Tim Tebow: Can He Make It In The NFL?

In perusing the internet looking for various sports stories of interest, I came across several conversations about Tim Tebow and what others think he can and can't accomplish. This young quarterback from Florida is currently facing the daunting task of silencing his critics and becoming a premiere NFL quarterback, something I believe to be a goal of his based on what I have read.

Now, I certainly do not claim myself to be an expert on football (especially quarterbacks), something I am sure my colleagues where I teach, and coached, would be quick to point out given half the chance. However, I do believe I have some insight into what it takes to overcome adversity in athletics (Becoming a True Champion). Tim's story, still at its beginning, just hits home with me.

A Tribute to John Wooden: A Role Model For Us All

The first time I ever heard the name John Wooden was during a master's course I was taking for a post-graduate degree in administration. One of my assignments was to write a synopsis on a video of Coach Wooden's principles, relating his beliefs to information being taught in the course. Before then, I really had no idea who John Wooden was - let alone his coaching accomplishments. He was not someone I had ever come across. Boy, what a small world I lived in, right?

Pushing the video into my VCR, I sat back on my couch, with a pad of paper and pencil to jot down some notes, and proceeded to watch what I thought would be a mundane lecture on success, leadership, or something else along those lines. However, what I got was so much more.

40+ High School Athletes Suspended: What’s Changed? Part II

In Part I of 40+ High School Athletes Suspended: What’s Changed? I discussed the situation from which the title of this blog was created and referenced an earlier time to show some comparison. In this installment, I would like to actually answer the question posed in the subtitle, What’s Changed?

40+ High School Athletes Suspended: What’s Changed? Part I

Recently reported by Dana Kozlov on Chicago CBS local news, and in Bob Sakamoto’s article 43 York athletes suspended, was a story concerning the recent suspension of 43 high school athletes for breaking their school athletic code. It happened on December 31st, 2008 (New Year’s Eve) where underage athletes were attending a “drinking” party. According to the CBS news report, area residents claimed that the homeowner, a mother in the Elmhurst community, had been home during the party with one resident describing paper taped to the windows and that kids were told to keep the party a secret.

Performance Enhancement: Where Do We Draw the Line? Part II – The Guidelines

Developing guidelines to address issues apparent in Part I of Performance Enhancement: Where Do We Draw the Line is certainly easier said than done; the complexities are obvious. What I would like to do is create a starting place, a beginning, from which we (and athletes) can more easily determine the point of performance enhancement that must never be crossed. The hope is to allow athletes the ability to continue striving toward their full athletic potential without risking their character and integrity or their physical/mental/emotional wellbeing. Below is my list, with explanations, of what these guidelines might look like:

Performance Enhancement: Where Do We Draw the Line? Part I – The Problem

We could make this simple and just say that using any performance enhancement deemed illegal is where:

> proper athletic training ends and cheating begins

> the attitude of “winning at all costs” exhibits major control

> the eroding of character/integrity establishes a strong foothold

It is a clear and definite line most anyone can understand, but is it clear enough? Does it truly define and clarify the underlining and intrinsic factors leading up to a choice such as PED’s (performance enhancing drugs)? Does that simplified definition give us the needed depth and breadth to rectify a problem that certainly has a gray area sitting between two extremes?

Good Sportsmanship through Character – A MUST SEE!!!

Every once in a while I come across an excellent visual representation of what it means to express, without reservation, the true essence of doing the right thing just because it is the right thing to do or, in other words, Good Character. Inspirational in nature, it is most assuredly at the heart of many intrinsic components - one of which is Good Sportsmanship. Both demonstrate completely the idea above of “doing the right thing.” They are certainly two intrinsic components that we all hope young athletes either develop or reveal (or both) through their sports experiences, and are two aspects seemingly absent (or at least that is what the media leads us to believe) from our youth, high school, college, and elite level sports venues.

Great Article on the Pervasiveness of Steroid Use in Sports

I apologize to readers for not posting the 2nd installment to my Specialization in Youth Sports, Good or Bad article (something I will do late next week), but I came across a piece that references true experts, like Dr. Yesalis, in a discussion regarding steroid use that I thought was good and important to direct attention to. The title of the blog article is PSU Prof Yesalis and "Game of Shadows" authors Williams and Fainaru-Wada on steroid panel at Penn State; Yesalis says 95% of NFL players use HGH and it is from an online blog journal called Steroid Nation.

Steroids in Professional Sports and Youth Sports, WHY?

It is in the wake of the Mitchell Report, which sheds light on the pervasive use of performance-enhancing substances (Steroids, HGH, etc.) in professional baseball, that I direct this blog's attention to an article in the Sports Parenting e-magazine titled Denial, Apathy, and Win-at-All-Costs Sports Culture Fuels Steroid Abuse by Bruce Svare, Ph.D, http://www.parentsforgoodsports.org/iPages.tpl?pg=articles/steroidAbuse.

In his article, Dr. Svare provides good insight into the “why” behind steroid use in sports today and suggests an approach that will decrease and deter the risk of their use by young athletes.

Perspective in Youth Sports Today

As a teacher, former coach, National Champion, and two-time All-American (and father of two Division I scholarship athletes), I have been genuinely saddened by the loss of perspective in sports, especially youth sports, and the lack of understanding about how athletic success is achieved. What our young sports enthusiasts should be learning by going through this process and what they are learning are two different things.