The Adventure Run

You've probably read in this blog over the past couple of months that the one sport I'm really into is running. Not just short sprints down a track (even though those are fun too!), but miles-long journeys that really make me break a sweat. When I tell a lot people about the sport I love, their first reaction is usually a raised eyebrow and a surprised "Why would you want to do that?!"

This morning I discovered why I love the long runs.

I love the long runs because, for me, they're my chance to explore. Maybe when you were a little kid you used to crawl about the house, pretending to be Daniel Boone or Christopher Columbus and imagining that every new room, or the couch, or the rug was a new part of the world that you and you alone had found--and it made you proud of yourself. I felt the same way today on my run through the town I just moved to, Columbia, Missouri.

Columbia isn't really that big or that different of a town, but today I had a mission: to find all the streets on my six-mile morning run. I didn't have a map, just written directions and in a couple of places, even those failed and I had to improv. Those were the most exciting parts. People who live here probably know that Seventh Street doesn't go all the way to Wilkes Rd. or that part of my route actually crosses over Interstate 70 (a major highway through the state), but it was all news to me. At each new obstacle, I had to think and explore the streets in the heart of my new home to find a way to where I was going. Challenging myself like that is something I find really fun!

Finishing up a run is always kind of cool for me because I am relieved that I finished and usually excited at my time. But today was especially thrilling, because I knew that I had made it, all on my own and that I could conquer this place without map and just with my mind.That's why I do the long runs. That's what makes it exciting for me!

Olympians

Names like Michael Phelps, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, and Usain Bolt have become well known around the world due to the Olympics. They rocketed to fame when they performed remarkably at the Olympics and will forever be remembered for their athletic capabilities.

Most athletes who compete in the Olympics are not remembered after the Olympics are over. They may be stars to people who play the same sport, but they are not well known to the public.

I know someone I will remember for a long time is Usain Bolt because of the way he took the world by storm and rocketed to the top! I remember watching him race and being amazed by how he won races by such a large margin. He would near the end of a race and turn his head to look at his opponents, just to make sure that they weren’t catching up. He not only won races, but won them in a unique style that made me remember him.

Michael Phelps is another athlete that I’m sure everyone will remember. He broke the world record for number of gold medals and seemed to do so without breaking a sweat. Who are your favorite stars from the Olympics? Which athletes stood out the most and which ones will you remember?

Beijing Olympics

Athletes from around the world have come together over the past few weeks to perform amazing athletic feats and break world records. Every four years when the Olympics happen, the world marvels at all the talented athletes and pays close attention to sports that are usually ignored.

Sports like diving and gymnastics don’t get a lot of attention during non-Olympic times, but during the Olympics everyone watches them. Obscure sports like racewalking and archery are introduced to the world during the Olympics and the public learns more about them. I have really loved the past few weeks and have enjoyed learning about sports that I previously didn’t know about.

I imagine that the Olympics must inspire people around the world to try their best in not only sports, but everything they do. I know that it has inspired me to dance better and believe that I can accomplish more. When I am dancing and thinking about the pressure or exhaustion, I think about how dedicated the Olympians are and how much pressure they have to deal with.

It seems to me that the 2008 Beijing Olympics have gone by very fast and I wish that they would last a little longer. What were your favorite parts of the Olympics? Did you learn about any new sports over the past few weeks?

Decathlon

Traditionally, the person who wins the decathlon is called the “World’s Greatest Athlete” because the winner has to be talented in so many different areas. He has to be good at running, jumping, hurdling, and throwing. In short, the person who wins the decathlon embodies the motto of the Olympics: “faster, higher, stronger”. Right now, Bryan Clay of the United States holds the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete” as he won the decathlon during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

A decathlon consists of ten track and field events: 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and the 1500 meters. Men compete in decathlons and women compete in heptathlons, which consists of seven track and field events: the 100 meters, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, and the 800 meters.

I can only imagine how hard athletes have to work to be able to compete well in seven or ten events. I mean, we hear about the tough training regimens that runners, and jumpers, and hurdlers go through and to be good at all of them must be very hard to achieve.

What do you think about the decathlon? Do you play a variety of sports?

Racewalking

Walking? How can walking be a sport, especially an Olympic sport? That used to be my attitude towards racewalking because I have always thought of walking as a way to get around and not a sport. So yesterday when I saw a racewalking race on the Olympics I was very surprised and decided to research racewalking and try it myself.

Turns out I was wrong. Very, very wrong. I always thought it would be easy because it was just walking, which is really easy right? But when I tried it I realized that it is a lot harder than it looks. Walking really fast for a long time is very tiring for your legs, hips, and even arms. I realize that many racewalkers must meet a lot of people who think their sport is not hard and I feel bad that I always assumed that racewalking was a lame sport without ever trying it for myself.

