Benched

BENCHED MENTORSHIPS

How they affect athletes lives PG. 14

CONCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS T

The possible answers to concussions?

PG. 8

ADVANTAGES

The world of performance enhancing drugs PG. 20

STORY OF AN ATHLETE And the experiences along the way PG. 36

FORZA CAMPIONES

Documenting Austin’s premiere soccer training facility.

PG. 38

RACIAL EQUALITY

The athletic side of racial injustice PG. 26

Table of Contents 8

Conclusion to Concussions?

The rising problem of concussions in sports.

12

Manning Magic

14

Undermining the Masterminds

18

Info Behind the Injuries

20

Unfair Advantages

24

Steroid (Ab)users

2 Benched | April 2016

Peyton Manning’s 2011 neck injury and his success in overcoming it.

The roles that athletic trainers play in the lifes of professional athletes.

The statistics behind sports injuries and discover which sports are the most dangerous.

The going world of steroids use in amatuer athletes.

The most famous steroid users of all time and the stories behind it.

26

The Race for Equality

32

The Most Popular World Sports

36

Student of the Game

40

Pump it Up

42

Forza Campiones

46

What an Athlete Eats

The role of race and discrimination in the world of sports today.

The most popular sports in the world, it might suprise you.

The life of student athletes and how sports affect their everyday life.

Learn how to do famous celebrations preformed by athletes today.

This small training facility in North Austin consistently sends players to the pros.

Examine the diet and heathly choices that sucessful athletes make every day.

April 2016 | Benched 3

CONTRIBUTORS Photo by Aly Hirani Photo by Nick Venn Photo by Aly Hirani

4 Benched | April 2016

A

ndrew Mauro was introduced to the game of soccer when he was four years old. Ever since then, he has never stopped. He started when he was a toddler and enrolled in Forza, a training center made for athletes of all ages. when he was 12. He was challenged up to his limit, having to balance his school life with his passion for soccer. But through this process, Mauro formed life lessons that last him to this day. Now attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Andrew Mauro is one of the most respected and hard-working people in his school.

S

occer. Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat. This is the mantra of Aly Hirani’s life. In the running for valedictorian, Aly is arguably the smartest person in his freshman class. Moreover, he is possibly the best soccer player in the state of Texas. Playing for the River City Rangers his coach said that his work ethic is unequivocal when asked about Aly Hirani. His love for soccer and school started in first grade when he invested in the stock market from the little money he had saved in his piggy bank. Ever since then he has kept up with his stocks and has made a fortune by the time he was a third grade. Despite making a lot of money, he realized that money isn’t the most important thing in life. He made the decision to push himself and strive to be good at whatever he puts his mind to. He now attends the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

H

omecoming Baron. This award in itself describes the personality of Nick Venn.

Along with being the most social and amiable person in his grade, Nick is an aspiring politician and a natural leader. He spends his life on the basketball court, competing in national basketball tournaments. He also enjoys debating with his friends for fun and studying the presidential election. “Sports are analogous for politics,” says Venn. “In order to be successful at any sport, you must me a good teammate and must respect others. You must posses the same qualities to be a good politician”. Nick aspires to be the president of a small country in Africa and hopes to raise their fortunes. His celebrity crush is Zac Efron, especially since they both like basketball.

Photo by Aly Hirani

A

side from being a mathematical genius, Max has a kind heart and a sweet soul. “Max is incredibly attractive and a hard-worker,” says Becca Brackin, one of his close friends. Most ladies respect his irresistible charms, and for this reason he is one of the most amiable men in his grade. Moreover, he is a varsity soccer player that is garnering interest from major schools. When asked to describe Max in one word, Michelle Su, leader of her respective Electronic Magazine class, says he is “insightful”. Max enjoys socializing with his classmates and spending time with them outside of school. In the words of Aly Hirani, “Max is the friendliest man that I’ve ever seen.”

Photo by Aly Hirani

A

ndy Mueller enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors. His room is covered with inspirational photos and quotes from leaders across the world. He loves public speaking and speaking out against injustice in our world. He enjoys spending time researching current events and finding out more about different cultures. He spends his free time attending his church group and playing soccer with his friends. He is also an avid nature conservationist. He advocates for the poor little mole rats of southern Asia and has given up his dream to attend an Ivy League school in order to start a program to protect this delicate species.

The group with the exception of Nick walks together on the track.

Photo by Nick Venn

April 2016 | Benched 5

A Message From Our Editors Letter From the Editor Dear devoted sports fan, We created this magazine to open your eyes to the aspects of sports that go beyond the playing field. Benched contains opinions from professionals who are at the head of their fields, as well as from student - athletes who have experienced their respective sport at a personal level. This magazine was not easy to make; many interviews were rejected and many ideas ended up in the garbage. Yet because of our passion for sports and dedication to making this magazine the best it could possibly be, it was made possible. Aside from the countless hours spent working unscrupulously to produce the most accurate articles possible with the latest statistics, a lot of time was spent outside of school learning about our respective topics.

Aside from having a passion for sports, our group has one thing in common: hard-work and devotion. Though we like to have fun at times, when it is time to work our group is 110 percent focused.

Despite encountering many hardships throughout the creation of this magazine, our group was able to come together and jell as a team to overcome our problems. With a lot dedication put in from all the members of our group, we produced a spectacular magazine for your perusal.

Thank you readers,

TJ Arora

Letter From the Co-Editor Dear Readers, Athletes are the idols of our children and the heros of their fans. Billions of people worldwide enjoy sports, either by playing, watching, or both. Many people already know the facts when it come to sports. Many media outlets around the globe already tells fans what they need to know. We have strived to create a magazine that does something completely different.

Benched is a magazine that breaks fans favorite sports down to a science.

We have strived to tell players what happens when an athlete is off the field.

Working on a magazine for the first time was an amazing experience. All the work and creativity (as well as elimination of creativity) that goes into creating media has made a thoroughly positive impression on me. I’ve have learned a lot about hard work, and I have made many new friends through this experience. Enjoy the magazine. Take a look at what happens behind the scenes in sports.

Thank you readers, Andrew Mauro

Conclusion to Concussions?

By Max Irby

The sports scene has been overtaken recently with stories of the dangers of concussions. How should you as an athlete take this risk into account?

Photo from Wikipedia

8 Benched | April 2016

Concussions in Youth Sports

O

ne in five high school athletes will sustain a concussion during their playing season. The risk of concussions and their effects on the developing mind has caused many parents to shelter their children from contact sports.

Autopsies performed on former football players have revealed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease has ruined lives, and whose root cause lies in concussions. As more information is learned about concussions, the issue becomes increasingly complex.

Misconceptions are often intermingled with truth in this controversial issue that is taking the sports world by storm.

Concussions have become increasingly more common, and can put students out of school for weeks, or even months - making it harder to think and concentrate. Moreover, their long-term effects can change the injured mind and personality permanently. In youth sports especially, there are athletes do not know the full risk that concussions pose to their well being and intellectual opportunities

Any jarring hit to the

later in life. Some athletes return to their sport when symptoms of a concussion are still active, and sustain another.

