Left Column please.

EDITORIAL

Sports rage made the headlines again. This time a father got really carried away. Yes, he didn't react to the abuse his son was getting like a 'normal' dad being told the whipping was just part of the game. The coach got carried away too, didn't he? He told the guy to forget it, his son has to learn to be tough in order to win. Where does it end?

I lament the disappearance of clean fun in sports. I remember when physical educators touted recreation and intramurals for the masses and inter-scholastics for the exceptional. I remember when we taught kids to play by the rules and when safety, sportsmanship and how you played were more important than winning.

The sports culture has gotten so away from us. Even schools have caved in, in pursuit of the golden ring. They have been trying to provide an environment where the promise of athletic scholarships and professional scouting is possible. Gone are the intramural and recreation programs. They've been replaced with expensive inter-scholastic programs. The lack of realism doesn't end there. Parents won't accept that their children are not good enough to be on varsity team, so coaches are forced to keep them or risk not. Lately that can be career and/or life threatening.

The win at all cost mentality has even reared its ugly head in gym class. You must see it sometimes. I did. What do you do? How can you change it? Should you try?

I think yes, we should. If we don't take the responsibility of bringing sanity back into sports, who will?

Isobel Kleinman

RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT:

www.sportsmedia.org - - an eclectic web sight for physical educators and athletes.

For lessons that integrate rules, cooperative learning and a high level of participation, check out Complete Physical Education Plans for Grades 7-12, available at www.humankinetic.com.

Middle Column please

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING SPORTS BEHAVIORS

We should start with what we can affect. We can teach children to react to events on the field properly by how we react ourselves. If we attack vulgar language, un-sportsman like behavior and win at all cost attitudes in an instructional way, not an angry, derisive one, there is much to be gained and little to lose. The following are long and short range strategies for improving the emotional environment in sports.

- Compliment student effort even if it doesn't secure the ball or a score. Zero in on important things like keeping the ball alive, slowing down opponents or making an assist. These are necessary to a team's success and often overlooked. You know it. Help students know it. Share your knowledge publically. It will cut down on student derision and help kids feel good about themselves.

- Promote movement performances not just athletic contests. Have a gym show, a dance performance or a social dance. Consider using entrance fees for student scholarships to summer programs or special sports academies and award the kids who most exemplify what you are trying to encourage- - improvement, leadership, sensitivity, sportsmanship, excellence in movement, trustworthiness, reliability, good attendance, etc.

- Have an old-fashioned awards assembly. Award students who exhibit good values.

- Create school rules and penalties aimed at eliminating vulgar language, substitutions that prevent weaker players from playing, hogging equipment, arguing with officials, etc.

- Remove poorly behaving players and don't let them return until they recognize the impact of what they are doing and promise to make an effort to stop it.

- Share the problem with parents and ask, "please, can you help me." If you do, they are less likely to feel attacked and more likely to be responsive.

Right hand column please:

HEALTH AND SAFETY

PEAK PERFORMANCE, Vol5. # 3, Fall, 2001 in reporting on the perils of lightening suggests:

- Avoid the highest point on an open field

- Do not take shelter under or near a pole or tree.

- Take a "lightening safe position" which is squatting on the ground, on the balls of the feet, with head down and ears covered.

The NEW YORK TIMES, December 11, 2001 reports that an article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported an increased potential for injury when smaller children use full size soccer balls. One might extrapolate that it follows that junior high school students would be safer from injury if they were allowed to use smaller soccer balls, light bats, smaller footballs, etc. than high school students.

TREATMENTS AND WINTER TRAINING

Good news for people suffering from tennis or pitcher's elbow. TENNIS, September 2001, reports that a therapy normally used to break up kidney stones has had a 70% success rate in treating soft-tissue ailments. The jury is not out, but catch the article. ("This Joint is Jumpin'")

Athletics and coaches might rethink rhythmical workouts on bikes, treadmills, step machine, etc. The steady performance is great for cardio-vascularly fitness but according to the latest research leads to a loss of explosive power. This can be prevented. Just increase speed periodically.

NEW BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS

ALIVE AND KICKING : When Soccer Moms Take the Field and Change Their Lives Forever. Harvey Araton. Illustrated. 250 pp. New York: Simon and Schuster

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