Racewalking is not just walking fast – there are specific rules in place to make sure that some people don’t have unfair advantages. For example, there is a rule that one foot or atleast part of one foot has to be on the floor at all times. Nowadays with our cameras and all our technology, we can look at close up and slowed down versions of races to check people’s feet. This new technology is causing controversy because the race is judged based on what the judges see with their eyes and not with a camera.

Have you ever heard of racewalking? Have you ever made any assumptions about sports before trying them for yourself or learning more about them?

Sportsmanship

Usain “lightening” Bolt now holds the world records in both the 100 and 200 meter events. He broke both records during the Beijing Olympics and seemed to do so with ease, and maybe a little arrogance.

As Usain neared the finish line of one of his races, he glanced around him to make sure no one was catching up and when he saw that he was decidedly in first place he slowed down and still managed to stay in first place. Once he crosses the finish line in first place, Bolt often celebrates with his signature “throwing a lightning bolt” pose. Many people consider his celebrations and his slowing down as insulting to the other runners.

Having good sportsmanship is very important these days, especially during the Olympics when the whole world comes together and countries compete with each other. Although many people have berated Bolt for his celebrations, don’t we all like to celebrate when something good happens? After someone breaks a world record or wins a gold medal, isn’t celebration expected and ok? What do you think about Bolt’s celebration – is it a little too much or completely fine?

I remember one time during a championship soccer game, the game was tied until 5 minutes before the end of the game. The other team then scored a contested goal – we thought it was offside and shouldn’t count but the referee called it for them and they ended up winning the game. When the game ended they celebrated so much and so obnoxiously that many people on my team ended up in tears.

What do you think about sportsmanship? Have you ever witnessed very sportsmanlike or unsportsmanlike actions? Comment below and tell me about them.

Rowing

Rowing is not a sport that usually comes to mind when we think of the Olympics, but it is definitely a worthwhile sport. I was watching some Olympic rowing the other night on TV and I realized that rowing is an intense sport that requires a high level of strength, stamina, and teamwork.

Rowing is a team sport like no other, because in rowing there are no substitutes. If someone hurts themselves in the middle of a race or gets tired, the rest of the team has to work even harder because no one can sub in or out when the athletes are in a boat that is surrounded by water! Everyone has to pull their weight and work hard so that they do not let the team down. This sport also requires synchronization skills because everyone on the boat has to paddle at the same time and really work well together.

There is a rowing team at my high school. All the people who are part of the rowing team (also known as crew) are very dedicated to the team. They have practices early in the morning before school starts and so they have to wake up as early as 4 most days of the week. Commitment like that is admirable – I don’t know if I would be able to wake up that early many days a week!

What do you think about rowing? Comment below and tell me about sports that you have learned more about because of the Olympics.

The Fall and Rise

They’re saying my sport might be dead.

That’s right...reporters and commentators who’ve been watching track and field in this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China have said that Americans may be done dominating the oval as the have for so many years in events from sprints to jumps to long distances. The country that is home to sprinting greats Maurice Green and Marion Jones, and even long distance champions, like 1,500-meter runner Bernard Lagat, is no longer in control.

Who’s in the driver’s seat now? Jamaica, that’s who. In the past week, they’ve won both the men’s and women’s 100-meter dashes and on the men’s side, Jamaican Usain Bolt (what a cool name for a sprinter!) set the world record, bounding across the finish line in 9.69 seconds to break his own record, set earlier this year.

So what do Americans like me do? What do you do when you realize that your country is being outplayed in a sport that it considers its own on the world stage. Well, for this Olympics, there isn’t much we can do except hope to edge out a victory or two in the remaining events. But over the next four years, runners like me will be running even faster, training even longer and focusing even harder than usual on gold because we want to win in the sport that is ours.

How do you rebound from a loss or a series of downfalls? What do you think Team USA track should change to get back on the winner’s podium for next year?

Stomach Butterflies

Today in my dance class I made a few big mistakes and got really frazzled, which made me make even more mistakes. I only have 12 days before I have to perform by myself in front of 300 people and I am getting very, very nervous.

Today in class, I did not just make mistakes - I made completely uncharacteristic mistakes like forgetting entire sections of the pieces. I have not forgotten parts such big chunks of my pieces since I first started learning them, months ago. Lately I have been getting stressed out because my performance day is getting so close that it is causing me to make mistakes like that.

I used to be in musical theatre when I was in middle school and whenever I had to perform on stage, my hands would get clammy and I would get butterflies in my stomach. Let’s just say that I have a history of minor stage fright. Usually once I get on stage I am ok, but before I get out there I am very uneasy and anxious. I am telling myself that if I am prepared, I will do fine and there is no need to be nervous, but I think some nerves are natural in this situation.

Has a high pressure situation or important sporting event ever made you tense and unable to perform as well as you usually do? Comment below and tell me what you would do to cope with the tension in a situation like that – maybe you can help me out!

