While I was in high school, there was a kid that only had one leg. I had known him since we were in elementary school, but at that time he had two legs. He had a handicap that made one of his legs shorter than the other one. While going through the 5 years of elementary school, he had over thirty surgeries to try and fix the problem, but they were never successful and they eventually were forced to amputate his leg just above the knee. They tried all kinds of braces to fix the problem, but they never worked.
However even with this problem, he still had a tremendous desire to be a part of sports in any way possible. He found a new sport that he loved and that was wrestling. He had such an incredible upper body that he was able to do extremely well. He was only about four foot and some odd inches tall and probably did not way close to one hundred pounds, but he competed and he was good. Our wrestling coach did not look down on him or treat him any differently. The coach worked Brad just as hard because he was just another team member. He was always active in the practices and was a quality competitor.
He also was a trainer for the varsity football team for all four years of his high school career and he did it just to be involved with one of his favorite sports. His story was heard all around Northwest Ohio and because of his handicap, but he never complained and just worked that much harder. Granted he never did get to actually work with the football team in practices, but he was always there trying to do whatever he could to help out. Finally, in our Senior Night of the football season against Marion Harding, the two coaches agreed to allow Brad to dress for the final game of the season and if the game was no close near the end, then they would let him go into the game to receive recognition for being such a tremendous person and his desire to be a part of the team. It was a non-contact play, but that play meant the world to him.
If I were to have a handicap, I am not sure that I would have been able to fight through that much adversity to be a part of a team. I loved playing sports all the way through high school. I played football, basketball, and baseball, but I could not even imagine not having a leg and trying to compete against others that have the upper hand. I do think that I would have received plenty of moral support from my family to continue to try to find something that I could do to be a part of a team, but it would have been very hard to try to stick it out when things were not going good. I have always been impressed with what Brad did and hopefully he was able to inspire others that have handicaps and want to be involved too.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Feminst Movement
We have talked a lot recently about the feminist movement and i think it is interesting how women's sports have come so far, but yet, they still seem so far away from being equal or equitable.
Women have worked hard for over 100 years to try to create equality in sport, but it just has not happened. Large steps have been made in the process, but nothing that creates a fair or equal playing field. Men have an advantage.
There have been women that have helped in the process to at least get women to where they are today. Gertrude Ederle showed that women can be better than men by swimming the English Channel faster than any male ever before, Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in a huge tennis match, and Serena Williams and Annika Sorenstam just being great role models and athletes for future women athletes.
Title 9 has also helped to create equity. Women are someday going to at least be equitable to men, but i just do not think that it is possible to be equal to men and the reason for this is ESPN/media coverage. Fans are not nearly as interested in seeing womens sports on the news as they are in mens. It may not be fair, but it is true and it may be unfortunate, but it is the way it is. People have more interest in male sports and it is shown in comparison to the NBA to WNBA. The other day, i saw that the WNBA championship was just won and i never even knew they were in the playoffs. It is crazy the lack of coverage that they receive in comparison to male sports. Although i am not incredibly interested in female sports, i still think that there should be at least some equity between the genders because the distance and interest between the two is very large.
Women have worked hard for over 100 years to try to create equality in sport, but it just has not happened. Large steps have been made in the process, but nothing that creates a fair or equal playing field. Men have an advantage.
There have been women that have helped in the process to at least get women to where they are today. Gertrude Ederle showed that women can be better than men by swimming the English Channel faster than any male ever before, Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in a huge tennis match, and Serena Williams and Annika Sorenstam just being great role models and athletes for future women athletes.
Title 9 has also helped to create equity. Women are someday going to at least be equitable to men, but i just do not think that it is possible to be equal to men and the reason for this is ESPN/media coverage. Fans are not nearly as interested in seeing womens sports on the news as they are in mens. It may not be fair, but it is true and it may be unfortunate, but it is the way it is. People have more interest in male sports and it is shown in comparison to the NBA to WNBA. The other day, i saw that the WNBA championship was just won and i never even knew they were in the playoffs. It is crazy the lack of coverage that they receive in comparison to male sports. Although i am not incredibly interested in female sports, i still think that there should be at least some equity between the genders because the distance and interest between the two is very large.
Men in Women's Sports
Another issue within a class discussion was the fact that there are some males that participate in females sports like field hockey. I really thought it was interesting that males wanted to compete in female sports, but is there an issue with this? In the video we watched in class, the guy wanted to play field hockey with the girls because he wanted to improve upon his ice hockey skills and there is no mens field hockey team.
