Read a great article written by Jim Sheridan on one a legendary "Notre Dame Man"
"More often than not college legends are measured by wins or touchdowns. Father Bernard Lange quietly made his mark by inspiring others to exceed well beyond their greatest expectations." To read the full article, go to
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/620911-notre-dame-strongman-father-langethe-crown-jewel-of-irish-legends
Enjoy the Article
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
CHAMPION
Dear Champions,
In our second class meeting, we discussed what it means to be a champion. By definition a champion is, “a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition, specifically in sports.” However, a champion is made up of much more than just what he/she does on the playing field. A champion is made up of many different qualities that support their attained abilities to leave them far superior than others. To enhance the discussion of what the makeup of a champion is, I have created an acronym to describe each letter in the word ‘champion’ with a different quality that they should entail on their journey to success.
C Confidence: A champion must have confidence within their ability, their teammates, coaches, and in the God-given talent that God has gratefully thrust upon them.
H Humble: A champion must respect themselves and their opponents graciously. They must respect their ability and never take it for granted. They should express gratitude to those who assist them in their success and thrive with them.
A Attitude: As a champion, one must have a positive attitude throughout their career and understand that there will be good and bad days along with wins and losses, they must keep getting better and continue to encourage others around them.
M Mental Toughness: As a champion, the game is half mental along with being half physical. As a champion you must attain the mental toughness to persevere through the obstacles that will come with the demands of your sport. Being mentally tough is a hard task, but those who are able to attain it become successful on the playing field and also in life.
P Passion: As a champion, one must have the passion for the game. All the hard work and dedication should be out of the love and pride you have every time you participate in your sport. When an athlete can go out and love what they do every single day it makes the game more enjoyable and it also makes it easier to become successful.
I Idol: Champions, nowadays, are seen in the public eye much more than ever before. When being a role model for the ones around you, it is important that you maintain all the qualities that got you to so much success and maintain them throughout your personal life. It is those people who can maintain those attributes that will be able to thrive in life and continue success after their careers are over.
O Open-Minded: A champion has to be open to new ideas, they can never settle. Hard work pays off, and when you continue to gain success it will continue to pay off. A champion has to be the one who stands out in wanting to get better. Champions have to want to be a champion all the time and have to continue their journey every single day.
N Noble: As a champion, it becomes more than just athletically performing. As a champion one must have the noble and morally just qualities of a champion every day, because that is what will never be forgotten. It is the character behind the success that will always stick out.
In all, being a champion is a task that takes time to achieve, and as one attains more success it brings more challenges to get better. It becomes the character behind the champion that contributes to the most success. Many people see the athlete for what they are on the playing field, but CHAMPIONS are made with moral qualities that build to success on the playing field, and that will never change!
Kayla McBride, ND Women's Basketball, ND 2014
Coaching Blog, Social Foundations of Coaching Course
Professor Sheehan/Professor Power
In our second class meeting, we discussed what it means to be a champion. By definition a champion is, “a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition, specifically in sports.” However, a champion is made up of much more than just what he/she does on the playing field. A champion is made up of many different qualities that support their attained abilities to leave them far superior than others. To enhance the discussion of what the makeup of a champion is, I have created an acronym to describe each letter in the word ‘champion’ with a different quality that they should entail on their journey to success.
C Confidence: A champion must have confidence within their ability, their teammates, coaches, and in the God-given talent that God has gratefully thrust upon them.
H Humble: A champion must respect themselves and their opponents graciously. They must respect their ability and never take it for granted. They should express gratitude to those who assist them in their success and thrive with them.
A Attitude: As a champion, one must have a positive attitude throughout their career and understand that there will be good and bad days along with wins and losses, they must keep getting better and continue to encourage others around them.
M Mental Toughness: As a champion, the game is half mental along with being half physical. As a champion you must attain the mental toughness to persevere through the obstacles that will come with the demands of your sport. Being mentally tough is a hard task, but those who are able to attain it become successful on the playing field and also in life.
P Passion: As a champion, one must have the passion for the game. All the hard work and dedication should be out of the love and pride you have every time you participate in your sport. When an athlete can go out and love what they do every single day it makes the game more enjoyable and it also makes it easier to become successful.
I Idol: Champions, nowadays, are seen in the public eye much more than ever before. When being a role model for the ones around you, it is important that you maintain all the qualities that got you to so much success and maintain them throughout your personal life. It is those people who can maintain those attributes that will be able to thrive in life and continue success after their careers are over.
O Open-Minded: A champion has to be open to new ideas, they can never settle. Hard work pays off, and when you continue to gain success it will continue to pay off. A champion has to be the one who stands out in wanting to get better. Champions have to want to be a champion all the time and have to continue their journey every single day.
