Making a national championship title run takes a tremendous amount of effort at any level of sports, from the Little League Baseball and Pop Warner Football to the high school and collegiate levels. Even harder than making it to a national championship, though, is the bittersweet aftertaste of a painful loss in that game.

Unfortunately, the Arizona Western College Matadors had to digest that heartfelt defeat last season. The agony can be heard in the voices of coaches and returning players alike. Painful as it is, though, losing a game of that magnitude only serves motivation as the team cranks up spring practices.

In today's society, any time before 6:00 a.m. is "too early." However, anyone who comes within a few feet of the AWC gymnasium door at 5:40 a.m. during the week will hear the feet of several determined players pounding on the hardwood as these athletes get ready to be pushed to the limit in their morning workout. After ten minutes of running comes ten minutes of several intense stretches, preparing those muscles to be torn apart.

At 6:00 sharp, weights clash as they're being racked, safety clips scrape the bars as they're snatched off to add on more weight and guys grunt in pain as they lift as much as their bodies can handle. Coaches hover, with words that would make any grandmother willing to lift 300 pounds. This is the scene while the groups rotate in and out of the weight room at 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00.

Three days a week, at 4:30 pm, the blood, sweat and tears comes out on the gridiron -- a solid two-hour practice consisting of team seven-on-seven sessions, one-on-ones and plenty of other competition-filled drills to bring the best out in the guys.

The AWC football team is back at it, bouncing back hard, and the hunt for a national championship is underway!