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» Determination is often key to athletic achievement
By Staff Writer | Published 06/27/2009 | Other | Unrated
    Persistence is one of the most important life skills, whether on the athletic field or off.  Quinton Watson learned that early.
    Watson is the most recent Play It Smart National Student-Athlete of the Month selected by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF).  He's an honor roll student and three-sport star in football, basketball, and track.
    But it took overcoming a serious setback for Watson, who just finished his junior year at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Va., to get where he is today.  And he wants other high school athletes to learn from his experiences. 
    As a freshman, Watson had better than a 3.0 grade average,  was an honorable mention athlete, and a budding football star for Huguenot.  Then he broke his left femur in his sophomore year and was sidelined from sports.   "When I broke my leg, I was really upset, and completely shut down.  I didn't know how to deal with the injuries," he says now.
    Watson says Play It Smart, an eductional program developed by NFF and targeted at high school football players from economincally disadvantaged environmens, helped him realize that things don't always work out with sports, and it's important to have a back-up plan.  So he began working with his academic coach (provided by Play It Smart) and teachers to improve his time management and study skills, which enabled him to renew his focus and raise his GPA back to a 3.4 this past year.  He also got back on the football field and racked up three touchdowns and 230 yards.  (continued next page...)
» Free physicals for athletes who will play JUCO
By Staff Writer | Published 06/10/2009 | Other | Unrated
     This year, the Team of Physicians for Students (T.O.P.S.) program gave free physicals to 2,328 Arizona high school athletes from 68 different schools.  And on July 18 the free physicals will be offered for junior college athletes at Midwestern University in Glendale.
    Program representatives estimate that each physical would cost about $1,000 if administered by private physicians.  This is the 44th year for the program and this year there were about 250 medical students and a similar number of physicians participating.  All volunteered their time, as did the cardiologists from the Arizona Heart Institute who read the ECGs. 

    What’s important to note is that roughly 25%of all those tested showed abnormal electrical activity in the heart!  More than 100 athletes tested had high blood pressure… and almost 600 had abnormal electrical heart activity.  The program is even credited with saving at least one athlete’s life when, several years ago, the physicals uncovered a life-threatening genetic disorder in one participant!

    Each year the TOPS program gains in popularity and attendance.  This year, many students stood in lines for five hours to receive the free physicals.

    For more information about the program: www.aztops.org or 602-336-7840.

» If you get your bell rung, sit it out for awhile
By Staff Writer | Published 05/22/2009 | Other | Unrated
    A new study is telling athletes at all levels that it's just plain stupid to return to play too quickly after suffering a concussion on the field.
    The study was done by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH.  It adds to the growing concern in the sports community about the long-term effects of concussions, and whether schools have adequately-trained personnel on the sidelines to make sound decisions about these injuries.
    An article by Janice Lloyd in USA Today points out the latest research indicates as many as 40.5% of the athletes that suffer concussions return to play too soon, and that concussions account for almost one in 10 of sports injuries.  And, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3.5 million sports-related concussions occur each year in the U.S. 
    In fact, one set of statistics claims that 16 per cent of football players said they returned to the field on the same day the concussion occurred.  The majority of concussions apparently occur in football and girls soccer.
    One state, Washington, has even enacted a law that regulates when a high school athlete can return to games after sustaining a concussion.  It's call Zackery Lystedt's Law, named after a 16-year-old football player who suffered a brain injury in 2006 after returning to play after suffering a concussion.
    The law, which is the first of its kind in the country, stipulates that a youth athlete who suffers a concussion cannot return to the activity until he/she has written consent from a health provider. (continued next page)
   
» Confidence is a key to top athletic performance
By Robert Harmison, PhD | Published 05/8/2009 | Other | Unrated

Prior to Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made one of the boldest statements in the history of sports when he guaranteed victory against the powerful and heavily-favored Baltimore Colts. Namath and the Jets made good on his claim, however, and defeated the Colts in what many consider to be one of the greatest upsets of all time. Broadway Joe (as Namath was called) certainly wasn’t short on believing in his ability to achieve his goals – and neither should you.

Former NBA great Michael Jordan once said that you have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. What MJ is really talking about is confidence, or your overall belief in your ability to be successful in your sport. Keep in mind that ultimately your performance will be determined by how you think, feel, and act during a competition. You need to realize that your confidence plays a very important role in how you think, feel, and act. More specifically, research in sport psychology suggests that confident athletes:

·        think more productively,

·        feel more positive emotions and less negative emotions,

·        and act in ways that lead to greater achievement.

 

To get a better idea of how your confidence level might affect the way you think, feel, and act while you play, let’s look at William, a very confident pitcher for his high school baseball team.  (Continued)

» Nintendo's Wii Fit game... replacing Richard Simmons?
By Staff Writer | Published 04/28/2009 | Other | Unrated
    As Ninento's Wii Fit game approaches the one-year celebration of it's launch, it finds itself the best-selling video game in the country during January and February of this year.  More than 6 million units have been sold!
    The enormously popular game seems to be making some positive contributions to helping our young people stay in better physical shape.  And, as usually happens, one hot-selling item leads to the birth of others.  Gold's Gym Cardio Workout has just premiered as the next-in-line "exergame."
    Kim Painter points out in an article in USA Today that the American Council on Exercise and researchers at the University of Mississippi are conducting studies to find out how much good these games are actually doing for our physical well-being. 
    Looking ahead to the future, Stephen Yang, an assistant professor of physical education at State University of New York-Cortland is also quoted in the article as predicting that "the future will bring games that track heart rates and keep exercisers working at a challenging but safe pace.
    The next thing to look for... Yang says it's virtual group workouts, where participants are connected online to a live coach.  Everything will be done in the comfort and privacy of the individual's home.
    Before long, the local gym may be going the way of Detroit car dealerships!


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