N Noble: As a champion, it becomes more than just athletically performing. As a champion one must have the noble and morally just qualities of a champion every day, because that is what will never be forgotten. It is the character behind the success that will always stick out.
In all, being a champion is a task that takes time to achieve, and as one attains more success it brings more challenges to get better. It becomes the character behind the champion that contributes to the most success. Many people see the athlete for what they are on the playing field, but CHAMPIONS are made with moral qualities that build to success on the playing field, and that will never change!
Kayla McBride, ND Women's Basketball, ND 2014
Coaching Blog, Social Foundations of Coaching Course
Professor Sheehan/Professor Power
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Fun, Growth, and Success in Minor Hockey
My youngest 8-year-old brother, Matthew, has just begun playing hockey competitively on a traveling team, and I am so excited for him! After beginning and learning the game in house league during the past two years, so far, according to my parents, the transition onto a more competitive team has been positive for him. His skills and confidence are improving in leaps and bounds. I am disappointed that I cannot be at home right now to witness Matthew’s rapid progression and growth and the joy he is gaining from his new hockey experience, but I enjoy hearing about it weekly from my parents on the phone.
Based on the conversations I have had with my parents about Matthew’s hockey journey thus far this season, I think his positive experience with the sport and team is primarily being shaped by his coaches. Despite coaching a competitive traveling team, it seems as though the coaches have made it a priority to create a fun team environment focused on loving the game and fundamental skill development, rather than winning. The team’s season began at the end of August with a lot of uncertainty, as the team welcomed several new, more inexperienced players like Matthew. With many challenges and much to learn, the team lost four out of its first five games. However, as a result of the coaches’ emphasis on fun, the players are forming strong friendships with one another, are working extremely hard on the ice (the hardest working bunch of kids my parents say they’ve ever seen), and now, in fact, are rapidly improving and more consistently winning. This past weekend, the team was the finalist of a large tournament and, to reach the final game, beat a team 1-0 that they had previously lost to 5-3 – impressive improvement indeed!
I talked to my dad, a long-time hockey player who’s coached many minor league hockey teams himself before, about what he thinks the coaches are doing to make the hockey team experience fun for the kids. First of all, he said that the coaches are not ego-centered and that their attitude is “It’s all about the kids!” They are excited to be at the rink, which makes the kids excited too and intrinsically motivated to work hard. As well, he said that the coaches ensure that the players have equal playing time and also give them the opportunity to play different positions. Matthew, specifically, has greatly enjoyed being moved occasionally from his traditional defensive position to forward, and it’s made a positive difference in the development of his skills and sport-sense.
The benefit of allowing kids to play different positions in athletics can also be seen in my late-blooming 19-year-old hockey-playing brother, Paul. Paul was a left-winger most of the time growing up, but still had the opportunity to play defense occasionally. More recently, after a huge growth spurt, he has specialized at defense on his Jr. A team and is excelling. He will most likely have the opportunity to pursue an NCAA hockey scholarship beginning next year.
The success and positive experiences that my family, especially my youngest brother Matthew, is having with hockey can be attributed to coaches who promote fun and the love of the game and who care about children’s growth and personal development – coaches who adopt coaching styles consistent with the Play Like a Champion Today GROW approach. Thank you to all the youth coaches out there who adopt this style of coaching! You are truly making a positive difference in the lives of the kids you coach!
Natalie Geiger, ND 2012
Social Foundations of Coaching Class
Based on the conversations I have had with my parents about Matthew’s hockey journey thus far this season, I think his positive experience with the sport and team is primarily being shaped by his coaches. Despite coaching a competitive traveling team, it seems as though the coaches have made it a priority to create a fun team environment focused on loving the game and fundamental skill development, rather than winning. The team’s season began at the end of August with a lot of uncertainty, as the team welcomed several new, more inexperienced players like Matthew. With many challenges and much to learn, the team lost four out of its first five games. However, as a result of the coaches’ emphasis on fun, the players are forming strong friendships with one another, are working extremely hard on the ice (the hardest working bunch of kids my parents say they’ve ever seen), and now, in fact, are rapidly improving and more consistently winning. This past weekend, the team was the finalist of a large tournament and, to reach the final game, beat a team 1-0 that they had previously lost to 5-3 – impressive improvement indeed!
I talked to my dad, a long-time hockey player who’s coached many minor league hockey teams himself before, about what he thinks the coaches are doing to make the hockey team experience fun for the kids. First of all, he said that the coaches are not ego-centered and that their attitude is “It’s all about the kids!” They are excited to be at the rink, which makes the kids excited too and intrinsically motivated to work hard. As well, he said that the coaches ensure that the players have equal playing time and also give them the opportunity to play different positions. Matthew, specifically, has greatly enjoyed being moved occasionally from his traditional defensive position to forward, and it’s made a positive difference in the development of his skills and sport-sense.
