Are you in a bubble?

Four signs you are in a bubble include:

1. Thinking "it will never happen to me"
2. Never saying thank you or please
3. Thinking only of your day
4. Knowing you are right in most situations

These few traits can and will affect your performance in sports, relationships with friends, and your choices in tough situations. When you believe you know how to handle most situations it can leave you in a tough spot when you make mistakes on the court. It can also hinder relationships when the people around you notice there is no real appreciation. There are some positive things to letting go of these traits.

When I would have a bad performance my dad always told me not to focus on it because no one else was. He was right. No matter how well I performed or how bad I did the world didn't stop turning and everyone went on with life. It wasn't all about me.

The Bubble

"The bubble" is all the things that make up your current environment. In high school the bubble is small, but when you get to college it expands into a sea of new experiences.

It is up to you: your bubble can expand or your bubble can burst!

FREAKY FRIDAY!

This weeks FREAKY FRIDAY is especially fun!
drum roll please......Digital Camera Scavenger hunt (better with video cameras)!!
To do this activity you need a camera of some sort and some free time!
You have to complete each task and have evidence of the task being completed!

tasks:
1. go down every slide in town
2. find the highest number street sign in town
3. go to the football field and re-in-act a game winning play--complete with fans cheering
4. ask the local gas station clerk what you can get there for free
5. go-a- caroling and sing Christmas carols to you neighbors
6. pick up loose change and see how much you can make throughout the hunt....remember pop-cans can be cashed in for money!
7. have fun!

If you are able to split up into two groups, see which group can accomplish everything in the least amount of time. When you are all done go back to a friend's house and watch the video footage or page through all the pictures!

pepto bismol

Pepto-bismol solves most of my indigestion problems and it's a good thing because I can't imagine competing with diarrhea...in fact one time I had to sit out due to food poisoning and that was torture! What does this have to do with alcohol...
Alcohol is a toxin and can cause Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
When ingested alcohol irritates the stomach leading to nausea. If too much alcohol is consumed, it causes the stomach to dispel the alcohol by vomiting. Alcohol that isn’t vomited will be passed through the GI tract, causing diarrhea. The effects of alcohol on the GI tract can still be felt 14 hours after consumption; which can leave you on out of bounds and pepto-bismol wont even help with this!

alcohol and pain

Alcohol is a depressant and it can desensitize the body to pain!

No one really wants to feel pain, but it is an indicator of injury, and when you feel pain you need to react. Consuming alcohol can put you at risk when your body is in danger. Also, alcohol can slow down the healing process and prolong injury. Overall it can put you out of bounds.

*http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa65.htm
*Wilmore, J.H. Costill, D.L. Physiology of sport and exercise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 1994.

FREAKY FRIDAY

This weeks edition Freaky Friday is really fun (trust me)!

THEMED BOWLING!
You and your friends dress up as your favorite TV show or movie and go bowling!

picture this: a group of people dressed up like The Office characters bowling together...or Batman and joker bowling together...sounds like fun!

To risk or not to Risk

It is that time of year when people start to get excited about spring and all the fun outdoor activities. You and your teammates just had a great winter season and now you are anxiously awaiting the sports you can play outside, in the fresh air. Even though you are not in any particular season now, and you are in between season, you decide you still want to workout to get ready.
Since you have worked hard all week you decide to go and have some fun and just hang out with your friends. After dodging the parental questions you grab the keys and head out the door. When you arrive at the party your friends ask if you want to play video games. The obvious reply is yes!

They also ask if you want a beer, you...
A) pause and think about it so your friends pester you more
B) mumble something no one understands OR
C) tell your friends you love your sport too much to risk missing out on all the action

You decide and CHOOSE your own ending... so let's see what happens with each option:
Option A ending: you cave in to your friends and have the drink, then you are stuck there all night because you know driving under the influence is bad, however when you leave in the morning you get pulled over by a cop who can smell the alcohol on you and in the end your parents are mad, you now have a minor in consumption and restrictions on your license, AND you can't play part of your season.