Staying Dedicated

As the Olympic Games march on, one thing that is taken for granted is the work of all of the 10,000 athletes competing in the various events. Everyone knows that these folks “work hard”, but few people know what it is to do that to a level to compete with the world’s best. I think this comes in two parts: doing hard workouts and working everyday. A few people might think of Olympic training as doing those big workouts, but the place where we can all be like the Olympians is in practicing our sport as many days as we can.

Some people are naturally talented, but even they have to do their job day in and day out. Practicing to do the same thing, every time one does it is really where an athlete gets his or her skill, by fixing the little flaws in their technique that could keep them from beating the competition. This is tremendously important to being a great athlete. But sometimes, it isn’t even as easy as just telling yourself to practice; you have to work to find a time to get it done.

This happened to me this morning. My workout calendar called for a long morning run, but I had to be at work really early, too. I had a few choices. I could have slept through the workout and saved my strength for my job. Or I could get up a little earlier, and make the run. That’s what I picked. I love my sport and can’t stand a day where I didn’t do anything to get better. I was a little more tired than usual, but I felt good knowing that I made the right call and that I’d be better for it.

What kinds of choices do you have to make to get your workouts done around your life changes? Tell us how you feel about training to be the better athlete!

The People Who Make It Happen

I love playing sports, and I am grateful for my parents and my school because they help make it possible for me to play sports. My parents sign me up, pay, and take me to practices and games. If they didn’t take care of all that stuff, then it would be really hard for me to play sports. Also, if the school didn’t have sports teams, then I wouldn’t be able to run track and play soccer for my school.

Similarly, the Olympics would not be there if there were not people working behind the scenes. There are so many people that work on organizing the Olympics, taking care of the athletes, taking care of the venues, and so much more. Even though the athletes are the stars of the Olympics, we should remember that there are many people who work behind the scenes to make the Olympics amazing.

In fact, all sports and sporting events would not exist if it wasn’t for all those people and all that work that goes into making sports amazing. There are committees that make up and update the rules of various sports and committees that decide which players will be attending the Olympics. There is an immense amount of organizing and planning that goes into sports and I did not realize this until I started watching the Olympics. The Olympics is such a huge event, and I never thought about what had to be done to make it that way. I assumed the athletes were the most important part, but I now realize that the organizers are important as well because they make the Olympics possible.

Comment below and tell me about the people that make it possible for you to play sports.

The People Who Make It Happen

I love playing sports, and I am grateful for my parents and my school because they help make it possible for me to play sports. My parents sign me up, pay, and take me to practices and games. If they didn’t take care of all that stuff, then it would be really hard for me to play sports. Also, if the school didn’t have sports teams, then I wouldn’t be able to run track and play soccer for my school.

Similarly, the Olympics would not be there if there were not people working behind the scenes. There are so many people that work on organizing the Olympics, taking care of the athletes, taking care of the venues, and so much more. Even though the athletes are the stars of the Olympics, we should remember that there are many people who work behind the scenes to make the Olympics amazing.

In fact, all sports and sporting events would not exist if it wasn’t for all those people and all that work that goes into making sports amazing. There are committees that make up and update the rules of various sports and committees that decide which players will be attending the Olympics. There is an immense amount of organizing and planning that goes into sports and I did not realize this until I started watching the Olympics. The Olympics is such a huge event, and I never thought about what had to be done to make it that way. I assumed the athletes were the most important part, but I now realize that the organizers are important as well because they make the Olympics possible.

Comment below and tell me about the people that make it possible for you to play sports.

The Agony of Defeat

The Olympics is best known for the winners--those who at the end of the day take home the medals gold, silver and bronze. Those victories are easy to celebrate and be happy about because we can see how big all of an athlete’s hard work has paid off by the award they’ve won. But what about athletes who work hard and never see that pay off, because of injury?

I was reminded of this part of the Olympics while watching weightlifting competitions earlier this week. The event was the “clean and jerk”, an exercise where athletes take a large amount of weight on the bar, squat it and then thrust their body upward to lift the bar high over their head. It’s a complicated move for anyone, but at this heavy a weight, it’s a true test.

Everyone had been training for their entire lives, putting in hours getting ready for this one lift. One man, a Brazilian lifter, had been training especially hard for the last four years, trying to come back from failing to medal at the 2004 games. But on this day, his thumb was wrapped in an ace bandage. The announcers wondered if that one small wrap would be the downfall of this mighty man.

Sadly, it was. Twice he squatted down, closed his eyes, let out a breath and tried to lift the bar for the squat. And twice, his left arm popped off the bar from the pain in his thumb. He simply couldn’t lock on to the heavy weight with his grip. Four years of work had all been for nothing.

Despite his sadness, the lifter held his emotions in well. When asked what he would do, he said that all he could do was work hard and try again. That, I think, is one of the most important lessons in sports: hard times can’t be conquered with a bad attitude, just by hard work.

Have you had any difficult times in the sports you’ve played? What hard work have you done to overcome it?

Making The Right Call

Normally when we think about the Olympics, we think about all the amazing athletes who will be competing there, but we forget about one set of very important people – the referees. Their job is extremely important and without them sports would be vastly different.