The benefit of allowing kids to play different positions in athletics can also be seen in my late-blooming 19-year-old hockey-playing brother, Paul. Paul was a left-winger most of the time growing up, but still had the opportunity to play defense occasionally. More recently, after a huge growth spurt, he has specialized at defense on his Jr. A team and is excelling. He will most likely have the opportunity to pursue an NCAA hockey scholarship beginning next year.
The success and positive experiences that my family, especially my youngest brother Matthew, is having with hockey can be attributed to coaches who promote fun and the love of the game and who care about children’s growth and personal development – coaches who adopt coaching styles consistent with the Play Like a Champion Today GROW approach. Thank you to all the youth coaches out there who adopt this style of coaching! You are truly making a positive difference in the lives of the kids you coach!
Natalie Geiger, ND 2012
Social Foundations of Coaching Class
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sports: Childrens Games and A Path to Life Lesson Learning
Sports are so much more than a game in the lives of children; it is also a way to learn important life lessons. Children learn how to cooperate with a team and build positive relationships and communication skills. However, in order to take advantage of the positive power of sports, everyone must play their part.
When I was younger I competed in gymnastics for nine years and this is where I feel I learned most of my skills for life. The gym was where I felt free to be myself and where I learned how to overcome my fears. There are countless times I remember standing on the edge of the balance beam like a statue, trying to battle my fear. Many thoughts go through my head and I think to myself how crazy it is to be doing a back flip on a four inch wide beam four feet off the ground. But this is a thought I have to push past in order to reach my goals. Practicing this throughout my years of gymnastics has given me the confidence to be able to do it in other areas of my life. When I am faced with a challenge or fear, I am able to push it aside and focus on the goal.
Another skill I learned through gymnastics was how to fall and get back up. In order to learn a trick you have to fail at it many times, and this means falling . . . a lot and in many ways. I learned to be patient and to work hard even when success looks far away. Now, when I fail at something, I am able to pick myself up and try again without giving up.
I loved gymnastics so much because it was my sport. My parents loved watching me run and were big influences in my choice to run, however, gymnastics was my sport. Even though they weren’t as into gymnastics they were still very supportive and wanted me to have fun. I believe this is part of why I had more fun in gymnastics because I didn’t feel as much pressure from my parents. I was lucky to have sport parents like this; however, there were many girls on my team whose parents pushed them at young ages in gymnastics and this put pressure on them and made the sport not as much fun. Their parents would be upset when they didn’t do well or try to be their coach. These girls whose parents were too involved and put too much pressure on them tended to quit gymnastics at an earlier age. It is so important that parents are encouraging to their children and help their children have fun so that they will want to continue their sport and be able to gain life skills from it. A lot goes into the success of sports for young athletes and everyone (coaches, parents and athletes) must play their role.
Alexa Aragon, ND 2014
Social Foundations of Coaching
When I was younger I competed in gymnastics for nine years and this is where I feel I learned most of my skills for life. The gym was where I felt free to be myself and where I learned how to overcome my fears. There are countless times I remember standing on the edge of the balance beam like a statue, trying to battle my fear. Many thoughts go through my head and I think to myself how crazy it is to be doing a back flip on a four inch wide beam four feet off the ground. But this is a thought I have to push past in order to reach my goals. Practicing this throughout my years of gymnastics has given me the confidence to be able to do it in other areas of my life. When I am faced with a challenge or fear, I am able to push it aside and focus on the goal.
Another skill I learned through gymnastics was how to fall and get back up. In order to learn a trick you have to fail at it many times, and this means falling . . . a lot and in many ways. I learned to be patient and to work hard even when success looks far away. Now, when I fail at something, I am able to pick myself up and try again without giving up.
I loved gymnastics so much because it was my sport. My parents loved watching me run and were big influences in my choice to run, however, gymnastics was my sport. Even though they weren’t as into gymnastics they were still very supportive and wanted me to have fun. I believe this is part of why I had more fun in gymnastics because I didn’t feel as much pressure from my parents. I was lucky to have sport parents like this; however, there were many girls on my team whose parents pushed them at young ages in gymnastics and this put pressure on them and made the sport not as much fun. Their parents would be upset when they didn’t do well or try to be their coach. These girls whose parents were too involved and put too much pressure on them tended to quit gymnastics at an earlier age. It is so important that parents are encouraging to their children and help their children have fun so that they will want to continue their sport and be able to gain life skills from it. A lot goes into the success of sports for young athletes and everyone (coaches, parents and athletes) must play their role.
Alexa Aragon, ND 2014
Social Foundations of Coaching
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