In most situations, i would not think that there would be a reason for men to compete in women's sports. However, this kid had a reasonable excuse to want to play in the girls sport. He wanted to improve his skills for the upcoming season and that is very reasonable. He is not trying to go out and prove that males will dominate or to hurt any of the females, but instead to make himself a better overall athlete. No one is being harmed in the situation and the male is getting better for ice hockey.
Some of the parents and players had an issue with the males on the team, but it seemed like it was more an issue of playing time and injuries. The parents also just seemed against a male in the female sport all together, saying that there are sports for men so they should not be involved in the female sports. However, i think this is mostly just the complaints of parents that are over protective and athletes that did not play in the first place, but now have an extra excuse for why they do not play.
Men should not be competing in sports like basketball, where there are men's teams, but if there is no team for the male, then what reason is there to deny the male to play the sport. I see no reason to not allow men in, but there could be other reasons to actually not let them in, so let me know what you believe.
In most situations, i would not think that there would be a reason for men to compete in women's sports. However, this kid had a reasonable excuse to want to play in the girls sport. He wanted to improve his skills for the upcoming season and that is very reasonable. He is not trying to go out and prove that males will dominate or to hurt any of the females, but instead to make himself a better overall athlete. No one is being harmed in the situation and the male is getting better for ice hockey.
Some of the parents and players had an issue with the males on the team, but it seemed like it was more an issue of playing time and injuries. The parents also just seemed against a male in the female sport all together, saying that there are sports for men so they should not be involved in the female sports. However, i think this is mostly just the complaints of parents that are over protective and athletes that did not play in the first place, but now have an extra excuse for why they do not play.
Men should not be competing in sports like basketball, where there are men's teams, but if there is no team for the male, then what reason is there to deny the male to play the sport. I see no reason to not allow men in, but there could be other reasons to actually not let them in, so let me know what you believe.
Women Coaches
Another issue that was brought up with Title 9 was the fact that there is a declining amount of women coaches in both mens and womens sports. The idea that this is happening is crazy because you would think that women would be better off coaching womens sports than men would be, but that is not what is going on. Women would just seem to be able to relate more to the women playing the sports and be able to deal with everything that is going on in their lives, but instead, men are being allowed to coach the women and i am not real sure if it is the right or not.
Within my high school, there are very few women coaches for any of the sports. There are only 2 female head coaches in any sports and very few assistant coaches that are female. We also have a male principle and male athletic director. I think it is crazy that all the womens swimming, water polo, basketball (JV and Varsity), softball, and track are all mens coaches. I also find it interesting that of those coaches, the girls complain about every single one except for the swimming coach. That really makes me wonder if schools would be better off having women coach women sports and men coach mens sports.
There is also very little success with our womens sports at our high school and i am not sure if that is fully attributed to the men being coaches or if it is just a lack of talent. Obviously, there are mens coaches that are successful at coaching womens sports and a perfect example would be the Connecticut womens basketball coach. He has led them to many national championships and obviously has no problem coaching them or relating to them.
I really am not sure if there is an issue here or if it really matters what gender a coach is for a specific gendered sport, but there are some interesting facts all over the world of sports about male and female coaches. What do you think is best for the coach to be for each gender and each sport? Is there really a better choice or is it all based off credibility and quality of the coach?
Within my high school, there are very few women coaches for any of the sports. There are only 2 female head coaches in any sports and very few assistant coaches that are female. We also have a male principle and male athletic director. I think it is crazy that all the womens swimming, water polo, basketball (JV and Varsity), softball, and track are all mens coaches. I also find it interesting that of those coaches, the girls complain about every single one except for the swimming coach. That really makes me wonder if schools would be better off having women coach women sports and men coach mens sports.
There is also very little success with our womens sports at our high school and i am not sure if that is fully attributed to the men being coaches or if it is just a lack of talent. Obviously, there are mens coaches that are successful at coaching womens sports and a perfect example would be the Connecticut womens basketball coach. He has led them to many national championships and obviously has no problem coaching them or relating to them.
I really am not sure if there is an issue here or if it really matters what gender a coach is for a specific gendered sport, but there are some interesting facts all over the world of sports about male and female coaches. What do you think is best for the coach to be for each gender and each sport? Is there really a better choice or is it all based off credibility and quality of the coach?
Homecoming Symposium
After attending the Homecoming Symposium two Friday's ago, i was fairly happy that i went. I normally do not attend events like these, but after seeing all the interest that there was in class about the symposium, i decided that i should go and check it out.
