Life Lessons Through Sport

Based off of personal experience and those of other athletes I have encountered, I have learned a variety of things through sport. At a young age, I was very active and involved in a variety of activities. By being engaged in multiple sports, it allowed me to be taught by different coaches, interact with an array of athletes, and discover myself through various situations.

As an adolescent the first sport I played was soccer. Since I was still young, I enjoyed playing soccer just to run around with my friends and have my parents cheer me on from the sideline. This physical activity gave me an energy release, acted as a confidence booster and was the beginning of my athletic career. As strange as it may sound, playing on my 5th grade soccer team is what ultimately led me to where I am today. It was my soccer coach who suggested I try out for his basketball team because of how tall and lean I was at a young age. This is where I initially learnt to embrace and understand the phrase “never give up”. When I first began playing basketball it was very intimidating because I had no idea how to play. In addition to beginning this new sport, the first team I joined was full of very talented players that had been playing since they first began to walk. At times, I felt discouraged because I could just play soccer, a sport I was good at, instead of being uncomfortable engaging in a sport I was terrible at. But to this day, I still remember coming home from each practice and my father reassuring me that I had the ability to do anything as long as I put my mind to it. I am very thankful to have such motivational parents that were able to help me develop a sense or urgency and drive at such a young age.

"The ultimate measure of a human being is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy."-Martin Luther King Jr.

I also believe the reason I have enjoyed playing basketball so much is because of the amazing people I have been so blessed to meet. From representing my country by playing on the Olympic team to travelling to over 10 different countries, basketball has opened many doors for me to grow as an athlete and a human being. With these many experiences I have learnt: “to whom much is given, much shall be required” (Luke 12:48). To me, basketball has expanded from a mere physical activity to a game I love and live for. A failure to take full advantage of these opportunities would be a waste of God’s given talents. I try to remember that each day is a blessing and because tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone I must live today to the fullest. As long as I continue to look to improve with each occasion and to remain true to myself, the opportunities are endless.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.”
-Reinhold Niebuhr

Natalie Achonwa, ND '2014
Social Foundations of Coaching
ND Women's Basketball

Little League Baseball Fun and Victory

Everyone has some moment in their lives that they remember and hold in great importance, yet to other people these memories may not seem that important. I will never forget my minor league baseball team when I was 9 years old. When you are a kid sports tend to be far more important than most other things in life. I have always been a very competitive person and this was true this season. We entered the season with dreams of winning the regular season championship. We were all new to the league and we all felt like we had just as good of a shot as anyone of winning. Then the games started.
We got destroyed with great regularity. We realized that we just were not as good as we had hoped. We lost almost every single game and they were not even close. We were focused all season on winning and if we lost we thought we failed. As the end of the season tournament started to approach we realized that we only had a few games left and that we just wanted to have as much fun as possible. What followed was like a cheesy Hollywood movie. We ended up running the table and winning the double elimination tournament undefeated. It was not that we practiced more and got better but instead that we just wanted to have fun. And, as any baseball player can attest to, having the right mentality is vital to success. We played carefree, wanting to do our best, but if we did not we shrugged it off and kept on going. I cannot say that we stopped caring about winning but instead that it was no longer the most important aspect of the game. It has showed me that winning should not be the focus and making sports fun should be. Sport can be a beautiful thing as long as we do not ruin it with what we impose on it.
Thomas Kostielney, ND Class of 2012
Social Foundations of Coaching

Special Olympics at Notre Dame

As a varsity athlete at the University of Notre Dame, I am constantly reminded to “Play Like a Champion Today.” As a student in professor Clark Power’s ethics class, I am obliged to question the meaning of such a credo. Too often, the definition of “Champion” is reduced to a mentality of winning at all cost and lacks any consideration of the type of character that merits such a title. Fortunately, the work of the Play Like a Champion Today program is replacing this conception with one that emphasizes an athlete’s physical, mental, social, moral and spiritual growth. While Special Olympics Notre Dame endeavors to promote similar values, we seek also to inspire a more fundamental inquiry. Namely, who should have the opportunity to be a “Champion?”
For the past 40 years, Special Olympics has extended people with intellectual disability the opportunity to engage in sports training and competition. Born of a single event involving athletes from two countries, Special Olympics competition is now found in over 180 countries with over 3 million athletes and 700,000+ volunteers. The most recent 20 years, have brought a growing shift in the sports engagement opportunities of Special Olympics. In addition to traditional competition and training strictly for people with intellectual disability, Special Olympics has enriched its offerings to include sport engagement involving people without intellectual disability not as coaches or support volunteers, but as teammates. In 2009, Special Olympics Unified Sports engaged 324,000 athletes with and without intellectual disabilities as teammates in countries around the world.
The effort now is to bring the power and fun of Unified Sports to university and college campuses. Last year, Special Olympics Notre Dame held the first collegiate unified event in the form of soccer game, in which two teams of athletes with and without intellectual disability participated in four weeks of practice and a game in the Notre Dame soccer stadium. The success of this game has motivated Special Olympics Notre Dame to present this model to colleges across the United States to allow for state, regional and eventually national intercollegiate inclusive soccer leagues.
The formation of a champion requires the opportunity to compete. Unfortunately, athletes with intellectual disabilities are often denied competitive venues, not because of their own physical limitation, but because of societal constraints. The average person regards Intellectual Disability with a paternalistic detachment. Although it is true that coaches and volunteers have something valuable to offer the athletes, the goal of the Inclusive Soccer is the expose the fact the athletes are the true teachers. The lesson is simple, yet profound – everyone can be a “Champion.” With the help of Play Like a Champion Today, Special Olympics Notre Dame is committed to using sport to promote both societal and personal growth. We look forward to watching the inclusive soccer program grow and ask that everyone help spread the word. To close, I will leave you with the Special Olympics motto: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Ted Glasnow
Co-President, Special Olympics Notre Dame
SOND@nd.edu

