A wide receiver or running back must make crisp cuts when running a route or hitting the hole. A soccer player needs to make crisp cuts when passing or dribbling. Basketball players must make quick, sure, crisp cuts when running plays or making moves to the hoop.

The word “crisp” has been defined as “notably sharp and clean-cut.” Should these athletes round their cuts, they would lose the ability to apply a successful move on their opponent.

In any sport, we as athletes are susceptible to adopting a number of bad habits that can hinder us from becoming the best athletes we can be. Whether it is a sloppy technique or poor reads, any bad habit prevents us from becoming the “perfect” athlete that each of us strives to become.

I love baseball! It is an individual sport that relies on a team for a successful outcome. It also is the only American sport in which, during a stoppage in play, a manager or coach can approach an umpire to dispute a rule or argue a call. Unfortunately, we’ve all seen a manager throwing a tantrum, kicking dirt on the plate or verbally abusing an umpire. And we’ve also seen the umpire retaliating in anger and, sometimes, losing control. It’s hard to have someone yell at us or challenge our character in any setting, but especially in front of peers and spectators in a stadium.