The referees make sure that the game runs smoothly, all the participants are following the rules, and in some sports they even determine the winners. For example, in gymnastics, the judges score the gymnasts therefore determining who has the highest score and will win the competition.

I used to ref soccer games and believe me, it can be very tough. There is lots of pressure from the players, parents, coaches, and fans and it can really stress you out. A main reason officiating can be so tough is because the referee’s calls can change the outcome of a game/event. That places a huge burden on the referees and gives them a huge responsibility.

Officiating at such a high level like the Olympics must be especially hard – so many people watch the Olympics and have the opportunity to criticize or challenge the referee’s calls. I was watching Beach Volleyball the other day and the referee made a controversial call. The team that the call was made against complained and challenged the call. If that had happened in a final round or had determined the winner of the game, that referee would have faced a lot of harassment.

Have you ever given any thought to the officials in a game? What do you think about the importance of their job?

Taking a Well-Earned Day Off

Let’s face it: sports is about a lot of hard work. Winning in your event or your next big game is all about putting in the time and effort to build the right muscles and build up endurance to last for the big play. Given all of that, how could taking a day off possibly help an athlete get better?

Well, the fact is that those hard-working muscles, no matter how well-conditioned, sometimes need a break. I’ve learned this through the almost five years that I have been running long-distance workouts. Running for me is really fun. Sometimes, it is tempting to run every day, especially when my times are looking good and I’m feeling really strong in my workouts. That’s kind of where I am today actually, with two good weeks of really solid running since my last day off. So why should I stop for a minute, let alone a day?

The importance of rest in athletes is that those muscles can use the day to rebuild the small tears that hard exercise of practice makes. Don’t worry, these tears aren’t harmful. Given the right rest, the tears repair to make the muscle better than it was before. This, an not more tears from constant work, is what builds muscles up. Basically, it’s the rest that makes us stronger from the work we do.

What kind of training do you do for your sports? When do you take rest days? Tell us if taking a day helps you perform better or if working everyday is really your thing!

Winning Streak

Lately I have been watching a lot of beach volleyball on TV, a sport that does not usually get much coverage. It is a sport that I do not usually watch, but by watching it so much recently I realized that I actually like watching it. The women’s beach volleyball team is made up of Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor who are the reigning beach volleyball champions. They won Gold in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and are expected to medal in the Beijing Olympics as well.

They won 104 straight games and have not lost a game since 2007! A 104 win streak is unimaginable in the world of sports, but it seems that Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor are truly the world champions right now. I am surprised that there hasn’t even been a fluke game where they lost in the last 104 games. Also, since beach volleyball is a team sport it means that both the players have to play well or they will lose. Therefore having a winning streak that is so long means two amazing players, not just one.

Winning so many games in a row must be exhilarating and very exciting but also turns the pressure on. I mean, what if you had won 99 games and then had to play a tough team? I would be nervous because I wouldn’t want to lose when I had a chance to win 100 straight games. There is also pressure to remain the champions and to always perform amazingly.

Have you ever had a long winning streak? Comment below and tell me how that felt or how that affected your playing.

The Greatest Olympian Ever

Yesterday when I was coming home from my dance class, I turned on the radio and I heard sports commentators say the phrase “Greatest Olympian Ever” when they were referring to Michael Phelps. Then when I got home my sister was watching the Olympics on TV and I heard that phrase again describing Michael Phelps.

Phelps is without doubt an extremely talented swimmer – in fact, he has won a gold medal in each of the five events he has competed in so far at the Beijing Olympic Games. Those five victories combined with the six gold medals he won in the last Olympic Games give him the title of “Greatest Olympian Ever”. No other Olympian has ever won more than nine gold medals and Phelps has already won 11 with three events left to compete in!

All this talk about the “Greatest Olympian Ever” got me thinking about what made someone a great athlete. Yes, Phelps is an amazing swimmer and has won an impressive number of medals. But calling someone the “Greatest Olympian Ever” because of the number of Gold medals they won seems a little unfair. What about those athletes who compete in events like soccer and volleyball – they don’t have as many events to compete in, and therefore as many opportunities to win Gold medals, as Phelps did.

What do you think determines if an athlete is great? What is your opinion about Phelps’ major accomplishments and new title of “Greatest Olympian Ever”? Who do you consider to be a great athlete or Olympian and why?

Finding Friends Through Sports!

We all know that sports are good for your body. They build muscles, expand the lungs, and strengthen the bones of athletes of any age, from kids to older adults like your parents. But sports help you do another thing, as I’ll be finding out this fall: they can help you make some great friends!

Finding awesome people to hang out with is going to be important for me in about a week in a half, because I’m moving to another state to go to college. When I finally get settled in, I’ll be 1,000 miles from the nearest person who’s a friend of mine or family. You can probably imagine that I’d end up feeling pretty lonely and at first I was kind of scared of being all by myself so far away. But then, I found people who are going to help me get through it.

