Ray Jaz began training at The Underground Strength Gym in 7th grade, he has never stopped training here, in season and off season, full ON DEDICATION!
Ray delivers his lessons learned from The Underground.
It’s a Lifestyle.
It’s not just about doing a few things right, you need to do it ALL right.
It’s mindset, not just the physical.
Live The Code 365
Success Takes NO Vacations!
— Zach and Team
I want to share a few key success tips for our athletes.
Tip # 1:
Keep Communication Lines open. Communicate quickly.
Parents, Athletes and Coaches MUST communicate with one another on the regular and quickly. This helps avoid surprises in scheduling as well as lack of prearation.
Tip # 2:
Keep 2 Calendars
I use my calendar on my iPhone with alerts but I also have a BIG white board in my office
with 4-6 months of calendar items listed.
This way, it’s ALWAYS in front of my eyes and I can stay reminded visually.
Get a physical calendar not just your smart phone.
Tip # 3
Plan at least 1 week ahead
On Sunday, take 5-10 minutes and plan your week ahead.
Plan the 2 – 3 workouts at The Underground by signing up and scheduling yourself.
Plan the days you need to work on big school projects.
Plan car pools or any travel needs.
The old saying, “Fail to plan and you plan to fail” is very accurate.
Be organized.
Tip # 4:
Get your clothes and lunch ready the night before.
It’s that simple.
Your morning will be organizes and much less hectic if you’re ready to go every morning.
Tip # 5:
Learn how to cook basic breakfast meals for yourself.
Your morning should be simple and organized.
But, if you can’t cook for yourself then Houston, we’ve got a problem.
– Wake up, scramble 2 eggs + cheese and make a breakfast sandwich.
– Boil water and add to 2 – 3 oatmeal packets.
– Have some fruit.
Eat Strong and you will be Strong.
There was a difference in the kids I worked with up at Lehigh U who were
farm boys or had a background in outdoors, hunting and overall being workers.
They ate stronger and had a “working man” mentality.
You can be as successfil as you want to be with the right attitude, smart training and strong eating.
Tip # 6
Sleep is KEY
Lights out no later than 10:15 PM
Get your 8 hours sleep.
Turn your phone on airplane mode and instead of electronics use after 9 PM, take that time to
read a great book, iron your clothes for the next day and prepare your lunch.
This will calm your mind and help you fall asleep easier as well as having a better quality of sleep.
These tips means NOTHING unless you DO them.
Success is a choice. It has NOTHING to do with luck.
The athlete who wins a lot is often organized in life.
The athlete who is hot and cold is the same athlete who goes to bed late, skips breakfast and is unorganized.
You have the potential. Now you have to do the required work to make it all happen.
Live The Code 365,
–Z–
The Underground Strength Gym of Edison
had 7 wrestlers in the Finals of The GMC Wrestling Tournament
This was amazing to see.
To see this many wrestlers from a tiny gym make such an impact at this tough tourney.
Our small gym has become world renown and from day 1 I’ve always said the kids are # 1.
It feels good to see that our coaches and The Underground has played a role in the success of these kids.
In addition, these wrestlers have supportive parents which is the KEY to all of this success.
They also have great club and HS Coaches and the critical aspect is having work ethic and the guts to do the work week after week, month after month, year after year.
3 of these wrestlers took Gold and Jon Shleyfer of East Brunswick was awarded The OW (Outstanding Wrestler).
3 wrestlers in consolations and all 3 wrestlers placed 4th in some hard fought battles
It’s NOT so much the places or the medals these wrestlers won but the obstacles they have ALL had to overcome to get that far in such a tough tournament.
Some of these are personal obstacles and I will not share them, but I know that these were stressful events to say the least and ALL these boys chose to rise above and become men amongst boys.
It’s easy to let life and stress get the best of you. I am always impressed and proud when I see our athletes face obstacles and defeat them rather than letting the obstacles hold them down and defeat them.
Taking Gold at The GMC Wrestling Tournament were:
Kyle Brown of Old Bridge
Ray Jaz of South Plainfield
Jon Shleiffer of East Brunswick and OW
Jon won his 4th consecutive county title and pinned in the finals!
I am sure he has broken even more school records and if I haven’t announced yet, he is going to Princeton and holds a 4.2 GPA
Princeton as we all know has a GREAT track record in education but their wrestling program is on the rise and the entire staff of Coaches on the Wrestling Team AND the Strength & Conditioning Staff are World Class!
Silver Medals:
Jeff Plungis of South Plainfield. Last year Jeff was barely 100 lbs and on the JV team. This is a HUGE success for Jeff.
Ryan Fahy of Spotswood
Dan Hedden of South Plainfield
Max Pavlis of Spotswood
Taking 4th:
Mark Shleyfer of East Brunswick
Mike Klimkiewicz of South Brunswick
John Sheedy of Bishop Ahr
After seeing the success of our wrestlers and all the other athletes who train here, we are proving that we are the best at what we do for athletes. Period.
If you’re a parent seeking the best for your child, sign up for your child’s Intro Assessment – Click HERE
We live for helping kids achieve MORE Success.
I want to say I am very proud of the 3 boys who wrestled from Team Underground at The NJ All Star Meet last weekend.
Ray Jaz lost a very close match but looked great, regardless. Kris Lindemann made me equally nervous but pulled off the win at the end! Danny Hedden looked great with a fast pin!
Here is Kris and Hedden wrestling. Great work, boys, ALL 3 of you!! I am proud of you and your wrestling is impressive! Keep rising above and climbing to the top!
These guys make me proud…. Anthony Ashnault & Ray Jaz…..
Monday night, Ray Jaz shows up at 7:30 to train, unannounced…. after a looong weekend of wrestling in Va. and cutting weight from 128 to 113, he was FULL of energy. He trained till 8:30 that night, doing at least 3 x the amount of work as any other wrestler did that day!
THIS is what it takes to become a champion….. other athletes are “too tired”, “too busy”, “too sore”, etc.
Other wrestlers insist on going to a wrestling club on top of the 6 x week practices and matches…. this is the old adage of it use or lose it…. wrestling more In season isn’t the answer, but doing what others do NOT do in season IS the answer….
Then…. last night, Anthony Ashnault rolls up, the night before a BIG match against fellow Undergrounder, Jordan “Buckwheat” Pagano.
Most wrestlers won’t train the night before a match, but some will squeeze that workout in, knowing the small extras lead to BIG wins.
Look at this BIG win Anthony secured in Va. against one of the nation’s best wrestlers, Joey Dance, and, check that final 10 second Throw!!!
I’m proud of the guys who step up and do ALL the small things that lead to BIG victories.
This is NOT just about sport, this is about LIFE, and when you train at The Underground, we prepare you for LIFE… forever!
In Strength,
Team Underground
PS: To prepare you unlike any other training program can for BOTH sports AND life, you can apply for Underground Membership by clicking HERE.
Not all applicants are accepted and referrals will speed up your acceptance process. Space is limited.
PPS: These guys aren’t champions because they do 1 thing…. instead, they do ALL the little things that add up to BIG victories. They separate themselves from “the pack” by training at The Underground, with our non-traditional methods, battle tested and proven, they gain the edge.
WHAT do YOU do to get that advantage?