This can be extremely harmful, even causing death in some cases. However, with the combination of more full awareness potential prevention in the form of protective equipment, these risks can be avoided.

Information is still being uncovered linking brain diseases and injuries to concussions. “I think that it has the potential to become a larger issue the more we know about it and the more we see the effects of them: right now we don’t know how many concussions is too many, and we don’t know all of the lasting effects of them,”Dr. Timothy Vachris says. Vachris has worked as an athletic trainer with patients suffering from concussions for eight years, whose ages range from youth to adult.

“Over the past five years from my concussion clinic alone, we started seeing maybe from six to eight kids every week, all the way to up to twenty-plus a week, and during foot-

ball season it gets even higher,” Vachris says. Concussions are not as frequent as other injuries, but arguably pose a greater danger to athletes. They have become increasingly more common over the years, stemming from both the increasing levels of competition in modern sports as well as the increase of athletes playing these sports.

One of the bigger issues associated with concussions is the idea of them going unrecognized, and athletes not getting the treatment that they need. “The biggest

“We started seeing maybe from 6 to 8 kids every week, all the way to up to 20+ a week.”

Photo from Wikipedia

head or body can cause a concussion.

Concussions are very common in sports like boxing where blows to the head occur all the time.

April 2016 | Benched 9

thing is trying to make sure that all symptoms are clear, and that people return to their baseline brain function before we put them into potential risk of getting another,” Vachris says. This idea is critical to treating concussions because, as with any other injury, successfully undergoing a full recovery will lessen the risk of further injury.

Part of the confusion that athletes have about concussions is caused by the fact that the severity of the injury is all based on the individual. Symptoms are different for everyone, and there are no standard to base individual concussions on. “Last week, we had someone who was in a motor vehicle accident and had brain trauma, bleeds, everything,” Vachris says. “Their recovery was 2 weeks, and they were back to normal.

Some kids take light hits to the head and are out for months.”

“What we found was that people might be knocked out, with no response for a few minutes,” Dr. Derrick Chan says, who has also been treating concussed patients for 8 years “Initial symptoms were pretty severe, but in 2 days they were fine, back at their

“In 2 days they were fine, back at their sport a few days later without issue. Other people get a slight hit, and get a slight headache. That headache lingers for months.”

-Chan

sport a few days later without issue. Other people get a slight hit, and get a slight headache. That headache lingers for months. It’s all on an individual basis.” These varying symptoms make concussion extremely hard

to gauge and treat, resulting in some athletes not recovering like they should be.

“Long term effects that some people have are continued trouble focusing, trouble with simple tasks that they had no problem with before,” Vachris says. “There was a lawyer who was in a car accident and had a concussion. He tried to go back and was having trouble reading papers that he didn’t have much trouble with earlier, and it took him a couple months to recover from that.”

The idea that the long-term effects of a concussion can not only affect classroom performance, but also college and career opportunities later in life is a scary one to many student athletes.

Symptoms are not the only individualized aspect of concussions. Athletes have to make a choice: either take the risk (albeit small) that you sustain a concussion and possible lifelong brain damage, or don’t take the chance and lose benefits of playing sports. “Someone playing freshman football and someone playing in the Super Bowl both have the same chance of getting a concussion,” Vachris says. “If you’re concerned

Jordan Reed, seen below, has had a history of concussions while playing football. To a player in the NFL, the risk of concussions seems to be outweighed by the opportunity to make money that playing gives them.

Photo from Wikipedia

10 Benched | April 2016

Photo from Wikipedia

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a brain disease discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu while he was performing an autopsy on a famous football player. The disease causes a profound personality change in the subject up to 8-10 years after a head injury. The disease is shrouded in mystery due to the fact that it can only be discovered after death after an autopsy.

about concussions, you might not play freshman year, but you would definitely play in the Super Bowl.” Most NFL players acknowledge the risks of concussions in their sport, but play anyway because they have an opportunity to make a lot of money, or gain fame.

According to Vachris the best way to prevent against concussions is really just “learning proper technique for sports like football, and being more aware of what your body is doing in space and overall being more cognitively aware of what you’re doing and who is around you.” Helmets and other protective equipment provide some protection, but they are no substitute for playing safely.

Athletes have begun to look for new ways to mitigate the risk of concussions

with helmets and headbands, like LBJ High School athlete True Pham. “I decided to wear the headband to try and become safer after I learned about the long-term health issues associated with head injuries like concussions,” Pham says. “While wearing the headband can be annoying at times, I think that it is as necessary for safety as pads are in a sport like football. No athlete wants to be injured, and no coach likes losing players, so anything that makes the game safer to play is awesome.” Schools are beginning to take extra measures to increase safety, such as many high schools having an athletic trainer present at games and practices.

In response to a question about the recent movie Concussion that came out in December 2015, Vachris says “I think it’s good to

“No athlete wants to be injured, and no coach likes losing players, so anything that makes the game safer to play is awesome.” -Pham

have more public awareness about this”.

ESPN did an interview on some NFL players and college players, who said that after seeing that movie said that they felt different about playing. “I thought that was strange because at every level of sports they have been told of the risks, but Hollywood saying it and Will Smith acting makes people take it more seriously,” Vachris says.

Concussions are an issue that each athlete must take into account on an individual basis. Every athlete has individual risks posed to them, and benefits that the risks might outweigh. But the combination of more ways constantly being developed to try and lower the risks posed by this injury and increased awareness of the devastating intellectual effects, means that soon athletes will be able to make better decisions about if they want to play, and how to be safer if they choose to. ❒

April 2016 | Benched 11

Manning Magic

By TJ Arora

P

eyton Manning’s 2011 neck injury is one of the worst in sports history. Quarterbacks throw the football at speeds of 50 mph and distances over 40 yards. After Manning’s neck injury, he pinched his nerve so badly to that the point that he could hardly throw a football 5 yards. His injured nerve connected with the He had to lift weights under 10 pounds and relearn how to throw a football. Two years later, he set the record for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback and enjoyed undisputedly the greatest season of any quarterback in NFL history. Two years after this, he won the Super Bowl. How did the same right arm that was immobile in 2011 lead Manning to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2012, league MVP in 2013 and the Super Bowl in 2015?

1

C

Indianpolis

After the last of a series of neck surgeries, woke up from anesthesia pain-free. Yet, when he tried to move his arm, it buckled beneath him. At this point he knew his career could come to an end, and he could possibly never move his arm again.

His injury started few years before his surgery in a regular season game against the Washington Redskins. The last time that he missed a game was his freshman year of college, so when he took a hit so hard that his helmet popped off, it seemed as though his streak was going to come to an end. Writhing in pain on the RCA turf, a feeling of doubt slowly fell over the RCA Dome. To the surprise of many, he got up like a warrior and walked off the field. He came back to throw for over 200 yards and win the game, but few knew that he had a pinched nerve. A tear in his neck caused increased pressure on his spinal nerves, causing him excruciating pain. Moreover, his nerve was slowly being damaged by the pressure being applied on it. A disaster waiting to happen.