It turns out that there is a huge club of people in my college town who run together every day. I’m really into running long distances and training for races like marathons, just like they are! They let people from anywhere join their club and run with them, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I feel really lucky to find people like the folks in this club. Sports is fun, but its even better when you’ve got friends to share that excitement with. Not only will the runners in this club help me get over homesickness, but they’ll help me learn about and have more fun with the sport I love. I can’t wait to join!

Men's Gymnastics

Although the Chinese men’s team started off with a rocky start, it ended up dominating the gymnastics competition and winning the gold. The United States also competed well and exceeded expectations by winning a bronze medal. It was only the fourth time the United States men’s team had won any medal and the first time China won a gold medal in men’s gymnastics.

The United States team met with a lot of confusion and last minute changes early on in the competition. Two star competitors (twins Paul and Morgan Hamm) gave up their spots on the team because of injuries and two alternates (Raj Bhavsar and Sasha Artemev) were put in the game. In fact, Artemev was notified that he would be competing in the Olympics less than one day before the competition began! Through the changes, the men pulled it together and gave a commendable performance for which they won a deserved bronze medal.

China too had its share of tough moments as it began the competition with a bit of bad luck and a few mistakes. In the end though China performed well and got the points it needed to win gold.

Have you ever played on a team when last minute changes or early mess-ups got you frazzled? What did you do in that situation?

A Sight to See

A group of people danced on a huge sheet of paper – as they danced a picture began to appear on the paper – the dancers were drawing with their feet and arms AS THEY DANCED! Hundreds of Tai Chi Masters performed perfectly synchronized Tai Chi movements in a circle around a group children (symbolizing the future). These amazing events as well as other amazing feats were performed during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

I unfortunately did not catch the opening ceremony live. Everyone who saw it told me it was amazing and that I just had to see it. They told me that there were hundreds of people perfectly synchronized who moved, drummed, and danced in perfect harmony. They told me there was a flying man who lit the torch. They told me about impressive flames and lights and fireworks.

I wish I had seen the entire thing live but after hearing rave reviews I began watching bits and pieces online. Even though watching the ceremony like that was not ideal, it did not diminish the incredible performance.

This opening ceremony attracted a huge number of television viewers – more than almost any other opening ceremony since television was invented. Were you one of those viewers - did you watch the opening ceremony? Comment below and tell me your favorite parts of it.

Those "Other" Olympic Sports

Today is a happy and sad day for me. It’s two days after the lucky day of 8-8-08. First the sad part: the Olympics have now been in progress for two days in Bejing, China and finally I have just now gotten a chance to settle down and watch the world’s finest athletes compete with other nations. I’ve already missed 48 hours of some of the world’s most intense competition and even one of American swimmer Michael Phelp’s gold medal races!

But there’s a happy part to this, the fact that I finally do get to see the Olympics. Today, I had planned to watch Team USA’s basketball squad try to get back on top of the world scene (we finished with a bronze medal in 2004). But basketball wasn’t on any of the five channels I checked that were carrying the Olympics. Instead I saw a bunch of sports no one ever says anything about: rowing, synchronized diving, rifling, badminton, and gymnastics. But these sports made today an even cooler day to tune in, and for good reason.

I thought I knew what Olympic sports were really worth watching and which really interested me. I thought that today would be no different from four years ago, when I watched the Games from Athens, Greece. Instead I ended up having a totally different experience and getting a chance to see some sports I had never given a second thought. For me, and really all true sports fans who admire the fact that people are competing, seeing new sports was an even bigger thrill because I got to learn something and still get that thrill of others vying for a win. To me, that learning is bigger than getting anything I expected.

What sports have you watched in these Olympic Games? Were there any new ones that inspired you to learn more about them?

Eating Right

Playing sports takes a lot of energy and it is important that we eat right so we can play our best. I remember my soccer and track coaches always telling us to eat well, drink lots of liquids, and rest up before a soccer game or track meet. My soccer coaches especially would emphasize eating carbohydrates (stuff like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes) the night before a big game.

When I played on my school’s soccer team we would have team dinners the night before a game. During these dinners we would usually eat tons of pasta and get excited about the game. I loved those team dinners, also called pasta feeds, because I love pasta and they were great for team bonding.

When I went to soccer tournaments with my club team (traveling team), everyone was always cautious about what they ate. For example, during one tournament we had a game a couple of hours after lunch so when we were making our lunch decisions we steered away from the Mexican food. Now, I absolutely love Mexican food but we thought it would be unwise to eat burritos and chips before a game because of the oil and heaviness of Mexican food.

Sometimes what we eat before a game can affect how we play – we can be tired and too full to play our best or energized and ready to go. What is your favorite pre-game meal? Are there any food items that you never or always eat before a game?

