Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit his 62nd home run of the season last week. Some say he is the homerun king while others say he is not. It should be simple, but it isn’t. In 1961, Roger Maris hit 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60 that he set in 1927. Maris’s record lasted a …
Referee Publicly “Shames” Parents for Behaving Badly
Youth referee, Brian Barlow, has had enough of overzealous parents. He says parents are aggressive and critical. They yell at refs, over-coach their children from the sidelines and sometimes fight parents from other teams. This type of poor parental behavior has gone too far. He now runs a website that “publicly shames parents.” He pays $100 for videos that show …
The Power of Giving
Steve Harvey is a well-known celebrity. He is a comedian and he hosts several nationally syndicated shows on television. He is very wealthy. However, he is open about his journey. It was a tough journey with a lot of failures. He struggled mightily. It is well-documented that he almost quit a few days before he got his big break. There …
Having Fun!
Something caught my eye the other day. It was a short video of the Chicago Bears sloshing around on the rain-drenched field. They ran and lunged their bodies onto the ground and each person slid a good 10 yards. It’s easy to just see these NFL guys as paid professionals, which they are. They are paid to compete at the …
The Importance of High School Spirit
Joe’s Perspective: High school is supposed to be fun, not endured. It’s also supposed to be innocent fun. Part of that fun is having an engaged and spirited student section. It brings most of the students together for a common cause. And, no, your team doesn’t have to be great for the students to show this kind of spirit. It …
The Importance of Second Chances
Typically when an athlete screws up, makes a mistake or shows a lapse in character, everybody wants to condemn him or her. They eagerly express their opinions on social media, talk shows or at social gatherings. They want the young person kicked off the team. They are willing to judge and condemn without knowing all the facts nor interviewing the …
“We Need to Learn from Their Example”
During one of the little league baseball world series games this summer, Kaiden Shelton, a pitcher from the Oklahoma team threw an erant fast ball. At the plate was a hitter from the East Texas team by the name of Isiah Jarvis. The pitch hit Isiah in the head and he quickly went down to the ground. Isiah’s coach said, …
Welcome Sports Blog – 2022
This is the first blog post of the 2022 school year. Typically, this is about a current event related to sports, but today I just want to hear from you. I also want to introduce you to this program – an app-based program we call the Student Athlete Program. This program is designed to improve the character, sportsmanship and leadership of …
Jim Brandt – Character
“I was never coached by one of the greats like Phil Jackson, Bill Belichick or Nick Saban, but what I had was even better — a role model named Jim Brandt.” The odds of you knowing the name Jim Brandt are slim and none. As a high school coach, he never won a state championship. The truth is, some years …
Shaq “Blesses” Somebody Every Day
Shaquille O’Neal is a retired NBA Hall of Famer. He is still a commentator on TNT during the NBA season. He is universally liked by people from all ages, races and backgrounds. He has earned a lot of money over the years and has invested wisely. He is wise enough to understand that he could never spend it all, so …