S

2 After 2011, Manning had had enough. He went in for surgery on his neck, but the pain still present. It took three more surgeries and visits to countless visits to institutes to get the pain to go away. But in the process of operating on the tear in his neck, parts of his nerve got destroyed. He only had one option left: wait. Wait and use the arm as much as possible. He spent weeks lifting weights considered light by the standards of teenagers, while working with a variety of trainers to work on his arm. He knew that there was no guarantee that his nerve would come back to 100 percent. There was just as much of a chance that his nerve would regenerate 70 percent as it would 50.

It took months of repeated workouts and exercises to get back to throwing again.

It got to the point where he went to throw with collegiate friend Todd Helton, and Helton could not believe that he was actually trying to throw the ball. “I will say, possibly, that when I started back after my neck surgeries, I started back with the basics. The absolute fundamentals,” said Manning. Through doing this, he learned to get the force to throw from his legs rather than just solely from his arm.

12 Benched | April 2016

3

B

Denver

S

It took over an entire year, but Manning returned to football in 2012. Words like “noodle arm” and “grandpa” were being thrown around. Manning knew that he would have to prove to the world that he could still play at a high level, or else no one would want him on their team. He chose a team in the mile high city, where he could throw the ball with less air resistance.

He learned to analyze defenses and make quicker decisions for where to throw the ball, so that he wouldn’t need to put a lot of power on the ball to get it to a specific location in a short amount of time. And after four years of repeated excellence, he has proved that it is possible to overcome the most devastating injury in sports history.

Stages of Recovery 1 2 Injury in 2010

Intensive Recovery

3

Return to football

April 2016 | Benched 13

Who are the men that have to spend countless hours working with enormous amounts of pressure to fulfill their job?

Undermining the Masterminds The prevelance of injuries at every sports level is common, yet knowledge of the men who help stop them is not.

BY TJ Arora

“When you’re not on the field… you feel as though something has been taken away from you” -Geoff Kaplan, head Athletic Trainer for the Houston Texans.

STEVE MCNAIR

I

t ranks as one of the biggest games in Longhorn history; from all of the drills in training camp to every single game played that season. It came down to one game: the 2009 BCS Championship.

Yet on the sixth play of the game, Heisman nominee and future NFL quarterback Colt McCoy left the game with a shoulder injury. Three hours later, the undefeated season came to an end, leaving Texas fans to wonder whether the script would have been written differently if they had their star quarterback. While incurring injuries like stress fractures, pulled hamstrings and sprained ankles become a regularity for athletes, the pressure to stay on the field continues.

“There is an increased pressure in every sport to get back onto the field.

These players, this is what they do, they play sports… this is how they make a living, and when you’re not on the field… you feel as though something has been taken away from you,” says Geoff Kaplan, the head athletic trainer for the Houston Texans. With players putting their heart and soul into their respective sports, the role of athletic trainers becomes increasingly important to keep these players on the field.

Without them, no player in the world of sports would be able to return to the field in pre-injury form.

If you travel back 60 years in time, you will see that more people watched horseback riding than football.

Today, football is the most popular sport in America. However, garnering more views than any other program over the past decade comes at a price. Recently, there has been an increased scrutiny on injuries of all types, especially concussions. Contact sports like football, basketball and boxing are under fire. With blockbuster movies coming out shedding light to the severity of these injuries, athletic trainers have become increasimgly valuable in the sports industry.

Not only is it their job to help individuals recover from their respective injuries, but also to make the sport safer as a whole.

With a 23 percent increase in sports-related injuries over the past decade, their job is 16 Benched | April 2016

Injuries Affect Everyone Not even elite quarterbacks like Steve McNair (right) can survive injuries.

becoming as important as ever. They work unscrupulously, putting in long hours just to help an athlete get back onto the field.

Often brushed over, they are some of the most important people in the field of sports.

Yet why are athletic trainers constantly undermined by their employers and the public? “Athletic training is one of those fields, even at the highest levels, where you don’t make very much compared with the hours you put in. [Athletic trainers] care for the athletes whom they tend to and do what’s best for their health… even if they are put under extreme pressure to do otherwise and told to compromise their morals in the process,” says Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports. When thinking of why the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl, most people attribute their victory to their stellar defense and their star quarterback.

Yet the time spent by the training staff to help their star quarterback Peyton Manning recover from plantar fasciitis, or on Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to recover from his groin injury often goes unnoticed.

The pressure on professional trainers can reach considerable amounts. “Injuries can be debilitating, both physically and emotionally. Many times, our athletes have never experienced an injury,” says Allen Hardin, the Associate Athletics Director of Sports Medicine & Sports Performance at the University of Texas at Austin.

Depending on the status of these players, trainers are under just as much pressure to get these players back on the field.

Whenever a player gets injured, the team wants them back on the field as soon as possible, regardless of the circumstances. The athletic trainer, however, must look out for the safety of the player as well as trying to getting the player back on the field. “As a medical professional, my concern is for player safety,” says Allen Hardin. “In 19 years at UT, I’ve witnessed many injuries of varying severity. We’ve been fortunate to have positive outcomes.”

Athletic trainers not only help in the physical healing, but also with the

“The physical pain becomes so overbearing where the player will shut down”-Geoff Kaplan

psychological aspect of the injury. Players have to deal with the pressure to come back from their respective injury as fast as possible, as well as the anxiety of whether they can return to the field in full form.

“Some players can just put their head through and plow through, while other players get depressed,” says Geoff Kaplan.

“Other players have a hard time getting over some of the mental hurdles, some other times the physical pain becomes so overbearing where the player will shut down and not be able to fight through it. So there’s a huge mental component to a lot of injuries and a lot of players recovery.”

Not only is it important for a player to recover from an injury, but they must have confidence that they can return to the field at 100 percent. Kaplan also mentioned the mental therapy that goes into helping players recover, saying “Our job is to help them build confidence, and that’s a part of the mental therapy. The mental therapy, that’s important.”

As technology becomes

increasingly important in our lives, so does it in the field of sports. From the equipment to the Microsoft Surface tablets used on the sidelines of NFL games, advances in technology have a huge impact on sports medicine. The utilization of new technologies at the high school level to help decrease injuries has become a commonality as well. “One thing we did this year with the football team is that Coach… bought neck machines” says Sue Torres, the head athletic trainer at Lyndon B. Johnson High School. “When you strengthen the neck, you strengthen control on the head… So if you can control the neck, then you can control the amount of concussions.” The collegiate level contains even stricter rules. “We perform an extensive medical screen on studentathletes when they arrive on campus to determine any deficiencies they may have.

We also utilize various resources to prepare student-athletes for practice/competition, including prophylactic taping and bracing and exercise programs designed to increase

strength, flexibility, etc.” says Allen Hardin.

Yet nothing can compare to the technological advances being made at the NFL level in sports medicine. “From doing scans to doing MRIs and using ultrasound as a diagnostic technique... there’s constant advances in the therapy world and in modalities that we’re using is changing rapidly, and we try to stay on the front end and stay on the cutting edge on the new advances coming out,” says Geoff Kaplan.