Astounding Athletes

I was sitting in my living room with my mother and sister earlier tonight to watch gymnastics. We watched the men’s still ring event first and we were completely astounded. Have you ever watched that event? If you have, then you know why we were gasping and why we couldn’t tear our eyes away from the TV screen. The flexibility, strength, and balance needed to perform on the still rings is amazing.

Another event I could not believe was the pommel horse. It’s hard for me to find the correct words to describe how impressed I am by gymnasts, but again, I could not turn my eyes away from the screen. What I find most compelling about gymnasts is that they have to perform well in many different areas and every part of their body is in perfect shape.

The men’s gymnastics team is comprised of Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joseph Hagerty, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring, and Kevin Tan, and I will definitely continue to watch them compete throughout this summer. Gymnastics has always been one of my favorite events to watch because of the incredible and completely astonishing things gymnasts can do. They amaze me every time.

Comment below and tell me which events you like to watch and why. Tell me about your favorite athletes and what you admire about them.

Last Minute Tension

There are two minutes left in the game. The score is tied. Everyone is tense and on their toes, hoping their team will score.

I play soccer and I know that when there is little time left in the game and the score is tied, everyone becomes more desperate. Everyone goes all out and give the last couple minutes everything they have. In short, I think situations like this are some of the most exciting situations you can encounter in sports and bring out the best playing in everyone.

When I went to Hawaii to play in a soccer tournament with my soccer team we had a game like this. Both teams had scored early on in the game and with 10 minutes left it was a 1-1 tie. We knew we had to win that game to do well in the tournament and we were desperate to score. As the minutes dwindled down to five and then two, desperation grew and we hoped that we still had time left to score. We had a few close shots but none of them went in and the tension grew. Everyone was holding their breath and hoping that we would score before the referee blew the final whistle signaling the end of the game. Unfortunately there was no happy ending and the game ended in a tie.

Although we did not win, I am very proud of myself and my team for playing hard throughout the whole game. We never gave up and everyone tried their best, and in the end that’s what counts, right?

Have you ever played or watched a game that was tied near the end? Comment below and tell me about it.

The Power of Perfect Tim-ing!

Teams in all sports tend to go through great times and deep slumps in cycles. A stretch of good season records eventually fades into a string of losses that hopefully bounce back to a streak of wins. Right now, one of my favorite teams is in the second part of that cycle, the slump. But one guy in particular has been a bright spot this season, making it easier for fans like me to stick with the team through tough times.

The bright spot in this mediocre season is, of course, Giants rookie pitcher Tim Lincecum. Despite playing on a team that is holding fourth place (out of five) in baseball’s weakest division, Tim has managed to rack up 12 wins (almost double the next best pitcher on the team!) and a league-leading 175 strikeouts. His performance this year hasn’t just been good, it’s been incredible.

For true fans, guys like Tim Lincecum are saviors. With Barry Bonds retired and the Giants a few years from their last playoff games, I kind of stopped watching the sports page or flipping to the Giants game on TV. After a while, I caught myself totally ignoring the Giants and I wondered: am I still a true fan?

But then came Tim. All of his pitches dominated opposing hitters and made the games exciting to watch again. People from longtime fans to even national reporters have been paying attention to the Giants despite their record, all because of him! More importantly, I couldn’t stop following Tim’s progress and got back into following the team. A true fan was reunited with the team!

Have any of your favorite teams ever gone through a big slump? Tell us how you kept up with your squad even through the tough times!

Sports Movies

Remember the Titans, Shaoulin Soccer, Bend it like Beckham, and Field of Dreams all have something in common –they are all sports movies that I love! Movies about sports are very important because they help shape the way we perceive sports and they are part of the culture that has sprung up around sports. They are also very entertaining and fun to watch!

In a lot of sports movies there is a workout scene where there is a montage of clips showing a team or person working out to intense or inspirational music. I absolutely love those workout scenes because often times they are when the transformation takes place with the main team or person in the movie. Sometimes those scenes are corny and unrealistic, but they always get me excited and give me the feeling that anything is possible if you work for it.

I have noticed that in many sports movies, the underdog team or player succeeds in the end. Even though this may not happen very often in real life, it is exciting to watch it happen in the movies because it reminds us that it is possible. Many movies also show sports as a way to bond with other people and overcome differences in order to succeed with the sport.

I think sports movies are a great way to pass the time and enjoy sports. Comment below and tell me about your favorite sports movies and the best parts about them.

"Just Keep Swimming"

Michael Phelps practically became a household name when he participated in the Athens Olympics 4 years ago. As a 19 year old he won 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals in Athens and he hopes to beat that record this year in Beijing.

Dory, a fish from the movie Finding Nemo, said in the movie “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming” and that is exactly what Michael Phelps did in Athens. He participated in 17 races over 7 days! Unfortunately, he did not perform well in the last one because of exhaustion. Since he was entered in so many races, he was very tired by the last few races and did not perform well in them because he was racing against competitors who were fresh and ready to race.

