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Many members of E4A believe in a higher power. We wanted to share this powerful insight from Navy linebacker Marcus Bleazard about faith, service and identity.

Marcus shared that the biggest change that came from serving others—and serving Jesus Christ—for two years wasn’t physical or athletic. It was identity.
No longer was his identity tied to how a practice went or how a game went as a football player. His identity became rooted in his relationship with Jesus Christ.
It’s remarkable what happens when someone loses themselves in the service of others. Somehow, it strengthens every other part of life.
Your willingness to go and lift others never ceases to inspire us—and it’s a beautiful example of Eyes Up. Do the Work. 🙏

Trust is built one decision at a time.
Marcus Bleazard, linebacker for the Navy Midshipmen football, shared how football and the military taught him something powerful:
⏰ Be punctual
🧠 Don’t negotiate with yourself
📋 Do what you said you would do
When you listen to that inner voice and follow through—showing up on time, sticking to the plan, getting the reps—you begin to trust yourself.
And before others trust you in big moments, you have to trust yourself in the small ones.
Consistency builds confidence.
Confidence builds momentum.
Momentum leads to success.
🎙️ From Episode 157 of the Especially for Athletes podcast.
#WinTheHour #EspeciallyForAthletes #Episode157 #SelfTrust #Discipline BuildMomentum AthleteMindset Leadership

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit with the Utah Tech Blaze Dance Team, last year’s national champions. Their theme this year is simple but powerful:

Believe to Become.

As we visited with them, we shared a message that we feel applies far beyond a dance floor.

1. Becoming Is Different Than Accomplishing

Accomplishments are visible.
Becoming is internal.

Sports give us trophies, banners, rings, and recognition. But what they really offer us is something much deeper—character, discipline, resilience, humility, love for teammates, and the ability to work through adversity.

Accomplishments fade.
Who we become remains.

The greatest gift athletics give us isn’t what we achieve—it’s who we are shaping ourselves into through the process.

2. Humility Fuels Becoming

If we truly want to become all that we’re capable of becoming, we must choose humility over pride.

Becoming requires:
• Being coachable
• Welcoming feedback
• Listening instead of defending
• Responding instead of reacting

When we are humble and responsive to those who love us enough to correct us, stretch us, and teach us, we always become something more than we would have become on our own.

Pride resists growth.
Humility accelerates it.

3. Get Lost Helping Others Become

The greatest teams aren’t made up of individuals obsessed with their own performance. They’re made up of teammates with their eyes up—looking for who needs encouragement, who needs help, who needs belief.

When we lose ourselves helping others become their best selves, something powerful happens:
We become better too.

Teams thrive when:
• Teammates lift each other
• Correction is rooted in love
• Success is shared
• Struggles are carried together

That’s the kind of culture that sustains championships. We wish the blaze the best of luck as they go onto nationals.

It was awesome to have BYU cheerleaders, Ammon Montenegro and Aislee Meacham on our podcast this week. Check out the whole podcast. It was incredible. Here’s a few highlights.
Failure doesn’t define you—it refines you. 💪
And true competition doesn’t require hate—it requires heart. ❤️
In this week’s Especially for Athletes podcast, BYU cheerleaders Aislee Meacham and Ammon Montenegro share powerful insights on what it really means to compete—with love, gratitude, and resilience.
Their message is a perfect reminder heading into rivalry week:
👉 Failure can’t change your worth.
👉 Rivalry shouldn’t erase your respect.
👉 Compete hard—but always Compete Without Contempt.
🎙️ Full episode out now!
#EspeciallyForAthletes #CompeteWithoutContempt #Resilience #EyesUpDoTheWork #BYU #E4A #WinTheHour #SeekToBlessNotToImpress

🧠 We train the body. We train the skills. Why wouldn’t we train the mind?

@drbradenbrown Associate Athletic Director of Mental Health for BYU Athletics, makes a powerful comparison in our newest Especially for Athletes podcast.

Athletes work with strength and conditioning coaches to become bigger, faster, and stronger. They work with nutrition professionals to fuel their bodies. They work with position coaches to develop the skills needed to perform.

So why would we expect them to figure out the mental side of performance on their own?
Managing emotions. Handling pressure. Responding to failure. Staying composed when the game is on the line.

Those are skills—and skills can be developed.

As Dr. Brown explains, working with someone who can help develop those mental skills may ultimately be one of the things that makes the difference in performance.

🎙️ Our full conversation with Dr. Braden Brown drops later this week on the Especially for Athletes Podcast. You won’t want to miss this one.

