My Great Aunt passed away at the age of 96 today. I was shocked. I mean you expect that anything can happen when you a relative is 96, but I just saw her on our trip to North Carolina and she looked great. She moved better than most 66 year olds and we were able to get a video of her flipping a card and catching it quickly. Amazing reflexes for someone her age.
I spoke on the phone with her on Monday (one reason was to remind her to eat) and on Thursday I listened to her tell my mom how wonderful I am and how she fell in love with me on our visit. She seemed full of life over the phone then. She actually passed away later that night.
She was an avid golfer, and she hit a hole in one in her sixties. She played up into her 90s.
I'm not really all that sad, because when my mom and I visited, and when my uncles did as well earlier in the month, we helped her live life. Since her husband died she has just been couped up in her apartment. That's not much of a life to live. When we visited we took her out to eat and drove around to see her old house. Her memory wasn't that good because of a fall, but she got us close. She appreciated seeing it. Another day while we were in North Carolina we took her out for Ice Cream because she really liked Ice Cream and her facility had a problem with it's freezer. We drove her through one of the worst rain storms I have ever been through in order to get ice cream. She really enjoyed herself and couldn't believe what we were driving through just to get her some ice cream.
We couldn't go golfing because of the weather being too hot. That's the one thing we wish we could have done, whether it be the driving range or mini golf.
I showed her my IPhone and all that it can do. It's amazing how much things have changed from the Woodrow Wilson administration. She was amazed by it. I showed her some of the work that I did because she was interested in it. She saw a sample of a video I made and she couldn't believe what girls were doing in athletics now. We showed her video of us skydiving and we got her to say that "Well if everyone else was going than I might go."
It's always sad when someone passes away, but it feels much better when you know that you helped them enjoy the final moments of their life.
Create a list of things you want to do in life and make them happen and help others make theirs happen.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Another Nolan Munroe Post
Really impressed about this person who is sort of my neighbor...Rindge is just over the state border. He competed in the X-Games
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhPgQz1hR7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OexfmIlEXMI
Father was a track and field athlete and mother was a volleyball player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhPgQz1hR7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OexfmIlEXMI
Father was a track and field athlete and mother was a volleyball player.
Saw this video of a former UCONN Football Player
Former UCONN Cornerback Terrence Baltimore looks like he is taking his talents to show business.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM0TxWvH8Q4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM0TxWvH8Q4
Two Awesome Soccer Facilities...
I wish I could find some videos or examples, but Creighton and Michigan both have great soccer facilities...Ones that would go to the top of my list based on photos and videos I saw.
Here is Creighton...wish I could have gone there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn5bDtdwLkg
Here is Creighton...wish I could have gone there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn5bDtdwLkg
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
He's sort of my neighbor...
I guess you can't really call someone who lives in another town your neighbor, but since I bike past his house everyday, I guess it feels like he's in the neighborhood.
Anyway, probably about six miles down the road there is someone named Nolan Munroe who competes in the X-Games.
http://espn.go.com/action/athlete/_/id/45176/nolan-munroe
I think that is pretty cool.
His father and his company are going to do tree work for us.
So now I have someone to root for when I watch the X-Games.
Apparently he made enough money living his dream to buy himself a car on his own. That's pretty cool.
Anyway, probably about six miles down the road there is someone named Nolan Munroe who competes in the X-Games.
http://espn.go.com/action/athlete/_/id/45176/nolan-munroe
I think that is pretty cool.
His father and his company are going to do tree work for us.
So now I have someone to root for when I watch the X-Games.
Apparently he made enough money living his dream to buy himself a car on his own. That's pretty cool.
A Little Experiment
I wonder how many people are googling for information on potential transfers from the Penn State Football Program. This experiment will help me find out.
I have no real interesting news and no knowledge of anything that is going on. That's the most important thing.
I can however, speak a little bit about college football recruiting and a story I heard. This one is about Khairi Fortt, who went to my high school. I heard some things through the grapevine about his recruitment.
I know that at the time, Head Coach Randy Edsall visited my alma mater to watch Khairi. I heard that Coach Edsall gave Khairi these big huge hugs as if they were long lost brothers. Sounds like major ass-kissing was involved and I can't blame Coach Edsall for trying either.
I still don't quite get how recruits can deal with the major ass-kissing to the "you suck, go run five 120s."
Anyway the other part of the story is just a simple thing that I heard early on from Khairi's father, who I just happened to be standing next to at a Thanksgiving game. Very early on in the process, Mr. Fortt mentioned how impressed they were by UConn's facilities and the initial tour they were given. It's good that UConn is at least impressing some big time recruits.
This makes me wonder how awful the recruiting process really is for a family. Here I am, a day before Thanksgiving talking to someone I don't know about someone I don't know and where they are thinking about going to college. I can't imagine how old that would get to my family and I if I had two years of constant questions about where I am looking to go to college.
If I was the Fortt family now I'd disconnect the phones and buy a pay as you go cell phone.
I also heard in a separate incidence about a separate player that UConn was too cautious recruiting and that it didn't have anyone on the inside either "breaking" or "flirting with" or "in the grey area" to get a good recruit. So basically cheating still exists...and 1 plus 1 still equals 2
I have no real interesting news and no knowledge of anything that is going on. That's the most important thing.
I can however, speak a little bit about college football recruiting and a story I heard. This one is about Khairi Fortt, who went to my high school. I heard some things through the grapevine about his recruitment.
I know that at the time, Head Coach Randy Edsall visited my alma mater to watch Khairi. I heard that Coach Edsall gave Khairi these big huge hugs as if they were long lost brothers. Sounds like major ass-kissing was involved and I can't blame Coach Edsall for trying either.
I still don't quite get how recruits can deal with the major ass-kissing to the "you suck, go run five 120s."
Anyway the other part of the story is just a simple thing that I heard early on from Khairi's father, who I just happened to be standing next to at a Thanksgiving game. Very early on in the process, Mr. Fortt mentioned how impressed they were by UConn's facilities and the initial tour they were given. It's good that UConn is at least impressing some big time recruits.
This makes me wonder how awful the recruiting process really is for a family. Here I am, a day before Thanksgiving talking to someone I don't know about someone I don't know and where they are thinking about going to college. I can't imagine how old that would get to my family and I if I had two years of constant questions about where I am looking to go to college.
If I was the Fortt family now I'd disconnect the phones and buy a pay as you go cell phone.
I also heard in a separate incidence about a separate player that UConn was too cautious recruiting and that it didn't have anyone on the inside either "breaking" or "flirting with" or "in the grey area" to get a good recruit. So basically cheating still exists...and 1 plus 1 still equals 2
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
UCWS Photos
I found these photos online from the Wake Forest game in 2011. Didn't know they existed.
http://sportsonfilm.photoshelter.com/gallery/09-02-2011-WS-Connecticut-vs-Wake-Forest/G0000Mn8I_PRK8A8/C0000ZwyIP7UgzgY
And my favorite photo...This would probably look nice by a locker room if someone paid for the photo...
http://sportsonfilm.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/09-02-2011-WS-Connecticut-vs-Wake-Forest/G0000Mn8I_PRK8A8/I0000.81PeQaINwU/C0000ZwyIP7UgzgY
http://sportsonfilm.photoshelter.com/gallery/09-02-2011-WS-Connecticut-vs-Wake-Forest/G0000Mn8I_PRK8A8/C0000ZwyIP7UgzgY
And my favorite photo...This would probably look nice by a locker room if someone paid for the photo...
http://sportsonfilm.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/09-02-2011-WS-Connecticut-vs-Wake-Forest/G0000Mn8I_PRK8A8/I0000.81PeQaINwU/C0000ZwyIP7UgzgY
Penn State
I watched the press conference yesterday because I love college athletics and I was very interested in how the case was going to be handled.
