Congratulations to all of our student athletes who were recipients of different athletic awards last night at Senior Honor's Night...I am sure it was a special evening for both them and their families! The athletes listed below represent in a positive manner what it means to be a true "student athlete." In addition, they are just a small sampling of the many wonderful student athletes who participate at South on a daily basis...all of those student athletes deserve kudos as well.
The following are the award categories and the recipients:
U.S. ARMY SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD:
Ethan M.
Katie H.
U.S. MARINE SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD:
Nick H.
Amanda R.
DETROIT FREE PRESS SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD:
Michael S.
DETROIT NEWS SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD:
Chloe S.
MHSAA SCHOLAR ATHLETE WINNER:
Jonathan R.
MHSAA SCHOLAR ATHLETE FINALISTS:
Robert M.
Katherine S.
MHSAA SCHOLAR ATHLETE NOMINEES:
Christopher L.
Duncan M.
Victoria P.
Katherine P.
Tommy P.
Blake S.
Chloe S.
Linsdey T.
THURSBY AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Chloe S.
Ryan M.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Golf Challenge Cup
Every year, the booster groups at both high schools put on the "Golf Challenge Cup." It is a golf outing that takes place at Lochmoor Country Club. More importantly, South competes against North for a great cause - to raise money for athletics at both high schools! The teams are made up of individuals throughout the community, it is really a nice event. The GPS Athletic Booster Club is hoping that many of you in the athletic community (and elsewhere) will attend the post golf outing dinner at Lochmoor Country Club on May 10th. If you are interested, PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS SOON! You can email John Conroy at domer125@comcast.net before May 3rd so that the boosters can save you a place among the victors! Cost is just $50 per person and remember you will end up supporting the athletic department (and your team!) by taking part in this great evening. Please consider joining us as we raise money for athletics…GO SOUTH!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Time To Start Thinking About Summer Camps...
Summer is getting closer and with that comes the offering of our summer camps. If you are interested in your son and/or daughter attending, please take the time to download the attached document by clicking on the link below and completing all the necessary information. Last year we enjoyed record numbers and we hope that the same will hold true for this year as well.
http://gpschools.schoolwires.net/17692081918348200/lib/17692081918348200/south%20sports%%20camps%202010.pdf
http://gpschools.schoolwires.net/17692081918348200/lib/17692081918348200/south%20sports%%20camps%202010.pdf
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Squad Reductions
I can't believe that we are officially kicking off our spring sports' season already. As fun and exciting that it can be for some who make our teams, it is also difficult for others who end up being "cut." One of the most difficult jobs of any coach is to cut a student/athlete based on his/her lack of ability. Not to mention, it can be a difficult situation for parents as well. It is an expectation that our coaches take extreme care in the handling of squad reductions. In the event cuts are made, coaches are responsible for meeting personally with each candidate and giving them an explanation of their weaknesses, and suggestions for what can be done for them to improve appropriately in the future. There is no doubt that the topic of not making a team can be stressful, but it is a reality for some of our sports. Anyone who has coached before and has had to handle cuts personally know that it is a discussion that no coach enjoys having to execute...it is my hope that everyone respects the process as coaches alone are responsible for squad selection, and determination of playing time.
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Benefits of Being a Student Athlete!
When you get a chance, please take the time to read the following passage by Jean M. Keelan from Carrollwood Day School Preparatory in Tampa Florida. Jean is the Director of College Guidance for the school. (Thanks to our booster club president for forwarding to me!) The number of benefits to our student athletes participating in high school sports is impressive…
"There are many benefits to being involved in athletics in high school. The personal traits one develops as a high school athlete are: teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, physical endurance, commitment, time management, and personal and emotional health. When a student decides to join an athletic team, a commitment is made to attend all practices and to give 100% effort. The student athlete learns to work well and in conjunction with others. Teammates rely upon and support one another to reach a common goal. A student athlete shows loyalty to teammates by being dependable and responsible, showing up for all practices and putting forth his/her best physical and mental effort.
The wellness benefits for the student athlete are that emotional and physical health are developed and maintained. Practices occur on a regular basis where drills are practiced and physical energy is used at its optimum for maximum performance for games. The athlete develops physical stamina to be able to be physically prepared for competition. Emotional health is developed through athletics in many ways. One example of how emotional health is increased is the amount of endorphins that are released during physical activity. When these endorphins are released, a natural high occurs and the athlete feels good which increases emotional wellness. These endorphins also help fight off depression and will reduce stress. When adrenaline is released due to physical activity, the flight or fight response kicks in, and when the student athlete's fight response kicks in, his/her performance is elevated.