The talk i went to was Nate Janoso and he works public relations for the Cleveland Indians and also graduated from Bowling Green. I thought this was interesting and i enjoyed the fact that most of the representatives that came back were graduates of Bowling Green. This created a large amount of relateability between me and the speaker.
I really enjoyed hearing about Nate's path to success and finding a career. It seemed like it really took him a long time to find where he wanted to be, but not he is extremely happy with what he does. I had already knew that what he does would involve some long and unusual hours, but it was interesting to hear everything that he is responsible for and that he gets to do with the organization.
Overall, i am glad that i went to the symposium because i just was able to find out a little bit more information about the career path and it is always worthwhile to learn more about what i will be doing after graduation. I am glad that i found out about the symposium and was encouraged to go.
The talk i went to was Nate Janoso and he works public relations for the Cleveland Indians and also graduated from Bowling Green. I thought this was interesting and i enjoyed the fact that most of the representatives that came back were graduates of Bowling Green. This created a large amount of relateability between me and the speaker.
I really enjoyed hearing about Nate's path to success and finding a career. It seemed like it really took him a long time to find where he wanted to be, but not he is extremely happy with what he does. I had already knew that what he does would involve some long and unusual hours, but it was interesting to hear everything that he is responsible for and that he gets to do with the organization.
Overall, i am glad that i went to the symposium because i just was able to find out a little bit more information about the career path and it is always worthwhile to learn more about what i will be doing after graduation. I am glad that i found out about the symposium and was encouraged to go.
Women In Men's Sports
There has been a large amount of discussion lately about women playing in men's sports and i think that the discussion has gotten a little too out of hand. The idea that women are playing in men's sports sounds completely wrong when you first think about it, but what is really wrong about it?
The idea that women believe that are just as good as men or can compete with men is probably not completely wrong. There are a large amount of women that are better than men in sports. So why not let them try to prove it at some level. The idea that women do not have sports like football or wrestling shows that there should be some opportunity for women to compete if they desire to. Why Not?
It is obvious in the videos that we watched that the girl wrestlers can compete and are fairly good at what they do. They can be physical and work just as hard as men so is there really an issue? The only issue that i see with women in mens sports is the fact that some males are going to be made fun of when they lose to females just like what happened in the video.
So what is the overall consensus? Should women compete in mens sports or should they just stick to the sports that are offered to them? It is a tough decision but it is a decision that some of us may have to deal with in high school and maybe even college sports.
The idea that women believe that are just as good as men or can compete with men is probably not completely wrong. There are a large amount of women that are better than men in sports. So why not let them try to prove it at some level. The idea that women do not have sports like football or wrestling shows that there should be some opportunity for women to compete if they desire to. Why Not?
It is obvious in the videos that we watched that the girl wrestlers can compete and are fairly good at what they do. They can be physical and work just as hard as men so is there really an issue? The only issue that i see with women in mens sports is the fact that some males are going to be made fun of when they lose to females just like what happened in the video.
So what is the overall consensus? Should women compete in mens sports or should they just stick to the sports that are offered to them? It is a tough decision but it is a decision that some of us may have to deal with in high school and maybe even college sports.
Is It Fair?
As we discussed in class, due to Title 9 there have been a large amount of men's sports cut. I find this to be a huge issue as some of the videos in class have also said. It is unfair to just cut men's teams in order to be in compliance with title 9 because that is just creating a new debate.
I believe women need to have equity in sport at the very least, but i do not think that it is fair to make men worse off in order to create better opportunity for women.
My personal feelings would be to have women's sports just be added to a University. I realize this is much harder than it seems because schools are trying to save money and are cutting teams to do that in the first place, but that is a completely different situation. Men should not be disadvantaged because of title 9. There sports have been established within Universities and just because of a new rule, their sports are being cut.
What are some of the ideas you all have? Something has/had to be done, but i think that there are different ways to go about it, i am just not real sure what the best one is.
I believe women need to have equity in sport at the very least, but i do not think that it is fair to make men worse off in order to create better opportunity for women.
My personal feelings would be to have women's sports just be added to a University. I realize this is much harder than it seems because schools are trying to save money and are cutting teams to do that in the first place, but that is a completely different situation. Men should not be disadvantaged because of title 9. There sports have been established within Universities and just because of a new rule, their sports are being cut.
What are some of the ideas you all have? Something has/had to be done, but i think that there are different ways to go about it, i am just not real sure what the best one is.
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