A Message From Coach

I was going through and deleted over 2,000 junk emails when I saw one from my coach John Adams sent july 14, 2010 which I never saw and never read who passed away along with two other teammates in a car accident August 9th,2010. As you can imagine it broke my heart/ allowed for closure at the same time. The last thing I told him over a text which was that same day was, "John I gotta go right now, but I just wanted to tell you thank you soooo much." And he told me that we would talk later, but of course we let life get in the way.




Molly,

You are a powerful amazing person! Your dreams, goals, heart are ultimately your responsibility. We can all help or try to get in the way but in the end its up to you to act in a way that makes it all successful. In the end, you have excuses or success. There really isn't much in between when your honest bout it.  

Renegade Performance has made a difference for you in a very short time period. Your success is at hand. Finalizing your training and reaching your goals are so close. As things change and it becomes more challenging to finish what you started, your integrity to your goals will be tested. FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED. For every great champion, the training and the competition is the easy part, its handling everything else that is the tough part.  

Renegade Performance fitness model has three secret ingredients. One of them is the tires! It is so important I gave you one of my own set that took me three years to design and test into a finished product that really makes the difference. Get those things there find a way to get them in use. Store them in your car if you have to; thats what I did at Pillar- remember? Get the full Renegade Workouts done 4 days in a row- same days each week at the same time each week!

I believe in you. Not the you that has all this talent and wins all the time. I believe in the girl that is tough enough, smart enough, and special enough that she can get it done when its really difficult.  Be the solution and make your destiny despite the barriers.  

I've always got your back. You need anything - I'm here. Besides your in the Renegade family now. Its like the mafia; once your in your in for life.

kick ass!

-- 
John Adams
World Renegade

A Day at a Tattoo SHop

Watching movies in the past or hearing your friends talk about their experience when getting a tattoo can just sound so..hardcore! The common misconception might have been only rocker chicks, gang members, and biker dudes were showing off their elaborate ink work, but now tattoos have become such common nature in today's society.  From butterfly tattoos to the infamous tramp stamps and full sleeves, tattoos are starting to become the art people wish to express on their body. Looking around any college campus or maybe just at home you can find somebody with a tattoo using their body as more of an art project that requires hours of needle pricks, after treatment care, and probably an addiction to go out and get another tattoo.  Though tattoos have become such a common thing to do now a days I'm not so sure I am going to fall under the statistic as to how many college students leave with a degree and some ink work as well. The tattoo is permanent unless you want to spend thousands of dollars like my own brother, Jordan Cassidy, getting tattoos that have absolutely no meaning for him anymore at this point in his life. So my advice for the day is think not once, not twice, but repeatedly before you decide what you want to be a permanent birthmark on your body the rest of your life.

common sense?

Okay so this bill that has been passed to require higher licensing fees for tattoo parlors doesn't end there by no means. The bill that may seem as an inconvenience for some is a way to weed out others according to Andrew, the owner and tattoo artist of Lost Tiger Tattoos in Lansing. This bill high lights some other laws they want these tattoo parlors to abide by as well. Probably the most annoying would be announced check ups from the Health Department to look over everything from your customer records to how you have trash lids placed over every garbage bin. as well as submit to random inspections and train their employees is really what one would call the Health Department as really stepping their game up! Among other laws is the restriction that no artist under the influence of any kinda can perform tattoos or needle work while intoxicated...that would be major bad news. You ask for an I love mom tattoo with a heart and an arrow and instead you get a broken heart with the tattoo artists ex-girlfriend's name in the middle. More commonly though is the person wanting the tattoo being drunk at the time of the artwork being done. From a crazy spring break you want to remember or the next morning you wake up and see a woman's face on your arm and your married, they all happen though Michigan law forbids it.

A Day in the Life of Andrew Maxwell is over

Phew!! What a looonng day!  I am not only talking about the day Andrew spent at class, football practice, and trying to find a spare second in his day to text me updates, but just trying to get a hold of him, let alone throughout the day was a tiring ordeal. If you're sitting next to a football player in class and don't find yourself too intimidated to talk to the big guy, strike up a conversation and ask to have a look at his schedule for the week.(They'll have a written copy because nobody could remember all the things they have at certain times). The Clara Bell Smith Center and Student Athlete Support Services(SASS) help these guys find tutors and provide them a place to print off work and study all hours of the night. Andrew has tutors this semester, but I don't think he's doing half bad with a 4.0 grade-point average as of now. Andrew's classes range from business accounting classes to your statistics class with a sports feel to it.

With the Purdue going well and Maxwell seeing some playing time, practice this week must have been worth it when Maxwell texted me around noon that he was heading to practice and closer to 6p.m. he was happy practice was finally over. Across from Spartan Stadium is the football team's practice field which is guarded by high fences and covering, blocking any outsiders from watching the Spartans prepare for the upcoming game. They have their own set of lights and high platforms where football staff can record practice footage on the day.

