Minor League

MinorLeague Spring 2016

Hoop Dreams

The positive effects of basketball P22-25

The Grand Slam How youth baseball helps kids across the nation P16-19

NASA, Serving the Community, Loving Soccer

An in-depth discussion of NASA soccer P34-37

The Art of Figure Skating

The ins and outs of competitive figure skating P28-31

Unrecognized Achievements of Swimmers

What it’s like to compete at the swimming zones championship P10-13

Let ter the Fro m Edi tor Jorge Villa Dear Readers,

For many youth players, a sport is not just a physical activity, but an activity that helps them forget all their worries and just be themselves. In this magazine we talk about sports and organizations that aren’t really recognized around the state. Also, we mention their effects on youth players and the community.

As far as making a magazine, it was a true challenge that made my team and I leave our comfort zone because we had to work with programs like InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Together we learned how to communicate with each other and work with people that we had never met before. Thanks to Ezine we were given the opportunity to feel like real writers who worked for a magazine company.

The main point of this assignment, to us at least, was to learn how to cooperate, communicate, work together as one team.

Sincerely,

Jorge Villa

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North Austin Soccer Alliance

An opportunity for everyone to play the beautiful game since 1982 5

Player Profiles Jorge Villa

Bryce Yeazell

Gus Albach

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Jorge Villa is a hispanic boy that can be found in his backyard kicking a ball and practicing to become the professional soccer player that he has dreamed of since he was a young lad. He enjoys making people laugh because he believes that one’s smile can enlighten other people’s day. Also whenever he’s not kicking a ball or making people smile, he is studying for his classes because he takes his education very seriously. He tends to respect and treat all his friends and peers equally because he doesn’t want to make anyone feel bad. He has learned a lot about life with a ball at his feet, and he dreams of playing soccer till the day he dies.

Bryce Yeazell is a freshman at LASA (Liberal Arts and Science Academy) High School. He is on the LBJ swim team and water polo team. He also participates in Crossfit regularly. He is a member of the LASA math club. He moved three times throughout his childhood. Outside of Bryce’s schoolwork and sports that he participates in, he plays Hearthstone and Clash Royale. Bryce enjoys math, and aspires to become an engineer one day.

Gus Albach was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but moved to the United States at age two. Albach currently plays soccer and does cross country, but he especially loved playing basketball as a kid. He played in the YMCA basketball league for three years, in which he averaged 0.01 points per game. Albach found his interest to work in the magazine from a pure love of sports, and a want to spread this love to others.

Dima Pokinboroda Dima, a Russian lad living in Austin, Texas attends LASA high school. Dima enjoys playing ultimate square frisbee, and watching the olympics. He takes pride in the fact that he has watched every Winter Olympic game since birth. Dima is an incredibly competitive person, and is ready to go through anything that stands in the way of his goals.

This mindset helped motivate Dima to create this magazine.

James Palmer James Palmer is fourteen years old and has lived in Austin all of his life. James participates in the LASA golf team. In his free time, he enjoys keeping up with his favorite sport teams such the Kansas City Royals.

He has played basketball and baseball for most of his life. James chose this topic due to his extensive background in youth sports.

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Food so good you’ll have to taco ‘bout it!

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Zooter’s Helps You Blaze Through Your Work

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Unrecognized Achievements of Swimmers

What it is like to go to the Swimming Zones Championship

by Bryce Yeazell

M

any times in sports, some of the greatest achievements of athletes are overlooked due to the achievements of those athletes not being on the level of where they compete at the Olympics or winning a national championship. In swimming, one of the greatest achievements one can reach before entering high school, is qualifying for the zone championships.

Getting to zones in swimming requires you to do well in your states championship, and requires you to go through an application process.

The Zone Championships is a huge achievement to qualify for because only the top seven swimmers per age group per region are able to go each season.

Of all the things Alex had to do to get to zones, “The hardest part about getting to zones, was getting the times required to do so,” Alexander Graziani Mancevski, swimmer and sophomore at LASA High School in Austin, Texas, says.