Another benefit of being a student athlete is that one is forced to maximize his/her use of time. Time management skills are put to the test because the student athlete not only is a full-time student, but now has an additional time commitment. Because of this additional commitment, in order to be both academically and athletically successful, self-discipline must be used to control one's use of time. Research has shown that when a person has more responsibilities, s/he is forced to take control of how his/her time is used and that person winds up accomplishing more and maintaining a high performance level in both academics and athletics.
Finally, in addition to the already great benefits listed above, when college admission counselors and college coaches see a high school student who has performed well both academically and athletically, they see a well-rounded student athlete who will be a welcome student in higher education. In order to participate in collegiate athletics, students must be registered with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA promotes high standards in collegiate athletics so student athletes may remain eligible to play on a team."
"There are many benefits to being involved in athletics in high school. The personal traits one develops as a high school athlete are: teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, physical endurance, commitment, time management, and personal and emotional health. When a student decides to join an athletic team, a commitment is made to attend all practices and to give 100% effort. The student athlete learns to work well and in conjunction with others. Teammates rely upon and support one another to reach a common goal. A student athlete shows loyalty to teammates by being dependable and responsible, showing up for all practices and putting forth his/her best physical and mental effort.
The wellness benefits for the student athlete are that emotional and physical health are developed and maintained. Practices occur on a regular basis where drills are practiced and physical energy is used at its optimum for maximum performance for games. The athlete develops physical stamina to be able to be physically prepared for competition. Emotional health is developed through athletics in many ways. One example of how emotional health is increased is the amount of endorphins that are released during physical activity. When these endorphins are released, a natural high occurs and the athlete feels good which increases emotional wellness. These endorphins also help fight off depression and will reduce stress. When adrenaline is released due to physical activity, the flight or fight response kicks in, and when the student athlete's fight response kicks in, his/her performance is elevated.
Another benefit of being a student athlete is that one is forced to maximize his/her use of time. Time management skills are put to the test because the student athlete not only is a full-time student, but now has an additional time commitment. Because of this additional commitment, in order to be both academically and athletically successful, self-discipline must be used to control one's use of time. Research has shown that when a person has more responsibilities, s/he is forced to take control of how his/her time is used and that person winds up accomplishing more and maintaining a high performance level in both academics and athletics.
Finally, in addition to the already great benefits listed above, when college admission counselors and college coaches see a high school student who has performed well both academically and athletically, they see a well-rounded student athlete who will be a welcome student in higher education. In order to participate in collegiate athletics, students must be registered with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA promotes high standards in collegiate athletics so student athletes may remain eligible to play on a team."
Monday, February 8, 2010
Practice Planning
The past week I was reading one of the recent publications from BCAM (Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan) and found the article by Dr. David Hoch, who is the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Towson, Maryland, important enough to share with community coaches as well as our high school coaches. The article, “Planning Practice – Blueprint for Success,” deals with developing practice plans, and making them more efficient and effective. Although he is primarily discussing basketball, much of what he writes about can apply to other sports as well. The following are some of his suggestions…
• Restrict practice sessions to two hours. Beyond this point, you get negative returns.
• Consider teaching new techniques, skills and plays in the first-half of practice while the players are still fresh and attentive.
• Do not continue any drill “until we get it right.” All athletes learn at different rates and it may take several days of repetitions until the skill is mastered.
• Also, every segment and drill on your practice plan is there for a reason and is important. Everything needs to be covered in order to ensure that the athletes are getting the full benefit of the practice session.
• Use only drills that teach or reinforce the skills and concepts that are part of your system. There isn’t enough time to use popular drills that others – even well-known and successful coaches – use unless they complement your approach.
• Take each aspect of your offense and defense and create your own “Breakdown Drills.” Practice these individual parts and then put them back into use as part of the Whole-Part-Whole Method of instruction.
• Develop a list of alternative drills to teach the same skill or concept. As the season progresses, vary the drills to keep things fresh and interesting for the athletes while still reinforcing the desired skills.
• Use part of your full-court press break as a warm-up drill. Not only are you preparing the athlete’s body for the rigors of practice, but you are also reinforcing concepts that will be used in games.
