Oregon Republican Reporter, Mt. Morris Times
SPORTS
SECTION B
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Oregon third baseman Josh Cook fields a ground ball as a Rockford East High School baserunner moves to third during high school baseball action Monday at Oregon. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Hawks fall to ERABs
Mother Nature provided temperatures in the mid-60s for the Hawk baseball team on Monday. But that wasn’t quite enough as strong wind gusts coupled with a strong Rockford East team put a damper on Oregon’s season opener. The ERABs (East Red and Black) scored eight runs in three innings en route to a 16-7 win over Oregon. Rockford’s lead-off batter put the ERABs on the board Above, Hawk first baseman Luke Ziegler tosses the ball to first base after fielding a when he reached on a bunt ground ball during action against Rockford East on Monday. Below, second baseman and scored after a single. Tyler Blume looks to the umpire for the call as a runner slides safely into second. Oregon’s Tyler Blume Photos by Earleen Hinton reached first base on four balls in the first for the Hawks, but was stranded when Josh Cook grounded out. East scored one in the second and then six more in the third. Oregon got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, but it was too little too late. Highlights for Oregon included Matt Murray tripling and driving in three runs and Skylar Short driving in two runs for the Hawks. Hawk pitcher Taylor Brubaker took the loss, allowing eight runs and seven hits in three innings. The Hawks are scheduled to host Rockford Lutheran on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. , weather permitting, before traveling to Morrison on April 7. They host Winnebago on April 8.
Outdoor Meet Oregon High School track teams finally had decent enough weather Tuesday to host a 5-team outdoor meet. Above, McKaylee Beeter runs a leg in the 4x800. Below, Carson Buck competes in the 4x800 meter relay Tuesday. Meet results were not available at press time. Photo by Chris Johnson
Sports Column Food has a lot to do with high school sports By Andy Colbert Reporter After visiting Rock River Center’s “What’s Cooking” event at Oak Lane in Daysville over the weekend, I felt inspired to write about food. What does food have to do with high school sports? As a matter of fact, quite a bit. There’s a wide mix of issues, such as how nutrition affects athletic performance, teen-age eating habits, soft drink contracts and the potential of concession stands for athletic fund-raising. There was a time when depriving athletes of liquids at practice and eating a steak dinner before a game were accepted standards. The school of thought among many a coach was
that a mentally-tougher competitor was created by holding back the water, even in 90-degree temperatures. Eventually, that ignorant stance was replaced by one that espoused drinking plenty of fluids during games and practices. The steak dinner thing was another faux pas, based on the misguided notion to load up on protein for optimal performance. As nutritional studies improved, a major shift occurred from proteinloading to carb-loading. That concept began in long-distance runners and has carried over to all sporting endeavors. It’s a simple premise. Your body breaks down carbohydrates to glucose and stores in it the muscle as glycogen. The glycogen and then converted to energy. It’s a much more efficient approach than the cave man mentality, which also said that muscle growth came from eating lots of red meat. What too much protein does
is increase body fat. Muscle growth is best done through strength training, something rarely utilized decades ago. Even with the scientific advances in sports nutrition, a major concern is the eating styles of young people. There is far too much consumption of junk foods and sugared drinks. Year after year, I am amazed at the number of injuries and illness that kids in high school have. Poor nutrition practices have to be a factor in this. Shouldn’t the teenage years be a time of optimal health instead? I’ll go as far to say that too much emphasis is placed on energy bars and sports drinks. Instead of an energy bar with its hidden fats and sugar, give me fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and regular type foods. Sports drinks, also loaded with sugar, provide electrolyte replacement, but nothing beats good old water for hydration. What about the so-called energy drinks?
They are nothing more than a caffeine-laden scam perpetrated on a gullible public. Does a school put students at a health risk in exchange for a financial gain by actively promoting a soft drink company? To a certain extent, that is being done by schools via contracts with Coke and Pepsi. These exclusive agreements, which state that a soft-drink manufacturer be the sole provider of beverages at a school’s sporting events puts loads of money into the schools coffers. For example, Oregon had probably reaped close to a $1,000,000 from Coke since 1997. Attract the kids while they’re young and potentially have a customer for life is what Coke has in mind and why they are willing to pay big bucks for that opportunity. That windfall can be used to upgrade a school’s athletic facilities, thus saving taxpayer dollars. So, is this a good or bad practice?
I’d be curious to hear what other people think. If I was a school administrator, it would be hard for me to say no to all that money. Finally, let’s talk about concession stands. If run properly, these things can be gold mines. That’s the difficult part, finding the proper management and volunteer workers to put it all together. There is an art to food buying, scheduling of labor, forecasting quantities, menu development and methods of preparation. This is a fiscal unreality, but a real luxury for a school would be to have a trained food service professional manage concessions. The benefits would be increased revenues because of a more efficient operation and better goods and services. And, it sure would take the burden off athletic departments, booster clubs and coaches. Over the years, the types of food served at concession stands have expanded from
Andy Colbert
popcorn, hot dogs, candy bars and pop. That change started at professional ball parks and have been further influenced by the Food Network, as people’s eating habits have expanded. Concession stands bring plenty of cash in and provide fundraising opportunities for various school activities. But, is there untapped potential out there?