Thespians have no place in basketball denounced the NBA. Fines are in store for those who do. Catching a flopper is what the NBA is talking about. There seems to be a growing national sentiment from officials to catch these evil players. You know the players that grunt and then fall down purposely to draw an offensive charge. But making fines to curb this behavior might be a detriment to proper defense.
Vlade Divac was the NBA's best flopper when he played in the NBA. The European star made a career of drawing the offensive charge. But officials became irritated when he would put in an extra acting at the end of the play. NFL place kickers do the same. When brushed by defensive players trying to block a kick or punt they may put on an academy award here and there. Are the NFL kickers next to be handed fines? No one likes to be played a fool nowadays. It shows up the referees and mocks the official's intelligence. However, some really good coaches teach their players at a very young age the art of taking an offensive charge. Now it may seem simple, but how many times in a men's league game have you seen it? Never, right. For one thing, many men who play never were taught to take a charge, secondly, referees hesitate to call an offensive foul. You can tell a real good player or a player that has played the sport seriously just by his ability to take a charge.
The proper way is to avoid falling on your back or hitting your head on the floor. A player is supposed to fall on your biggest muscle (buttocks) in a sit down fashion and slide back. However, the biggest part of the technique is giving a little ground when you feel contact. Because if you are too rigid, you could get a size 14 in your neck or worse fall straight on your back and head. There is a fine line between giving and flopping. We have heard from referees say; "he did not stand his ground, and he gave in too much". There fore the referee called it a flop and did not give the player the offensive charge. Now you wonder why taking a charge is becoming a lost art. Referees should go to a camp that teach taking a charge and see the physics involved in the art. It is not easy to stay rigid and not give in. Defensive basketball coaches constantly preach the mantra; "beat your man to the spot or lane". Instead players now try to go up and challenge the shooter and fouling the hand and arms instead. This technique has lead to great drivers and dunkers in the NBA. This is the very reason there are less pull up jumpers or pull up jump shooters in the NBA, college and high school. Nowdays the mentality is I don't want to stop and pop, but I'll go over my man because it looks spectacular. That is what the NBA wants, even though this drive is technically an offensive charge. Many times the offensive player does not go over his defender but through him. Now if his quad, knee or foot knocks the defensive player down don't you think that should be called an offensive foul? Sure we don't need the thespians but we should not take away the great defensive efforts of players.
Beating the offense to the spot should be rewarded, these fines only encourages lazy defense and rewards offensive players that do not know how to stop on a dime with a two foot jump stop.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Competition Breeds Success
Sports Illustrated just selected Punahou as the top athletic program in the Nation. According to the Sports Illustrated it chose Punahou on numerous characteristics of the whole school and not just the winning tradition. If you had looked at all the HHSAA titles this season the ILH dominated winning probably 75-80% of all the sports titles. Punahou won numerous titles this year including the Girls & Boys Basketball, Baseball, Judo, Water polo, Swimming, Tennis, and others.
Now there are pundits out there that hate private schools and never will change their biases no matter what. But props have to be handed out to Punahou for their excellence in the classroom and on the field. This selection does Hawaii good. It also sends out a message to all student athletes in Hawaii that academics are important.
Punahou excels because their whole process and system is set up for competition. Competition is evident in the whole process from the application process, being accepted to making the intermediate sports team, to scoring the highest in AP classes. There is always competition. Competition to get better during the summer and off season. Committing and sacrificing to fundraisers, field and facility maintenance, summer school. In fact the competition to make the team is fierce. To make the starting team is even fiercer. This competition breeds success and most of the students are self motivated and high achievers. The coaches get involved in the off season and interact and get to know the players all year round. The coaches pay attention to who is doing what and where. When it comes to season time they know who has been working out and rewards that with opportunities.
Some public schools don’t do this; in fact many public schools don’t know who has done what and who has been working hard. Many coaches have to work on basic fundamentals to make sure the ones who did not work out can catch up to the advanced and skilled players. Is this fair to the advanced players? The whole public school system is geared to provide equal opportunities for everyone. As long as the starting line is the same that is fine.
The public school system can not compete with private schools like Punahou and Iolani. The whole public school system is set up for mediocrity. Because the public schools have more of a broad range of students. The good athletes and academic students get somewhat lost in the shuffle. Is it time to start rewarding excellence and hard work versus spending time and resources on trying to adjust the starting line so it is fair for the ones who don’t work hard. Public schools have their hands tied but coaches and educators need to find creative ways in rewarding and motivating excellence. This feel good story has to have a message to our public school board and possibly to our Senators and Representatives. We have to bring back a competitive school environment to better prepare Hawaii's youth. Lowering the bar and standards to hide slackers won't help. There is a lot of talent at public schools that don't go to private schools and yet succeed, yet there is a lot of talent that is squandered due to the non competitive environment. Let's learn from what Punahou is doing and Kudos to the Punahou model.
Now there are pundits out there that hate private schools and never will change their biases no matter what. But props have to be handed out to Punahou for their excellence in the classroom and on the field. This selection does Hawaii good. It also sends out a message to all student athletes in Hawaii that academics are important.
