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.