I am surprised that the NCAA punished Penn State for something that did not give a competitive advantage to the football program. Usually rules violations are for things such as extra benefits for student athletes.
However, I can see why the NCAA is applying the lack of institutional control rule and overall I am glad with all of what they did. Penn State needed to be made an example of and punished. Too many universities make decisions that are not good for the school, or the whole of an athletic department just to suit a football or basketball program.
There is this culture that I think exists in basketball and football programs at the Division I level that they can do no wrong and that everything needs to be done for them. Basketball programs and football programs do a lot for schools, but they also don't teach students engineering, or science. They don't solve cancer and they don't create world peace.
I don't mind that coaches in revenue sports make lots of money, because they have more responsibility. I do mind that they think that everything revolves around them and their interests and not the interests of Olympic Sport athletes and the University as a whole.
I hope that the penalties serve as a reminder to big revenue programs that while we love what they do on the field, and while we want them to succeed, that not everything is done to their benefit and that they don't control every decision at a university or in an athletic department. They can have a large say as large revenue producers, but I'd like them to realize and care about the other people and sports on campus as well.
Part of competing in college athletics should be about being a student and an athlete. I often think big programs forget that. Part of competing should be about teaching and showing good values too others, such as respect, fair play, hard work, determination etc. I would feel guilty as a coach if a student athlete left an athletics program without any skills to compete in the real world and make a living on their own. College Athletes are worshiped in college, but if they aren't educated and don't gain skills then what happens to them?
I'd like to read a story about a student athlete who didn't make it in the professional ranks and also didn't graduate or skated by with a degree in general studies. What are they doing now?
The NCAA must also walk a fine line and make sure that they also always espouse those values that they punished Penn State for. Sometimes the NCAA puts money before student athletes as well.
As for the punishments, I think a five year bowl ban would be better, but four is fine. That is pretty harsh.
I like the scholarship limit. I like that players can transfer without penalty and that they can go to any program (and allow other programs to go above their 85 scholarship limit to get them)
I wish that the $60,000,000 fine had to come directly at the expense of the football program, but I am not sure how you could make that happen. I like the financial penalty and that it can't come at the expense of other programs.
I don't care about the wins being vacated. That penalty means nothing to me. The games were already played and I feel like the program and student-athletes deserved those wins. I'd actually sort of prefer that this not have been a punishment because Penn State didn't gain any advantage in those games that were played.
Will Penn State recover from this?
Yes, just not anytime soon.
I am surprised that the NCAA punished Penn State for something that did not give a competitive advantage to the football program. Usually rules violations are for things such as extra benefits for student athletes.
However, I can see why the NCAA is applying the lack of institutional control rule and overall I am glad with all of what they did. Penn State needed to be made an example of and punished. Too many universities make decisions that are not good for the school, or the whole of an athletic department just to suit a football or basketball program.
There is this culture that I think exists in basketball and football programs at the Division I level that they can do no wrong and that everything needs to be done for them. Basketball programs and football programs do a lot for schools, but they also don't teach students engineering, or science. They don't solve cancer and they don't create world peace.
I don't mind that coaches in revenue sports make lots of money, because they have more responsibility. I do mind that they think that everything revolves around them and their interests and not the interests of Olympic Sport athletes and the University as a whole.
I hope that the penalties serve as a reminder to big revenue programs that while we love what they do on the field, and while we want them to succeed, that not everything is done to their benefit and that they don't control every decision at a university or in an athletic department. They can have a large say as large revenue producers, but I'd like them to realize and care about the other people and sports on campus as well.
Part of competing in college athletics should be about being a student and an athlete. I often think big programs forget that. Part of competing should be about teaching and showing good values too others, such as respect, fair play, hard work, determination etc. I would feel guilty as a coach if a student athlete left an athletics program without any skills to compete in the real world and make a living on their own. College Athletes are worshiped in college, but if they aren't educated and don't gain skills then what happens to them?
I'd like to read a story about a student athlete who didn't make it in the professional ranks and also didn't graduate or skated by with a degree in general studies. What are they doing now?
The NCAA must also walk a fine line and make sure that they also always espouse those values that they punished Penn State for. Sometimes the NCAA puts money before student athletes as well.
As for the punishments, I think a five year bowl ban would be better, but four is fine. That is pretty harsh.
I like the scholarship limit. I like that players can transfer without penalty and that they can go to any program (and allow other programs to go above their 85 scholarship limit to get them)
I wish that the $60,000,000 fine had to come directly at the expense of the football program, but I am not sure how you could make that happen. I like the financial penalty and that it can't come at the expense of other programs.
I don't care about the wins being vacated. That penalty means nothing to me. The games were already played and I feel like the program and student-athletes deserved those wins. I'd actually sort of prefer that this not have been a punishment because Penn State didn't gain any advantage in those games that were played.
Will Penn State recover from this?
Yes, just not anytime soon.
NASCAR Drivers Compete in Triathalon
I'm trying to defend NASCAR drivers in the classic debate of "Are race car drivers athletes?"
Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson (Five Time Champion of NASCAR) along with pit crew members took part in a triathalon in Charleston, South Carolina in early July.
http://www.nascar.com/news/120718/kkahne-jjohnson-triathlon/index.html
I can't argue that NASCAR drivers are on the same level as soccer players, basketball players, track and field athletes, hockey players, or football players. All of those sports, and many others, require a higher level of fitness than racing.
However, I would argue that race car drivers are in the same ball park in terms of fitness (and some drivers are more in shape) as golfers, baseball pitchers and catchers, designated hitters, first and third baseman. (I once read the average baseball game has 17 minutes of actual action)
Race car drivers are more athletic than people realize. Every sport requires different skills and race car drivers spend just as much time as other athletes do preparing for their races.
The triathalon is also proof that some NASCAR drivers take their fitness seriously. I also know of a race car driver, (not NASCAR, but a different smaller series) who went to UCONN and works out a lot. He likes to bike and I always see tweets about him going for a run.
Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson (Five Time Champion of NASCAR) along with pit crew members took part in a triathalon in Charleston, South Carolina in early July.
http://www.nascar.com/news/120718/kkahne-jjohnson-triathlon/index.html
I can't argue that NASCAR drivers are on the same level as soccer players, basketball players, track and field athletes, hockey players, or football players. All of those sports, and many others, require a higher level of fitness than racing.
However, I would argue that race car drivers are in the same ball park in terms of fitness (and some drivers are more in shape) as golfers, baseball pitchers and catchers, designated hitters, first and third baseman. (I once read the average baseball game has 17 minutes of actual action)
Race car drivers are more athletic than people realize. Every sport requires different skills and race car drivers spend just as much time as other athletes do preparing for their races.
The triathalon is also proof that some NASCAR drivers take their fitness seriously. I also know of a race car driver, (not NASCAR, but a different smaller series) who went to UCONN and works out a lot. He likes to bike and I always see tweets about him going for a run.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Sad and Strange Story
This story that I saw was just so bizarre and sad.
http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-mich-woman-i-lived-with-corpse-watched-nascar-20120713,0,4928625.htmlstory
She lived with a corpse for a year and watched NASCAR.
"He always listened"
The moral of the story is that when you grow old and you have no one, either a significant other, kids or friends, you will have nothing to live for.