Punahou excels because their whole process and system is set up for competition. Competition is evident in the whole process from the application process, being accepted to making the intermediate sports team, to scoring the highest in AP classes. There is always competition. Competition to get better during the summer and off season. Committing and sacrificing to fundraisers, field and facility maintenance, summer school. In fact the competition to make the team is fierce. To make the starting team is even fiercer. This competition breeds success and most of the students are self motivated and high achievers. The coaches get involved in the off season and interact and get to know the players all year round. The coaches pay attention to who is doing what and where. When it comes to season time they know who has been working out and rewards that with opportunities.
Some public schools don’t do this; in fact many public schools don’t know who has done what and who has been working hard. Many coaches have to work on basic fundamentals to make sure the ones who did not work out can catch up to the advanced and skilled players. Is this fair to the advanced players? The whole public school system is geared to provide equal opportunities for everyone. As long as the starting line is the same that is fine.
The public school system can not compete with private schools like Punahou and Iolani. The whole public school system is set up for mediocrity. Because the public schools have more of a broad range of students. The good athletes and academic students get somewhat lost in the shuffle. Is it time to start rewarding excellence and hard work versus spending time and resources on trying to adjust the starting line so it is fair for the ones who don’t work hard. Public schools have their hands tied but coaches and educators need to find creative ways in rewarding and motivating excellence. This feel good story has to have a message to our public school board and possibly to our Senators and Representatives. We have to bring back a competitive school environment to better prepare Hawaii's youth. Lowering the bar and standards to hide slackers won't help. There is a lot of talent at public schools that don't go to private schools and yet succeed, yet there is a lot of talent that is squandered due to the non competitive environment. Let's learn from what Punahou is doing and Kudos to the Punahou model.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Hawaii High School Sports Fans Cry Feast Or Famine
It has been a whirl wind week for the HHSAA, one week- the baseball, tennis, and golf championships. The following week softball and volleyball. What a two weeks of sports events. This is great for Hawaii Sports Fans. However, there are concerns of not enough time to see these great games. I know, the AD’s say you have to pick and choose.
Some Big Island fans voicing that they did not get to see any Volleyball games on television due to the networks decision to go with softball. With only one network dedicated to the HHSAA that left out Volleyball. Last year’s boys HHSAA volleyball ratings were high. This week there is nothing scheduled, “ a famine week”. All right the students have to prepare for finals and end of the year labs and such. Is it time for the HHSAA to stagger these events? The sole purpose of a state tournament is to have one. That is first and foremost. The HHSAA is not in the business of popularity of promoting the sports through the media. One solution, have the championship for one of the two sports on a Sunday or Monday. Start one day later than the other sport and then rotate every year. An example would be to have Softball start on Wednesday and end Saturday and have Volleyball start on Thursday and have the Championship on Monday. Although several teams would have to spend an extra day for Sunday it could provide better coverage and fan support. Or have the tournament start on a Tuesday and end on Friday for one of the sports.
Let’s start staggering these events to increase fan support.
Some Big Island fans voicing that they did not get to see any Volleyball games on television due to the networks decision to go with softball. With only one network dedicated to the HHSAA that left out Volleyball. Last year’s boys HHSAA volleyball ratings were high. This week there is nothing scheduled, “ a famine week”. All right the students have to prepare for finals and end of the year labs and such. Is it time for the HHSAA to stagger these events? The sole purpose of a state tournament is to have one. That is first and foremost. The HHSAA is not in the business of popularity of promoting the sports through the media. One solution, have the championship for one of the two sports on a Sunday or Monday. Start one day later than the other sport and then rotate every year. An example would be to have Softball start on Wednesday and end Saturday and have Volleyball start on Thursday and have the Championship on Monday. Although several teams would have to spend an extra day for Sunday it could provide better coverage and fan support. Or have the tournament start on a Tuesday and end on Friday for one of the sports.
Let’s start staggering these events to increase fan support.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wie Needs To Get Rid Of the Weasy
Michele Wie, Hawaii’s child prodigy in golf just got her tickets taken. Her latest cut from the field in her last LPGA tournament proves that she still lacks the drive to propel her game to the top.
The best thing that happened to her recently was the exemption not handed out. She will have to see where this leads. The qualifying exemptions were the root of her problems, not injuries. She needs to toughen her mental approach to her game. Right now, Wie is a mentally fragile young adult. Her puppy dog appeal no longer exists. She will have to write her own story and foot the bill.
No one wants to carry a quitter and someone who constantly makes excuses. Her road was paved with glitter and easy passage to the back entrance. The best thing for her parents to do, would be to let her fight and qualify for her invites to these LPGA events. This will make her hungrier, mentally tougher, and most of all prove that she can do it on her own with her god given talent. Her talent is definitely there, but all champions are made mentally tough. You cannot take a short cut and hire a sports psychologist to pass through this. You have to get beat up (mentally). The only way to get beat up is to travel that road of experience. She has not been on that road; she has been in a limousine by passing that road. Tiger Woods was also a child prodigy golfer. However his road to his success was different than Wie, it was due to him fighting in all the amateur tournaments. Playing against his peers did him good and propelled him higher. Wie skipped this too early.
