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The Special Olympics shows how drive, motivation
and determination can overcome what most people think of as impossible.
The remarkable athletes gathered in Utah are there to take on tasks
that would be difficult for me, yet hearing their positive thinking
and seeing their energy is inspirational. To them, nothing is insurmountable.
Then I though of some of my students, their parents and doctors
who write excuses for everything except breathing and wonder what
makes the difference. Why do some focus on what they can do while
others only see roadblocks? How do we teach kids to be all that
they can be no matter what? How do we get them to keep trying?
There are good lessons to be learned from the Special Olympics,
though by the time this goes to print, it will be over. Still it
is not too late to assign students to cover a Special Olympic athlete,
his or her handicap and the story of how they overcame it. It would
be a great lesson for those s who would rather sit than stretch
or sit-up or sweat doing something they can safely do. It would
be a great alternate assignment for the "legal" excuses
to do nothing physical. Perhaps the research, reading and writing
about someone special will lead to a life altering experience for
our underachievers and show them the way.
Isobel Kleinman
Secondary Section
Editor
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Check out Winning Habits, by Stan Smith in October's issue of Tennis.
It tells how mid-tennis warm-ups do wonders for tennis players.
It also explains the value of using a wall for learning and practice.
Then you can look at my book Complete Physical Education Plans for
Grades 7-12 , available at
www.humankinetic.com. Its beginner and intermediate units and
lessons are based on mid-court tennis and have already applied Stan's
Smith's suggestions in teaching racquet control, contact point,
footwork, strokes, scoring and playing. The mid-court tennis approach
will get all your students learning on their own level, get them
instantly active and give them a feeling of success without their
having to wait in lines or take turns.
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CROSS COUNTRY TRAINING
A cross country training program for classroom teachers and P.E.
Teachers is available on the Internet at www.kuluinss.gld.edu.au.
It is outcome based and there for adaptation to your program thanks
to Tony Doherty of Queensland, Australia,
GOLF
now you get can all the information you want about golf on cable
TV's The Golf Channel. For programing, check out www.thegolfchannel.com
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HEALING MUSCLE INJURIES
There is no evidence to show that high-tech strategies for helping
injuries heal works any better than ordinary rest, says Dr. Gordon
O. Matheson, a professor of the sports medicine division at Stanford
School of Medicine. The duration of recovery for common injuries
to the hamstring, shin splints and plantar fasciitis depend on whether
one slim fiber or several are torn and recovery requires the same
approach - reduce pain and swelling, restore motion and then regain
strength. Electric stimulation, ultrasound and deep massage, commonly
used treatments have not been proven to promote the healing process
according to a July article in Physical Therapy. Patience is required
because training through the pain leads to chronic problems. Shin
splints which do not heal can progress to stress fractures. Only
ice and rest seem to work. As for plantar fasciitis, the cause is
unknown, the injury painful and the cure simply is rest.
"SOME PEOPLE WON'T BE FIT DESPITE EXERCISE"
is the title of a February 12, 2002 New York Times article. Questioning
why some "coach potatoes" have good cardiovascular endurance
while others' fitness has deteriorated, studies beginning in 1982
undertook to begin 20 week training programs among volunteers who
worked at a desk, never walked and never participated in sports.
After 50 minutes a day, 4 days a week at 85% their maximum heart
rate, there were large differences, with some participants not gaining
in fitness while others gained up to 60%. Subsequent studies have
found the same thing. The conclusion is that fitness has genetic
underpinnings.
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Information gathered by researchers in the Veterans Affairs Palo
Alto Health Care System/ Sanford University suggest that Darwin's
survival of the fitness applies to humans too. The New York Times,
"Study Links Exercise Capacity to Life Span" reports that
"a person's peak exercise capacity as measured on a treadmill
test is a more powerful predictor of how long someone will live"
than what we commonly refer to as medical risk factors. Dr. Gary
J. Balady, a practicing cardiologist at Boston Medical Center is
quoted as saying those in the fittest category "tend to do
better and live longer."
- Did you know that four out of five women on the corporate ladder
were actively involved in sports and credit their participating
for learning the skills needed to succeed in business and that
81% of them are still active? This was reported in a study commissioned
by Oppenheimer Funds.
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