“From laser therapy to chryotherapy, you know different advances in rehab protocols that involve blood flow restriction, it’s a huge deal. There are some advances in trigger point dry needling, so across the board everyday that we use things in the training room, it’s all cutting edge technology.” Athletic trainers must work to integrate technology into helping players recover from injuries. They must utilize new technology to help players recover, but also must integrate it into players training regime. They must also work to make the new technology a commonality in the field of sports medicine and in their respective industry.

All in all, athletic trainers have very important jobs in the world of sports.

They deal with intense amounts of pressure to get players back onto to the playing field, as well as helping them deal with the psychological aspect of dealing with an injury. They must also work to integrate technology into the sport, so that recovering from injuries can be as quick and fast of a process as possible. Yet surprisingly, the public still overlooks these men and women.

When discussing the most influential people in the any sport, the names of athletic trainers never comes up. As star NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald once said, “If you play football, there’s going to be a 100 percent injury rate. Something is going to be bothering you.” Without these men and women, America’s favorite pastime wouldn’t exist, nor would any other major sport for that matter ❒ April 2016 | Benched 17

Info Behind the Injuries By: Max Irby

The topic of concussions is one of the most controversial in modern sports. Most people know this is a big issue - but what are the facts behind it?

3,800,000 concussions were reported in 2012, which is almost double what the amount reported in 2002. This makes concussions a rising issue that commands a lot of attention

On average, about one in five high school athletes will sustain a concussion during their playing season. This is higher in specific sports like football and lacrosse.

Sports are now the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury in young people age 15-24, behind only motor vehicle accidents.

18 Benched | April 2016

s per n o i s s oncu C f o t ures un s o o m p x A E e c Averag ,000 Athleti 100

71.6

76.8

52

36 14 Cheerleading

22

Wrestling

Basketball

Soccer

Lacrosse

Football

According to studies conducted by the New York Times, over 50 youth football players have died or sustained serious head injuries that left them with permanent disabilities in just the last 20 years. Most of these player’s lives could still continue normally if the risk of concussions in the sport was lower.

Concussions are almost eight times more likely to be diagnosed and treated when an athletic trainer is present. When unnoticed, a concussion is far more dangerous, causing more severe brain damage

High school football has consistently been shown in studies to be the sport with the highest proportion of concussions (47.1 percent) and the highest concussion rate (6.4/10,000 exposures).

An athlete who has already sustained a concussion is up to six times more likely to sustain another than an athlete who has never sustained any. The second concussion is far more dangerous, and can even cause death in some cases

April 2016 | Benched 19

Unfair Advantages

By Andy Mueller

“They believe putting certain chemicals in their body can make them row harder and faster so they do it.”

-Milan Rivas, High School Athlete

W

hat do former seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, and 14-time MLB all star Alex Rodriguez have in common? Both accomplished athletes took performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to cheat their success. Every year, there are headlines about another beloved athlete that does steroids.

From Lyle Alzado and Robert Mathis in football to Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds in baseball, steroids play a large role in sports history. It should come as no surprise that younger athletes are falling victim

a 13% steroid rate, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

With more and more people gaining access to the internet now in 2016, more and more athletes have the ability to purchase steroids.

Steroids are continuing to become a big deal in sports today, and they’re making there way to high school and college athletes.

Why are these athletes resorting to steroids, and how should steroids be prevented?

“Sports in my mind has always been centered around being the healthiest and most competitive you can be. Taking steroids negates one of those goals, and cheats at the other so why bother?” Says senior cross country runner for Lyndon B. Johnson High School (LBJ) Caleb Ellington. Caleb Ellington struggles to see why athletes use steroids. His reasoning is not incorrect, but athletes have different views on what sports are supposed to be.

“I have friends who do rowing, and for them, a couple of seconds off your time can be the difference from getting on a team and getting a full ride or not making a team, and they believe putting certain chemicals in there body can make them row harder and faster so they do it.” Says senior soccer player for LBJ Milan Rivas. Sports create

Cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using HGH, EPO, Testosterone and Cortisone as well as other illegal forms of blood transfusions.

to these drugs.

A confidential survey done by the Partnership for Drug Free Kids of 3,705 high school students in 2013 showed that 11% admitted to using steroids at least once in there life. A similar confidential survey, done in 2015 by the Anti-steroid campaign showed that 14% of division one college athletes have used steroids at some point in their life. The actual number is thought to be higher. Steroids are most common in powerlifting, with a 24% steroid rate; track and field, with a 22% steroid rate; rowing, with a 18% steroid rate, and football with

Testorsterone is a steroid that increases strength. It has been used by Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong.

a competitive atmosphere and a need to get better. This need to get better can stem from endorsements, scholarships or so that athletes can compete with others. Athletes resort to steroids to gain a competitive advantage.

“I don’t think for anybody that takes performance enhancing drugs is necessary to get onto a varsity team. I know for schools who are larger and they have endorsements from major companies, they’re very competitive between schools and there’s a lot of money riding on college scholarships, so there’s definitely a lot of competition there,” says Rivas. Some of these athletes who are competing for scholarships think that using performance enhancing drugs can give them a competitive advantage, which it does. These young men and women are fail to realize the health consequences and the consequences of getting caught. Perhaps it’s the competition that leads these athletes to steroids.

Ellington can relate to this need to get better. He feels the need to get faster and stronger in order to compete. The difference is that he does it through training and hard work, not by putting chemicals in his body. “During events like the 800, or while finishing the homestretch of a typical 5K, you will experience the worst pain you can imagine and you just have to push through it no matter how badly you want to pass out on the track or face plant in the dirt.” says Ellington. Ellington knows how difficult it is to stay competitive and finish races with a good time. He is forced to train hard in order to stay competitive, when steroids could provide the same strength as training could, if not more. Caleb understands that using steroids has major health effects of using steroids because he has been properly educated by his parents and teachers, but are all athletes receiving the same education, and what is being done?

With steroids being such a problem, the question is how do you prevent them from being used? At a collegiate level it is more difficult to get away with PED use. “The NCAA has several educational programs in place for informing student-athletes (SAs) about the dangers of using performance April 2016 | Benched 21

Tetrahydrogestrinone also know as THG is a steroid that has been abused by famous athletes such as Marion Jones. This steroid builds muscle mass. Tetrahydrogestrinone does not show up in urine drug tests. Blood testing is now used to bust users of this drug.

enhancing (PE) drugs.” Says University of Texas Assistant Athletic Trainer LaGwyn Durden, “NCAA also has year round drug testing programs and championship testing.”

University Interscholastic League (UIL) the association that run public high school sports do drug tests, but they run the tests infrequently.

“UIL does random drug tests but they’re pretty infrequent and from what I know they’re mainly on larger schools where it would be more prevalent.” Says Milan Rivas. Even with drug testing in place, the system has its flaws. “I would say people at 6A schools people will probably get away with it most of the time if they do use steroids just because from what I’ve heard the tests are pretty infrequent and that’s obviously not a good thing,” says Rivas.

If drug tests are targeted at larger schools, yet they still fail to catch a majority of users in 6A, the level for the largest schools 22 Benched | April 2016

in Texas, is it effective? Even if it is, drug testing is great at catching people, but does it really keep young athletes away from steroids? Their will always be ways to cheat drug tests, Lance Armstrong did it for years.

