Adalius Thomas Meets With The Laker Golf Team

Adalius Thomas, Linebacker/Defensive End for the Baltimore Ravens, took time out of his hectic off-season schedule to sit down with the Boys' Latin Golf Team during a team meeting on Friday, April 7th.

Mr. Thomas, whose off-the-field passions include mentoring and impacting lives in Baltimore youth communities, created the non-profit S.L.A.S.H. Fund in 2002 in order to financially assist in the development of urban education programs. S.L.A.S.H., an acronym for "Sportsmen Lifting Academics And Sponsoring Hope" is also Mr. Thomas' nickname - assigned to him for his unique ability to play numerous roles and positions on the field. More can be learned about The Adalius Thomas S.L.A.S.H. Fund, and its upcoming fundraising efforts (including a golf tournament) at www.adslashfund.org.

The Lakers were excited to interact with the star Raven, and were prepared with questions relating to golf, football and life. The meeting's small group atmosphere led to intimate discussions between Laker Team Members and Mr. Thomas.

Here are some of Mr. Thomas' comments and points of guidance to the Laker Golf Team:

A lot of things around you can be taken away by others. But one thing that can never be stripped from you is your education. Work diligently to secure it, and plan continuously to improve it.

Always have a plan with your life. Moving forward without a plan is like flying blind. A plan is necessary in order to anticipate one's steps and achieve life objectives.

It's not enough to work on your strengths. You must work on your weaknesses. Of course, this means recognizing your weaknesses - which is of paramount importance.

In life, as in football and golf, you either train or you untrain. In any given moment, you are either progressing or falling behind in your development. It's important that you always keep moving forward.

In order to be the best, you have to work, train, and persevere more than everyone else.

Many things that hold true in golf also hold true in life. Patience, Discipline, Attitude, Focus, Persistence and Drive will all help mold you into an achiever on and off the golf course.

It's what you do when nobody's looking that defines who you are.

Know your role in life as you would know your role on a team. Your attempts to be someone that you're not, or your inability to accept who you are will hinder your achievement as well as the achievement of those around you.

If you're doing the same thing as everyone else, all you'll ever be is average. Average means that you're just as close to the bottom as you are to the top.

Establish a routine and always stick to it. Adherence to routine breeds continual concentration - which is the cornerstone of repeatable success. Therefore, few things are more important during competition than your routine.

You should hate to lose - but if you are confident that you did your absolute best and still came up short, you should be comfortable accepting the result.

It's almost impossible to compete at an elite level and not be self motivated.

It doesn't matter if you're the fastest man in the world if you're running in the wrong direction.

The toughest battle is the one that's fought following a victory. Remember that you won the last battle for a reason. Remain focused and adhere to the gameplan in order to secure more wins in the time ahead - and never, never, take your opposition for granted.

The underdog is in a powerful position. They have little to lose and everything to gain. Their opposition is most likely in a vulnerable position - and are often caught off-guard by heightened performance from a competitor they had underestimated.

Money doesn't make you - you make money

In high school, it's very important to establish patience and a strong work ethic. Once these two things are secured, you are poised to achieve great things in life.

Most times, it's not the "problem" that's the problem, it's our attitude about the perceived problem that's the problem.

Following the team meeting, Mr. Thomas played some impromptu one-on-one basketball against Boys' Latin's own Antoine Edmonds. Thirty minues later, with each man having secured a victory, it was determined that a draw was an agreeable conclusion to the competition. It was an enjoyable and entertaining ending to an impacting and well-received afternoon.