As an ancient Chinese proverb tells about the emperor who clipped the cocoon to help the butterfly morph faster actually crippled it. The process of struggling out of the cocoon for the butterfly forms its wings, body and legs. By the emperor cutting the cocoon he actually hurt the butterfly mature, as the butterfly lived it’s life flightless. The same thing can be said for Wie, her cocoon has been clipped. But she needs to travel the bumpy road by her self and only after this will she excel.
The best thing that happened to her recently was the exemption not handed out. She will have to see where this leads. The qualifying exemptions were the root of her problems, not injuries. She needs to toughen her mental approach to her game. Right now, Wie is a mentally fragile young adult. Her puppy dog appeal no longer exists. She will have to write her own story and foot the bill.
No one wants to carry a quitter and someone who constantly makes excuses. Her road was paved with glitter and easy passage to the back entrance. The best thing for her parents to do, would be to let her fight and qualify for her invites to these LPGA events. This will make her hungrier, mentally tougher, and most of all prove that she can do it on her own with her god given talent. Her talent is definitely there, but all champions are made mentally tough. You cannot take a short cut and hire a sports psychologist to pass through this. You have to get beat up (mentally). The only way to get beat up is to travel that road of experience. She has not been on that road; she has been in a limousine by passing that road. Tiger Woods was also a child prodigy golfer. However his road to his success was different than Wie, it was due to him fighting in all the amateur tournaments. Playing against his peers did him good and propelled him higher. Wie skipped this too early.
As an ancient Chinese proverb tells about the emperor who clipped the cocoon to help the butterfly morph faster actually crippled it. The process of struggling out of the cocoon for the butterfly forms its wings, body and legs. By the emperor cutting the cocoon he actually hurt the butterfly mature, as the butterfly lived it’s life flightless. The same thing can be said for Wie, her cocoon has been clipped. But she needs to travel the bumpy road by her self and only after this will she excel.
Unraveling the Traveling
Living in Hawaii is one of the best places in the world. Surrounded by environmental beauty, perfect weather, nice people, and great cross cultural experiences. However, we are isolated on a rock with ocean all around us. Traveling to and from each island does take on an added expense. Reality is, although we belong to one state, more than ocean separates us, we are separated by economics. The economies of scale work against this separation.
The HHSAA State Championships are becoming an economic burden for traveling teams. The culprit is higher fuel costs and lodging expenses. Everything is going up in cost. Recession is looming its ugly head. As more families face this economic crunch, traveling becomes a hardship.
What can the leagues do to alleviate this burden? A BIIF Boy's Volleyball DII team that just qualified for the HHSAA DII tournament is having difficulty coming up with funds to go to this tournament.
Each school is given some assistance by the HHSAA to go to the tournament, however the assistance is never nearly enough to cover every cost. Airfares have doubled since Aloha Airlines has gone out of business and seems to be going higher. Hotel and rental vans are harder to find and are expensive.
Each school's athletic department only has funds that operate the in season athletic programs and does not provide pre and post season traveling expenses. The athletic programs pretty much leaves this up to the parents of the teams traveling. Most teams have booster associations that fund raise to make up for this shortfall.
The problem exists due to the shortness of the season for most sports. Take for instance most seasons last only two months. Planning and fundraising must be done prior and after the season to have any kind of success. Most families are busy with club teams and other activities to do this.
It takes dedicated parents, a visionary booster board and a coach with leadership skills to pull this off. For smaller schools it just does not happen. Also most coaches today are busy with their real jobs and don't want to be bothered by fundraising. So what usually happens? Most families foot the bill. Now, it may seem like a minor expense for some families, but for those that are not as fortunate and live on a fixed budget it is a hardship.
So what can the Leagues and HHSAA do to make this better? Maybe better planning should be done.
1. The HHSAA should negotiate with Hawaiian Airlines or Go Airlines and reserve a big block of seats for the number of outer island teams that are slated to travel to the HHSAA tournaments. This would be reimbursed by traveling teams back to the HHSAA. By doing this you ensure you get the best price for seats rather than having teams scramble for expensive last minute seats.
2. The athletic programs should facilitate fundraising activities of each athletic program.
Come up with creative fundraising activities to assist assorted teams.
3. Business' like hotels and car rental companies need to look at creative ways to giving to this problem. Sometimes in a slumping economy, taking a tax deduction for donating to a cause like this is better than trying to increase sales. Maybe hotels and car rental companies could donate blocks of rooms and cars for HHSAA teams. If you have 10 hotels that donate just 4-5 rooms per tournament that is 50 rooms for the tournament. The HHSAA could hang the banners of those hotels at the tournament along with the major sponsor. Businesses would get a big tax deduction, the best advertising, and doing community service in one good swoop. In Hawaii we are in a unique situation, unlike mainland teams that can hop in a car and drive, we are at a big disadvantage. It is time for creative ways to unravel the travel dilemma.
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