#EspeciallyForAthletes #BYUAthletics #MentalHealth #MentalPerformance #StudentAthlete

💭 Imagine this: You’re in a locker room with teammates. You may come from completely different backgrounds—different beliefs, skin colors, politics, or experiences—but in that moment, you’re united by one goal. 🏆
Your sweat smells the same. Your blood runs the same color. You all feel the same pain when you lose and the same joy when you win.
🌎 We are so much more alike than we are different.
What if we focused on what we have in common instead of what divides us? What if we gave each other more patience, respect, and benefit of the doubt?
👏 Let’s not judge others by their worst moments. Let’s choose kindness, give second chances, and just be better to each other.
👀 Eyes up. Do the work.
#MondayMotivation #BeKind #RespectEachOther #EyesUpDoTheWork #PositiveVibes #LockerRoomLessons #BetterTogether #AthletesForGood #Leadership #Teamwork #e4a #e4afamily #charleykirk

One of the most dangerous goals in life is simply trying to “be the best.”

Because if someone else is better, you may get discouraged.
And if you finally become the best in your environment, you may stop growing.

But becoming YOUR best?
That journey never ends.

That’s why this moment from Ewa Swoboda is so powerful.

She didn’t win the race.
But she achieved something she had never done before. She became better than she used to be.

Too many people allow comparison to steal the joy of growth.

Your life was never meant to be a constant competition with everyone around you. The goal is progress.

Growth. Improvement. Becoming.

Don’t just chase being the best.
Chase becoming your best.

#EspeciallyForAthletes #E4A #WinTheHour #Resilience #GrowthMindset

🎙️ Podcast Spotlight:
Ashley Matern – The Power of Not Giving Up

She suffered a brutal injury: cracked tibia. Torn ligaments. Her 2023 season ended. Most thought her career had, too.

But on Episode #154 of the Especially for Athletes Podcast, we meet Ashley Matern—now the 2024 U.S. Tumbling Champion. Her comeback story is more than inspiring, it’s unforgettable.

“Don’t close the door on yourself. If there’s still gas in the tank, make someone else close the door—you don’t shut it on yourself.”

🎧 In This Episode:

• How Ashley overcame years of setbacks
• What it takes to return after a career-threatening injury
• The mindset of an elite athlete when others doubt you
• Why your best moment might still be ahead

🏆 Highlight Moment:

“The joy after the absolute antithesis of joy.” — a commentator, watching Ashley celebrate with her coach post-victory

Bryce Harper said he’d rather be a good person off the field than a good ballplayer on it.

He was 19 when he said that. Nineteen — with the whole league telling him he was the next big thing.

Most guys that age are building a highlight reel. He was building a reputation.

And here’s the thing about reputation: it’s the only stat that follows you into the locker room, into your friendships, into the rest of your life.

Nobody remembers your sophomore year batting average. Your teammates remember whether you were someone they wanted around.

That’s your Sportlight. Not what you do in the game — what you’re like when the game ends.

Eyes Up. Do the Work. Lift Others.

#Sportlight #EyesUpDoTheWork #becomeELITE #E4A

Watch what happens when one teammate decides to be the loud one.

Suddenly the whole bench is up. The huddle is louder. The next play hits different.

One athlete’s energy can change an entire team’s standard — and you don’t need a C on your jersey to be that person.

Your Sportlight is your influence. Use it where your teammates can feel it.

Eyes up. Do the work. Lift others.

Comment “Eyes Up” to join the movement.

#EyesUpDotheWork

Want to know who wins on Saturday? Watch how they practice on Tuesday. 🏈

Coach Saban said it plain: you can’t show up on game day and expect to win if you didn’t practice the way you want to play.

The win isn’t decided under the lights. It’s decided in the reps nobody’s watching. The hour in the weight room. The drill you ran one more time. The standard you held when it would’ve been easier to coast.

Win the hour, and the game takes care of itself.

Comment “win the hour” to learn more about E4A and what we teach 👇

#EyesUpDotheWork #winthehour

🔥You are responsible for you. 💪
No excuses. No waiting for someone else to make it happen.
Look up, seek God’s help, and then go to work. Motivation fades. Ownership lasts.
Eyes up. Do the work. 👀⚡️

We asked Hall of Famer @greg_maddux31 what he’d tell a young athlete. He said: always try to win the day.

Four Cy Youngs. 355 wins. Cooperstown in 2014, first ballot. A guy who never threw the hardest and beat everyone anyway. And his advice fits in five words.

That’s not him being modest. That’s the actual method. Maddux never out-thundered anybody. He located. He repeated. He took today and he won it, and then he did it again roughly four thousand more times.

Nobody hands out anything for winning a Tuesday. No stat tracks it. Your coach might not notice. That’s exactly why most people skip it — and exactly why the ones who don’t end up in Cooperstown.

You can’t win the season today. You can win today.

Eyes Up. Do the Work. Lift Others.

#Sportlight #EyesUpDoTheWork #becomeELITE #E4A