Students-athletes will be apart of 6 sessions. These sessions are designed to inform and educate students and give them the tools that are imperative to their success. Our goal is not to overwhelm students but to help them understand “they are enough” when facing challenges on and off the court.
This course is designed for the Swarm Girls Basketball Team! We are excited to present a 6-week course and pre and post testing! These courses will video, short readings, animated video, and personal projects.
Once enrolled we will start releasing different sections every Wednesday. You most complete the short assignment by the following Wednesday.
Below are the concepts we will be learning:
Pre-Testing
Week 1: What is Confidence and Why is it Important?
Week 2: How to Build Confidence?
Week 3: Leveraging Failures and What is a Personal Statement?
Week 4: College Preparation and Recruitment Expectations
Week 5: Dealing with Anxiety
Week 6: Review
Post Testing
Your Instructor
Personal Experience:
Antonio J. Ross was born and raised in Tulsa, OK. During his younger years Antonio had to overcome obesity, asthma, and pidgin toes; which prevented him as a child to participate an any high intensity physical activities and sports. Which affected his self-esteem. The doctors told Antonio’s mother he would not be able to play sports competitively in his life time. Antonio grew up in a rough-impoverish neighborhood. Antonio would get bullied at school and in his neighborhood, which did not help his confidence.
Self-confidence and self-worth was a consist struggle for Antonio. Which also affected his academic progress, he was placed in Learning Disability classes until the 11th grade. Despite all the hardships he managed to use his “set-backs” as a “set-up” for success. He remembers his dad putting him on a summer league basketball team with players that were much older and better then him. Antonio recollects failing every day that summer, however he learned a wealth of knowledge from that experience. Once he returned to playing basketball with his age group, to his surprise, he had improved! And developed a new-found confidence. Antonio’s new-found confidence led him to start as the power forward on his high school’s varsity basketball team as a sophomore. He went on to play in college and coached for two years while completing his Bachelors and Master’s degree at University of Central Oklahoma. Antonio’s philosophy for sports is “ride it to the wheels come off but be strategic and seize the opportunity before you”.
Academic and Professional:
Antonio has been fortunate to complete three different degrees: Associates in General Studies, Bachelors in Kinesiology, and a Masters in Wellness Management. During his Bachelors and Master’s degree pursuit, he became academically involved by attending and presenting at several national conferences and teaching for his collegiate academic department. Additionally, after Antonio’s college eligibility expired in athletics he remained a part of the team by coaching and mentoring players, while obtaining his Masters. This part of his life was tough but very instrumental to his progression. While Antonio was accomplishing education and college coaching, he was also working within the exercise field.
When Antonio graduated with his Masters, he quickly discovered that he was not stimulated by being an exercise manager and did not want to strictly be a sports coach. He begun to explore his network and connected with Guy Troupe. Guy works in the industry that helps athletes transition from the National Football League (NFL) to other careers and teaches life skills to college athletes. He started helping Guy with his business and shadowing him during his life coaching. Guy host an event at the Super Bowl called Player Networking Event. Antonio managed different accounts that are associated with this event. This experience his allowed him to discover his purpose and provided an opportunity to work with the one of the best self-development coaches in the industry. This path has led Antonio to motivational speaking, performance training, and self – development for young adults and athletes.
Life Direction and Motivation for Millennials (LDM2) and Basketball Drills and Life Skills (BDLS). LDM2 utilizes mentorship and sports to help young adults and athletes prepare for life in college and life after college, by teaching how to set goals, improve confidence, management of stress/anxiety, finances, and personal development. We work with public schools, sports teams, and other organizations. BDLS is a basketball training program that focuses on personal development, mentality coaching, and basketball skill development. Antonio has worked with the NFL Player Networking Event, NBA Thunder Youth Development Program, Western Heights Oklahoma City Public School, Union High School Basketball, University of Central Oklahoma Athletic Department, and serves on the UCO Board of Directors Alumni Association, and has presented on TED Talk on Youtube.