The only other things UIL does seem like a joke.

“Before you compete in any UIL sport you have to sign off on a form that says you’re not gonna take steroids and that you understand that if you do take steroids your right to play for UIL is revoked and that it’s not good for it’s health and then you see posters up in the athletic training room,” says Rivas. Signing a form is not going to stop teens from using steroids, and why would an athlete listen to a poster they see on the wall.

Coaches do not talk to players about steroids. This leads to players learning about steroids from their peers who do not converse about them seriously, “[conversations are] never in seriousness, always in satire.”

Says Ellington “They make for funny con-

versations.”

This just further shows how steroids aren’t being taken seriously. At a college level, more is being done to prevent steroid use, but is it even enough? “The NCAA has several educational programs in place for informing student-athletes (SAs) about the dangers of using performance enhancing (PE) drugs” says Durden. The NCAA requires athletes to sign off on a form similar to that of UIL athletes, but before student-athletes sign off, they are required to attend an educational course.

“Best practices require that all universities/ colleges have an educational session with every SA every year to discuss drug testing protocols/penalties/requirements. Also to provide information on the risk involved with supplement use and PEDs and recreational drug use. This session is required prior to any participation in athletics. So before a SA can even practice they have to attend a drug/supplement education

program and sign off that they have been informed and understand the process and penalties involved,” says Durden.

This may sound good, but educating athletes at a college level may be too late, according to Durden, “The problem is SAs often times choose not to heed the warnings or are not aware of the resources. Education should also start in the high schools in order to minimize the start of risky behavior regarding performance.”

Teaching the consequences of abusing/using performancing drugs at a collegiate level is necessary, “The discussions are necessary because SAs are bombarded with all of the reasons why they should use supplements and all of the so called benefits,” says Durden. Durden just believes steroid education needs to happen in high school. With very little being done to prevent steroid use at a high school level, the question still remains what more needs to be done?

“There are effective ways, like simply teaching kids anatomy, biology, chemistry, or basic health. We have common sense and people should be able to make the connection that our bodies are machines and if you don’t let the machine do its job or you tamper with it, you can break it for good,” says Ellington. Ellington seems to think education and teaching common sense is the proper way to reduce the number of steroid users. The last part in understanding the story of steroids is to look at how these steroids and performance enhancing drugs

are being present to adolescents.

“The one I heard about advertised on its website that it was not banned by sports organizations which is kind of sketchy,” says Rivas. These steroids specifically say that they are not banned by most sports organizations, but that doesn’t mean they’re good for you. that doesn’t stop them from making young athletes thinking they are. “A lot of them claim to be natural remedies but in reality there just chemicals,” says Rivas.

Rivas continued, he knows about their effects on health, “You ingest them or you put them into shakes or whatever the main thing with those is they give you a ton of energy but there are studies that question whether they’re good for your longterm health.”

They’re other things that keep turn steroid users to steroid abusers, “They make people feel really good, but they aren’t good for them in the long term,” says Rivas. Steroids have the ability to give you lots of energy to increase your endurce, and have been linked to mass releases in dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is a chemical responsible for stimulating the brain’s pleasures making the user feel very happy and energetic.

The days of gyms being the main place to obtain steroids are coming to a close. The new market--The World Wide Web. “Anything is available on the internet if you have the resources to pay for it,” says Durden.

The internet creates a market that makes it more and more difficult to bust users as steroids are not being exchanged in public

any more.

Steroid use is certainly becoming a large problem. It is not uncommon for a person to say the entire sport of baseball is tainted because of steroids. This may be coming soon for a lot of other sports if the problem isn’t properly addressed. Younger athletes are now gaining access to them, and with the pressure of needing to compete your best every day, it should come as no surprize that athletes are turning to these unnatural remedies. ❒

14% of high school football players use steroids. It is very likely that some players shown in this image have used steriods at some point in time.

April 2016 | Benched 23

Steroid (Ab)users

By Andy Mueller

Roger Clemens was a successful pitcher in the MLB who was known to use steroids. He allegedly used amphetamines, anabolic steroids, and HGH while he was with the Yankees. He has been removed from charitable organizations and his chances at getting into the Hall of Fame remain in jeopardy.

Marion Jones won five olympic medals at the 2000 Sydney games including three golds. She was later stripped of all five medals after admitting to steroid use. She allegedly used Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a drug that was undetectable in drug tests at the time.

Ben Johnson was a Canadian track star who won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympic games when he broke the world record of that time. He later failed a drug test that showed he had used Stanozolol and was stripped of his gold.

24 Benched | April 2016

Professional Baseball player Alex Rodriguez was suspended in 2015 after finally coming clean about using steroids from 2001-2003. He told the press that he injected twice a month during those years.

“Preformance-Enhancing Drugs are an illusion. I wish I had never gotten involved with steroids. It was wrong. It was stupid.” - Mark Mcgwire Lance Armstrong was a seven-time Tour de France cycling champ, until he was stripped of his seven titles for using PEDs. In an interview with Oprah he admitted to using human growth hormone (HGH), Testosterone, Cortisone, erythropoietin (EPO) and other illegal forms of blood transfusions.

Chris Benoit was a twotime World Heavyweight champion. He committed a double murder suicide which was attributed to “Roid Rage.”

Bill Romanowski was a linebacker who played for the 49ers, Eagles, Broncos and Raiders.

Romanowski admitted to using anabolic steroids as well as HGH from 2001-2003.

Romanowski also tested positive for THG. When the steroid accusations came, he decided to retire, later admitting to using steroids.

Mark Mcgwire was a first baseman for the Oakland Athletics and later the St. Louis Cardinals.

He is considered one of the best sluggers to ever play. In 2005 admitted to using steroids.

He has used various anabolic steroids since high school, and steroids are likely the only reason that he played in the NFL. Alzado died only seven years after retirement from brain lymphoma caused by steroids.

April 2016 | Benched 25

The Race for Equality Story by Aly Hirani

How is Race Affecting Sports?

Members of the LBJ varsity basketball team pose together before a game. By Sam Pastor

W

hen thinking of the NBA you think of the super stars LeBron, Durant, Harden, Kobe etc. They’re all great players but one notable factor when observing all of the NBA is the predominant dark skin color represented in the league. In the MLB the result is nearly the opposite.

People in the U.S. tend to think that racism is gone or basically a non-issue, but its prevalence is still obvious when you turn on your TV to watch sports center.

Race has always been a major issue in the world. It is still an issue that is prevalent in more ways than are seen. The racial breakdowns in sports are a puzzling factor, and even show up in professional sports you may watch every day. This is due to the many stereotypes and biases involved with different races in different sports. There are theories for the reasons surrounding this. These reasons and opinions are being explored here through the insightful thoughts shared by Andrew Degrasse, Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye and Dillon Boldt.

There are many stereotypes regarding sports. More than likely, you hear some of these stereotypes each and every day.

Though in particular sports, stereotypes might not be as noticeable on the surface they still exist and are quite apparent when taking a closer look.

