Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr met with the media on Wednesday and didn’t hide where his head is at as the Yellow Jackets head into the final stretch of the season.
Birr said the team has only three games left together “like guaranteed,” and he stressed how much that matters with a new roster coming next year. He also put the responsibility on himself, saying, “haven't said this really to anybody, but you know, I feel like I failed this team with my play on the field earlier in the year and then really just as a leader, I didn't uphold the standard that was set before us., I take that on the chin and uh, you know, it sucks, but we'll be all right. You know, we got to live with it,” said Birr.
That standard, in his view, is still the thing Georgia Tech has to chase. Birr said the goal is to show that the program hasn’t lost what was built before this season.
“Just go out there and play for this team and show people that, you know, we haven't lost that standard that was set before us. I mean, there were some good players and good guys that really, you know, they brought this place back into something that was really good and, you know, we just got to get that back right now,” said Birr.
He also made it clear he believes he can handle the moment if his number gets called.
“ I believe I can go out there and do it. I think the the team has confidence in me to do it. And, you know, if the situation comes up, I'll go out there and execute,” said Birr.
Birr also explained a mental approach he’s been using to quiet things down before kicks. He said a few weeks ago he heard an NHL goalkeeper talk about having “an unconscious mind” and then picked up a book, “the inner game of tennis,” that pushed the same idea. For Birr, the point is to keep the process simple and avoid overthinking.
“I think a couple weeks ago I saw a NHL goalkeeper talk about, you know, having an unconscious mind when you're out there, and uh I started reading a book like the inner game of tennis and it talks about, you know, the unconscious mind, and I kind of took it up. I don't want to be going out there thinking about a bunch of things, you know, thinking about technique or anything like that.
And so when I go out there, I I pop my heel and I say pop in my head. When I go to kick the ball, like as I make contact, it's hit.
And you know, I'm not thinking about anything else. It's just, you know, footto- ball contact.
And I'm just going out there looking at my target, visualizing it going in. And I think it's, you know, it's been working for me.
And I really enjoyed the book. I mean, it was a good book for me to read, and it's helped me a lot over the past couple of weeks,” said Birr.
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