• Try to incorporate game-like conditions in order to make the conditioning drills at the conclusion of practice more fun and relevant for the athletes. Sprinting after a loose ball or finishing a fast break makes sense to a young person as opposed to merely running sprints and they both accomplish the physical purpose.
• Set the standard that the coach will strategically schedule water breaks for the athletes. By being included in the practice plan and timed, optimum efficiency and results can be obtained.
• Instruct your athletes at the beginning of the season that they should stop and listen whenever they hear the whistle. Total attention is necessary in order to hear the next instructions or corrections to the execution of a drill.
• Considering alternating intense drills with those who may be a little less demanding, but still instructive, in order to maintain maximum participation by the athletes. Without this consideration, you may find some athletes pace themselves in order to make it through a practice session.
• Use assistant coaches and, perhaps managers, in drills in order to allow the athletes to get as many repetitions as possible. Learning is an active and not a passive process. Standing and waiting for one’s turn is not an efficient approach to master shills.
• Shorten the length of practice sessions as the season progresses into the last third of the schedule. The players have already learned and incorporated the skills and system. The goal should be to prevent athletes from getting stale.
• Restrict practice sessions to two hours. Beyond this point, you get negative returns.
• Consider teaching new techniques, skills and plays in the first-half of practice while the players are still fresh and attentive.
• Do not continue any drill “until we get it right.” All athletes learn at different rates and it may take several days of repetitions until the skill is mastered.
• Also, every segment and drill on your practice plan is there for a reason and is important. Everything needs to be covered in order to ensure that the athletes are getting the full benefit of the practice session.
• Use only drills that teach or reinforce the skills and concepts that are part of your system. There isn’t enough time to use popular drills that others – even well-known and successful coaches – use unless they complement your approach.
• Take each aspect of your offense and defense and create your own “Breakdown Drills.” Practice these individual parts and then put them back into use as part of the Whole-Part-Whole Method of instruction.
• Develop a list of alternative drills to teach the same skill or concept. As the season progresses, vary the drills to keep things fresh and interesting for the athletes while still reinforcing the desired skills.
• Use part of your full-court press break as a warm-up drill. Not only are you preparing the athlete’s body for the rigors of practice, but you are also reinforcing concepts that will be used in games.
• Try to incorporate game-like conditions in order to make the conditioning drills at the conclusion of practice more fun and relevant for the athletes. Sprinting after a loose ball or finishing a fast break makes sense to a young person as opposed to merely running sprints and they both accomplish the physical purpose.
• Set the standard that the coach will strategically schedule water breaks for the athletes. By being included in the practice plan and timed, optimum efficiency and results can be obtained.
• Instruct your athletes at the beginning of the season that they should stop and listen whenever they hear the whistle. Total attention is necessary in order to hear the next instructions or corrections to the execution of a drill.
• Considering alternating intense drills with those who may be a little less demanding, but still instructive, in order to maintain maximum participation by the athletes. Without this consideration, you may find some athletes pace themselves in order to make it through a practice session.
• Use assistant coaches and, perhaps managers, in drills in order to allow the athletes to get as many repetitions as possible. Learning is an active and not a passive process. Standing and waiting for one’s turn is not an efficient approach to master shills.
• Shorten the length of practice sessions as the season progresses into the last third of the schedule. The players have already learned and incorporated the skills and system. The goal should be to prevent athletes from getting stale.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
MHSAA Fall Start Dates 2010-11
As families begin thinking about the summer during cold times like this, I often get several phone calls asking about start dates for fall sports during the summer months as families plan vacations...In order to help families plan their vacations more effectively, the following are the dates to be aware of for fall sports:
Football - August 9
Cheer - August 11
Field Hockey - August 11
Boys' Cross Country - August 11
Girls' Cross Country - August 11
Girls' Golf - August 11
Boys' Soccer - August 11
Girls' Swim/Dive - August 11
Boys' Tennis - August 11
Volleyball - August 11
Please keep in mind as well that student athletes will need completed physicals/emergency forms prior to these start dates.
Football - August 9
Cheer - August 11
Field Hockey - August 11
Boys' Cross Country - August 11
Girls' Cross Country - August 11
Girls' Golf - August 11
Boys' Soccer - August 11
Girls' Swim/Dive - August 11
Boys' Tennis - August 11
Volleyball - August 11
Please keep in mind as well that student athletes will need completed physicals/emergency forms prior to these start dates.
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