Serena Williams – Poor Sport or Class Act?

Serena Williams played Naomi Osaka in the final round of the U.S. Open for the opportunity to become the Women’s Singles 2018 Champion. To win, the victor has to win two out of three sets. Osaka won the opening set, 6-2 and was up a break in the second set. At this point, the umpire provided Serena a warning for …

Football, Politics and Advertising

Nike has announced that they will release a new ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback. Kaepernick is most known for protesting police brutality and inequality by kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games. This protest sparked a national debate, one that is still raging today. The new Nike ad says, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” …

The Role of Leaders in Domestic Violence Cases

Head football coach, Urban Meyer has been suspended by Ohio State University for three games without pay. The athletic director was also suspended for a similar length of time. This is the outcome of an in-depth investigation to understand the domestic violence issues of a former assistant coach, Zach Brown and his estranged wife. It is alleged that Zach Brown …

Welcome – Sports Blog 2018

This is the first week of the Student Athlete Program. This program is designed to improve the character, sportsmanship and leadership of high school athletes.  This program should be fun and engaging. It is not supposed to be “one more thing” or “something you have to do.”  Each week we will focus on a different trait.   Season 1 Season …

Japan Players and Fans Show Respect in Defeat

In a World Cup Soccer (football to the rest of the world) game, there are approximately 90 minutes. At the end of 68 minutes, Japan was handily beating Belgium, 2-0. Belgium fought back, scoring two quick goals. With seconds remaining, Belgium scored the game winner. Belgium advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Needless to say, Japan was devastated. …

Baseball Player Sues Coach for Making Him Slide

Jake Maser was a junior on the Bound Brook High School baseball team in New Jersey. It was a typical game. Jake got a hit and was on first base. One of his teammates hit the ball and Jake rounded second. As he was coming into third base, his third base coach, Jon Suk, provided the “slide sign.” Jake slid …

The Myth of the Need to Specialize in High School Sports Exposed!

That’s right, 29 of the 32 1st round draft picks in the 2018 NFL draft were multi-sport athletes in high school. Fourteen (44%) were 3-sport athletes.  One of the athletes was a 4-sport athlete. But, you say, that must be an anomaly. Nope. Thirty of 32 in 2017 and 28 of 31 in 2016 were multiple sport athletes in high …

How to Live to be 100 #Relationships

In a recent Ted talk, research by Julianne Holt-Lunstad at Brigham Young University was highlighted. This research looks at the variables that have the greatest impact on longevity. In your mind, try to guess what variables had the strongest correlation with living longer. I guessed that too and I was wrong. The number 2 predictor is “close relationships”, that is …

“Today’s Not My Day”

The Boston Marathon took place on Monday. Of the 119 years of this great race, 2018 was one of the coldest on record. The temperature was in the mid-30’s, a steady head-wind of 20 mph, pouring rain and a windchill factor of 20 degrees. This is not the type of weather you want to be outside in, let alone run …