Why Kids Should Play Sports

Kids have a ton of energy, and love to move around and be active. What better way to keep them active, expend their energy, and allow them to vent healthily than to put them in a sport they enjoy.

Sports teach kids social behaviors. By allowing kids to interact with one another under the supervision of adults helps teach kids how they should interact with one another and appropriate social behaviors. Kids need that in order to be well adapted members of society. In addition, it teaches kids the value of hard work. While waking up at the crack of dawn and helping out the family is one way to learn the same thing, sports allow kids to learn it in a fun environment. This value could be ruined by the "trophies for everyone" movement. 

In addition to learning how to live in our society, sports give kids the opportunity to stay in shape and out of trouble. Instead of sitting on the couch all day watching TV, they will be active. That isn't to say that there aren't other ways to keep kids active or out of trouble, but this is one way to ensure they do. Not to mention, when kids don't have things to do, they will create their own. Some do that in productive ways, others do not. Sports can help to ensure that kids don't have the time to get into trouble. 

Sports also allow kids to feel like they are apart of something bigger than themselves, and that they have something to contribute to. Kids want to know that they are wanted, and being apart of a sports team gives them that opportunity. 

Sports aren't for every kid, and if the child doesn't like the sport, then maybe they need to try another one, or maybe their time and energy should be put towards something else. Forcing a kid to play a sport they hate can be very harmful. The important thing, is that they are doing something they enjoy that will help them grow and develop. 

Origin of the Marathon

Of all the races, one race is considered a true test of human endurance; the Marathon. While runners of shorter races like the ones in track and cross country are impressive, they do not stand up to the test of human athleticism as marathon runners do. But where did the name marathon come, and why is it 26.2 miles? 

The race gets its name fromt he legend of Pheidippides the Greek messenger in 490 BC. In the legend, Pheidippides was sent from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens to announce that the enemy, the Persians, had just been defeated. He ran from Marathon to Athens without stopping, and when he arrived, he burst into the assembly and shouted "We have won!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he collapsed, dead.

Like most legends, there is quite a bit of debate as to the accuracy of this tale. Herodotus, a Greek historian who is one of the main sources for the Greco-Prussian wars, mentions Pheidippides as the messaenger who ran from Athens to Sparta and back to ask for help. He makes no mention of a runner coming back from Marathon.

In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheildippides in which his story of messenger ran from Marathon to Athens. This poem became accepted as a historic legend. During the modern Olympics in 1896, the marathon was added to both popularize the games, and call back to the ancient glory of Greece. Now, it exemplifies the talent of the athletes.

Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving is a recreational activity which allows people to explore the submarine environment for extended periods of time. It is surprisingly dangerous activity, resulting in more fatalities than recreations such as skydiving. But, scuba diving has many rewards. So what does it take to scuba dive?  The success of scuba diving is dependent upon 3 main factors.

            The first factor is the equipment. The equipment is what allows the diver to spend the amount of time it does under water, and dive down to the depths they want. The first piece of equipment is the mask. The mask allows the scuba diver to see under water. It is possible to dive without a mask, however, being able to see while under water is kind of important. The second piece of equipment needed are the fins. The fins allow the diver to more control over his or her movements, and to move around faster. The fins are worn on the feet, and helps to push the diver through the water like the fins of a fish. The next piece of equipment is the BCD.The BCD has three main functions. The first being that it helps to control buoyancy. As a diver dives deeper, the buoyant forces become weaker. So the diver needs additional weights to offset his or her buoyancy. This vest (the BCD) can be filled with more air, or let air out. If the diver has dived deep, he or she becomes less buoyant, so they need to sill the BCD with more air so that they stay at the same level. If they are close to the surface, they would let out air to become less buoyant so that they don’t float up to the surface. The BCD’s second function is to allow diver to attach accessories. The diver can attach knives, lights, dive slates, etc. The suit keeps them tucked away so that they don’t drag the ocean floor and damage the environment, but still easily accessible to the diver. Lastly, the BCD is what the air tank is attached to.

