• Ever wonder why Mickey makes Rocky chase around a chicken as a training method? No, not as a practical joke. Rocky himself wonders and asks “What do I got to chase a chicken for?,” to which Mickey responds, “Chicken chasing is how we used to do it in the old days.” See? There’s no school like the old school.

3. A Man Must Separate Business and Pleasure

• Mickey doesn’t mess with anything that interferes with his fighters doing what they are supposed to be doing: fighting. And he says so after Rocky marries Adrian (whom he does eventually take to): “What’s with this domestic stuff? Tend to business, will ya?”

4. Every Man, No Matter What He Does, Needs to Know Math

• Rocky isn’t exactly Will Hunting, and presumably neither is Mickey, but he knows that you need basic math skills to get through in life. There’s a mathematical and formulaic component to training that can’t be ignored. As Mickey says, “For a 45-minute fight, you got to train hard for 45,000 minutes.” Fact.

5. Never Laugh at Your Friends If They Don’t Read So Well

• Rocky himself doesn’t read so well, but Mickey never makes fun of him for it. He makes fun of him for many things — but not his literary skills.

Coach Mickey

I love these quotes because they prove the age old principle that is lost in a world of modern quick-fixes that a championship is earned through sweat, blood, tears, desire, and unwavering conviction. To all of our growing players who are eyeing a starting position on their school team in a few years I want you to focus on the fourth Mickey principle about training for 45,000 minutes. Since Mickey was talking about boxing let’s break down his concept for lacrosse.

A regulation High School lacrosse game is four twelve-minute quarters:

• 4 x 12 minutes = 48 minutes
• 48 x 1,000 = 48,000 training minutes
• 48,000 / 60 minutes = 800 hours
• 800 / 24 hours = 33.33 training days

According to Mickey for one lacrosse game at the high school level you need to train for at least 33 days to be at your very best. However, a lacrosse season is not just one singular game. The typical lacrosse season has anywhere from 15-19 games. So taking a median number of 17 you get:

• 33 days x 17 games = 561 days
• 561 days / 365 days (or 1 year) = 1.5 years of total training time for 1 Varsity High School Season

"I will break you" – Drago

But Gordon the off season is only 8 months long! How can I possibly get a year and a half worth of training time for each season? This is proof that math will only take you so far in your training. The rest will come from your unwavering conviction and desire to improve. If you approach each day of training during the offseason like you are fighting Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, or Ivan Drago you will be far ahead of your other teammates in security that starting spot.

To inspire you to reach your goals here is a Rocky training montage. When you’re done watching you’re “gonna eat lightnin’ and you’re gonna crap thunder” (www.imdb.com)!

Plus, check out Coyote players Jeremy and Justin chipping away at their training minutes. Only 44,985 minutes to go guys!

Featured Image Credit – www.dvdicas.com

“I love you Adrian!”
Gordon