State Representative Kevin Raper

In 2011, Peyton Manning was recovering from his third neck surgery. He hadn't played in over a year. There was no timetable, protocol, or specific treatment to follow. The first time that he tried to throw the ball, he couldn't grip the ball. Peyton said, "The frustrating part was there was no one to call who had this, no other thrower." The first time that he tried to throw to friend Todd Helton, the ball barely went five yards. He was struggling to throw, but wanted to play again. His third neck surgery was in September 2011 and Manning didn't throw a football until late December. That December, he went to Duke to work out with his former coach David Cutcliffe. • Peyton would work on strengthening his fingers and arm muscles. • Peyton would work on his mechanics. • Peyton would work on his throwing motion by watching himself in the mirror. He had to re-build all of his upper body strength and motions from scratch. Every day, Cutcliffe and Peyton would measure his velocity and release to see his improvement. It was a daily measure of his growth. He kept improving and in February, he was looking like the old Peyton again. He was cleared to play in the NFL again. In March, Cutcliffe wanted to test him to see if he was ready. They flew in Jeff Saturday, Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, Brandon Stokley, and Tom Moore to recreate the 2009 AFC Championship game vs. the NY Jets. The entire recreation was so thorough. In order to simulate a real game: • They ran through every play in order. • They paused for TV timeouts. • They paused for a 12-minute half time. • They stood on the sidelines for the New York Jets' offensive possessions. Austin Collie said, "He thought about everything, all of the possibilities." After the recreation, Cutcliffe ran the 2009 vs. 2012 tape side-by-side. He said, "The throwing motion was a bit different, but his conditioning, legs, arm, and velocity were back." Peyton kept working on his motion and strengthening his muscles for the next 1-2 years. That March, he signed with the Denver Broncos and that was just the beginning of his comeback. In 2013, Peyton Manning would throw for over 5,400 yards and 55 TDs. Takeaway: Your work ethic, resilience, and determination is what will separate you in life. You have to show up and do the work consistently. The most successful people pair daily intensity and focus with hard work and consistency. Peyton's Manning story and hard work to get back is a great example of going all-in and being intentional about what you want. Growth and progress happen every day whether you see it or not. Be intentional about how you work and spend time practicing what matters. - - - Follow @coachajkings for more posts like this!