Some people have it. Some don’t.

Is motivation something that only belongs to certain people?

Or do we all have it?

And if we do, how do we get it?

To get straight to the point, you need to have the right goal. That is the first step. Having something to aim for that triggers motivation. You cannot be motivated without something to aim for. And something exciting too.

BUT I have found there is one challenge many people face and maybe you are facing this too.

You are not sure what it is that you want. Many people are not.

I wasn’t for a long time. I didn’t know what I wanted.

Life is a discovery. But many people don’t take the time to discover.

When I grew up, some people around me knew exactly what they wanted. They were very clear about that and that made me a little envious but more importantly CURIOUS.

Some people have an idea of what they want but are not entirely sure.

And some people haven’t got a clue and they never really take the time to find out.

It doesn’t matter where you are on this scale of knowing exactly what you want all the way down to not having a clue, as long as you have the curiosity to find out.

This is a goal in itself. A very big and important goal. Probably the most important goal you could ever have. To find out what it is you really, really want.

What gave me the curiosity was the contrast in people’s lives. The difference between being happy and miserable, the difference in the energy people gave off – or didn’t give off. You can notice it a mile off.

Think of somebody you know who is loving life. Think of how they make you feel when you are around them.

Now think of somebody you know who is miserable. Somebody who is a drag to be around.

Big difference right?

HUGE.

It is our own responsibility to discover our desires for ourselves.

And you can only do this by giving it some dedicated thought.

What do you enjoy doing? Think of 3 times in your life where you have been the happiest. What were the key factors? Who were you with? What were you doing? Where were you?

Look at what others are doing, what motivates them? Does it interest you? If it does, ask them about it or read a book about that subject or surf the internet for more information.

What are you strengths? What are you good at? If you are not sure, ask the people closest to you for some feedback.

Use this information to discover more about what makes you tick.

This will move you much closer to where you want to be.

Or you could carry on wandering through life while a small percentage really LIVE it.

Your choice.

Choose wisely!

Inspiring you to be the best you can be,

Martin Robert Hall

The results for Match 3 in this years Sporthall league are now available and can be downloaded below.
A lower turn out for all teams, but Trafford AC offered plenty of quality!

Results and highlights
u11g - Finished 5th overall, again - a good performance from a very young team missing a few of the main athletes. Issi came 2nd in the Standing Long Jump.

u11b - Finished 5th - so an improvement!, Vertical Jump provided the only top three finishes with Josh coming 1st and Kobe on his sportshall debut coming 2nd.

u13g - Finished 1st again. Imogene 3rd in Vertical jump; Lili 3rd in both the  Standing Long Jump and the Standing Triple Jump and Zalika 1st in Standing Triple Jump and Vertical Jump. The 2x4 Relay team finally managed the win that they have been threatening all series!

u13b - Again only a two man team, but they both finished in the top three in each of their events and quite remarkably 2nd overall - a great effort. Joseph on debut came 3rd in 2 Lap, 6 lap and Speed Bounce; while George was 3rd in 4 lap and Standing Triple Jump and 2nd in Speed bounce

u15g - Finished 2nd overall again. Emily 2nd in the 4 Lap, Natalia finishing undefeated in this years series in 6 Lap and Likewise Chanelle in the Vertical Jump. Natalia and Emily rounded it off with a second place in the Parlouf.

u15b - Finished 3rd Overall. A depleted team that dominated the events that they managed to cover. Josh was 3rd in the 2 Lap; Jaikob, struggling with a foot injury still managed to finish 2nd in the Shot; Troy was 1st in 4 Lap - but had to settle for 2nd in both the Standing Long Jump and the Vertical Jump as Rivi was in sparkling form and piped him to 1st place in both these events plus a win in the 2 Lap. Rivi then rounded off the day by winning the Parlouf with Josh - well done Rivi - an outstanding performance!

And so to the final league positions

Now that the Sportshall League matches are out of the way, it's time to turn our attention to the County Championships and Regional Finals.

Sunday 20th January - u11 Sportshall Fun in Athletics North West Regional Final @ Sportscity
This is a Greater Manchester representative team - Selection is made by the Greater Manchester Team Manager – As soon as we find out who has been selected we will let you know.

Sunday 27th January - Greater Manchester Sporthall County Championship @ Sportscity
Medals on offer for the first 3 in each event. We had a very successful Championship last year - a Trafford AC Athlete won a medal in almost every event that we entered, and in a couple of events we won Gold, Silver, Bronze. (see photo's below from last years comp)
So the challenge is to better last years performance!

You may enter any three events that you wish from the following
u11s - 1 Lap, 3 Lap, Standing Long Jump, Vertical Jump, Speed Bounce (note - there is no Javelin in this competition)

u13\u15s - 2 Lap, 4 Lap or 6 Lap, Standing Long Jump, Standing Triple Jump, Vertical Jump, Shot, Speed Bounce.
There is a fee of £1 per event entered.
In addition to the above there will be 4x2 Lap relays for each age group - the coaches will select these based on entries and previous performances.