I have witnessed this with my own great aunt. She married but decided to have no children. At 97 she is now a widow, has no real friends and no family of her own to help her, take care of her and keeping her wanting to live.
You don't want to end up so lonely that you end up watching television with a corpse for a year. I don't mean that to be funny at all. It's a lesson.
For all that sports fans love watching games, I think it's equally as important to turn off the television and participate in sports and be with friends. It's healthy to participate and be with others.
You want something to live for when you get old, and maybe those buddies you play tennis with will be it.
Sports fans shouldn't let their life completely revolve around watching some stranger's life. You have to have your own life.
http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-mich-woman-i-lived-with-corpse-watched-nascar-20120713,0,4928625.htmlstory
She lived with a corpse for a year and watched NASCAR.
"He always listened"
The moral of the story is that when you grow old and you have no one, either a significant other, kids or friends, you will have nothing to live for.
I have witnessed this with my own great aunt. She married but decided to have no children. At 97 she is now a widow, has no real friends and no family of her own to help her, take care of her and keeping her wanting to live.
You don't want to end up so lonely that you end up watching television with a corpse for a year. I don't mean that to be funny at all. It's a lesson.
For all that sports fans love watching games, I think it's equally as important to turn off the television and participate in sports and be with friends. It's healthy to participate and be with others.
You want something to live for when you get old, and maybe those buddies you play tennis with will be it.
Sports fans shouldn't let their life completely revolve around watching some stranger's life. You have to have your own life.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
NASCAR Trip
I went to Charlotte/Concord, NC today to tour and look at NASCAR related sports facilities.
As a sports fan, and as someone who hopes to work in sports, it's important to take advantage of looking at how other sports and organizations set things up and work. You get new ideas from new experiences.
Plus I like NASCAR and like Hendrick Motorsports and want to see their race shop.
At Hendrick I got to see the garages. There are mechanics everywhere. There are tools everywhere. It smells like people are working on cars.
They are building new cars and working on old ones. They have tools in position to be worked on. Everything seemed relaxed in the shop, but people were working. It was just amazing to see how big of a building is necessary to house a full time NASCAR team. It was amazing to see how many people were in the background at the team shops. It's a really big operation. I didn't even get the chance to see where they build the engines. How I wish I got to see that.
There is nothing like hearing a race engine at 8,000 RPM's. It gets you hooked. The sound of the cars can just get you hooked.
The race shop was partly blocked off, so I couldn't see everything, and I probably didn't stop and observe as much as I should, but it was really awesome and impressive to see everything. There must have been 15 $200,000 cars in the garage.
The complex for Hendrick feature two huge garages. One for the 5 and 24 team and the other for the 48 and 88 team. The owner also had his own personal building for stuff, including what I believe is a 120 car collection.
Apparently there is a warehouse for Hendrick Motorsports with old cars that it can lend out for museums somewhere as well.
Hendrick also had a huge building for it's racing engines. I'm sure they build the engines their by hand, and also take apart all engines from races to look for wear. I wish that was open to the public.
The team store and museum was pretty cool as well. I got to sit in a mock race car seat. NASCAR Stock Cars do not have a door, so you have to unhook the steering wheel and then go through the window to sit in a race car seat. Getting in was difficult, but it wasn't as bad as getting out. Getting out was so hard because you are basically in a cocoon as a driver. The seat was quite comfortable, but you can't freaking move in your seat. You are strapped in and you are not moving. There is a piece of padding that made it sort of awkward for me to get out. Drivers make it look easy, and it is with experience, but for my first time getting in a race seat, it was difficult.
The shop and museum and whole complex had trophies and race suits everywhere. There were race cars everywhere as well.
Every imaginable piece of team apparel was for sale as well. They also had unique things like race used tires and used sheet metal. They are pretty cool things for a game room, or sports memorabilia collection, or if you need a conversation piece at the office.
So I bought something that a future women in my life will try desperately to get me to get rid of, (and will not succeed). I bought a used race tire. The tire had a marking that said "RF-9" which means it's the Right Front tire, and the ninth set of tires. The tire didn't look that worn, and I think I know why. I know what car and race it came from, but we won't divulge that info. I think it's a really cool.
Cars can also have markings where they check for tire wear. They showed me a tire that had 5 numbers from 76-82 along wear indicators. The numbers were close together which meant that the team had a good set-up. That is pretty cool.
I thought about getting a different tire that was more worn, and chewed up, but decided that the one I got, with less wear, was more meaningful.
I also visited Charlotte Motor Speedway briefly. It's a massive sports facility. It's just massive. It's bigger than you can imagine. It was a nice facility, although I noticed some interesting things, such as "condominiums" for race fans to watch a race from and a "smoking lounge." I guess you can really only find a smoking lounge in NASCAR (or maybe bowling, or cigar smoking in golf). I would never go to that place and think it's strange to have that, but as someone who doesn't smoke and doesn't understand why anyone would, it's not meant for me. (Thought it was strange Atlanta Airport had smoking lounges as well)
The facility had a LARGE screen for fans to watch the race from along the back straightaway. It looked like Charlotte had great views from most seats. Most seats also appeared to have chair backs which surprised me. There wasn't much activity at the track, especially on a Wednesday, but the gift shop was open and they were giving tours. A challenge for a sport facility is to try to get money out of it when they aren't actually racing. You have to figure out how to make this great facility more useful. You don't want it to sit empty for all but two weekends a year.
The Charlotte racing complex also had a dirt track across the street from the track along with a drag strip.
I had fun on my trip to Charlotte/Concord and I am glad I got to experience the things that I did. New ideas come from new experiences.
As a sports fan, and as someone who hopes to work in sports, it's important to take advantage of looking at how other sports and organizations set things up and work. You get new ideas from new experiences.
Plus I like NASCAR and like Hendrick Motorsports and want to see their race shop.
At Hendrick I got to see the garages. There are mechanics everywhere. There are tools everywhere. It smells like people are working on cars.
They are building new cars and working on old ones. They have tools in position to be worked on. Everything seemed relaxed in the shop, but people were working. It was just amazing to see how big of a building is necessary to house a full time NASCAR team. It was amazing to see how many people were in the background at the team shops. It's a really big operation. I didn't even get the chance to see where they build the engines. How I wish I got to see that.
There is nothing like hearing a race engine at 8,000 RPM's. It gets you hooked. The sound of the cars can just get you hooked.
The race shop was partly blocked off, so I couldn't see everything, and I probably didn't stop and observe as much as I should, but it was really awesome and impressive to see everything. There must have been 15 $200,000 cars in the garage.
The complex for Hendrick feature two huge garages. One for the 5 and 24 team and the other for the 48 and 88 team. The owner also had his own personal building for stuff, including what I believe is a 120 car collection.
Apparently there is a warehouse for Hendrick Motorsports with old cars that it can lend out for museums somewhere as well.
Hendrick also had a huge building for it's racing engines. I'm sure they build the engines their by hand, and also take apart all engines from races to look for wear. I wish that was open to the public.
The team store and museum was pretty cool as well. I got to sit in a mock race car seat. NASCAR Stock Cars do not have a door, so you have to unhook the steering wheel and then go through the window to sit in a race car seat. Getting in was difficult, but it wasn't as bad as getting out. Getting out was so hard because you are basically in a cocoon as a driver. The seat was quite comfortable, but you can't freaking move in your seat. You are strapped in and you are not moving. There is a piece of padding that made it sort of awkward for me to get out. Drivers make it look easy, and it is with experience, but for my first time getting in a race seat, it was difficult.
The shop and museum and whole complex had trophies and race suits everywhere. There were race cars everywhere as well.
