Lift
November 11, 2011
Not too long ago there was a television commercial that depicted a huge jumbo jet taking off. Then the pilot spoke about what it takes to lift such a large load off the ground.
The pilot said that to get such a huge weight off the ground you don’t go with the wind. You go against it. He said, “What pushes against us, lifts us up.”
There is no question that this is the recent story for the MHSAA which, momentarily in 2008, was knocked off balance by an adverse judgment by a federal court. In many respects, the MHSAA is stronger – financially and in other ways – because of 2008. The bad times made us better.
I’m hoping we will be able to say the same about local school sports generally a few years from now. That these bad times made us better. That today’s headwinds gave us the lift we needed to reach new and improved heights in school-based sports.
Specialization Risks
July 21, 2014
Another informed and influential voice has joined our frequent refrain that sports specialization is rarely in a student’s best interest.
David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene, offered an opinion piece for the New York Times last month that “hyper-specialization . . . is both dangerous and counterproductive.”
Epstein described the results of a three-year study at Loyola University of Chicago that found highly specialized youth had a 36 percent increased risk of suffering a serious overuse injury, including “stress fractures in their backs, arms and legs; damage to elbow ligaments; and cracks in the cartilage in their joints.”
Epstein continued: “Because families with greater financial resources were better able to facilitate the travel and private coaching that specialization requires, socio-economic status turned up as a positive predictor of serious injury.”
“In case health risks alone aren't reason enough for parents to ignore the siren call of specialization,” wrote Epstein, “diversification also provides performance benefits.” He cited “better learning of motor and anticipatory skills – the unconscious ability to read bodies and game situations – to other sports. They take less time to master the sport they ultimately choose.”