“People say ‘Oh black people are better at sports’ or ‘black people are just taller’,” says Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye, an African American basketball player at Lyndon 28 Benched | April 2016

Baines Johnson high school in Austin, Texas “For white you might hear ‘White people are scrawny and bad at sports’, or a really common one ‘White people can’t jump’.”

“People usually think white people are weaker or less athletically gifted than black people,” says Andrew Degrasse, a white basketball player at LBJ high school.

“I think that stereotypes for white people tend to have a more negative reputation when we’re talking about sports,” says University of Texas football player Dillon Boldt.

Though this bias definitely exists, very few

LBJ freshmen basketball player, Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye recieves the ball in a game against Lanier. By Macy Nelms

people actually make the conscious decision to stereotype.

“I don’t believe that is necessarily a conscious bias but more of a subconscious thought that can unknowingly influence your actions.”

Yet the influence of race is apparent looking at the statistics of racial breakdowns in professional sports.

“It’s undeniable that being black is beneficial or at least not bad,” says Dillon Boldt, “I mean if you look at the NBA right now, almost three quarters of the players are black. In the NFL I believe black players make up the majority.” So how does race affect players?

“I’ve felt that race has influenced my life when a coach doesn’t know me,” says Dillon Boldt, “Like if a coach sees the team a very limited amount he or she would be more inclined to judge based on race. I guess I would say that a coach who is more familiar with his or her players on an individual level will be less likely to consider race as a factor but more on player ability and sports intuition.” Though never a good thing, this is most impactful on the student athlete’s life during tryouts.

“I think that coaches are more inclined to judge by race when they have a very limited time to view and coach each player, which I guess is the biggest problem during tryouts.”

Tryouts are where the student athlete might be affected the most. One idea expressed by all the interviewees, was for many sports, being African American is beneficial.

“I have seen some races favored over the other in some cases, mainly those of African descent,” says Dillon Boldt. Yet this not always the case. When people think about black stereotypes regarding sports, most think about the sports where black populations are prominent.

“It still is very dependent on the situation.

There are still very few black people that play in the NHL and MLB comparatively.

In those situations maybe it could be harmful to an African American’s sports career.”

To get a better idea of how the student athlete can be affected, the interviewees shared their individual experiences.

“People have always had a predetermined idea of how black people play sports and this has affected the way I play greatly,” says Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye, “Some people see me as a ‘thug’ or a ‘distraction’ just

“People have always had a predetermined idea of how black people play sports and this has affected the way I play greatly,” -Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye due to my race, but when they truly meet me and see the person I really am their mindset toward me changes completely.”

As explained, the lives of African American students can be very different.

“In terms of basketball I know a lot of the coaches assumed I was an LBJ student due to my skin color and style. This may have influenced my coaches or it might not have it really just depends on the coach.

For better or worse we can never go in those coaches minds.” However, lots of people do not pay as much attention to the experiences of white or Asian athletes. For Andrew Degrasse his sports career has been quite different from that of Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye’s “In a sport like basketball people often expect the short white kid to not be very good, and they usually want to dismiss me as joke,” says Andrew Degrasse, “But once they see me sink a couple signature floaters, they shut up quick.” This type of attitude is what Degrasse says has, “helped me to

“A good coach will not dwell on the race of a player but rather on player ability and do his or her best to give every player an equal opportunity.”

-Dillon Boldt become valedictorian of the freshmen class.” For Andrew Degrasse, he has also had a different experience than many white student athletes just by attending LBJ. “In a place like LBJ, I experience something new: being the minority. It hasn’t been easy, but I have managed to overcome the obstacles to become starting point guard on the freshmen team.” Andrew believes his experience at LBJ has helped him with his basketball career, and is the reason he believes he is going somewhere in life.

Why do these racial biases exist, and why are they an issue today? Well, first of all it can depend on the point of view of an individual.

“If the coach is a certain race, that can have an effect on the players or stereotypes involving race,” says Boldt. Each coach has different experiences, opinions, and biases. These can all affect individual and influence his or her decisions. However, there are definitely other reasons this could exist. Another possibility he mentions is the science behind some of it.

“I think one reason for this one might be that scientifically, Africans have undergone more evolution in order to be taller and have less body fat,” says Boldt. Whether or not this is a conscious bias is dependent on the individual, but Nnamdi Ezekoye suggests the bias is sometimes supported by individual skill level.

“I think most coaches coach by player ability and not race but in some cases ability and race coincide,” says Nnamdi Ibitayo Ezekoye. This could be an explanation in some individual cases but most likely does not apply to the professional level in making some sports so racially lopsided. The reason this is problematic because in the beginning of an athlete’s time with a team, the coach gets a very limited amount of viewing time for each player.

“This is mainly [an issue] because it’s hard to see a player’s full skill set in a short amount of time,” says Ezekoye. Due to this

A photo of Dillon Boldt. By University of Texas

bias the athlete may or may not be noticed and might be more or less likely to be depending on one’s pigmentation.

Luckily, most of the coaches out there seem to not consciously let race influence their thoughts.

“A good coach will not dwell on the race of a player but rather on player ability and do his or her best to give every player an equal opportunity,” says Boldt. Letting a player go or stay based on race could ultimately hurt the coach and the team the most.

“Coaches should try to not let racial biases and stereotypes affect their good judgment,” says Boldt, “because later this could hurt them if they accidentally missed someone just because they had a predetermined idea about a player.”

Though the influence of race on sports is apparent, race shouldn’t be an excuse.

Ultimately, if you allow race to hold you back, then it will. Through working hard, showing dedication and having the right mindset you can meet your potential, regardless of the color of your skin.

“Hopefully, if I can work hard in school and on the court I can get to a high level doing a something that I love to do,” says Nnamdi Ezekoye, “whether it be on or off the court.” ❐ April 2016 | Benched 29

I

n the U.S. when people think of sports, football, baseball and basketball come to mind. Yet, in India people would respond cricket, hockey and badminton. This major difference between all the regions of the world is a surprising factor, and many people are unaware of the sports played around the world. Hopefully this information on the top ten most popular sports around the world will help enlighten the general population.

The Most Popular World Sports

Student of the Game

by Nick Venn

Is joining a team really helpful?

The stories of these teens may help sway your decisions.

I

Photo by: Stuart Wade

s high school not what you thought it would be? Do hours of free time nothingness plague your everyday life? Do you have a small, boring social group? An option that could change all of that could be the most obvious one you never considered; becoming a student athlete.

Becoming a student athlete has shown to create a baseline of social interaction for many young teens entering a new school atmosphere. “I have made some of my closest friends here at Cal through the lacrosse team, and the community that it has provided has been invaluable this first year,” says Madelaine Venn, a freshman at California Berkeley. Apart from the upsides of being a student athlete, many young students involved in athletics fall victim to the time consumption, stress, and physical and mental exhaustion that come with being student athlete. The stories of three teens involved in school sports may serve to sway your decision on whether or not to join student athletics.

