I’m really excited about this new feature on my website. I’ll be posting my thoughts on different topics of the day, letting you know where I’ve been and where I might be travelling to. This is new for me, so I definitely welcome your comments, questions and suggestions! Please email me at askterry@terrybowden.com.
Terry Bowden
My official first entry on “Terry’s Blog”. I had to ask my kids what a blog was, but then again, they have to ask me what a typewriter is.This will be a place where I can share my thoughts on some issues that I find interesting, as well as let you know some of the places that I’ve been traveling to, or where you might be able to find me to say “hey”.
First thing tomorrow morning, I’m heading to Manhattan, Kansas - the home of Kansas State University. I am really honored that they have asked me to speak at their annual Football Coaching Clinic. There will be several hundred coaches there. I love to talk to high school coaches because they are so eager to learn. Manhattan, Kansas is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from the Kansas City airport, and normally when I speak to a group like this they’ll send a Graduate Assistant or volunteer to pick me up and drive me to the event. However, Kansas State Head Football Coach, Ron Prince, is making the trip to pick me up. That should give me plenty of opportunity to pick his brain about the K-State football program.
I’ll be doing my ESPN Radio show from the Press Box of their football stadium in the afternoon, and it should be a really great show with a lot of College Football talk. A lot of schools have their Spring Game on Saturday, so we’ll have plenty to talk about.Make sure you check out my latest article on Yahoo! Sports about the only time I got the chance to meet the late Eddie Robinson. Here’s the link to the College Football page (I’m sure it’s not gonna look pretty, but I’ll figure out how to do that later)
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf;_ylt=Aqr7GL4edIKj5B.L8mtUvkA5nYcB
Terry Bowden
I am on my way back home from the Kansas State University football coaching clinic and I just want to say one thing…head coach Ron Prince is the real deal…I spent a couple of hours with him in the car between Kansas City and Manhattan when he picked me up at the airport and I had a chance to pick his brain about his football philosophy. I also had a chance to listen to him speak at his clinic. He is smart, articulate and energetic…and he gets it. Some guys just know what it means to be a head coach…I also had a chance to hear Andy Lowrey speak at the clinic. He is the head football coach at Columbine high school in Littleton, CO where he won the 2006 5A state championship. You talk about a great motivator…after hearing him speak I was ready to run through a brick wall…just don’t ask him about eating any worms before a game…It just dawned on me that Friday the 13th came and went and nothing happened…I guess that’s a good thing.
What a coincidence that I got to meet Columbine High School head football coach, Andy Lowry, at the Kansas State Football Coaching Clinic on Friday – and now the horrific events at Virginia Tech today bring the Columbine tragedy back to the forefront of everyone’s minds. All I can say is that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone associated with Virginia Tech University.
If you ever wondered what I do during my “down time” let me give you a little rundown of my schedule this week. Today, I have nothing but my radio show from 4-7 in the afternoon. Nothing, that is, if you don’t count a guest segment on ESPN Radio AM 1380 in St. Louis at 8:40 AM, an 11:00 AM conference call with Southeastern Vending Association for an upcoming speech on August 17 in Destin, FL, and a two hour meeting with my public relations firm, Idea Insomniacs (aka Kim Shiff) On Wednesday, I fly to Cancun in time for an evening reception with Hacker Industries, whom I will be speaking to on Thursday morning. After the speech on Thursday, I will fly directly to Omaha, NE and then drive the rest of the way to Lincoln. On Friday morning I will make a presentation to the Nebraska Association of Insurers and Financial Advisors in Lincoln and then hustle back to Omaha in time to host my radio show back in Central Florida from the studios of AM 1620 The Zone…Saturday will find me back on a plane headed for Baltimore, MD for a Sunday afternoon keynote,
and, if all goes well, I’ll be back home in my very own bed on Sunday night…so much for an off-season
The whirlwind public speaking tour continues. I arrived in Baltimore this afternoon, and will be speaking to Barthco Int’l tomorrow morning. I am staying at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, located in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, and it is within walking distance of the National Aquarium, Camden Yards, Maritime Museums, monuments, etc. I just took my daily one hour walk – and took in some of the sites. I’m sitting at a restaurant outside, with the laptop of course, trying to decide on something healthy (read: low cal) to eat. I am close to my fourth bowling ball (almost 48 lbs lost since January 1st), and eating out all the time while traveling can be tough. So, I’ll be finishing up my latest article for Yahoo! Sports tonight on Strength & Conditioning Coaches, and another blog for Yahoo as well. Then I’ll speak in the morning to a group of about 60 top managers from Barthco Int’l, and then head to the airport for Orlando in the afternoon. Make sure you listen in to my radio show Monday afternoon between 4-7pm (link is listed on the “Terry on ESPN Radio” button on the website) and find out what I chose off this great menu! (Note to self: maybe start Terry’s weight loss plan on site)
After a crazy week of speaking engagements last week, I’ve been getting caught up on my writing. I’m also gearing up for nine Florida State Seminole Booster club events in the next three weeks. I’m really excited about the new staff my dad has assembled up there in Tallahassee; a lot of those guys worked for me in the past and are really great coaches. I’ll be talking to the booster clubs at their luncheons, or with my dad at the dinner banquets. I’ll also be broadcasting my radio show from seven of the cities. I am happy that I can do my little part to help my dad, and show my support for FSU (I did get my law degree there, and was a Graduate Assistant Coach). I’ll be attending these events: Polk County, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ocala, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. If anyone wants to attend one of these events, you can email me at info@terrybowden.com and I’ll make sure you get all the information.