Notre Dame Football Strongman of Notre Dame, The Crown Jewel of Irish Legends

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

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

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

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

Helping Engage Kids in Running

In the spring on Notre Dame’s campus, you can’t miss the frequent running races for charity put on by dorms, ROTC groups, and academic departments. Every weekend there is at least one event and all of them donate proceeds to charity organizations. At Notre Dame, where 80% of undergraduates were varsity letter-winners in high school, these events are a golden opportunity to exercise and donate to a worthy cause (plus get a free t-shirt and food). Similar events have become more common off of college campuses as well. Websites such as active.com have searchable lists based on zip code, date, distance, and other factors. Events cater to avid runners as well as beginners. Most of the events offer both a 5kilometer or 10kilometer (etc) running race paired with a 1mile “fun walk.” In my hometown, Hutchinson, KS, the inaugural Run for the Rocks half marathon is taking place this coming weekend. In an interview with one of the coordinators Amy Conkling last spring, she told me that 10k and half-marathon distances are becoming increasingly popular for adult runners at many levels. These distances provide a challenge that leaves runners feeling accomplished but at the same time offer an achievable goal. One of the biggest events of the spring at Notre Dame is the Holy Half marathon which is going on its eighth year. The National Alliance for Youth Sports has developed a program to get kids involved in this individual and rewarding activity through their “Ready, Set, Run!” program (www.nays.org). The program teams up with local recreation commissions (or similar) to teach kids ages 8-13 the basics of training for a 5k run event. The program “equips kids with the physical training and goal-setting mentality needed to accomplish their running goals.” Techniques that are useful in any form of sport. Kids learn how to set and achieve personal goals and lead their own sport performance. The program piloted in the spring of 2011 and helped kids approach and accomplish an athletic goal while having fun in a sport that can become a lifelong passion. Becca Page Social Foundations of Coaching Notre Dame Undergraduate Class

ACE Building Dedication Events begin this weekend. Play Like A Champion Today(R) a unit of the Alliance for Catholic Education invites you to the dedication of our new building, Carole Sandner Hall on Notre Dame's campus Friday, September 16 at 3:30pm

An Effective Strategy for Equal Playing Time on a Youth Basketball Team

St. Agnes Basketball Player Rotation:
Dear PLC, I'm sure you get all sorts of resources that coaches/league directors use but I thought this one served me very well this past year after hearing some of your thoughts in Play Like A Champion and I'd be thrilled if other coaches found it useful.

As I moved from coaching junior high varsity where I played kids based on a blend of factors to coaching 5th and 6th grade JV where I knew I wanted to play them all equally, I came across a heck of a lot of problems in my first game. Namely at one point to play everyone equally, I had five forwards and centers who needed to play, none wanted to handle the ball, and rightfully so; they weren't prepared to do that and didn't want to be the fall person for the team not functioning well.

In advance of my next game, I created this spreadsheet. The back page lists all my players, their uniform number (for ease of signing in) and the positions they are able to play. Next is a count of minutes (which are checked off as I create the playing schedule) and a total column. The front is a roster for the game, broken down by position, and into boxes which each represent a 2 minute block of the game (in most occasions I try to schedule the same players for four minutes to allow for continuity, but the beginnings and ends of quarters are often 2 minute segments. What I was able to do is make a team policy that everyone plays equally so the kids know that from the start. To show them I was intent on this, I showed them my spreadsheet.

On gameday, all players are required to show up 15 minutes early to keep games on time, and to warm up, stretch, and go over pre-game prep and what we did in practice. As players show up, I circle their names on the roster. At 15 minutes before gametime as players stretch, I create the first quarter roster from all the players on time. If everyone is there on time, the game is split evenly. If players show up late, they forfeit their first quarter minutes and then the 2nd through 4th quarters are split evenly. By the start of the game, I have my rotations filled in so each player knows when they're going in, which teammate they need to be watching before they go in, who they're calling out, if they're moving any players to new positions, and the man to man matchups that they need to pick up or switch around when they sub in. I find this helps the little guys stay focused, pay attention to player assignments, and to communicate with confidence once they step foot onto the court. My assistant coach explains to kids where they're going next, how they run the play from their position, who they'll be guarding or where they'll be in the zone, and what they can do to help the team on the court.

The one downside to this is that it does require preparation right before the game, but I find once I have that done, I can spend all game coaching instead of worrying about playing time and rotations. Also, kids are penalized about 4 minutes of playing time if their parents are late, but once this was in effect, we noticed a lot more students showing up on time and I never once had to deal with parents questioning playing time.

Alas, at the end of the season we got whooped in the championship game (good character coaching on the other side too, they were just way better) but after the game our kids knew the score might have been closer had our best players played all game like they noticed was the case for the other team. That said, one of the most challenging players on my team pointed out that we came in second place as a true team with everyone being a part whereas the other team really was a combination of three players who did all the playing and another 7 who just tried to keep out of the way. They're catching on and top to bottom, I think this will result in a lot of growth in our students.

I hope you find this useful and feel welcome to use it as much as you'd like and share it amongst anyone you believe will find it useful.

Sean
PLC Coach