The air tank is exactly as it sounds. It is a tank that contains compressed air. This is what provides the air a diver needs to stay submerged for extended periods of time. A device called the regulator is what allows the diver to breathe from the air tank. It is named a regulator because it regulates the amount of air the diver breathes in from the tank. It takes the pressure provided from the tank, and changes it to a pressure that the diver can breathe.

The next thing someone needs to know in order to scuba dive, is buoyancy basics. There are 3 types of buoyancy. Positive Buoyancy, negative buoyancy, and neutral buoyancy. Positive buoyancy is where the diver floats upward. Negative buoyancy is where the diver sinks downward. Neutral buoyancy is where the diver neither floats nor sinks, but stays suspended at one level. Neutral buoyancy is the goal a diver strives to achieve while diving. He or she can do this by adjusting the amount of air in the BCD.

Divers needs to be mindful of pressure. Humans are built to survive under the pressure of the atmosphere. So when the diver dives deeper and deeper, the pressure upon the diver increases. So people can only dive so far safely. As the diver dives, the air is compressed under the pressure. This makes them less buoyant. That’s when the diver would add air to the BCD. In addition, the diver will need to balance their pressure with the pressure of the water around them. To do this, the diver must do a few different things during his or her decent. First they need to ensure that they are breathing normally to ensure the lungs are properly inflated. The second thing is to add air to his or her mask. The diver does this by breathing out of his or her nose into the mask. Lastly the diver needs to add air to his or her ear and sinuses. The diver can do this by pinching his or her nose, and slowly attempting to breath out of it. This will equalize the pressure. Upon the diver’s ascent to the surface, they must ascend slowly, while breathing normally to allow the extra air added while diving to slowly leave the body. If the diver does either too quickly, it could result in serious damage.

In closing, diving can be an awesome experience, if done safely, and with the proper, maintained equipment.

                 

Is Marching Band a Sport?

Is marching band a sport? There seems to be a lot of debate on whether Marching on a field in formation counts as an athletic competition. Let's look at both sides.

Webster defines a sport as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. If we are looking at marching band from this definition alone, then it is clearly a sport. A marching band competition consists of multiple bands, or "teams", performing a routine in front of a panel of judges, who rank them. Each band must play music in time with the other members while marching in sync and reaching specific points on a football field. So by definition, Marching band is a sport. It requires physical exertion and skill, and teams compete against each other. 

But there are many people who don't agree that it is a sport, but consider it more of art. Even though it requires physical exertion, they argue that that it does not require physical training. Being a member of marching band in high school, I can attest that marching band does require a ton of rehearsal to master musical techniques and music during the routine. It really is an art form. But I think that most all sports can be viewed as an art form. All athletes must practice techniques to master their sport, and those techniques could be considered a form of art. 

Marching band is a sport. If the issue is that marching band isn't athletic enough, one just has to look at other events that are called sports such as golf or bowling. Neither of those require a lot of physical exertion, yet are considered sports. Marching band also requires just as much if not more team cooperation than that of other sports. So by all accounts, Marching band is a sport. 

Big Upsets

As most of you know, March madness has begun, and it has started with a bang. Michigan state, who was the no. 2 seed and  "The Spartans were the most popular bet to win the NCAA tournament at the Westgate SuperBook in both money and number of tickets after the bracket was released." according to ESPN, lost to Middle Tennessee, a no. 15 seed.

Yet, After they won, they were relatively calm after such a massive upset. Their celebrations seemed to be the result of a mid-season victory and not an earth-shattering upset. As it turns out, they thought that they were going to win long before the game. Senior Guard Jaqawn Raymond stated, "We're not surprised at all. We knew, if we just played our game, what the outcome would be."