Every imaginable piece of team apparel was for sale as well. They also had unique things like race used tires and used sheet metal. They are pretty cool things for a game room, or sports memorabilia collection, or if you need a conversation piece at the office.
So I bought something that a future women in my life will try desperately to get me to get rid of, (and will not succeed). I bought a used race tire. The tire had a marking that said "RF-9" which means it's the Right Front tire, and the ninth set of tires. The tire didn't look that worn, and I think I know why. I know what car and race it came from, but we won't divulge that info. I think it's a really cool.
Cars can also have markings where they check for tire wear. They showed me a tire that had 5 numbers from 76-82 along wear indicators. The numbers were close together which meant that the team had a good set-up. That is pretty cool.
I thought about getting a different tire that was more worn, and chewed up, but decided that the one I got, with less wear, was more meaningful.
I also visited Charlotte Motor Speedway briefly. It's a massive sports facility. It's just massive. It's bigger than you can imagine. It was a nice facility, although I noticed some interesting things, such as "condominiums" for race fans to watch a race from and a "smoking lounge." I guess you can really only find a smoking lounge in NASCAR (or maybe bowling, or cigar smoking in golf). I would never go to that place and think it's strange to have that, but as someone who doesn't smoke and doesn't understand why anyone would, it's not meant for me. (Thought it was strange Atlanta Airport had smoking lounges as well)
The facility had a LARGE screen for fans to watch the race from along the back straightaway. It looked like Charlotte had great views from most seats. Most seats also appeared to have chair backs which surprised me. There wasn't much activity at the track, especially on a Wednesday, but the gift shop was open and they were giving tours. A challenge for a sport facility is to try to get money out of it when they aren't actually racing. You have to figure out how to make this great facility more useful. You don't want it to sit empty for all but two weekends a year.
The Charlotte racing complex also had a dirt track across the street from the track along with a drag strip.
I had fun on my trip to Charlotte/Concord and I am glad I got to experience the things that I did. New ideas come from new experiences.
Elon Tour
I met some great people at Elon through a connection I have there. You have to network. Trust me, you have too.
I met an academic adviser today at Elon and we discussed how much she enjoys her job and how rewarding it can be to work with student-athletes. She talked about how there are the athletes you never worry about, the ones you worry about once a week, once a day and once an hour.
I could probably do this with UCWS pretty easily.
Anyway, onto the athletics facilities. Elon is beautiful. Everything is so well maintained. They are a member of the Southern Conference. They have a nice gym, which is fairly small. They recently replaced the center video board and four video boards in the corners of the gym.
The football stadium seats about 8,000 and it looks really nice. Baseball field is turf, and again it has beautiful brick on the outside, like all the other facilities. Soccer had a nice field.
I do feel bad for the football players at Elon though. They have a practice field that is twice as long as a normal field. That must make for grueling wind sprints.
Elon also has really nice, and well maintained, student rec fields. The field that the students play on for soccer is probably as nice as Morrone Stadium at UConn. Elon also features a driving range on campus and a putting green that looks like it was imported from Pinehurst. Darn good I didn't go to school there, because I probably would have been on the driving range all day.
Elon University is a beautiful campus and a nice private school. I loved their facilities and you should definitely check out their school.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
How did they come up with that?
Did you ever wonder who came up with an idea?
I do.
I mean who the hell came up with the idea for some games we play. For example, golf?
Who decided it would be fun to chase a small ball around a field with a stick, and hit a ball into a hole? It's truly fun. But who was the first guy? What possessed and inspired him?
This is what Robin Williams thinks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnFbCCgTo4
Tennis? Maybe someone got bored of hitting a ball back and forth with a friend and came up with rules to make the endless amount of back and forth hitting end.
The same goes for soccer. Let's kick a ball into the back of a net. It seems pretty normal to us now, but who decided that it would be fun to kick and head a ball into a net?
What about Figure Eight School Bus Racing? I want to go so badly because it sounds stupidly fun. How do you come up with an idea to get school buses, race them and then race them in figure eights?
How about dog scootering? How do you come up with an idea to have a dog pull you on a scooter? I love people who think like this. I hope this becomes a new thing. I don't know how you come up with the idea, or maybe more importantly, pull off the idea. I mean I've probably thought about something similar, but the fact that our dog stops every few feet to pee kills the motivation to try.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgZLW7PmmF8&feature=plcp
I do.
I mean who the hell came up with the idea for some games we play. For example, golf?
Who decided it would be fun to chase a small ball around a field with a stick, and hit a ball into a hole? It's truly fun. But who was the first guy? What possessed and inspired him?
This is what Robin Williams thinks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnFbCCgTo4
Tennis? Maybe someone got bored of hitting a ball back and forth with a friend and came up with rules to make the endless amount of back and forth hitting end.
The same goes for soccer. Let's kick a ball into the back of a net. It seems pretty normal to us now, but who decided that it would be fun to kick and head a ball into a net?
What about Figure Eight School Bus Racing? I want to go so badly because it sounds stupidly fun. How do you come up with an idea to get school buses, race them and then race them in figure eights?
How about dog scootering? How do you come up with an idea to have a dog pull you on a scooter? I love people who think like this. I hope this becomes a new thing. I don't know how you come up with the idea, or maybe more importantly, pull off the idea. I mean I've probably thought about something similar, but the fact that our dog stops every few feet to pee kills the motivation to try.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgZLW7PmmF8&feature=plcp
My incomplete and inaccurate soccer facility rankings
Well why don't I rank the facilities that I have been to for soccer.
I have been to or seen UConn, Duke, UNC, Wake, St. John's, Syracuse, DePaul, Notre Dame, Marquette, South Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Boston College, Penn State, Providence, Franklin Pierce, West Virginia, (I have been to Pittsburgh and Harvard, but not there new facility so they won't count) Boston University,
1. Notre Dame - I really don't think this is close. Notre Dame has by far the nicest stadium that I have been to. Not even close. Amazing Press Box, beautiful stadium itself. Clean, plenty of practice fields. I don't know exactly what is in their stadium, but they have room for themselves in there. A+ facility. It's amazing, but hopefully Notre Dame realizes that not every other school can have what they have, but can still have nice overall facilities.
2. Penn State - I loved the stadium and the practice fields. I thought the stadium had a great atmosphere. I liked the set-up of the stadium, and that I could film from inside. It was clean. The practice fields were also really nice. They had plenty of fields and plenty of goals. I was very impressed with what they had.
3. Wake Forest - Of the ACC schools that I have been to I liked Wake Forest's stadium the best. It felt new. Stadium was nice, and loved the practice fields (other than that they were sloped) Grass was well maintained on their practice fields in my mind. I didn't the ladder to the film platform, and that it was poor planning, but that's a minor problem that most people don't care about.
4.West Virginia - The stadium didn't really blow me away. I didn't like or dislike it. (I do wish they had a larger net behind the endline) However, I was blown away by their practice facility, with lights. I think every soccer practice facility should have the look and feel of West Virginia's. It's also a plus that they have storage at their facility, complete with parking as well for student athletes and coaches. I believe they may have even added a meeting room there. The grass on the field was so well maintained that I couldn't tell if it was turf or grass.
5. UConn - I know more about this schools facilities than any of the others. I am trying to be unbiased. I'd put Morrone Stadium only behind Notre Dame, Penn State and Wake Forest's (maybe tied with Wake). I love the stadium. I like the practice fields, other than for the fact that they don't have lights. Lights are a necessity. Having some turf for practice might be nice. If we ranked spring facilities, I'd think that Shenkman is better than any other facility. You have the training room, and weight room right next to the field.
