Athletes Blog

Notre Dame’s recruiting pipeline to Hawaii struck gold again, with four-star linebacker Jordan Botelho agreeing to join the Fighting Irish’s class of 2020. He picked the Irish ahead of scholarship offers from the likes of Washington, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and in-state Hawaii, among 22 total power programs. Botelho is an All-American Bowl and Polynesian Bowl selection, and he becomes the latest in a long line of Hawaiian stars to chose Notre Dame, dating back to one-time Heisman finalist Manti Te’o, a fellow St. Louis High School (Honolulu, Hi.) That’s clearly a comfort factor for Botelho, as he alluded to, and it’s likely a key part of why he claims to be, “completely locked in,” to South Bend.

With former Tigers star wide out Jeremy Maclin now officially retired,  his cousin, Jay Maclin, has announced that he has committed to Missouri, following in the footsteps of his now famous cousin. The younger Maclin is a three-star prospect from Kirkwood (Mo.) High School, the same program that developed his cousin. He also becomes the third pledge in Missouri’s Class of 2020, with all three hailing from the St. Louis area. And while Jay Maclin’s name may not have the cache of his cousin yet, he still represents a very positive development for Tigers coach Barry Odom, who is ill equipped to miss out on any of the program’s legacy prospects.

A former Texas high school soccer coach has been charged with failing to report allegations of sexual assault and hazing involving his players in connection with hazing incidents in the program. As reported by our TEGNA Dallas ABC partners WFAA, 41-year-old former Forney (Texas) High School soccer coach Kristopher Duplissey was found to have known about allegations of hazing within the program for more than a year before they were reported to law enforcement. That’s a clear violation of state law, which holds that an education has just 48 hours to report a suspicion that a child has or may have been abused. The coach’s arrest on charges of failing to report allegations of sexual assault, a Class A misdemeanor, follow in the footsteps of a hazing scandal that involved charges of sexual assault against six former players, four of whom are still juveniles.

When you become immersed in achieving a goal in your sport or in your training, you are allowing yourself total trust and confidence. So I teach athletes to work on staying relaxed and visualize, and capture this state of immersion, to enhance your performance and maximize your athletic potential. High self-confidence: It is rare for athletes to play well without self-confidence. Focus in the present: The ability to focus completely  on  the  task  is  critical to peak performance in any sport.