I have received dozens of emails from people asking me about my diet and exercise “program”. Since January 1st I have lost almost 46 pounds, and honestly folks, there’s no huge secret to it. I wrestled all the way through high school, and learned early how to count calories. The “secret” is to eat less calories per day than you burn. Simple as that. Well, of course it isn’t simple - because it takes commitment and discipline and will power. (My weakness is sweets at night)
A friend of mine made me a dish that she calls “Stewp” - and I really believe that this recipe got me started on the right track with my diet. “Stewp” is not quite stew, but not quite soup either. It is hearty, tastes great, has tons of healthy vegetables and is very low in calories. I can eat it three times a day sometimes. It’s really tough when I’m traveling, because I actually miss my “Stewp”.
So - if you’re interested in my diet plan - you’ve gotta start with “Stewp”:
“When I just HAVE to get somewhere across the state in a hurry, SatsAir is a lifesaver.”
Talk about a hectic week of traveling and speaking. Last Friday I was in Polk County, Florida for my first stop on the Bobby Bowden Seminole Spring Tour. I played golf with my dad, and then spoke to the group at lunch. I jumped in the car, and drove back to Orlando for a radio show remote at Wireless Toyz. Saturday I did a special NFL Draft Radio Show from Dogs R Us in Titusville. Monday morning I was in Atlanta for my second stop on the Seminole Booster Tour. The event was great - and I got to speak to the whole crowd at dinner and introduce my dad. It was perfect except for the fact that Warrick Dunn was sitting up on the stage, and I called him Dexter Carter. Don’t worry - he immediately corrected me, and everybody had a huge laugh. Tuesday morning I was off to Nashville to speak to a group from Nueterra HealthCare on a riverboat. I’m back in Orlando today, just in time to leave for Miami on Thursday morning. Yep, 3rd stop on the Seminole Spring Tour. So, I’ll spend the night in Miami, then head to Tampa on Friday morning for the 4th stop on the tour - to speak at lunch after the golf tournament, then head straight from Tampa to Port Canaveral for a radio remote. You must be asking yourself — how in the world am I going to get to all of these places in such a short period of time?
Well, I’ll tell you - I found the greatest service. It’s SatsAir - an Air Taxi service. It is a private chartered plane - by the hour. If you travel for business a lot, especially within the State, SatsAir is an amazing way to affordably get where you need to be on a tight time frame. Ya’ll really need to check them out: www.SatsAir.com . They are a bunch of great people there, and I’m really glad that I found them. They are making it possible for me to do all of these Seminole Booster events, as well as fit in my speaking engagements and radio show remotes.
I have played more golf in the past week, than I have in the past two years. It’s been so great playing with my dad and spending time with so many Florida State Seminole boosters around the state of Florida. I’m heading to Jacksonville tomorrow morning to play in their tournament, speak to the group at lunch, do my radio show from 4-7 and then attend the banquet at the University of North Florida. Right afterwards, we head to Ocala for their booster event on Tuesday. It’s going to be interesting in Ocala - the hometown of my radio co-host Brady Ackerman - because Brady is a Florida Gator. We’ll have to see if Brady can be on his best behavior in “enemy territory”.
I just got a call yesterday from the Central Florida Sports Commission. They are hosting the NCAA Div II Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships this week - and have asked me to speak to the group at their welcome banquet on Tuesday night. So - I called SatsAir, and they’ll get me from Ocala to Orlando in time for the event. I’m not a tennis aficionado, so I hope they’re all football fans.
I’m heading to Houston on Thursday to speak to Quanta Services, a computer networking contracting company, then going directly to Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning for the Broward County Seminole’s booster event.
I’ll keep ya’ll posted.