It's the last day of July and time to get back to a weekly five reads on this blog. Here is one guarantee to you. There will be no articles about DEFLATEGATE featured here.
I get asked once and a while about how to get started in a career in sports. I always answer it with this question. Will you work a regular 9-5 work day and then work when everyone else is off -- meaning most evenings and weekends. Sporting events take place during everyone else's off hours. It is interesting to me how so many people stumble on that question. "Really, you work regular hours then more. I thought you just showed up at the events." The reality is the events are the easy -- and fun -- part. The work happens before anyone ever shows up. If we get by that question, I am usually asked about sports management programs. I did one at the University of Massachusetts twenty-five years ago. I am also asked about internships. However, I was especially intrigued by this article about the number of Haverford College alums working in a variety of different manners in Major League Baseball since it involved getting a job in professional baseball. True, you might take away from the article that Haverford has a network of old boys who look out for each other in the MLB. But that was not my take away. Greg Kannerstein was the Athletic Director and baseball coach at Haverford College for decades starting in 1968 until his death in 2009. I have known a lot of former Haverford athletes and they all speak of Kannerstein's influence on them. He is mentioned late in this article as a significant influence in helping former Haverford athletes get jobs in Major League Baseball. His life, probably not known far from the Main Line campus, is one coaches and teachers should study because of his powerful relational influence over those who attended the college. And if you examine his career journey I think you will discover a unique path -- journalist, english teacher, assistant dean of students, dean of admissions, baseball coach, athletic director and earned a master degree in english and folklore as well as a doctorate in education. I think that path had a lot to do with his effectiveness and now his on-going legacy.
Tiny Haverford An Unlikely Pipeline to Major League Baseball's Front Office -- NYT - July 28th 2015
I have railed against sports specialization for years now. The facts are growing. Early sports specialization may lead to amazing early performance but not long term success -- and increasingly likely serious issues that could result in ACL tears and Tommy John surgery. But with the pressure of the need for "hooks" into elite colleges, the temptation of college scholarship dollars, the competitiveness of making the "large" high school team and the marketing forces of the athletic performance industry, I do not think we are going to see less early sports specialization any time soon. So it was nice to see a guy like John Smoltz in his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech make a plea to parents and coaches to keep young athletes in multiple sports as long as possible. I am glad we can support every child who wants to be a multi-sport athlete.
John Smoltz's plea to Parents and Coaches of all Sports --
My greatest worries as a teacher, coach and parent of young people revolved around the rise of mental health issues among them. I know we as community have much more support than ever before for our young people who are struggling. But it seems we are just treating symptoms not causes as here is another article about the rise of Suicide at Elite Colleges. I wrote a little about Madison Holleran, the student at Penn, who seemed close to perfect -- smart, athletic and beautiful -- who committed suicide shortly after returning to school from Christmas break last January. This has led to the impact of social media being part of the equation for those struggling featured in this article in the NYT. Social media may be part of the equation, but I think it is much much more complicated than that. Turning off your I-Phone is probably a good idea for lots of us. But examining what has changed in our culture and wha we value to make so many young people despair may be a much better starting point to actually getting to the root of the problems.
Campus Suicide and the Pressure of Perfection -- NYT -- July 27 2015
It is shocking to me that it has been 25 years since Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights was published. The message of the book still lives today -- misplaced values in a small town. Friday Night Lights -- the book not the TV show -- is a must read for anyone interested in youth sports or sports culture in general. Sports Illustrated is honoring the 25th anniversary of this book with a number of pieces. Here is Bissinger's piece on checking in on the six main characters from the team. My favoirte line from this article "which is one reason I now know that high school behavior is the worst predictor of future behavior.' so true. Make sure you read the book if you haven't!
Stars of Friday Night Lights Reunite for 25th Anniversary -- SI -- August 3rd 2015
Last article of the week is about the Jamaican sprint tradition. Why are there so many great sprinters from Jamaica. David Epstein's book Sports Gene has an interesting chapter on why. Clearly, there are heritable talents, but those same talents can be found here in this country among many more people. There is one aspect of the greatness of Jamaican sprinters that is beginning to be discussed more and more and that is culture. Great article about the importance of a culture of excellence!
Jamaicans Dominate in Sprinting because they do it for a better life and they are not messing around -- The Independent July 30, 2015
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