So, Why were the players so confident going into a game that, according to the 97.8 percent of people who had Michigan winning in the first round of their bracket, they should have lost? One reason could be the improved team bonds created on their trip to the Bahamas, or their victory in the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

Their turning point during the season though most likely came from Giddy Potts suffering a concussion in a game with Western Kentucky, which they lost 78-72. After this game, the team was forced to come together, which they did, and so, were able to win the C-USA tournament two weeks later. They will not shift focus towards their unexpected second round match-up with Syracuse on Sunday.

 But the Middle Tennessee victory was not the only upset, at least for those living near Lexington Kentucky. The UK Wildcats also had an upset, losing to Indiana 67 to 73. This was bad news for anyone near the Big Blue University who had the Cats moving on to the second round match ups.

We'll see how the next few games play out with 2 teams expected to make it much further out of the competition so soon.

Sport's Destructive Side

Sports foster many good characteristics in people. Sportsmanlike conduct, teamwork, perseverance, and competitive nature are all great characteristics to instill in people. There is a downside, however. Team sports can also create a sense of team pride that can have harmful affects similar to that of extreme nationalism. A dehumanization for opposing teams, blind support of team views and actions, and an unhealthy way of dealing with people of different cultures and nationalities.

Just like nations do in war, supporters of sports teams will dehumanize the enemy teams. This allows them to have strong feelings of hatred and inflexibility. I've seen it time and time again at a variety of games where a heroic feat achieved by the supporters team is considered a dirty foul if achieved by their enemy. The same can be said about calls made by the ref. When they favor the supporters team, it's a good call, but if not, then it is a bad one. Now, I'm not saying that fans should root for the other team, or like it when they play well. But there is some understanding that needs to be had when dealing with opponents.

Love for a team can lead to blind support of their actions. An extremely exaggerated example of this would be Germany and the Nazi's. The nationalism that Adolf brought to the country allowed him to get away with so much, because the people felt a love for their nation, and so were more willing to not be critical of their government, or examine what they were really doing. The same can be said of extreme supporters of a team. Many of their faults, or negative actions and viewpoints, are more willing to be overlooked.

Lastly, the way a fan treats the sport can have negative affects on how they interact with individuals of different cultures and nationalities. Again, this is in more extreme cases. If someone were to hate a team simply because that is what they are supposed to do, it creates bad habits. For example, of you live in Lexington, you are supposed to support UK, and if you support UK, you are supposed to hate Louisville. This mindset can carry over to national views. I live in the USA, therefore, I hate people living in the Middle East, I hate people living in the Middle East, therefore I hate anyone who is Muslim.

I'm not saying that sports shouldn't be competitive, or that a fan can't be a super fan. What I am saying, is that sports should be something that benefit society, not promote negative ways of dealing with confrontation, people, and cultures.

Stop Pre: Nike & Track

When people think of Nike, they typically think of Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Tiger Woods, and other major super star athletes. Most people don't think, or know, about the company's first sponsored athlete Steve Prefontaine, or his coach and the companies co-founder, Bill Bowerman. Steve Prefontaine, who was one of the greatest runners in track history, helped pave the way for modern professional Track & Field and get Nike off the ground.

While running for the University of Oregon from 1970 to 1973, Steve would burn through track shoes more often than he cared for. So, his coach, Bill Bowerman, made him a pair of running shoes that was lighter, and more durable than any of the running shoes during that time. Bill would then co-found a company dedicated to making shoes for athletes of all sports. But in order to do that, he needed to get his brand known. Fortunately for him, the same runner who needed these better shoes was also in a position to make them popular.

Steve was one of the best runners in cross-country, winning back to back championships for Marshfield High in Oregon, as well as one of the most popular runners in Track and Field, setting the 5000 meter record in the 1972 Olympic Trials, and placing 4th at the Olympics in Munich. With his increasing popularity, Nike would go on to sponsor Steve in 1973, bringing national attention to the company. Since then, the attention has shifted away from track and field, becoming well known in sports like basketball.

