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!

Role Model

Be a good role model.
Michael Phelps is an amazing athlete however his decisions are costing him. He has accomplished great feats in the pool but recently his name has been splashing into the news for other reasons that his athletic ability. A picture of him inhaling from a water pipe, which can be used for marijuana, has surfaced but this isn't his first run in with the law.

Drunk driving? Shortly after the 2004 Olympics Phelps was arrested for drunk driving. These are not things this swimming star wants to be known for, but at the ripe young age of 23 the he is constantly in the public eye. 

As an athlete the public focuses on you because you can be a role model for others. Michael Phelps may not only lose respect from the public, but he is also losing respect from USA swimming as they suspended him for 3 months and cut off their financial support for the same period. Phelps is also loosing his endorsement with Kellogg's. Moral of the story: make good choices. In the moments where you have the choice to decide, you are the strongest. Doing what is right no matter what, makes you a better person and a better role model.

in the Locker room

Above is scene from the movie Miracle. In that scene the importance of the locker room in team unity is crucial. The locker room is a place for the team to come together with no outside distractions, a place for the team to find unity. It can also be a great place for trading stories and having fun. The locker room is a place of team bonding. The dynamic of the locker room can be changed by one player's choice to use alcohol. Alcohol can affect your relationships with your teammates in negative ways.

Every day the team comes together to accomplish something and to get better. If you are out of bounds, how can you help your team? Using alcohol can place your relationships with your teammates out of bounds. The teammates that are depending on you to be a part of the team goal will be disappointed when you are not able to play. Alcohol affects you and your teammates on the field and in the locker room. Make sure you are a part of all the pre-game speeches by staying in bounds.

FREAKY FRIDAY

Welcome to FREAKY FRIDAY, a segment devoted to helping you decide what to do this Friday night! Every Friday I will post a different activity that you and your friends can do for fun! I will test drive all of these ideas to make sure they are certifiably fun (and not illegal)!

This weeks FREAKY FRIDAY activity:

Rent a movie you and your friends have never seen before, set the TV to mute and make up your own dialogue... very effective when popcorn and M&Ms are added to the mix!

Concussions

The boy in that short video probably didn't know what hit him. The effects of getting a concussion are serious and can last for a while. Some people can't get all of their short term memory back for 3 weeks after a concussion. Other people feel sick and have a headache for days after the initial hit. The tests athletic trainers use to assess concussions are very similar to sobriety tests. These test for balance, recognition, and recall memory.

The reason the tests are similar is because alcohol affects the brain similar to a large blow to the brain. If you don't want a concussion on the playing field, do you want to feel the effects of alcohol in your activities of daily living? Alcohol can impair your ability to recall information and your ability to balance, putting your body at greater risk for injury... putting you on the sideline.

Super Bowl!

Iowa in Super Bowl 43
Justin Hartwig
7 years in the NFL
college: Kansas
High school: West Des Moines Valley High
Team: Stealers


Kurt Warner
11 years in the NFL
College: University of Northern Iowa
Hometown: Burlington, IA
Team: Cardinals


Way to represent Iowa in Super Bowl 43!

I had to post about the super bowl...this is a blog about sports.
You can't ask for a better display of talent than what we saw the other night. Those men scarified to continue to play a game that has become their livelihood. To take the time to be truly great in sport is no simple task. It takes dedication, commitment, and hard work. People become great when they love the what they do...and who wouldn't want to make money doing what they love! I know I would...that is the beauty of school...you get to learn to do what you love.

My hat goes off to the men who gave of their time, their sweat, their body, their mind, and their commitment. Thank you for the showing 30 million viewers that hard work pays off.

Drool

Sometimes when I am really tired I have this small fear: I am afraid of drooling on the desk during class! I have figured out that it takes me about 11 hours to really feel energized and 'ready' to get up in the morning; and I don't get 11 hours a night. Between school and sports and work and homework and a social life... well you get the picture, sleep is hard to get! So how do I combat the fatigue? I do three simple things to help me throughout the day.

1. I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
To get about 8 hours of sleep, I set a bed-time. It is easy to stay up late, but it is hard to get to bed on time. I like taking the hard route in simple tasks, it prepares me for competition, where things are almost always hard to do.

2. I eat several meals.
The important thing about food is to start with breakfast, move to a morning snack, have a good lunch, eat an afternoon snack, and then have a 1st dinner followed a few hours latter by 2nd dinner. That means eating 6 times a day! It is important that your metabolism is working to keep you at the top of your game. When athletes work out they need to re-fuel... and do that with healthy choices.

3. I make time for exercise.
Exercise can be a great wake up call due to endorphins. Endorphins are natural opiate like substances the body produces when it is performing strenuous exercise. These substances help give people a sense of well being and it produces analgesia or pain relief.

These three things help me stay awake and not drool on my desk.

School... arg!

Whenever some one asks me how school is I want to let out a nice loud... arg! Class is long and stressful but learning is good. I am just so busy and what does class have to do with sports anyway?

Plenty!

Without good grades you can’t compete. High schools require that athletes maintain certain grades to stay eligible. Each class period is like a period in a game. You compete with yourself to do better every day and to make the grade. As an example lets look at alcohol. How are choices like drinking alcohol going to help you stay in bounds during the school day? Or even after the school day when you are doing homework? Alcohol affects your cognitive functions in different ways. One way it affects you is by decreasing your ability to retain information. When you aren’t able to remember information from the classroom you may be placed out of bounds.

Key ways to stay in bounds in the classroom:

Design a homework plan similar to a plan to get in shape.

Stick to your own homework schedule like you stick to your workouts.

Eat a balanced diet that will help you in school and in sports.

And as my mom would say “Make good choices ”

These things may sound lame but without them I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today. The old adage that time management is key is true! Without a plan of attack or goals set in place, managing your time is a concept and not something applied to life. I wish people had said “manage your time wisely by doing this…” Just telling me was no to manage my time was no good, figuring out a way to manage time saved me time and prevented stress!

Sideline.

Are you in bounds or out of bounds?

As an athlete there are choices you have to make so you can stay in the game and not on the sideline. Everyday you make the choice to come to practice and work hard, to play safe and prevent injuries, and to be a part of a team. You make the choice everyday to make sure you are a part of the action; to be a competitor.

No one wants to be on the sidelines watching the team. You want to be out there making a difference. Your choices decide what side of the line you are on…in bounds or out of bounds. The choice to drink alcohol can decide for you which side of the line you are on. How does alcohol affect performance? I'll be blogging about that over the next two months.