Now nothing with soccer should still be in the field house. The field house and the fact that the offices and lockerroms are not near the practice field hurt the rankings. I'm also thinking that the lockerrooms could be outdated. Not sure, but it's an impression I have. I can't rank lockerrooms because I haven't been to any. UConn is upgrading sometime in the future and I think they should strive to have a world class stadium like they already have, with upgrades (like taking away the ugly grey fence exterior) and have soccer offices and lockerooms located at the field. UConn should be forward thinking, as should any other school making a facility. It's not good enough to have the bare minimum if you are a BCS program, because you will find yourself well behind competitors.
Schools building facilities should do things right the first time and think hard about what they want the program to be like in the future and build to that, or make it upgradeable. A new fixed up, average facility with no room for improvements is a headache in 15 years.
6. Boston College - I'm not sure where B.C. practices, but I would sort of assume they could just practice on their turf game field. I like that B.C. has mobile trailers for lockerroms on the site. I think the press box is decent. I just don't like that the field isn't on the main campus and that it is turf. B.C. feels like it could use more stands. I like that the field is out in the woods. Overall it's pretty nice.
7. Duke - From what I saw the stadium was above average. It was nice. Not amazing, but very nice. I'd say the same things about their practice fields. It's not a Notre Dame, but it's extremely useful and relatively very nice. I liked it overall, and having the ability to practice under the lights is a bonus.
8. UNC - UNC could be too low on this list. I really am impressed that their game field has their soccer offices. I'm sure if I actually walked into their offices and soccer specific building, that I would move them up the list. They appeared to have nice turf practice fields as well. However, I was THAT unimpressed with their actual game field. Maybe it would show nicer with soccer nets, but I'm not a fan of soccer stadiums with a track around the outside of it.
9. South Florida - South Florida has a beautiful new soccer stadium. It's really top notch. It's a beautiful lay out and I like the bank on the other side of the field, opposite of the stands. Everything at USF is nice, and their stadium is much nicer in my opinion that UNC's. I'm not sure where the team practices. I know that when I was there the visiting team practiced on their old game field. It wasn't anything special in terms of practice. My only dislike of their wonderful stadium was their lack of stands on both sides. They do have room to expand though from what it looks like. They could have had a nicer scoreboard as well.
All of those schools, had really nice facilities. Overall, these were the best I went too.
These are more of the average facilities.
10. Boston University - Considering that it is not even a BCS school, Boston University had a nice set-up. They were the only school with a video board, which I of course love. (Obviously this is not a soccer specific facility) I liked the landscaping one the end line by the guests bench. I liked the home teams bench with the big BOSTON UNIVERSITY sign, with the Ivy coming down. It also seemed cool to have the dorms surrounding the field. The press box was nice. It even had a heater. It also had lockerrooms at the facility. My only knock on the place is that it felt too big for soccer. The stands felt like they were so far away from the field. I really didn't like the turf either. It's great for a mid major school though.
11. Marquette - I didn't like the smell of Marquette and it's fields. That brings it down. I loved the evergreen trees at each side of the stadium though. It helped make the stadium feel more intimate and it helped hide a not so nice background. The stands were made of wood and the wood didn't look new. Taking away the bad smells and where it was, Marquette wasn't that awful, but to me it was, average.
12. Rutgers - Average to the definition. I don't like the stands at all. The stands go really tall on one side and there is nothing on the other side. It's nice they can pack so many people in, and it's nice they have a big press box, but overall it felt a little dated and too big. Lockerrooms in the stadium are a plus. I didn't like the facility and I don't know why it hosted the Big East Tournament. The plus for Rutgers is that they had a bubble that could be used to practice in.
Needs improvement
13. Seton Hall - I don't like that it's a turf field, or that it's shared with baseball. I don't like the filming location either. It could be worse though. For some reason, I didn't dislike the field enough to say it should be blown up. Something about the stadium I sort of liked. Now, the fact that they don't have a field that could be practiced on when a lot of events are going on is a joke. Seton Hall does not belong in the BIG EAST in terms of it's facilities. Somehow it survives the blowing up for some unexplainable, "this isn't as awful as I thought reason." Sometimes beating expectations or meeting them does a world of good in rankings.
I like Franklin Pierce's facilities over all of these following facilities that I think should be blown up.
Blow these up.
14. Syracuse - I probably have better things to say about Syracuse than Seton Hall. The stands and stadium itself at Syracuse was average. Their practice field was nice. However, they had pot holes or divots in front of the goalposts. They also didn't do anything about it when it was pointed out to them. Syracuse had divots in front of the goal posts for a goalkeeper to turn their ankle on. For this reason their soccer facility is a joke.
15. Providence - They really don't have any stands. The field is sloped. It just feels like no one cares about the teams there. It felt like I could have been at a high school field. It would be a decent high school field, except Providence is a Division I school. I'd probably rank Franklin Pierce's field and stadium higher.
16. St. John's -Their press box was quite nice. However, the game is on a turf field that is on top of a parking garage. You could feel the field move or shake when a car left the garage. It's the best way to use space efficiently at any college sport facility that I know of. However, it's a turf field on a lot of cement. It's not appealing at all. It doesn't help that for some reason they couldn't manage to get water for a visiting team to practice. That seems like a necessity. If they can't bring drinking water, their facility should be blown up.
17. DePaul - Not a fan of turf. Not a fan of turf that isn't well connected at the seams. Not a fan of turf that is shared with a softball team. Not a fan of a place with a subway/train going past the field every two minutes. How do you practice or have a game when you have to listen to a train rumbling by? You can't hear a thing when the train passes. It would be a great Division II facility. It doesn't belong in the BIG EAST though.
The worst place I ever went to was Pitt, but they have a new field which has to be much nicer.
This is strictly my opinion. This is based on what I know, have heard and mostly first impressions. It's inaccurate and incomplete, but whatever, it's what I think.
I have been to or seen UConn, Duke, UNC, Wake, St. John's, Syracuse, DePaul, Notre Dame, Marquette, South Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Boston College, Penn State, Providence, Franklin Pierce, West Virginia, (I have been to Pittsburgh and Harvard, but not there new facility so they won't count) Boston University,
1. Notre Dame - I really don't think this is close. Notre Dame has by far the nicest stadium that I have been to. Not even close. Amazing Press Box, beautiful stadium itself. Clean, plenty of practice fields. I don't know exactly what is in their stadium, but they have room for themselves in there. A+ facility. It's amazing, but hopefully Notre Dame realizes that not every other school can have what they have, but can still have nice overall facilities.
2. Penn State - I loved the stadium and the practice fields. I thought the stadium had a great atmosphere. I liked the set-up of the stadium, and that I could film from inside. It was clean. The practice fields were also really nice. They had plenty of fields and plenty of goals. I was very impressed with what they had.
3. Wake Forest - Of the ACC schools that I have been to I liked Wake Forest's stadium the best. It felt new. Stadium was nice, and loved the practice fields (other than that they were sloped) Grass was well maintained on their practice fields in my mind. I didn't the ladder to the film platform, and that it was poor planning, but that's a minor problem that most people don't care about.
4.West Virginia - The stadium didn't really blow me away. I didn't like or dislike it. (I do wish they had a larger net behind the endline) However, I was blown away by their practice facility, with lights. I think every soccer practice facility should have the look and feel of West Virginia's. It's also a plus that they have storage at their facility, complete with parking as well for student athletes and coaches. I believe they may have even added a meeting room there. The grass on the field was so well maintained that I couldn't tell if it was turf or grass.