Maxwell was ready to fuel up after practice and went to the new and improved Brody cafeteria, if you can even call it your typical cafeteria and grabbed some grub before heading home. At home Andrew was able to relax with him roommate who is a football player as well and watch some Thursday night NFL football on TV.
Maxwell shouldn't expect too many more relaxing moments with a hopeful Rose Bowl game in the future along with finals coming up!

A Couple Straight Arrows

If you're a Michigan State Spartan Alum or current member in the community, you've heard all the hoopla regarding the Michigan State Football team and their extracurricular activities off the field in recent years. If not, I'll fill you in now! Kirk Cousins and Andrew Maxwell are quarterbacks at Michigan State who look like your all-american boys involved in Athletes in Action, did well in school and participate in community outreach. Truth is, they are, but teammates in the past such as Glenn Winston and Myles White are not the straightest arrows MSU has seen.

In recent years Glenn Winston, a former member of the Spartan football team, was not only charged and served jail time for one brutal assault, but has now been charged for a second after being let back on the football team after the first assault. Myles White, along with a handful of other spartan football players were also seen as involved with Winston in the second assault, not to mention White caught for urinating in public. These football players were not able to participate in the Alamo Bowl last year.

The mischief does not end with these football guys, but Dion Sims is now apart of the club. Dion and his dad are among 10 people who face charges regarding over $150,000 of computers stolen from Detroit Community Schools and sold across the country.

It's no wonder Coach Dantonio doesn't take this kind of risk with his quarterback recruiting, and hopefully in years to come the Spartan program will learn from these costly life altering mistakes. Cousins is 1 of 10 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy and Maxwell was recently named one of Michigan State's Student-Athletes of the Month.

Study Abroad in the British Isles anyone?

"You can't afford NOT to go!" At the meeting today for the UK and Ireland Study abroad opportunity there was Jim Detjen, one of the program leaders, myself, and one other journalism student named Nicole. Soo, not a very big turn out for an event that could be life changing. The six credit program is more specifically aimed at reporting and would include visits to the BBC in London as well as going on ghost tours in Scotland. The five week long program would start in early July and end in early August, but to go you have to have a minimum of a 2.0gpa and have taken JRN 200 or equivalent courses. The trip starts out with you purchasing your ticket to London where the group of students and two teachers would stay for two weeks before flying to Dublin, Ireland for another week. After that the group would take a sightseeing bus ride to Belfast, Ireland and get to see the shipyard where the Titanic was made!!! Next on the trip would be a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland and stay five or six days. Jim made it clear that all of the flights in Europe would be covered with the initial $4,400 program fee. Jim said we would learn about a variety of things such as Birtish media, culture, and history as well as literature and music in Ireland where four Noble Prize winners in Literature are from. Throughout the trip the students and teachers would stay in university dorms and flats where there would be a comfortable size kitchen and living room..so I am told. The deadline to apply for the summer semester abroad is in March, but I think the cost of the trip would put a dent in anyone's credit card if they do not have a scholarship to cover some of the costs. Besides the initial program cost as listed above, the program estimates another $3,390 PLUS TUITION FEES. And yes this was one of the last things Jim covered in the meeting to get ya hooked first. After all of this, I think I've decided I will be doing the sports study abroad program in Australia this coming summer. YIPPE!

Breaking News on Andrew Maxwell

EAST LANSING, MI.- Michigan State University football is performing on the field this year, but this week quarterback Andrew Maxwell was awarded Student Athlete of the Month for his performance off the field as well.

The redshirt freshmen who has seen some playing time this year backing up Kirk Cousins, was given the award on Monday by Mandy Chandler, Assistant Director of Student Athlete Support Services, Maxwell said.

"The award is given out to a few student athletes who may have done community service without us asking them to do so, continuously improving in class, and just going above and beyond," said SASS Administrative Assistant Jewel McJennett.

Maxwell has previously been recognized for academic excellence on the football team for maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average, but this semester Maxwell said he is currently earning a 4.0 gpa.

 “It’s a great honor to be recognized in the classroom as well as on the field,” Maxwell said Wednesday after practice. “The classroom is a place where I will continue to do my best to succeed.”

As well as working in the classroom and on the field, Maxwell said he taught international students how to play football at the Old Horticulture building back in September with a few of his teammates.

Holly Sherman, Field Hockey; Yury Ratomski, Track and Field; Nick Bendzuck, Football; and Daneen Haba, Gymnastics were also recognized as Student Athletes of the Month at MSU.

 See how Andrew spends an average Wednesday at MSU!