Five Reads For Friday December 11th

Photo by Art Jessen '70

We are starting one of my favorite weeks of the school year. The preparation for the holidays is almost more enjoyable than the holidays themselves. As we head to next Friday, people's moods will lighten and gradually the daily grind will be replaced with the spirit of the season. Here are five good reads from the past week.

Finding Kenny Cormier -- Letsrun.com

We now regularly have students who say they want to be college athletes and some who specify they want to be a DI athlete in college. Ten years ago this week, Kenny Cormier won a high school national championship in cross country which opened all sorts of collegiate athletic opportunities for him. He then went on to become the best freshman runner in the nation the next year at the University of Arkansas. Then he changed his mind. Great story about what happened over the last 10 years to a high school phenom.

Tracking Collegiate Runners Sleep Stress Soreness,Recovery and Performance -- Science of Running Blog

I have written a number of posts about the 24 hour athlete. That is the concept that an athlete is more than the workout they do on any given day. Factors like sleep, life stress, meals etc. have big impacts on ones training adaptations. How do you help athletes manage the other factors in their life.  Steve Magness who can be followed at @stevemagness is one of the most innovative young coaches I know. In this post he talks about the data collected from an app his team developed to do this. This is the future.

Hall of Fame Integrity -- Jon Gordon Blog

Jon Gordon is a prolific writer about business and team development. He also has a blog. Here is a post of his reflections of attending the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame induction. The inductees were deserving due to their accomplishments but their stories were filled with the support others gave them to achieve what they achieved. Greatness is never created in isolation. 

Jimmy Breslin on John Lennon -- The City Room

One thing writing this blog has put me in awe of is good writing. 32 years ago this week John Lennon was shot in front of the Dakota building on Central Park West in Manhattan. This is the article Jimmy Breslin wrote. Still haunting today. 

Everyone's Got A Bill Belichek Story -- Joe Posnaski
I read almost every article I see about Patriots coach Bill Belichek. His ability to sustain excellence over so many years now is truly one of the most impressive sports accomplishments of the first part of this century. Joe Posnaski is also becoming one of my favorite sports writers.