This week I read a section called:

“Being there. Where we are matters.”

McChrystal pushes back on the idea that leadership — or teamwork — can be done effectively from a distance.

Yes, technology helps.
Yes, you can coordinate remotely.

But he writes something simple that stuck:

You can’t fully understand what you don’t see and feel.

He talks about going to the front lines because directing from afar wasn’t enough.

Not to be heroic.

But because presence changes understanding.

That made me think about this weekend.

We gathered.

Veterans.
Young guys trying to earn their way in.
Staff.
Coaches.

Physical testing.
Movement assessments.
Reaction work.

Every player measured.
Every rep tracked.

But here’s what mattered most:

They showed up.

In person.
On time.
Ready to be evaluated.

There’s something different when you’re physically together.

You see effort.
You feel energy.
You sense who leans into discomfort and who avoids it.

You can’t replicate that remotely.

You can’t fake it through numbers.

Being there matters.

For the young guy trying to prove he belongs.

For the veteran setting the tone.

For the group starting to feel like a team again.

McChrystal references a line from The Killer Angels:

“Where do you want me in the morning?”

That question isn’t about status.

It’s about commitment.

This weekend wasn’t about who starts.
Or who makes a roster.

It was about something simpler:

Are you willing to be where you’re needed?

Are you willing to show up?

Because culture isn’t built through messages.

It’s built through presence.

If we want to build something sustainable,

It starts here.

In halls.
On turf.
During testing days that don’t make headlines.

The guys being there.
Competing.
Getting measured.
Supporting each other.

That’s the beginning.

Before results,
before rankings,
before tournaments—

Show up.

Where your feet are,
that’s where identity forms.

🧭⚾“Where do you want me in the morning?”

No ego.
Just presence.

This weekend we gathered U23 and Senior players for:

• Physical testing
• Movement assessments
• Reaction testing

Veterans. Rookies. Everyone tracked. 📊⚾

The data matters.

But more importantly — they were there.

You don’t feel urgency through spreadsheets.
You don’t sense buy-in over Zoom.

Culture forms in proximity.

Before results — show up.

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Naomi Osaka — Episode 1: “Rise”

This week I watched Episode 1 of Naomi on Netflix.

The episode is called “Rise.”

It follows Naomi Osaka’s early push toward winning the US Open — and what happened once she actually became a champion.

At first, it’s the classic story:

Young player.
Big dream.
Chasing a major.

But what makes it interesting is what happens after she wins.

Because when you go from promising talent to global champion…

Everything changes.

Before she won, she was the hunter.

Low expectations.
Freedom.
Nothing to lose.

After she won?

She became the hunted.

Media pressure.
Global spotlight.
Expectation.
Identity questions.

Winning didn’t remove pressure.

It multiplied it.

And what struck me was this:

She had to learn how to be present in a completely different reality.

Same athlete.
Different environment.

That’s a skill.

This connects directly to us.

For years, Austria could sneak up on teams.

Underdog.
Disruptor.
Nothing to lose.

But once you establish yourself in the A-Pool?

You’re not sneaking anymore.

People scout you.
They prepare for you.
They expect you to compete.

The hunter becomes the hunted.

And that requires something different.

You can’t prepare like an underdog when you’re no longer one.

You have to be present in the new reality.

This is where the theme hits.

You don’t lead based on where you used to be.

You don’t compete based on old identity.

You have to be where your feet are.

Right now.

And right now:

We’re not trying to belong.

We’re expected to perform.

That’s a different mindset.

Naomi’s episode isn’t just about rising.

It’s about adjusting once you’ve risen.

It’s one thing to climb.

It’s another thing to stay.

You can’t prepare like you’re nobody
when you’re no longer invisible.

Being there means recognizing:

The stage changed.

Now we have to change with it.

🧭⚾

Vision isn’t a gimmick. It’s a separator.

This week I’ve been studying the work of Dr. Daniel Laby — a sports and performance vision specialist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxXJn_roROM&t=1s

His research is clear:

Hand-eye coordination and reaction testing are strong predictors of defensive and offensive success.

Not “nice to have.”

Predictive.

Let that sink in.

We obsess over mechanics.
We obsess over strength.
We obsess over velocity.

But if an athlete can’t process and react fast enough?

None of it plays.

For five years now, I’ve used BlazePods.

And I’ve heard it all:

“Fun toy.”
“Reaction game.”
“Good warm-up gimmick.”

But when you track it consistently?

Patterns show up.

Reaction time.
Decision speed.
Fatigue drop-off.
Recovery rate between reps.

The numbers don’t lie.

Some athletes stay sharp under pressure.
Some slow down.
Some panic.
Some adapt.

That’s not personality.

That’s processing speed.

And in the A-Pool?

Processing speed matters.

When you’re the hunter, chaos can work for you.

When you’re hunted?

Margins shrink.

You don’t get extra time.
You don’t get sloppy reads.
You don’t get slow first steps.

The difference between safe and out.
Barrel and foul.
Pickoff and stolen base.

Milliseconds.

That’s vision.
That’s reaction.
That’s presence.

That’s being there.

We tested:

Movement.
Reaction.
Physical output.

Veteran to rookie.

And the correlation is obvious:

The athletes who process fastest
play freest.

They’re not thinking.
They’re seeing.

They’re not guessing.
They’re reacting.

That’s not hype.

That’s measurable.

You can’t out-mechanic slow processing.

You can’t out-strength delayed reaction.

When you go from hunter to hunted,
the game speeds up.

If your eyes and brain don’t speed up with it…

You’re late.

Train the body.
Train the movement.
Train the vision.

Because presence isn’t just emotional.

It’s neurological.

🧭⚾

Building from the Ground Up.

This week I started drafting a national movement pathway.

12U → Senior.

Not flashy.
Not urgent.
Foundational.

For the last 5 years I’ve watched coaches obsess over:

Mechanics.
Gear.
Drills.
Systems.

But ignore the simplest question:

Can the athlete move well?

Rotate.
Decelerate.
Balance.
React.
Flow.

Movement is the lowest hanging fruit in development.

When you build great movers,
you build great athletes.

If Austria wants to stay competitive,
we can’t just prepare for tournaments.

We must build foundations.

No matter what happens down the road —
I was here.
Where my feet were.
And I chose to build.

You don’t rise by accident.
You don’t stay by accident.

From hunter to hunted —
presence matters.
Processing matters.
Foundation matters.

Show up.
Train what transfers.
Build what lasts.

🧭⚾