To check out more, go to: http://news.nike.com/news/40-years-of-prefontaine

Why Run Cross Country

People partake in sports for a variety of reasons. To stay in shape, to improve their skills, for the thrill of competition, to test ones limits, to win, etc. Each sport offers players to do many of these in different ways. Many team sports allow players to be very competitive and improve their own skills in order to benefit the team. But, that is only the case for the best players, as they are the ones that get to play the most. There are only a couple sports that give every individual the opportunity to get everything they could want. One of which, is cross country. This is because in cross country, every athlete gets to  participate, the runner is the only one who can determine how he or she will do, and personal progress is easy to track.

There is no bench in cross country. The only reason an athlete would be unable to compete is because they became injured or violated one of the rules. This means that no matter the runners skill level, they are able to run. This doesn't happen in many team sports as they need their top players in order to win. cross country is different. Only the first 7 runners on each team count towards their teams score, but that doesn't mean only the top 7 are able to run. Even if their score doesn't count for the team, they still get a chance to partake in the whole meet, and they can track their own progress though the season.

Cross country can be individualized for each competitor. They can set goals for themselves in each race that they can use to track progress. Workouts can be individualized to help each athlete improve in the areas they need. Because the focus is no longer on the teams success, each runner can focus on their own growth. In the end, if the individuals improve themselves, the team improves.

Runners in cross country have the unique experience of being in control of their performance without the interference of the competitors. Are there instances where someone might bump into another or trip up another runner, but the premise of the sport is individual achievement. In soccer, basketball, and football, there is another team who is physically trying to stop you from winning. Whereas in cross country, there is no one physically interfering with the aesthete's performance. At the end of the day, anything they have or have not accomplished is completely on the runner.

While team sports are great, cross country is a great way to stay in shape, challenge ones self, and be competitive without having to directly fight off the opponents. It is great for improving endurance, motivation, and overall self worth. Not to mention the only real cost are the shoes.

The Dunking Syndrome

Dunking is one of the most well known methods of scoring in basketball. It is often idealized for the amount of athleticism and/or natural abilities it takes to be achieved. This action, however, does not provide the team with an additional rewards other than the standard two points. A three point shot is defiantly cheered, and despite it's increased worth to the team, it is not praised or celebrated like dunking. So, why is dunking made out to be such a big deal? In a competition for the most impressive dunk, it is understandable for players to achieve the most skilled looking dunk. It is a time when an athlete can show of his skill, strength, and even intelligence without the pressure of an opposing team interfering. But, we live in a time when almost everything has been done already. There are not very many NEW ways to dunk a ball into a hoop, and most of the new ones are just re-configurations of past styles. An article posted on  ESPN's website made an interesting argument as to why dunk contests remain one of the most interesting completions in sports. According to them, the dunks are not the most interesting part of the show. Rather, it is everyone reactions to the dunks that make the contest so entertaining, The article even goes into details on how to create the best reactions before, during and after a dunk. Some include the pre-Dunk Freakout, The Dumbfounded Stare, The Shock and Terror, the Grabbing Those Nearby for Comfort, and many more. Dunking is basically like music at a party. The dance music isn't what makes the party awesome. Rather, it is one person seeing another reacting positively, and so they join in. After a while, people are only dancing, because they see other people dancing. The same is true for dunking. One person reacts strongly to an "Amazing" dunk, and so they do. It is now just in our culture to have that reaction when we lay our eyes upon a sweet slam dunk. I think this is true for many aspects of sports. Things that are impressive are blown up into a much bigger deal than they should be and we have just been conditioned to overreact. This reaction syndrome can also be seen when a quarterback is sacked. While it is impressive for a player to break through the defensive line, it does not define a players skill or lack thereof. I think it is something that everyone should look at in their every day life. Why do we enjoy the things that we do? Is it because everyone else "loves" them and we feel we should to due to the pressure our culture puts on fitting in? Or, is it because it something that we actually enjoy doing or watching? While credit is due to the talent of  others, we need to make sure that we are placing the right amount of praise on the actions of others and ourselves.