Captain Clutch

This past week, Derek Jeter participated in his 14^th and final all-star game. Jeter has become the poster child of the Yankees and, largely, has been the face of the MLB for the past decade. He also is the captain of the New York Yankees, which is a huge honor, since he is only the 11^th official captain of the team. Jeter is the longest tenured captain of the team as this is his 12^th season as captain.  His on and off field performance.

Derek Jeter is very well known all around the major league baseball. He is known as a leader and is well respected. Were ever he goes, he is treated well, even in towns that typically "hate" the frequently successful Yankees.  You would think that some teams fan base wouldn’t care for him, but wherever he goes he still is well-received because of the way he acts as a person. This was made blatantly clear in a viral ad done by Nike in his honor last week. He is one of the most poised athletes in the game. Younger players look up to him, and many want to be him. He is a role model on and off the field. One thing that sets him apart from most players is his off the field attitude. While he is often in the media, it was rarely negative issues that would damage his  or his team's reputation. By and large, he is the role model you would want kids looking up to.

Every team looks for one of these players that can lead their team through thick and thin. Jeter did so and this is the nickname "The Captain" came from. He will always be looked as a leader and as his last year come to an end, you can bet the Yankees will work to honor everything he has done for them as the model athlete, team member, and leader.

LeBron: Back for Good?

Today's post was written by Natalie Schmid, a Play Like a Champion Today intern.  Natalie is a rising high school junior and a member of her school's swimming and soccer teams. 

King James is back in Cleveland, and media attention is, once again, on him. This begs the question: Is LeBron just coming home and being loyal to his home in Ohio or is all this just to get more attention and more money? When LeBron left the Cavaliers to go to the Heat, the whole fan base was devastated—people even burned his jerseys.  However, now he is back, and the Cavs organization is welcoming him back with open arms.  Fans also seem to be welcoming him, luckily for LeBron, or he could have had a real tough time back in Cleveland if they had not.

LeBron is coming back to the Cavs like a hero saying that he will win championships with them. This could be true, but one thing that is certain is that LeBron coming back to the Cleveland is that he is getting a lot of publicity and the season has not even begun (and his last team just got definitively beaten in the NBA Finals.) Is publicity the real reason that LeBron switch back to the Cavs? One could argue that this is an entirely money and publicity-driven move, but then again, it LeBron could just want to go home to Ohio.

photo courtesy of sbnation.com

LeBron James grew up in Ohio and began his professional life there. LeBron has said that he always knew he wanted to go back to Cleveland eventually, I guess now is that time. But for whatever intention LeBron has now, there still is the fact that he left Cleveland for championships and money with Miami. There is a certain expectation in sports that you are loyal to your team. Even in professional sports where playing well is the athlete’s job, there is still team loyalty that happens (and fans often associate players with specific teams.) And King James did not exhibit that, so could this just be another stop for LeBron on his quest for many championships, or is it returning to his roots to stay?

As an athlete I believe LeBron won’t betray his Cavaliers again by leaving. As much as it is a job for him, the loyalty and community you feel with teams cannot be ignored. I believe he won’t ignore it, and that LeBron is in Cleveland to stay because it is where he started and where he will likely end his career when he is ready. While he certainly benefits from the publicity, I do not think that LeBron’s return to Ohio is not just for media attention, he is there because he grew up there and is ready to win championships there too. LeBron seems to have grown up a lot over the past several seasons, and despite winning championships in Miami, I hope he is now ready to actually PLAY Like a Champion in Cleveland.

Welcome? Home LeBron

Today's blog was written by J.C. Obringer.  J.C. is a rising sophomore at Ball State University majoring in Sports Administration and Digital Sports Production and is interning with Play Like a Champion Today this summer. 

 How do Cavs fans feel?

“LeBron is going home” has been headline news for the last few days. LeBron James, one of the biggest names in professional basketball right now, decided last week to sign a contract with his former team--the Cleveland Cavaliers, returning to his home in Ohio. LeBron was drafted by the Cavs and played seven seasons with them before "taking [his] talents to South Beach," to play for the Miami Heat, and famously boasting of countless championships with his new team.

Photo courtesy of  theheraldng.com

When LeBron left for  Miami, Cleveland fans were not happy.  Fans despised James for leaving. Despite seven years with the Cavs, the team (and the city) hadn't won a championship in more than four decades and it seemed that James only talked about how he wanted to bring a championship to Northeast Ohio. He left with a lot of unfulfilled promises. James wanted to win one for his hometown team he said, but then he left to win championships for South Florida. When he left fans were very salty, they burned his jersey on national tv, destroying anything and everything that had a link to him and his name. He was known from then on as a traitor, and was often reminded of his status when he returned to Cleveland with the Heat.

Photo courtesy of glogster.com

But now this “traitor” is coming back. How is he going to be received? Cleveland fans are now faced with the issue of what to do as a fan?  These fans who never wanted to see this man again, now have to welcome him back with open arm. Many fans spent the past four years actively cheering against him in every game.  He left with all these unfulfilled promises that he made. How should they treat him when he comes back?

