You sure do manage to post exclusively from one “author”.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:cdga5for4/index?tab=articles
And as an excerpt, as well.. driving traffic to a blog.
Are you actually here just to promote your material, using Free Republic as an advertising tool?
That summer, I practiced two hours a day, every day. I couldn't believe how good I got, and how fast it happened. In the fall of sophomore year, I got in to jazz band, and junior and senior year played first chair... then made all-county and all-state, twice.
Not only did I find out how much I could accomplish by practicing, I began to figure out how to practice.
A few years later, I figured out that you can practice anything and get better at it than you ever thought you could be.
All because I failed to get into jazz band as a freshman in high school. It was the first thing I ever auditioned for and didn't get into.
One of the most important things I ever learned. One of the most important things that ever happened in my life.
My son played football until the end of his junior year. For 4 years, he played every down. Sometimes he did JV and Varsity. He finally was injured his junior year and was able to “make the bench”. He gave it up for his senior year and focused on track. He was just burnt out.
I play softball four mornings a week at a local park with a large bunch of retirees beginning now and way into the fall. We have NEVER witnessed a group of kids at the park playing pick-up ball amongst themselves, they're all herded onto their respective little league teams.
We frequently talk about this phenomenon amongst ourselves. When we were kids, we left the house in the morning and headed to the nearest baseball diamond where we would play all day until we had to be home for supper......
The batter that got on base a lot, the pitcher who got batters out, they were my favorites, they played more than those who didn't do those things.
It is always easier to say that a coach plays favorites than to admit that the other kid is playing more simply because they are better/worked harder.
Boys AAU basketball is the worse. It’s a racket controlled by a few guys and the big shoe companies. The kids rarely work on fundamentals and simply playing games is not going to improve the skills of the players.
Has anyone noticed how many foreign players are being recruited at major colleges?
As the NBA is becoming a much more of a team game over the past 10-20 years, athletic ability without sound fundamentals and a team first orientation is not going to cut it. As a result, there are a lot more Canadians, Europeans, Austrailians, and South Americans in the NBA; and they are stars.
In the European leagues, the pros practice, ALOT, and play only two games per week. A number of U.S. college players who did not get drafted go to Europe for a few years where they get excellent coaching on fundamentals and then come back to play in the NBA.
Parents are mostly motivated to coach little league (whatever the sport) so their kid plays. I don’t have the time so I’m glad they’re able to do it, but most of them are there to ensure their kid plays.