Smith's book club aims to motivate

By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Flowery Branch - Most everyone knows about Oprah Winfrey's book club.

But there is another book club that is helping the Falcons reach the right state of mind to deal with a schedule that has the potential to be one of the NFL's toughest.

Falcons coach Mike Smith has a non-mandatory book club. Over the offseason, all of the players were issued a book by author Jon Gordon entitled "Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else."

Last season, the Falcons were requested to read "The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy."

They went on to ride the Energy Bus to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth.

Here's a look inside the Falcons' book club:

The author

Smith met Gordon through a friend while he was on the staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Smith brought his motivational books to the attention of coach Jack Del Rio.

During Smith's third year with the Jaguars, the team incorporated one of Gordon's books into their program and had him come in to speak. He has spoken to the Falcons in the past two training camps.

"Jon is a very good motivational speaker," Smith said. "The guys enjoy Jon. He spent quite a bit of time with us after his speech."

Team building through reading

Smith basically thinks that a team that reads together, plays together.

"I felt like giving guys something to read, each offseason, was something they could all talk about," Smith said. "Kind of like a mini-book club. Even if they just take four or five points from that book, it's something that helps us on team building."

Most of the players have brought into the book club.

"It kind of helps unite us," said kicker Jason Elam, an author in his own right.

Getting ready for 'the best'

Based on last season's records, the Falcons have the fourth-toughest schedule in the league 150-105-1 (.588). Only Miami, Carolina and New England have one rated tougher.

Gordon in the "Training Camp" book writes about the 11 traits of being the best and the 20 traits of mental toughness.

"All of the things we went through last year, we'll have to go through almost twice as much this year," fullback Ovie Mughelli said. "Most coaches have a speech, but to have a motivational speaker come in and hammer in what you've already read in the book. It really helps me out on the field and off the field as well."

The readers

Elam, whose third action-thriller book "The Blackout" is due out around Christmas, is a full-fledged member of the book club.

"He's just making sure that we are ready not only physically, but mentally as well," Elam said.

Reading the books is recommended as opposed to mandatory. There's no book report or term paper that the players have to turn in. Players are not required to read the books.

"I think at least half the guys read the books," Mughelli said. "I'll be honest and say that not everybody reads the book. Some people don't like to read. Some people do, and some people don't. Some people are more visual."

Mughelli does read, though. He uses the books for more than just football.

"I tell people about them," Mughelli said. "I tell my brothers and sisters about them. There are so many things in the book that you can use in the real world."

The non-readers

Wide receiver Roddy White was a holdout and missed Gordon's speech this season. He was present for last season's speech, however, but didn't complete the book.

"I went in there and read about five or six pages of it," White said. "It was positive. All I needed to know from the five, six pages was what kind of energy I needed to bring to the field."

Book review

Some coaches claim that you shouldn't have to motivate professional players. They should be self-motivated because of their hefty salaries. Other coaches, such as Smith, don't subscribe to that theory.

"Coach is trying to use every means available to get us to act as a team and function more as a team," Mughelli said. "I really loved the book "Energy Bus" and the one this year, "Training Camp" was even better. It just pounds you with the same motifs and ideas that help you with selfishness, leadership, about coming of age and team work."