5. UConn - I know more about this schools facilities than any of the others. I am trying to be unbiased. I'd put Morrone Stadium only behind Notre Dame, Penn State and Wake Forest's (maybe tied with Wake). I love the stadium. I like the practice fields, other than for the fact that they don't have lights. Lights are a necessity. Having some turf for practice might be nice. If we ranked spring facilities, I'd think that Shenkman is better than any other facility. You have the training room, and weight room right next to the field.
Now nothing with soccer should still be in the field house. The field house and the fact that the offices and lockerroms are not near the practice field hurt the rankings. I'm also thinking that the lockerrooms could be outdated. Not sure, but it's an impression I have. I can't rank lockerrooms because I haven't been to any. UConn is upgrading sometime in the future and I think they should strive to have a world class stadium like they already have, with upgrades (like taking away the ugly grey fence exterior) and have soccer offices and lockerooms located at the field. UConn should be forward thinking, as should any other school making a facility. It's not good enough to have the bare minimum if you are a BCS program, because you will find yourself well behind competitors.
Schools building facilities should do things right the first time and think hard about what they want the program to be like in the future and build to that, or make it upgradeable. A new fixed up, average facility with no room for improvements is a headache in 15 years.
6. Boston College - I'm not sure where B.C. practices, but I would sort of assume they could just practice on their turf game field. I like that B.C. has mobile trailers for lockerroms on the site. I think the press box is decent. I just don't like that the field isn't on the main campus and that it is turf. B.C. feels like it could use more stands. I like that the field is out in the woods. Overall it's pretty nice.
7. Duke - From what I saw the stadium was above average. It was nice. Not amazing, but very nice. I'd say the same things about their practice fields. It's not a Notre Dame, but it's extremely useful and relatively very nice. I liked it overall, and having the ability to practice under the lights is a bonus.
8. UNC - UNC could be too low on this list. I really am impressed that their game field has their soccer offices. I'm sure if I actually walked into their offices and soccer specific building, that I would move them up the list. They appeared to have nice turf practice fields as well. However, I was THAT unimpressed with their actual game field. Maybe it would show nicer with soccer nets, but I'm not a fan of soccer stadiums with a track around the outside of it.
9. South Florida - South Florida has a beautiful new soccer stadium. It's really top notch. It's a beautiful lay out and I like the bank on the other side of the field, opposite of the stands. Everything at USF is nice, and their stadium is much nicer in my opinion that UNC's. I'm not sure where the team practices. I know that when I was there the visiting team practiced on their old game field. It wasn't anything special in terms of practice. My only dislike of their wonderful stadium was their lack of stands on both sides. They do have room to expand though from what it looks like. They could have had a nicer scoreboard as well.
All of those schools, had really nice facilities. Overall, these were the best I went too.
These are more of the average facilities.
10. Boston University - Considering that it is not even a BCS school, Boston University had a nice set-up. They were the only school with a video board, which I of course love. (Obviously this is not a soccer specific facility) I liked the landscaping one the end line by the guests bench. I liked the home teams bench with the big BOSTON UNIVERSITY sign, with the Ivy coming down. It also seemed cool to have the dorms surrounding the field. The press box was nice. It even had a heater. It also had lockerrooms at the facility. My only knock on the place is that it felt too big for soccer. The stands felt like they were so far away from the field. I really didn't like the turf either. It's great for a mid major school though.
11. Marquette - I didn't like the smell of Marquette and it's fields. That brings it down. I loved the evergreen trees at each side of the stadium though. It helped make the stadium feel more intimate and it helped hide a not so nice background. The stands were made of wood and the wood didn't look new. Taking away the bad smells and where it was, Marquette wasn't that awful, but to me it was, average.
12. Rutgers - Average to the definition. I don't like the stands at all. The stands go really tall on one side and there is nothing on the other side. It's nice they can pack so many people in, and it's nice they have a big press box, but overall it felt a little dated and too big. Lockerrooms in the stadium are a plus. I didn't like the facility and I don't know why it hosted the Big East Tournament. The plus for Rutgers is that they had a bubble that could be used to practice in.
Needs improvement
13. Seton Hall - I don't like that it's a turf field, or that it's shared with baseball. I don't like the filming location either. It could be worse though. For some reason, I didn't dislike the field enough to say it should be blown up. Something about the stadium I sort of liked. Now, the fact that they don't have a field that could be practiced on when a lot of events are going on is a joke. Seton Hall does not belong in the BIG EAST in terms of it's facilities. Somehow it survives the blowing up for some unexplainable, "this isn't as awful as I thought reason." Sometimes beating expectations or meeting them does a world of good in rankings.
I like Franklin Pierce's facilities over all of these following facilities that I think should be blown up.
Blow these up.
14. Syracuse - I probably have better things to say about Syracuse than Seton Hall. The stands and stadium itself at Syracuse was average. Their practice field was nice. However, they had pot holes or divots in front of the goalposts. They also didn't do anything about it when it was pointed out to them. Syracuse had divots in front of the goal posts for a goalkeeper to turn their ankle on. For this reason their soccer facility is a joke.
15. Providence - They really don't have any stands. The field is sloped. It just feels like no one cares about the teams there. It felt like I could have been at a high school field. It would be a decent high school field, except Providence is a Division I school. I'd probably rank Franklin Pierce's field and stadium higher.
16. St. John's -Their press box was quite nice. However, the game is on a turf field that is on top of a parking garage. You could feel the field move or shake when a car left the garage. It's the best way to use space efficiently at any college sport facility that I know of. However, it's a turf field on a lot of cement. It's not appealing at all. It doesn't help that for some reason they couldn't manage to get water for a visiting team to practice. That seems like a necessity. If they can't bring drinking water, their facility should be blown up.
17. DePaul - Not a fan of turf. Not a fan of turf that isn't well connected at the seams. Not a fan of turf that is shared with a softball team. Not a fan of a place with a subway/train going past the field every two minutes. How do you practice or have a game when you have to listen to a train rumbling by? You can't hear a thing when the train passes. It would be a great Division II facility. It doesn't belong in the BIG EAST though.
The worst place I ever went to was Pitt, but they have a new field which has to be much nicer.
This is strictly my opinion. This is based on what I know, have heard and mostly first impressions. It's inaccurate and incomplete, but whatever, it's what I think.
Different Shades of Blue
I am in North Carolina and the RTP "Research Triangle Park" area and I toured, briefly, the athletic facilities at Duke and UNC.
I skipped N.C. State because who cares about N.C. State?
My overall impression was that UNC had nicer facilities. The football stadiums weren't even close. North Carolina has an impressive football facility. (Where $4.00 gets you a small soda, $6.00 gets a souvenir soda, and $13 gets you the jumbo hot dog and souvenir soda)
No one should ever spend $13 for a soda and hot dog.
Anyway the Tar Heels, Kenan Memorial Stadium had chairback metal benches for most of the stadium. One end zone (must be for Alumni and donors) had nice Tar Heel Blue seats. Another endzone was clearly the Student Section, as it had chest metal benches with no chairbacks. I can't say that I have been to many college football stadiums, but this stadium appeared to me to be a very nice one.
Duke's stadium looked awful from the view I had. It looks like they don't really care about college football. It was about as appealing as UConn's old Memorial Stadium cement side, but the cement stadium wrapped all around the field.
I was on my bike at Duke, and stopped from my car at UNC so I really only had limited views and was operating on a tight schedule. I did not stop inside any arena, although I did bike past Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke.
Besides football, I obviously stopped at the soccer complexes at the respective schools.
