JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?+ Lr~jzJp4dw58IMT_?γrsQZd܏W?W-}Y8,N!Ya)WhJ>S @#TRy2+I1]iřLW:*a9Ef*)$Ej(NC>%E{5^zcn@& V_9F =6A z菱2?՟QoV@lۃJs,6˹Z1ʮsjCr/+a5(R6Q͟[rLQRҫ67Ew#!%1 IW0 GI|KMkRQ%wgSI6MXvR2_(|'hjq \8*A*km:Cc{U@訿1cJm8Fv,q.ܱvHjRI?S0By!y' '%'tGCk^j0;)T(c wr'.f*3I9DpQsNHgI[4Ֆi:qܱʷ#\Zb72t߭τ/mp! VUN,5􋘯U_*1q=뫰nctˈ9A4Ʉbs >֝"1Mɦ֚(IpVoncb|`d\&fY4NPxHbKAܩ^|s.YdEѶ`XݮQv^Th9?N+ P4 m(N;ԓɨ?NAYڭM̗A¦J]DrJFNrw^.~l~eJydTvV7\.}+#21xB 5BbǜqƭH\!s<Wٚ.tTg_]]ᲴF\|$ 5j*څAenOMM4)j3@m&+qϧZ5;N"M5s*[ `xi4$'b#MjV0ίmRȫ YW8̓j݀4r:?:2}}+YRV3 nk*֗NZ9$?05B/76ؙ38Go=ʰo:i:UtF&{yӶ+ЅxOfb^cmCHަ?i?eI&6!=@+3+ZHpL`R=k"*Tiu4|#J[zSpD;R3HS4u8!W|JH3>{akп} ӓA-u;20V7\o '9uoX1iV֑|t3>ӆ? x(a7ny\vTޟNFl#\ljf"zdu1NSnp-.8bhsz'Ip pr) ~LjVrPb⺿ OD'\XFx84S%s @zk)1]FC2T=i.GQҠg $&Aui(W)J2@]chl`@fIţz2nt6sIg>\+Eԅn8~Qh:#`bGHGҙQ]#ې9}Lmf֯FSVc3(tVz:E,>njDZ0ZW'WGb-h[虄i2'c)*e]@V0vHWdY;2zfI.fجf0>9c߰H<:4Ί+'S5hyI;[~Y̤J&0J1Ys$n+-]#wyL\)ۏze+GWc6=)(ז'jFa 1Ǹw#'_\eUrVwW4;+B=;*HR'5^KvJho&VfgwzdQ#C Ce^LiG)hy<ƭg1s i1K^??:5g$,xSʟƻʎO71YITJHr3cҖ1qM.1^k'Q}%WS$ \T̬T']Erz'ߗj+I57ڧ@FUJ+Yu ;إnce in the last four years.  I hated it, said Tom.  It was in the summer on a family vacation. My mom would not let me out of it. To be successful you have to be consistent. However, upon probing further, Tom ran, stretched and did ab work on that time that he  missed. Now you can begin to see why Tom is a true Eleven and our pick for national honors.<br>Tom devoted about eight hours per week to his training. He did the BFS 1-2-3-4 Stretching Program twice per day all four years. Tom not only trains at school but he also does additional work at home and at a fitness club. Said Tom,  I want to be intense but I am also conscious of overtraining. I think I have a very good feel for my body. <br>We had quite a discussion on overtraining and what to do after you have achieved the BFS All-American Standards. Tom was well aware of the BFS philosophy because of Coach Ekmark. Essentially the idea is that the stronger you get, the less important extra strength becomes. Tom agrees there is a point of no return when it comes to athletic strength. In other words, with a power clean from the floor of 350 pounds, an 800 box squat, a 505 deep parallel squat and a 405 bench press, Tom is really strong enough to handle business at the Division I level. A 10 percent increase in strength in the next three to four years would be plenty. What Tom should concentrate on is his speed, quickness and linebacker savvy. And that is exactly what Tom has been doing. His 40 went from a 4.65 to a 4.47 and his vertical jump from 32 inches to 34 inches. Tom knows that the difference in being an effective linebacker that he could make by going from a 350 power clean to 380 is not nearly as good as going from 4.65 to 4.47 in the forty. Plus, the strain on the body and chance of injury is always something to consider at that level of strength. <br>Tom believes there is no substitute for hard work.  You have to set goals every day, Tom advises.  There are a lot of people with talent, but to rise above the pack you need to be disciplined and consistent. Coach Ekmark has inspired me to be thankful and not take things for granted. I hope and pray I will make the most of life. My parents have helped me to stay humble and to handle adversity. <br>As for drugs and alcohol, Tom is totally against them for teens and athletes. It was a wonderful thing for Tom to be able to look me straight in the eye and declare in all truthfulness that he had never had one drop of alcohol or gone near an illegal drug.  Taking drugs and drinking alcohol are not good decisions, confirms Tom.  Not even a little bit. If you do something illegal long enough, you are going to get caught. I will never do it. I want to surround myself with good people and, thankfully, I have been in a good environment. <br>Whenever an athlete like Tom has extrao