Former SRU student in World Series

So were in the end of the October and in sports that means only one thing, The World Series. This year it has come down to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Redsox. Right now, the Redsox lead the series 3-1 and look like their a shoe in to win the coveted trophy, but anything could happen between then and now.

As we at SRU watch the World Series on our laptops and T.V.'s in our dorms and common areas, some of us do not realize but we are watching one of our own in the game. Matt Adams, one of the St. Louis Cardinals first basemen, went to Slippery Rock University and played for the university from 2007 to 2009. When he played here, he broke most of the school offensive records when it comes to baseball and was voted Division II Player of the Year in Baseball in 2009.

Age is a Number

As a child I can remember watching Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Serena Williams dominating every opponent they faced in the early 2000's, winning multiple championships, and being in every single commercial on television. Today these athletes are in their thirties and reaching the age of retirement but yet are at the top of their game and show no sign of stopping.


Kobe who is 35, has been a player and the face of the Los Angeles Lakers since his debut in 1996. In his career, he has won 5 NBA titles (all with the Lakers), 2 Olympic gold's, and a 15 time NBA All Star. Just this past season he became the youngest player in the NBA to reach 30,000 points in their career .

Tim Duncan at 37, just made his fifth appearance in the NBA finals last season against the young fresh LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Since being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 1997 after his senior season with Wake Forest, he has one 4 NBA titles with the Spurs, 10 time NBA All-Star, and 2 time NBA MVP.

Serena Williams at 32, became the oldest number one ranked tennis player in history this year. Not only is she the oldest number one player, but the oldest to win a Grand Slam title, and has the 4th most Grand Slam titles (17) and WTA titles (56) . Serena also ties the record with the most tennis gold medals with her sister Venus, both with four.

These athletes are competing and winning against athletes that used to admire them a decade ago. Every time they step out to compete, they show that age is only a number.

Influence of Parents in Youth Sport

Every year, over 20 million children sign up some type of competitive sports leagues across America. With those million kids registering for those sports, comes a million reasons why to they are signing up, not only from the child's standpoint, but from the parent and or guardians standpoint.

Parents and guardians all over America from the lowest to the highest class standings and everything in between, share the same idea when their son and or daughter is born, how is my child going to make it in life and what is it going to take to make that real. Many turn to sports.

The parents see and read the stories of famous athletes parents like the mothers of Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglass, LeBron James, and many others and try to relate with them in many ways. After that point, they expose their kids images and videos of these athletes and try to convince them they can be that one day. The parents then shell out thousands of dollars in private lessons, personal trainer sessions, and travel league fees. In return, the parents expect acceptance for them and their child in society.

In the sport of tennis, I see it first hand. The better players were those that paid for not only winter clinics, but memberships into the best local tennis clubs, and went to the best private coaches in the area. For a player to have a chance at becoming a professional, they must go through a good tennis academy somewhere in Florida which may cost up to $30,000 a year to attend and train at. During the process, the parents are sacrificing everything that their children can continue.

Heroes of the Game: Coaches

To all those that follow my blog, every week I will be highlighting an athlete who has had an impact on and off their various fields, courts, pools, stadiums, and etc.

This week, the heroes of the game I will be highlighting are the coaches. To any former, current, and future athletes, the coach serves as the main source of instruction and motivation to work harder in practice and compete at the best of our ability during competition. They are there celebrating with us after a win and mourning alongside us after a loss, and every emotion we have when in the heat of competition.

The roles they take on include being a mentor, hero, caregiver, educator, counselor, and many others.
In anybody's lifetime, especially an athlete's, the coach makes large impact on the growth of the athlete as person. From the little leaguer starting his or her first day of practice in the springtime to the professional athlete starting in their first championship game, the advice, guidance, and motivation a coach gives to the athlete factors into the success of the athlete.

Personally, most of the coaches that I had growing up, I looked up to in some way or another. The ones that made the biggest impact on my life were my cross country, track, and tennis coaches whom I still maintain a great relationship with to this day.

Once you finish reading this blog, take a second and think about that coach you had growing up and see if he fits some of the roles I wrote about in this blog.