The Duke complex was busy with teenage boys soccer camps. The UNC soccer complex was empty except for a runner around the outside on a track.
UNC has one major advantage over Duke and that is that UNC has it's soccer offices overlooking the stadium, and the soccer complex at UNC looks to be substantial, as it appears to be a two or three story building. I am sure it has lockerrooms and meeting rooms and film rooms etc. This was the only thing however that impressed me about UNC's field, more than Duke's field.
In terms of first impressions, UNC's Fetzer Field was extremely unappealing. The track around the field made the stadium feel like the Grand Canyon. The grass was also not in great condition. I was extremely dissapointed with UNC's soccer field. I know it's July, but I expected better from one of the top soccer schools in the country.
I liked the feel of Duke's soccer field. There were nice shrubs growing on one side of the bleachers. There looked like there was a nice place to film, and there was a pavilion on one end line that looked really nice and could serve many purposes. I much preferred Duke's stadium on my first look than UNC's, and it wasn't even close.
Duke's practice fields looked ok. They had nice turf ones next to the soccer stadium. They had grass across Frank Basset Drive. It didn't look like the fields were full size, but maybe I was wrong. Atleast it seemed as if Duke had both the option of grass and turf fields. I believe that the turf fields had lights at Duke.
UNC had nice turf fields. I am not sure if they had grass fields. I would imagine they must, but I couldn't find them. UNC had lights on their turf fields.
Just in terms of soccer, if I gave myself a self guided tour, I would prefer the facilities at Duke over UNC. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I missed a few places, but I liked Duke better than UNC for soccer facilites.
Overall, I preferred UNC's athletic facilities (all sports). I really liked UNC's outdoor pool that I passed by. It looked really nice.
I skipped N.C. State because who cares about N.C. State?
My overall impression was that UNC had nicer facilities. The football stadiums weren't even close. North Carolina has an impressive football facility. (Where $4.00 gets you a small soda, $6.00 gets a souvenir soda, and $13 gets you the jumbo hot dog and souvenir soda)
No one should ever spend $13 for a soda and hot dog.
Anyway the Tar Heels, Kenan Memorial Stadium had chairback metal benches for most of the stadium. One end zone (must be for Alumni and donors) had nice Tar Heel Blue seats. Another endzone was clearly the Student Section, as it had chest metal benches with no chairbacks. I can't say that I have been to many college football stadiums, but this stadium appeared to me to be a very nice one.
Duke's stadium looked awful from the view I had. It looks like they don't really care about college football. It was about as appealing as UConn's old Memorial Stadium cement side, but the cement stadium wrapped all around the field.
I was on my bike at Duke, and stopped from my car at UNC so I really only had limited views and was operating on a tight schedule. I did not stop inside any arena, although I did bike past Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke.
Besides football, I obviously stopped at the soccer complexes at the respective schools.
The Duke complex was busy with teenage boys soccer camps. The UNC soccer complex was empty except for a runner around the outside on a track.
UNC has one major advantage over Duke and that is that UNC has it's soccer offices overlooking the stadium, and the soccer complex at UNC looks to be substantial, as it appears to be a two or three story building. I am sure it has lockerrooms and meeting rooms and film rooms etc. This was the only thing however that impressed me about UNC's field, more than Duke's field.
In terms of first impressions, UNC's Fetzer Field was extremely unappealing. The track around the field made the stadium feel like the Grand Canyon. The grass was also not in great condition. I was extremely dissapointed with UNC's soccer field. I know it's July, but I expected better from one of the top soccer schools in the country.
I liked the feel of Duke's soccer field. There were nice shrubs growing on one side of the bleachers. There looked like there was a nice place to film, and there was a pavilion on one end line that looked really nice and could serve many purposes. I much preferred Duke's stadium on my first look than UNC's, and it wasn't even close.
Duke's practice fields looked ok. They had nice turf ones next to the soccer stadium. They had grass across Frank Basset Drive. It didn't look like the fields were full size, but maybe I was wrong. Atleast it seemed as if Duke had both the option of grass and turf fields. I believe that the turf fields had lights at Duke.
UNC had nice turf fields. I am not sure if they had grass fields. I would imagine they must, but I couldn't find them. UNC had lights on their turf fields.
Just in terms of soccer, if I gave myself a self guided tour, I would prefer the facilities at Duke over UNC. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I missed a few places, but I liked Duke better than UNC for soccer facilites.
Overall, I preferred UNC's athletic facilities (all sports). I really liked UNC's outdoor pool that I passed by. It looked really nice.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Hi Hater
Someone talking about top games in 2012 had this to say...
"UConn? Not even close"
Hope someone will shut them up.
"UConn? Not even close"
Hope someone will shut them up.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
I want to make something like this
You have no idea how badly I'd love to make a highlight video like this. If I had all the technology and camera angles...
If I learned a few more things and got some experience it would be really freaking good.
It's soccer highlights from Euro 12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcZKWYBS9Sg
Most importantly to me I finally figured out what song was in the ESPN promos for soccer.
It is "Charlie Brown" by Coldplay.
Like most songs I have no idea what the lyrics are, or it's significance, but I do know that the song makes me think of soccer and watching games summer. Therefore it's now on my IPod/IPhone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTFBJgnNgU4
If I learned a few more things and got some experience it would be really freaking good.
It's soccer highlights from Euro 12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcZKWYBS9Sg
Most importantly to me I finally figured out what song was in the ESPN promos for soccer.
It is "Charlie Brown" by Coldplay.
Like most songs I have no idea what the lyrics are, or it's significance, but I do know that the song makes me think of soccer and watching games summer. Therefore it's now on my IPod/IPhone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTFBJgnNgU4
Monday, July 2, 2012
Family
We got a letter about how we had joined the "Fenton Toyota Honda Volvo of Keene Family"because someone in our family did a test drive.
It made think of UCWS. I'd call UCWS a family. I'd do so for many reasons. I don't even know if I can elaborate or expand on it, but I think it's true of all athletic teams. It's a family and you support everyone no matter what.
We talked about this and athletic teams in our sports management class, and it's when I first got comfortable considering UCWS a family.
Now I'm not going to go where you think I will with this. I won't list all the reasons why I think it's a family.
Instead I'm going to describe what it's like to all of those people who wonder what it is like to travel with a team. Regular students and fans wonder how you would describe traveling with a team, or even our team.
It's quite simple. It's just like traveling with your family.
Everything revolves around the same basic things. Food, bathroom, sleep and curing boredom.
What's to eat?
Are we there yet?
When are we going to eat?
Are we there yet?
What's to eat?
What movie should we watch?
Are we stopping for lunch?
Are we there yet?
Where is the bathroom?
Are we there yet?
Can you change movies?
When are we stopping?
Can we watch the Justin Bieber movie again?
What should I wear to dinner?
Where is dinner?
I think I lost my ID.
What can I have to eat?
Is there any gatorade?
What time is breakfast?
In many ways traveling with a team is just like traveling with your family.
It's most fun for the players who get to enjoy one another in different places and don't really have to worry so much about logistics.
For those who are coaches or staff members it's fun, (I loved and looked forward to every trip. The trips are one of the top things I will miss) but it can also be stressful.
I had very little to do in comparison to our assistant coach when it came to road trips, but I still was able to do enough to walk away with a great appreciation for all of the work that my parents put into our numerous trips across the country. I honestly thought my parents were absolutely nuts for wanting to take trips with my sister and I after realizing all that goes into making an itinerary and executing it.