This year the 23 year old will return to the world stage in Beijing hoping to compete in 17 or close to 17 races over 9 days. This time he has a better plan and hopes to be more successful in his later events. He is now stronger and is on a new weight training program. Isn’t it amazing how Phelps is so good at so many events? I wonder how he finds the energy to race in more than one or two Olympic races a day.

I remember playing in a soccer game once during a very hot day. I was running around like crazy and I was getting really tired but I didn’t want to stop playing because it was an exciting game. Once the game finally ended I was so worn out that I went straight home and rested the rest of the day. I was so tired that I barely moved around during the day and then I went to bed early and slept for a solid 12 hours.

Have you ever played a sport for so long that you were completely exhausted at the end? Comment below and tell me about it.

The Voices of My Game

Today baseball and its fans experienced one of the game’s few sad moments. Skip Caray, who had been the main broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves for almost 30 years, died Sunday. He leaves the Braves without their usual voice for the first time since most of our parents were kids our age.

The passing of great people in sports is always a little sad, but it made me think of the voices I know for my favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. I know that in the next few decades, there will eventually be different announcers behind the mike, but for me, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow will always be the voice of the team by the bay. Their voices have rumbled out of TV and radio speakers for as long as I can remember watching America’s game. For me, it will never be any other way.

See, broadcasters who last so many years don’t just relay what’s happening from the field, although the pitches and hits and catches are the main part of the game. Great announcers like Mr. Caray and Mr. Kuiper and Mr. Krukow give little details that they know are important—like the outfield formation or the rivalry between pitcher and hitter—from their days playing and following the game. Guys like these make even a better connection with fans than if they were at the game, because they explain why things are happening as they are and not just what’s going on. Such brilliant insight is why men like Mr. Caray are so missed at the end of the day.

Who’s the announcer for your favorite team? Do they help you feel any special connection with the team you root for?

Practice Makes Perfect

If you play soccer, you understand how exhilarating it is to fake a player out with a move and then speed by them. I have always loved doing that but it takes a lot of practice to be able to fake someone out successfully.

I remember learning new moves during soccer practice and then practicing them so that I could execute them successfully during a game. I remember learning moves like the scissor move, cuts, stepovers and croifs. We also used to learn new plays at practice like the wall pass and overlap. My team used to do these moves and plays over and over during soccer practice so that we knew them really well and they became second nature to us. Once we felt comfortable with them, we would use the moves and plays in a game. It was always very exciting when a move or play that I had practiced worked during a game.

I haven’t learned any new soccer moves lately but I did just learn a new dance piece and I am very excited to practice it and get better at performing it. Today I danced that piece about 10 times because I wanted to make sure it was ingrained into my brain and that I wouldn’t forget it.


Have you ever learned a new move or play? Comment below and tell me if those moves or plays ever worked in a game.

A Day at Camp

A few days ago, I wrote about how cool it is that fans can get involved with their football teams by going to the team’s training camp sessions on the weekend. On Sunday I found out exactly how awesome that feels when I was able to connect with my squad, the San Francisco 49ers, for the second time. I went to the training camps last year, but this year I sensed a different attitude. There was more team spirit both from the fans and the players and more energy coming from everyone. It really feels like we’re going to win this year!

You have to understand where the 49ers have been for the last few years. The team hasn’t won very many games or found a quarterback who stays under center for more than one season. The memories of the five Super Bowls the 9ers have won (an NFL record) are a distant memory. Really, for a team that was so used to winning for most of the 1980’s and 1990’s, the recent past has been a hard hit of reality.

Today was different.

I could see it from the stands, even though I was quite far up in the bleachers. The determination to win was showing in the energy that the team put into making the catches, the cuts and big throws that go into making great plays. Fans cheered as the offensive line (a normally weak spot) held its own against the pass rush and then as the defense made the high jumps to block floating passes. Topping it all off was the fierce competition between the 49ers three quarterbacks (Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, and J.T. O’Sullivan), which saw every man determined to win the starting job.

Such energy is something you can’t see on TV, or hear on the radio. The only way to pick it up is to actually be there, a beautiful part of sports that may be getting lost in the new technology world. I only hope that everyone can remember to be with their team, even though its more convenient to be separated by a screen.

What things are you looking for in your favorite team this year? If you could go to training camp, what would you go see?

The Bryan Brothers and Williams Sisters

Imagine having someone just as passionate as you are about a sport. Imagine that they lived with you and you could practice and play that sport with him/her whenever you wanted. You would always have someone to practice with and someone to help you work on your weaknesses. Bob and Mike Bryan grew up like that and are now world famous tennis players. Venus and Serena Williams also grew up playing tennis together and have completely changed the face of women’s tennis.

Bob and Mike Bryan are twin tennis players who will be competing in the men’s doubles event during the Olympics. Now 30 years old, they have been prominent figures in men’s tennis for many years, and are ranked No. 1 going into the 2008 Olympics. They were ranked first in 2004 as well, but lost during the quarterfinals to the ultimate champions.

