"It's All About Your Mentality"

Mark Puma, from (AMC, New York), describes to a few coaches how his role as a leader is different here at SportsChallenge than it is back home.

"You learn so much. You think all your going to do is sports, sports, sports,…and it’s not all about that--it’s about your mentality. Some people, they could be the best players, but if they don’t have that mentality, they can’t go that far or be a team player. You can't be selfish or not want to give something to the program. Here you learn that with a team, you’re going to get further than you could by yourself. It’s better to be united as whole team than as an individual."

Mark participating in his afternoon Leadership class.

Questioner: Are you the captain of your team team in New York?

Mark: No

Questioner: Do you feel like a leader?

Mark: Yeah, in a way...I try to push other people do better. Not only skill wise, but outside too, like schoolwork. I sometimes help them out with their schoolwork, and their problems.

Q: What about here at SC?

Mark: Here, I start new, and I work on getting to know people, and I’ve worked on figuring out my spot on the field. I like meeting the different types of people.

Q: What type of leader you’ve become?

Mark: I think I mostly lead by example. It motivates me even more to see them working hard if I know they’re following my lead.

Q: Have the coaches here been different?

Mark: Well, here they make sure you get better, and that you’re working on it. For example, I kicked the ball and I over shot it, and they taught me to lean towards the ball more, so that it doesn’t go as high.

Mark P. (part of the White Team), tagging someone for "Capture the Egg"
After the second part of SportsChallenge games, the White Team led the way in first place.