If you wish to compete, please let Andrew or Tom know by 7th January

Saturday 16th February - North West Regional Finals @ Wigan
The Greater Manchester team will be selected following the County Championships - last year we had record numbers of Trafford AC Athletes selected. Winning teams will go through to the National final. Last year the GM u13 boys team missed out on the final by a couple of points - it's been a long time since GM had a team in the finals - so lets see what we can do this year. Alongside the team competition, there are individual multi-events competitions for u15's - this has been won the last two years by Jerell, who went on to finish third last year in the National competition.

I spoke recently about “Making it Happen – From Dreams to Reality”.
I explained how the most common thing I have come across that holds people back in life is FEAR.
Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of getting it wrong, fear of not being liked, fear of upsetting people, fear of being laughed at, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of what others think, fear of looking stupid, fear fear fear…..
The truth is we all have many fears. Most of them we are not even aware of. And when we embark on a new challenge or set a new goal that throws us into new situations we have not been in before (and every good goal will) then we will feel FEAR. It shows up in the form of negative self talk (doubt), uneasy feelings in our body (increased heart rate, shaking, red faced, dry mouth, butterflies, upset stomach, etc). You felt these feelings before?
I hope so. They are a sign of life. A sign you are growing, stretching, making progress.
Most people interpret these feelings as negative signs. “Oh I must not do that – it doesn’t feel right”.
HOW RIDICULOUS. I am here to tell you the opposite.
For you cannot achieve anything worthwhile without feeling the fear. Every time you do something new or challenging your comfort zone will kick in. The difference lies in your response.
Do you embrace the feelings?
Or do you avoid them and retreat?
It is your choice. One leads to growth, learning and eventual success.
The other leads to sticking to what you know and staying stuck in the same place.
One leads to the feeling of life running through your veins.
The other a feeling of warm comfortable – nothing-ness.
If you want success, if you want to win, to grow and to make progress towards your dream life then you need to embrace the feeling of your comfort zone.
I told the audience today that every time you fail at something – celebrate.
You know why?
Because if you always beat yourself up or worry or feel bad when you learn something (failure) then you will never try anything new and you will be denying yourself the chance of success.
And for what?
For some FALSE EXPERIENCE APPEARING REAL.
Most often you will find that your fear of doing something is worse than the actual doing itself.
So what are you scared of attempting at the moment?
Write down the action steps. Know that your comfort zone will kick in when you take them. Only this time embrace those feelings as a sign of your progress and how well you are doing.
If you can make this one shift in your perception of fear you will make more progress in your life than you would mastering any other habit.
Inspiring you to be the best you can be,
Martin Robert Hall

Training times for the following training groups over the Christmas period. 
     Senior Girls\ Boys (SG\SB) - Normally train with Tom & Iheanyi
     Junior Girls\ Boys (JG\JB) - Normally train with Andrew\Derek\Cecil\Neil  
 
In addition to the sessions below, TC\IH will also be arranging a couple of heavy weight sessions for some of the older athletes, these dates to be agreed a bit nearer the time.
 
Don’t worry if you can’t make the sessions, we know everyone has other distractions at this time of year.

ALL SESSIONS AT LONGFORD STADIUM.
Saturday 22nd December 10:30am (Normal Saturday group)
Thursday 27th December 12:00pm (SG\SB + JG\JB Saturday Group)
Saturday 29th December 10:30am (Normal Saturday group)
Thursday 3rd January 12:00pm (SG\SB)       7:00pm (JG\JB groups) 
Saturday 5th January 10:30am (Normal Saturday group)

Please ask your coach if you are unsure

Match 3 in this years Sportshall League is Sunday 9th December at Sportcity

Please note - apparently there is some football at Eastlands that day - I would very strongly advise you to be early - Parking will be via Gate 2 on Alan Turing way, tell them you are with the athletics match. Do not pay to park as Sport City have assured the organisers that the marshals know about us. 

Please be there for 11:30 at the latest (I suggest aiming of 11 to avoid the football traffic), to give us time to sort events and warm-up out prior to noon start.

We are already aware that some are unavailable for this match

Can you please check that you are on the correct list below & let Tom or Andrew know if incorrect
Please do let us know if you will not be attending - doing so allows us to give opportunity to other kids to compete and also makes team selection easier


Available
u11b - Marcus Blake, Ben Turner, Kobe Uzoigwe, Ethan O’Gorman, Jacob Dwan, Kinglsey Nunes, Joshua Grant,  Sarli Joseph, Zak Gardiner, Seb Patrick
u11g - Emily Pemberton, Orli Edwards, Issy Boon, Issi Boyle, Laila Gardiner, Laura Johnson, Layla Wiseman, Kelechi Dunn, Lily Wray, Taylor Gunn
u13b - Jack Taylor, Nelson Bowes, George Hurst, Joseph Tang, Dominic Blake, Joe Kennedy
u13g - Amelia Boon, Georgia Beaumont, Imojene Blackburn-Stennett, Kim Snape, Jameelah Olugududu, Lili Boyle, Molly Larkin, Ngozi Dunn, Stephanie Arkaah, Zalika Williams
u15b - Josiah Davies, Kaleb Marchan, Rivaldo Brown, Ronaldo Brown, William Aldred, Josh Pemberton, Troy Jackson, Jaikob Miller
u15g - Chanelle Lauder, Danielle Armstrong, Emily Nash, Ese Osivwemu, Natalia Nunes, Allana Edwards


Unavailable
u11g - Alice Pitman
u13b - Kai Gibson, Dougie Pitman