Photo courtesy of realclearsports.com

I feel like they have to welcome James back with open arms. For one thing it’s the right thing and the only thing to do. Team owners don’t want any hostility between James and Cleveland. Fans want a championship team they can be proud of, but this won't happen if the environment is not good. The team is bringing LeBron back because they know with him on their team, they have a good chance to win a NBA title. Yes, all fans were very upset when he left, but now that he is coming back you have to get over what happen in the past. LeBron isn’t a bad guy, the world didn't end when he left, the Cavs just didn't win any championships. At the end of the day fans need to remember he’s just a basketball player and he’s human just like everyone else. Fans also need to remember that he's back on the team now, and he can help them win.

Post-Game Sportsmanship

Today's blog was written by Natalie Schmid, a Play Like a Champion summer intern.  Natalie is a rising high school junior and a swimmer and soccer player on her school's team.

One of the toughest times to be a good sport is after a big game, whether you win or lose. Most of the time we think about bad sportsmanship coming from the opponent who lost the game because they might be angry about losing, but what we don’t think as much about it the winner’s sportsmanship. After a big game the winners are entitled to be happy and celebrate, just as the losers are bound to be a little upset, but there is a fine line as to how much is too much.

Often times, professional athletes do not set the best examples of sportsmanship, especially with after game interviews while the emotions running still high from the game or match, but this was not the case after this weekend's men’s final at Wimbledon. The final match this year at Wimbledon was between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.  After a hard-fought match Djokovic came out on top and Federer saw his would be 18^th Grand Slam title slip away.  The match was a classic, with amazing serves and volleys throughout. Following the match, though was when the sportsmanship shined. Djokovic was quoted saying, “Thank you for letting me win today” to Federer just after saying that, “It is by far the best quality tennis…that I’ve ever been a part of.” Djokovic does such a nice job of acknowledging how good his opponent is and doesn’t just gloat about his victory.  These comments were especially touching as int he past, Djokovic has been criticized for excessive celebration, so it's good to see that he realizes he is a role-model.  Federer also showed good sportsmanship from the losing end saying, “Winning or losing it’s always something special and something you’ll remember” and then later saying, “The disappointment of the match itself went pretty quickly.” Two professional athletes on such a large stage, there is no doubt that their sportsmanship will be an example for many young athletes.

Photo courtesy of New York Times, credit: Sang Tan

Sportsmanship can be one of the hardest things to master as a young athlete because for most people, playing sports is a way to compete. Competitiveness is a fun thing, especially in youth and high school sports because it makes the games so much more intense, but after being so intense it can be hard to snap back out of that mindset and remember it is just a game.  For the winners, after a hard fought match they are so proud of the victory that all they want to do is celebrate.  I know this feeling, but I also know how it feels to lose a tight match.  All athletes need to remember to practice sportsmanship like Djokovic and Federer did. They should recognize the hard fought game and celebrate the quality play that happened while still being happy about the victory. Whereas the losers have a right be disappointed that they didn’t win, but should also celebrate the game and the effort given just as Federer did. Games are, after all, meant to be fun. 

Sports Parents

Today's blog was written by J.C. Obringer.  J.C. is a rising sophomore at Ball State University majoring in Sports Administration and Digital Sports Production and is interning with Play Like a Champion Today this summer. 

I have grown up around sports my whole life.  My parents were standout basketball and collegiate volleyball players. I always enjoyed playing sports with them. Over time, however, as I played more and more, I realized that while they loved sports, my parents never pushed me to play. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They always told me if I didn't want to play, I didn't have to.  But if I wanted to get better, I needed to practice, which they couldn't do for me. They never forced me to practice or anything. I did it on my own. There are always some parents that want their kids to be the greatest athlete ever. They push their kids so hard that they lose sight of what really is the point of playing sports: kids having fun.

You come across many types of parents, ones that don’t care about their kids sports, the ones that push to hard, the ones that want their kids to be the best out there, or want their kids to be just as good as they were when they played. The one type of parent that I find most upsetting to see is the parent that coaches their kids from the stands. I have seen kids that have been pushed by their parents so much that they hated going to a game or practice. They lost interest in the sport that they were playing.

Now you might say what does a 19-year-old college student know about parenting? I don’t have any parenting experience, but I have experience as an athlete and as a coach.  I have seen many of my friends' parents push too hard. I have also coached  7^th  and 8^th grade boys basketball, where I have witnessed parents "helping" from the stands first hand.  The over-involvement of parents was often most evident at practice when kids would show up and clearly not want to be there or when in games, my players would look to the stands for advice, not to the bench.  As a coach, this undermined everything we had been working on as a team.  On occasion, I would see parents that were the total opposite--they only showed up to drop off or pick up their son or daughter from practice and games.  I was very fortunate to have parents that were supportive, but not overly so.

I won't claim to be a parenting expert, but from what I've learned while working here at Play Like a Champion Today, I will advocate that all parents strive to Parent Like a Champion.  Parents should work to make sure their children are playing because the children want to be there, not because parents want them there. Parents, encourage your children to play. The love of the game is what keeps children playing. There are many lessons to be learned from playing sports, but only if the children (and the parents) are open to learning.