On an old high school television show, you make look up and see the Quarterback of a football team with a gorgeous girlfriend, an enticing social life, and to state an old television stereotype, a struggling academic life. Seeing is not be believing. Many school athletes struggle severely in the social realm of their life and must work unbelievably hard to keep their social, academic, and athletic life at a sturdy equilibrium. “To be completely honest, about half of my grade

Former Varsity player, Sam Pastor shoots over the outstreched hands of the defense.

34 Benched | April 2016

LBJ Junior Varsity football lines up before a game versus their rival: Vista Ridge

probably hates me,” says Daniel Degrasse, an offensive lineman for the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA)/ Lyndon Baines Johnson High School (LBJ). “There is honestly such a huge preconceived judgement about athletes

“Being on a sports team you have like a second family As like your social group and they’re always there for you,” -Sam Pastor at LASA . There are tons of people who strongly dislike anyone that plays a sport solely because they are athletic. That really doesn’t become an issue too much because many are not like this. The ones that do aren’t worth your time and effort.”

The downsides socially can be crippling to a young and already awkward teen. On the other side of the spectrum, upsides can outweigh the downsides in many situations. “Being on a sports team you have like a second family As like your social group and they’re always there for you,” says Sam Pastor, an 18-year-old former varsity basketball player at LBJ/ LASA. One may notice that the uplifting and powerful nature of a team creates a very tightly knit and cohesive environment.

This has been able to make a better experience for student athletes everywhere in giving them more confidence to become leaders in their school as well as in their life.

This cohesion is shown in the best of times as well as in the worst of times.

During the 2014-2015 season for the LBJ football team, one of Daniel Degrasse’s teammates, Jermaine Dillard, was killed in a tragic accident. “No one on the team was anywhere else,” says Degrasse. “ At least mentally no one was. One of my teammates Jermaine passed away in a tragic accident.

After his death, The whole team was together and really for a period the whole school was completely together and. It was incredibly sad but it was also amazing to see how the whole team came together.” This young group of men, some black, some white, some mexican, some asian, all came together at one point to grieve over a loss of someone who was as dear to them as a family member. This is just another of the many examples of how athletics can serve to build a second family to fall back on in a time of need or just to know you have.

Being a freshman at a massive college with unknown around every corner is one of the hardest things that anyone can do.

Knowing only your hometown and your way of life back home can be crippling to anyone in a new place. “I have made some of my closest friends here at Cal through the lacrosse team, and the community that it has provided has been invaluable this first year,” says Madelaine Venn, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. “I have definitely made many good friends outside of the sport as well, but the team environment is something different entirely and I’m so happy that I made the decision to join otherwise I would not have the same tight knit group of friends that I do now.”

“If the only thing that you focus on is academics, you may not be able to find something you really love.”

-Daniel Degrasse downsides are the academic handicaps it causes.

To many young highschool and college athletes, the time consumption and mental and physical exhaustion can be enough to make someone quit their sport or worse, lower their performance in school.

“During the season you spend about two to two and a half hours every night practicing,” says Degrasse. “Counting four of those you go up to about 8 hours but adding the game which is about 7 hours out of your day, so that’s around 15 hours per week. Adding film, you’re looking at about another 3 hours so, about 18 hours a week.” 18 hours. The time consumption alone is enough to make even the strongest of men shudder. Adding that to the physical and mental exhaustion that come with it, the school work and the mental

exhaustion from that, and whatever else may be going on in your life, and you have more than enough things on your plate.

Though these academic drawbacks are present, most, if not all athletic systems are built around school, not in place of it.

“Lacrosse is very time consuming, with 4 practices a week plus outside conditioning and games, but I have been able to strike a good balance with schoolwork and think that I will be able to continue to do so,” says Venn. “The coaches are very understanding and know that academics will always come first.” As stated by Ms. Venn as well as athletes everywhere, the key to becoming a student athlete is to do it in moderation and keep the scale tipped towards school at all times.

Aside from the social and academic sides of lives of student athletes, there are also behavioral changes that come with the sport, positive and negative. “Id say that I’ve become a lot more confident since I began playing football,” says Degrasse “I began in seventh grade and since then ive definitely begun taking charge of my own path and taking leadership roles much more often since then, which i feel can be attributed to football.” Though many of the behavioral changes can be good, they always come with a bad side. “In Daniel’s case, he has

started to become more aggressive around the family and predominantly his younger

Photo by: Adam Venn

Although being a student athlete is one of the most exciting and fun things to do as a high school student, it as everything, has downsides. One of the largest part of the

LBJ Lacrosse player Maddie Venn after becoming a Cal Bear

brother, Andy,” says Martha Degrasse, Daniel’s mother.

The lesson to be learned about student athleticism is to have it in extreme moderation. Doing what you love is always something to pursue until it begins to affect you negatively. Knowing the facts about sports should help sway the decision to join one or not and just remember, a little roughhousing never hurt anybody. ❐

Student athletes Rodrick Roberts, Tay Williams, Jalen Spivey, Brian Batts, Tyrone Perry, Darnell Barnett, Overton Jefferson III and the other LBJ basketball players celebrate a win.

April 2016 | Benched 35

PUMP IT UP

by: Nick Venn

C

elebrations in sports have been a large part of the game since the beginning of athletics.

Whether it was a victory yell or a well coordinated salsa dance, the dynamic is always altered by these flares of emotion.

Celebrations are an outburst of excitement and adrenaline usually produced after a point is scored or a generally good play is made. They are a way to release emotion in a (usually) non-threatening way. While usually benevolent acts, celebrations can be seen as provoking and/or derogatory to opposing players and can cause uproar and in extreme cases fights on the field.

Athletes can be fined up to $40,000 dollars for a celebration depending on the offensiveness of said celebration. The offensiveness is normally gauged by how inappropriate or unsportsmanlike the action is.

Celebrations are great and exciting for players as well as the crowd but if overdone, can really hurt the game’s dynamic.

Just know to think twice before celebrating!

“HIT ‘EM FOLK” A celebration mastered

by NFL Quarterbak Cam Newton.

“THE DAB”

How To: Celebrate Tanmay Janmay Arora

Max Irby

Forza Campiones Photos and Story by Andrew Mauro

How a small training facility is revolutionizing the way soccer is taught in Texas

I

n northern austin on the outskirts of flugerville, there aren’t many things besides storage units, warehouses and one small neighborhood. But in the midst of these buildings stands a small soccer training facility that sends soccer players to Europe, and regularly produces players good enough to get scholarships in colleges across the country.

Forza Campiones is a soccer training facility that consistently produces results by breaking convention and finding new ways to motivate and teach ambitious athletes.

“It took me to places that I thought I would never get too,” says Martin Castillo, a high schooler training at Forza with the ambition of improving his game.

Framed and signed jerseys of both college and professional soccer players line the walls of the main hallway at Forza, a testament to the facilities high amount of attributed success stories. Forza has trained 15 pro and semi-pro players, as well as 20 Youth and Adult national players in the USA, Jamaica, Colombia and Aruba.

Their motto, “Development before results,” demonstrates just what Forza is all about.

Creator of Forza, and experienced soccer trainer David Dinh, has strived to create a place where all and any players have the opportunity to focus and improve their game, “I think every child, if they show interest in the sport, should be given the opportunity to train,” says Dinh.