Option B ending: well your friends did not understand your mumble so they got you a drink, and well you also got the option A's ending.

Option C ending: wow, your friends put down their drinks. One of your friends said it would not happen to him so he kept drinking, but another one told a story about how his brother got caught. This time all of the alcohol is put away and you and your friends enjoy the rest of the night and your upcoming season!

Just remember you decide.

Reaction time

The above clip shows two great tennis players playing with all they have. Both of them have trained and both of them have practiced. Over time their reaction time and their coordination has increased. To be able to react to a moving target and time when it is supposed to be hit is an amazing and complex task. So what is alcohol's affect on reaction time?

Well, alcohol adversely affects performance in situations involving rapidly changing stimuli. In sports there are so many variables changing that it is hard for someone who has consumed alcohol to keep up. Alcohol has adverse effects on visual tracking, hand eye coordination, fine motor skills, and accuracy. This leads to poor choices made during competition and can put you out of bounds.
Information from: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa65.htm

Confidence. It's attractive

You're in the locker room getting pumped up for the last game of the season. The blood is pumping, your stomach is churning, you're just waiting to get out on court to warm-up. You're psyching yourself up even though your team is 2-9. You are confident in making the decision that you ARE going to win that game. It's attractive. That girl you've been wanting to ask out for the last three weeks is sitting in the stands waiting to see you come out onto the court. She likes to see that you have a good attitude and confidence in yourself and the team.

You won the last game of the season! Everyone is so excited to go out and celebrate! Your team throws you in a car and takes you to a house party that's already started. One of the first people you see there is that girl that you can't stop thinking about. Your best friend asks you if you want a beer, as she's standing there watching. Do you cave and take a beer, even though something inside of you is telling you not to? You step the other direction. You confidently tell him that you aren't going to drink anything. That confidence is still attractive. Your girl was watching you, and is impressed in your confidence and your choice to be smart. 

Carry-over your confidence from the court. It's attractive. 

You need to play with supreme confidence, or else you'll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit. 
-Joe Paterno 

FREAKY FRIDAY

Freaky Friday idea of the week: Embrace other sports!

1. If you can, go and support your fellow classmates as they compete.
Or
2. Go play some pick-up games at your school or in a friend's backyard/driveway.
3. Don't feel like going out? Watch NBA Friday on ESPN--new game every Friday during basketball season.

endurance & muscle soreness.

Alcohol prevents the liver from making glucose, which leaves you, as an athlete, tired and wondering what happened to your endurance. Alcohol can leave you out of bounds as you watch your team.

1. ATP* is used in the body for muscle contractions.
2. ATP is produced during glycolysis=breakdown of glucose to ATP
3. As ATP* is leaked into the blood when there is damage to a muscle tissue.
5. Alcohol decreases production of glucose—>muscle fatigue—>muscle soreness

So what does that really mean? Basically, when you consume alcohol the body isn’t able to break down the essential nutrient for energy because it is not there. To compensate the body tries to keep up and is fatigued. When the muscles are fatigued, but you still demand things from them, the muscles become overworked. Overworked muscles lead to muscle soreness, which can be seen by an increase of CPK in the blood.

*ATP=adenosine triphosphate
*CPK=creatinephosphokinate
--information from:
Wilmore, Jack H. Costill, David L. Kenney, W. Larry. Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Energy expenditure and Fatigue. Edition 4. Chapter 4. Pp.100-104.

Alcohol Adviosyr Counsel of New Zealand. Sport. Alcohol and Exercise. http://www.alcohol.org.nz/Sport.aspx?PostingID=835

FREAKY FRIDAY

Welcome to this week's edition of FREAKY FRIDAY. The certifiably fun idea for tonight's entertainment is really going to be a blast!

Bring Back the 90's Video Game Style! That's right, dust off those old video games, pull out your Sega or Nintendo and hang out with the Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog for a night. If you don't have those old games anymore, don't worry you can find them on the wii shop channel! If you are really feeling nostalgic pull out some Pac Man!