Life as an Amateur Athlete:

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I would often wake up at 3:00am to train in the gym, have been doing it for years, because I wanted to, not really, but because I had to be at work at 5:00am.  That’s right, I said work! You see I’m not a pro athlete. I am, and I have chosen to be an amateur athlete. My occupation is strength athlete, my hobby is machinist because it pays more than my occupation.  What is a pro athlete anyways, someone who gets paid to play? or someone who makes a living playing!.

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After work there was more training, whether it was working on the armwrestling table in the garage or at the school throwing in my highland game years. There was thousands of dollars on supplements [a waste of money, it gave me really expensive pee though!] Gas money or airfare to tournaments or games, cheap hotels, cheap food and even cheaper beer. [ there is no generic brand for Guinness ] compete all day, party all night and limp home on a nickel and a prayer. 

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I’m sort of a gypsy of sports, it’s a tuff road, but with rewards.  I wouldn’t trade it for prize money, wouldn’t trade it for anything! I like the way I’ve done it, I did it for the love of competition, hell I’ve been competing since I was a kid. Hit my first homerun in little league off of Jackie McGuire [school chum] and his famous [his words] curveball and I was hooked.  I even competed against my dad at dinner over an uneaten plate of broccoli, I won! hey! he had to let me go to bed sometime.

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I got into this not for money but for titles anyhow. I won those, achieved all the goals I had set, did it cost me? oh yeah! thousands of dollars, relationships, friendships and a couple of ACL’S. But dammit I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Would I want to get paid……A little travel money wouldn’t hurt, but if not I’d still be there.  The people I’ve met, the friendships I’ve made are alone worth it. Thousands and thousands of reps, grippers, matches, throws, countless hours alone honing my craft, lonely highways in the middle of the night going to who knows where to face an opponent you’ve been wanting to face forever. Running on empty, going to tournaments or games on a gas credit card [that means I got gas there...and breakfast, lunch and dinner] People say why do you do it for free! I didn’t,  I got paid with the roar of a roomful of strangers cheering just for me, the adulation  of people who couldn’t do what I do, a few newspaper clippings, some magazine articles, some local cable coverage and I almost forgot! a little more than a handful of world championships, a boatload of memories, a couple cool scars that remind me that championships aren’t free and a heart and soul at peace knowing that I had set goals many years before and I went out and got em’ done.

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I didn’t do it for free, it cost me some but I got a lot back. And money can’t buy what I got back…..But you know what’s funny, I still want more………..To be continued?

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There is no final destination. A goal achieved, is just a stepping stone towards the next one

each one bigger and better than the one before.  Train hard, Train smart, and do it because you love it! (Paid or not)

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Visit Jay’s Site:  www.jaylyttle.com

He wakes up early and trains all alone

He’s tossing a 25lb. breamar stone

He grunts and he groans and upon its release

The pain kicks in and he knows it won’t cease

He’s working on spins, when his knees beg to glide

But he wants to give that ol’ open stone a ride

He’s hurting in places that just don’t exist

Not a part of his body, pain and agony has missed

The weights for distance and the weight over bar

He never thought 15ft. could look so damn far

He huffs and he puffs and he gives his best pull

But the tank is near empty and it once was so full

He winds up the hammers with speed and finesse

But the distance they travel is becoming much less

Now his body breaks in places it used to bend

And he’s beginning to think that this could be the end

His knees and his hips, his shoulders and back

Now have thoughts of surrender at the point of attack

But he’s a real gamer and he’ll never say die

No matter how loud his muscles cry

So he picks the caber and gives it a toss

And every tendon and ligament lets him know whos boss

Then he limps off the field with his head held high

He’s done this for ages tho at times not sure why

But he’s not ready to hang up his kilt and his hose

Tho it’s bound to happen, when? God only knows

But life aint worth livin’ if he can’t compete

And he longs for the days when he couldn’t be beat

Yes! He aches in the morning and all thru the night

He aches on the left side, twice as much on the right

He’s aches when he’s throwing or just sitting still

but he just won’t accept he may be over the hill

Jay Lyttle 2008

Set up your Tivo right away to record this evenings (May 26th) broadcast of the “Scottish Highland Games” on the National Geographic Channel (8pm ET).

Check out Strongmen “Pumphrey brothers as they head to Scotland to to find the legendary highlanders, and to learn what makes these superhuman warriors so fearsome.”

Be sure to visit the website for behind the scenes footage and photos!

[Source: National Geographic]

Minnesota Viking defensive end Brian Robison is vying for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field team.  The former two-time Big 12 Champion shot-putter still holds the University of Texas record with a toss of 68 feet, 3 3/4 inches.  He also placed second in the NCAA Championships, and threw a career best 68-4 1/4 at the 2006 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, earning fourth place.

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“The Journey”

I have been lucky enough to have won quite a few championships in two sports over these past 30 years or so [the harder I trained, the luckier I got]. when I think back on those days I have the fondest memories, it was a great period in my life that that defined who I was, what I was made of and what I could accomplish with little talent and tons of heart. But I also noticed that a lot of my memories are of my days, afternoons and late nights alone in the gym putting together the game plan to win those championships. I started thinking that the actual day that I won those titles seemed to be over in a flash! This got me to thinking about how I took the gym time, table time in the garage, working on ready go’s for hours for granted. Yet without all those hours toiling away in obscurity all alone, is what made the championships possible. I think we let the cheers of a sellout crowd an audience full of family and friends go to our head and we think that WOW this is what it’s all about. WRONG!

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