In a region where the weather is perfect for soccer year round, it comes as no surprise that talent is something that Texas has no shortage of. “I think Texas is a hotbed of soccer, I think it’s one of the most talented regions in America” says Dinh when asked about soccer in Texas, “I think Texas could be the most dominant state in the nation. I think it is already, but I think it could be a lot better,” But just because Texas has many talented soccer players, doesn’t mean that youth Texas club soccer is perfect. Far from it. Many of the clubs, even when their players are at an early age, choose to prioritize winning games over developing their players.

“You know how society perceives development, If you have a team that is winning, they think that team is developing right without even thinking about if they’re April 2016 | Benched 39

Forza Campiones atually learning something or they’re not. If they’re winning, it’s fine.” Says Luis Valera, a soccer coach affiliated with Forza, “For most of the clubs now, the development has been pushed aside.” .

“Winning becomes more important than development” says Valera. This results in the neglect of many younger soccer players who may have potential later on. It gives clubs a mentality where they focus on front loading with the best players they can find, rather than focusing on the improvement and development of the players they already have.

When a club decides to prioritize recruitment over developing their players, they waste the potential of all many young players who are not fully developed. Many soccer players no longer go to clubs to learn to play soccer or improve their game. This contradicts the very purpose that clubs are intended for. “Many of the top kids at these clubs are getting their skills from somewhere else,” says Valera. It has become a standard for clubs not to develop their players.

In Texas youth soccer, training facilities produce players, not clubs.

This can become a problem when players are not learning the skills they need to know in order to play high level soccer. “The technical aspect of the game was not being taught properly throughout the whole entire spectrum of the youth academy from the recreational to the select to the elite level,” Dinh says when talking about why he started Forza.

“In Forza we are not so focused on winning.

First we develop them and then the winning will come” says Valera. In this fashion, Forza’s success highlights many of the flaws with youth Texas club soccer.

Valera’s older son used to have close ties with a Texas club, but after four years he was taken off the team. Valera explains the problem with this, “If I have my kid being coached by a certain coach for four years and then on the fifth, he’s going to tell him he is not good enough? Whose fault is that?”

Many of the successful players at Forza came to David Dinh after having a bad experience with this system. Lots of these players at were rejected, or stuck in the lower teams by clubs. “The majority of players that have been successful under me, under Forza, they started out with nothing, 40 Benched | April 2016

A literal HALL of fame taken by Andrew Mauro

“Nothing can falter a player’s belief in themself even if many clubs and many coaches have already gave up on them.”

- Dinh

they were much lower in the totem pole as far as skill factor is concerned,” says Dinh.

Forza is a place that is willing to treat all kids equal in training if they are willing to work hard. Many disillusioned players have come to Dinh and have had their love of soccer renewed by the experience.“...Through perseverance dedication hard work, the motivation to keep on going to keep on training on a daily basis nothing can falter their belief in themselves even though many

Trainees do a drill under the direction of Dihn

clubs and many coaches already gave up on them” says Dinh.

Dinh has created an environment based on others he’s seen across the world, “when I started traveling abroad and started learning the different systems of the professional clubs whether it’s Spain or Germany or France, I bring all the ideas and technical aspects that I like and bring them to Forza,” over 300 of the drills he uses involve a tennis ball, “This place that we have right now is a limited space. And so I have to think outside the box” says Dinh, “And even our system.

Especially with the tennis ball Training, No one teaches that. Nobody.”

Dinh uses a strict environment and high expectations to build trust. Players that train frequently at Forza are expected to make straight A’s. Dinh rewards trainees who he sees show discipline, whether they are training or not. He creates an environment where he can become close to his players.

“It’s very family oriented and everybody gets along, we work together to get better, and better ourselves as people and as players.” says Castillo. Even after players go out of state, they still give Dinh updates on what they’re doing.

Forza proves that a system that gives attention to every child and their ambitions can work. It highlights problems with the current mentality many soccer coaches in Texas are using. If Forza can keep producing results at the rate it is now, it’s training model has thwwe potential to influence and change the course of soccer in the US.❚

David Dinh trains athletes in the back of the facility Taken by Andrew Mauro

Another picture of the facility

April 2016 | Benched 41

How Athletes Eat

N

utrition provides the building blocks of overall health, and lets athletes unlock their full potential. It can aid recovery, blood pressure, and boost energy levels. Athletes nutrition can make or break a game, it’s important for an athlete to be careful with what they decide to put in their bodies. An athletes nutrition can make or break a game, it’s important for an athlete to be careful with what they decide to put in their bodies.

Generally, a fine tuned athlete will do what’s good for

them, or what they have learned benefits them. There is some advice that can be given to athletes who are still not sure.

Athletes (and mortal humans too) we need basic nutrients such as Calories. The ideal diet for an athlete is not very different from the diet recommended for any healthy person. Most human being need Carbohydrates, Fluids, Iron, vitamins, and other minerals (fibers), and Protein.

Fluids Proteins Protein is important for muscle growth and to repair body tissues.

Recovery after training can be faster if protein is eaten afterwards.

Water is also very important for athletes. Not being hydrated during a game or competition can be disastrous, and people can collapse in endurance sports. It can also lower performance during training and make it less productive.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates convert to energy, which is imperative for athletes. Too many carbohydrates can cause problems however, they can spike blood sugar levels (this usually happens with “junk food”)

Vitamins/Minerals

Micro nutrients play an important role in energy production, hemoglobin synthesis, maintenance of bone health, adequate immune function, and protection of body against oxidative damage. They assist with synthesis and repair of muscle tissue during recovery from exercise and injury.

42 Benched | April 2016

It is important for a serious athlete to personalize their diet, these are some athletes who have.

Rich Roll

Rich Roll is an incredibly fit athlete that does ultraman’s (a 320 mile triathlon). He eats a primarily vegan diet, that exclude all animal food products and bi-products. Roll was able to lose 33 pounds (198 to 165) after going vegan and boost his energy levels, this was after failing to lose weight on a vegetarian diet. After going vegan at 40 he says he has far more endurance than he did 20 years ago.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Brant, an NBA player eats a paleo diet so he can improve his game According to his team trainer, his diet includes plenty of grass fed beef and butter, 2 staples among Paleo eaters. He also does his best to eliminate sugars and keeps the total amount of carbohydrates he eats to a minimum. Seeing how well he’s still playing in his mid-30’s, demonstrates, how important his diet has been for him. Kobe feels that switching to the Paleo diet is what led to his late season resurgence in 2012 and is what allows him to feel remarkably better throughout the season.

Apolo Ohno

Apolo Ohno, an Olympic speed skater with 8 medals, follows a diet that is very Paleo. According to his trainer John Schaeffer, when Apolo was training for the Olympics he only ate vegetables, fruit and fish, except for the night before and the morning of each race, when he ate brown rice pasta prepared with coconut oil and essential fats in order to load up on carbohydrates before the race. He was able to lose 16 pounds and he went from 10% to 3% body fat on this diet.

April 2016 | Benched 43

BENCHED “You’re Welcome.” - Nck Venn