I understood the stress involved in getting a rental vehicle, overseeing things, figuring out where you are going, making dinner reservations etc. For Mother's Day I wrote a thank you for her organization of a trip to Florida because I truly understood how much work it took to make everything happen.
It made think of UCWS. I'd call UCWS a family. I'd do so for many reasons. I don't even know if I can elaborate or expand on it, but I think it's true of all athletic teams. It's a family and you support everyone no matter what.
We talked about this and athletic teams in our sports management class, and it's when I first got comfortable considering UCWS a family.
Now I'm not going to go where you think I will with this. I won't list all the reasons why I think it's a family.
Instead I'm going to describe what it's like to all of those people who wonder what it is like to travel with a team. Regular students and fans wonder how you would describe traveling with a team, or even our team.
It's quite simple. It's just like traveling with your family.
Everything revolves around the same basic things. Food, bathroom, sleep and curing boredom.
What's to eat?
Are we there yet?
When are we going to eat?
Are we there yet?
What's to eat?
What movie should we watch?
Are we stopping for lunch?
Are we there yet?
Where is the bathroom?
Are we there yet?
Can you change movies?
When are we stopping?
Can we watch the Justin Bieber movie again?
What should I wear to dinner?
Where is dinner?
I think I lost my ID.
What can I have to eat?
Is there any gatorade?
What time is breakfast?
In many ways traveling with a team is just like traveling with your family.
It's most fun for the players who get to enjoy one another in different places and don't really have to worry so much about logistics.
For those who are coaches or staff members it's fun, (I loved and looked forward to every trip. The trips are one of the top things I will miss) but it can also be stressful.
I had very little to do in comparison to our assistant coach when it came to road trips, but I still was able to do enough to walk away with a great appreciation for all of the work that my parents put into our numerous trips across the country. I honestly thought my parents were absolutely nuts for wanting to take trips with my sister and I after realizing all that goes into making an itinerary and executing it.
I understood the stress involved in getting a rental vehicle, overseeing things, figuring out where you are going, making dinner reservations etc. For Mother's Day I wrote a thank you for her organization of a trip to Florida because I truly understood how much work it took to make everything happen.
Leigh Ann
As a preface, someone said they liked what I wrote about them, and that they appreciated it, so I will continue. I should say that these are my memories. Everyone has their own and I'm sure that the players know each other 100 times better than I do, but I will continue with some of my thoughts.
I don't have any really funny stories about Leigh-Ann. As a goalkeeper she has a special place in my heart, because goal keeper is the position I understand the best. I always would root for the goalkeepers.
My favorite part of practice was also always the parts involving the goalkeepers. It was always fun being around whatever stuff they were doing. I greatly enjoyed after practice as well with those who would take extra shots, but in practice, keeper land was where one wanted to be.
Now, since Leigh-Ann will be the only keeper I know from now on, I will only be rooting for her. The other keepers I hope get scored upon in practice since I have no connection to them.
The first thing I think of when I think of Leigh-Ann is smart from her studies. My first semester traveling I went to study hall every once in a while and I would see Leigh-Ann constantly studying. I think of her as someone who works hard on her studies and is making something of herself. I know she sacrifices a lot to play. She doesn't even live on campus.
I have so much respect for her because she would drive from home to get to campus. She had to get up extra early for morning lift. I would always run into her on the way in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I can't tell you how Leigh-Ann has improved, I just know she has. I can't describe it, I just know she has since I have watched goalkeepers so much.
I guess maybe it's her confidence and she has definitely gotten better with her kicks.
I think it is really cool that she got to be a part of the Jamaican National Team Program and I hope she continues with them if she can. It has to be such an honor to represent ones country.
One of my happiest moments this spring was when Leigh-Ann passed the fitness test. I am a big believer in athletics teaching you to push yourself to reach goals that you didn't think were possible. That is why I think athletics can be educational. I was so happy that Leigh-Ann ran her fastest mile of her life in the spring. That is something to really be proud of.
Leigh-Ann also made my day one day by saying that I had the natural instincts of a goalkeeper. That was such a complement. Gurnon said the same thing to me a couple years back. Maybe after a better look she will want to take those words back, but I think that I have the instincts minus the abilities.
Leigh-Ann would give me pointers on how to be a good keeper as well. You need to come off the line on high shots was the most useful advice she gave me.
Leigh-Ann can achieve whatever she wants because she is willing to work for it. She is a great person, who I will miss.
I don't have any really funny stories about Leigh-Ann. As a goalkeeper she has a special place in my heart, because goal keeper is the position I understand the best. I always would root for the goalkeepers.
My favorite part of practice was also always the parts involving the goalkeepers. It was always fun being around whatever stuff they were doing. I greatly enjoyed after practice as well with those who would take extra shots, but in practice, keeper land was where one wanted to be.
Now, since Leigh-Ann will be the only keeper I know from now on, I will only be rooting for her. The other keepers I hope get scored upon in practice since I have no connection to them.
The first thing I think of when I think of Leigh-Ann is smart from her studies. My first semester traveling I went to study hall every once in a while and I would see Leigh-Ann constantly studying. I think of her as someone who works hard on her studies and is making something of herself. I know she sacrifices a lot to play. She doesn't even live on campus.
I have so much respect for her because she would drive from home to get to campus. She had to get up extra early for morning lift. I would always run into her on the way in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I can't tell you how Leigh-Ann has improved, I just know she has. I can't describe it, I just know she has since I have watched goalkeepers so much.
I guess maybe it's her confidence and she has definitely gotten better with her kicks.
I think it is really cool that she got to be a part of the Jamaican National Team Program and I hope she continues with them if she can. It has to be such an honor to represent ones country.
One of my happiest moments this spring was when Leigh-Ann passed the fitness test. I am a big believer in athletics teaching you to push yourself to reach goals that you didn't think were possible. That is why I think athletics can be educational. I was so happy that Leigh-Ann ran her fastest mile of her life in the spring. That is something to really be proud of.
Leigh-Ann also made my day one day by saying that I had the natural instincts of a goalkeeper. That was such a complement. Gurnon said the same thing to me a couple years back. Maybe after a better look she will want to take those words back, but I think that I have the instincts minus the abilities.
Leigh-Ann would give me pointers on how to be a good keeper as well. You need to come off the line on high shots was the most useful advice she gave me.
Leigh-Ann can achieve whatever she wants because she is willing to work for it. She is a great person, who I will miss.
Great Commencement Advice
Here is something I found from the Sports Business Journal and it is part of a commencement speech by Lou Holtz, former Head Football Coach of Notre Dame and commentator on ESPN.
"...The people we miss are those that are significant and add value to other people’s lives. …
You want to be happy for an hour, eat a steak. You want to be happy for a day, play golf. You want to be happy for a week, go on a cruise — going on a cruise to me is like being in jail except you have the chance to drown. You want to be happy for a month, buy a new car. You want to be happy for a year, win the lottery. You want to be happy for a lifetime, make sure you add value to other people’s lives."
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2012/06/25/People-and-Pop-Culture/Commencement-Addresses.aspx
This has lots of good advice, and I have tried to learn from it.
"...The people we miss are those that are significant and add value to other people’s lives. …
You want to be happy for an hour, eat a steak. You want to be happy for a day, play golf. You want to be happy for a week, go on a cruise — going on a cruise to me is like being in jail except you have the chance to drown. You want to be happy for a month, buy a new car. You want to be happy for a year, win the lottery. You want to be happy for a lifetime, make sure you add value to other people’s lives."
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2012/06/25/People-and-Pop-Culture/Commencement-Addresses.aspx
This has lots of good advice, and I have tried to learn from it.