The Williams sisters have also been in the spotlight for many years now as a formidable duo and because they are sisters. Although not twins, these sisters are close in skill level and have competed together in women’s doubles as well as against each other in women’s singles many times.

What do you think it would be like to compete with or against a sibling? Do you ever play sports with a relative close in age to you?

The Pride of Sports

The Olympics are now less than two weeks away and more and more the world is focusing in on Beijing, the capital city of China where the 2008 summer games will take place. The Olympics are about sports and competition, but another important part of the Olympics for the Chinese will be the pride they have for their country for being able to host the Olympics.

Many cities compete for the honor of hosting an Olympic Games. In fact, a city near me, San Francisco, California, tried really hard to be the home of the 2012 Olympic games (the next ones, in four years). They didn’t make it (London, England took that honor), but for a few good weeks, everyone in California’s Bay Area was abuzz with the possibility that entire world could be watching all of us for those couple of weeks in 2012.

For the countries that get to host the Olympic Games, the event is really special because the cities get to show off their best features. For Beijing, those good parts will probably be the large number of businesses that Chinese people are starting and making money from. The Chinese government and its citizens have put a lot of that money and their own time to make Beijing look spectacular and prepare it for the eyes of the world. I hope that people around the globe appreciate their efforts!

Imagine if your city or a city near you was going to host the Olympic Games. What changes would it have to make to support all the world’s sports? What would you do to pitch in for this effort?

Hall of Fame

Washington Redskins players Darrell Green and James Arthur “Art” Monk are 2 of 6 former NFL players who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 2, 2008.

Green had a stunning 19 year career playing for the Washington Redskins from 1983 to 2002. During his long career, Green was known for being one of the fastest players in the NFL. At the beginning of his football career he didn’t have much success and was told that he was too small to play. As a junior in high school he was on the Junior Varsity team and only made Varsity as a senior. At that point in his life, no one could have imagined the success he would see as a football player.

Monk had a very successful career playing for the Washington Redskins, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. His first year playing for the Redskins, Monk was an all-Rookie selection and set the rookie record for receptions. He continued to excel, especially in the area of receptions – he was the first player to have over 100 receptions and the first NFL player to reach the 900 career receptions mark.

Who do you think deserves to be in the Football Hall of Fame? Who do you think the best players in other professional sports are? Comment below and tell me about them and why you think they are great athletes.

Deadline Deals!

Two days ago marked the trade deadline for Major League Baseball. That means that July 31^st was the last day that baseball’s 30 teams could swap big stars and up-and-coming prospects. And teams all over the league did both, including a couple of huge moves with two really big names in baseball moving between the leagues. While my favorite team (the San Francisco Giants!) didn’t make any deals, the trade deadline proved to be a big deal for them too!

Without even dealing a player, the Giants may have another major headache in their way if they want to try and win the National League West division with only 54 games left: Manny Ramirez. Until Thursday, Manny was known as the silly but huge-hitting left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, a team 3,000 miles a whole league race away from my Giants. Today I woke up and Manny is now a huge-hitting left fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are fighting for the same division title as the Giants! I don’t know if he’s still silly now that he’s in the Golden State, but I certainly hope he is. When Manny gets serious in clutch situations, he’s a dangerous hitter.

The other big trade was one that sent Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox. This one doesn’t hold back any team I really root for, but personally, I’m hoping the Chicago Cubs win this year’s World Series, because they haven’t won it in over 100 years. The White Sox are now more likely to get to the World Series than ever and might end up facing the Cubs. Griffey might make it harder for the Cubs to shake their nickname of “Loveable Losers”.

Did any of your favorite baseball teams make a big move at the trade deadline? Tell us all about it and how you think it will affect your team and the rest of the league

The Lightning Bolt

There are a number of talented athletes who work hard and achieve greatness, but every once in a while, there is someone with so much natural talent that everything seems to come so easily to them and they seem to be a cut above the rest. Usian Bolt, nicknamed Lightening Bolt, is one of them.

Born and raised in Jamaica, Bolt showed his natural talent at a young age. He was an amazing runner at 15 and now, at 21 years old, is considered one of the fastest men on earth. His specialty is the 200 meter race and he currently holds the fifth fastest time in the world for that event. Only one man faster than him, Wallace Spearmon, will be racing in the 2008 Olympics.

In Beijing this summer, Bolt is expected to come away with one, if not two, gold medals. He will be running the 200 meters, his signature event, and most likely the 100 meters as well. He started running the 100 meters last year and in his fifth 100 meter race, he set the world record at 9.72 seconds. His FIFTH 100 meter race. His FIFTH, and he set the WORLD RECORD. Up against runners who have lots of natural talent themselves and train extremely hard, Bolt managed to come out on top, only his fifth time around! Although he has the world record in the 100 meters, he may not be running in that event in Beijing because of his relative inexperience with it.

Who do you think is a natural born athlete? Comment below and tell me about someone you believe is a great athlete.