Zones is a meet where the top swimmers from each zone compete in order to show which region is most dominant that year in swimming. According to USA Swimming in the southern zone there are eleven states that compete at the zones championship. Zones are held once in the spring, at the end of the short course season, and once at the end of the summer, at

the end of the long course season. In order to get to zones you must submit your application to a committee, which will tell them your achievements, and based on the application, the committee will decide whether or not you are fast enough to qualify for zones. Alex had six AAAA times (AAAA times are the fastest times on a spectrum from B to AAAA times, many swimmers achieve B times and very few ever get AAAA times), and had placed first in the state of Texas in the 50 meter backstroke for the 11-12 boys, when he applied to be on the zones team in the summer of 2013.

In order for Alex to get to zones he had to take many steps. For Alex, he attended TAGS (Texas Age Group Swimming), and based on his performance at the meet and through his application to a committee, he was selected. In order for Alex to get to the point where he was fast enough to go to state and

This photograph is a headshot of Alex Graziani Mancevski, taken by Bryce Yeazell.

“It really helped me to become friends with a lot of good swimmers and really cool people. Alex says “That is was I really liked about zones.”

Western Zone

Eastern Zone

Central Zone

Southern Zone

This picture is a map of the United States with the boundaries for the zones, for swimming, courtesy of wikimedia.org.

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qualify for zones, he had many factors in play.

“Alex is very dedicated to the sport.

He trains a lot,” Chloe Cardinale, head swim coach of LASA high school, says.

work

Hard and

dedication allows for improvement over shorter periods of time. Also, over time while attending multiple practices a week and sometimes swimming doubles, Alex was able to improve through other ways.

“He works really hard on technique to be more efficient,” Cardinale says.

On top of Alex motivating himself to swim there were other factors that played a role in his success.

“My coach, Dave Walters, really motivated me, and the other people form Longhorn Aquatics at that time to go fast. He really pushed us to come to practice and try hard in practice. I can comfortably say that he was the reason why I did so good that year, when I was twelveyears-old,” Alex says.

Alex not only prepares himself physically for his races but he mentally prepares himself, as well. He plans his races out, and gets himself ready before every race.

He works out how he can swim the race in order to achieve the best times possible. He knows what times he needs to achieve, and he pushes himself to get those in order for him to

`“He is just really matter of fact about it. He

wants to go to state this year, and he researched all of the times to figure out what he would be best able to advance in,” Cardinale says.

These influences on an athlete can help lead to

zones, but once he got there, there were still plenty of challenges left to come.

The Southern Zone Championship is a prelim, finals meet. What this means is that everyone swims

short in their term and events in long term success the morning in in and out of the sport. prelims, and if they do According to Changing well enough they qualify The Game Project, having for finals where they will a driving factor, mental compete to be the top in the readiness, and being willing meet. On top of the meet to work hard for your goals occurring at the pool, there are three of the greatest was an open water swim on factors in achieving success the last day of the meet. in sports. Working hard in

“It was the toughest, sports can help carry over and it was not about arriving to the work world when you first but about arriving at all are working a because that job, and sports was the most can help create interesting the habits of experience hard work that he early. But, even had,” Teresa with all of the Graziani, benefits of hard Alex’s This image is of the Zone work, people Championship Symbol, created mom and sometimes

by Bryce Yeazell, based on USA a technical Swimming’s symbol. overlook in grant writer, sports how says. much of that driving factor

According to Teresa, can come from the coach “Open water swimming at times, and how much is very different from improvement a coach can swimming in a pool.” One help an athlete achieve. boy at the meet, from San

Alex’s high school Antonio, told Alex that most swim coach, Cardinale, people take an entire course notices that Alex has before racing in an open multiple things that motivate water swim. In open water him

that he was gone for almost two weeks and none of his family came with him to the meet. Since the zone committee was trying to help swimmers become more independent, they

discouraged parents to attend the meet.

“Just as people who have not gone to a Quiz Bowl competition or a Science Olympiad competition. kind of their first time that they’re leaving their comfort zone,” Alex says.

Zones was a swim meet filled with challenges and great experiences. the benefits of overcoming They feel really excited, it’s At zones the challenge of being independent was made more difficult due to the lack of food for the number of swimmers. According to Teresa the food court was poorly organized, so if you got there late you might not get food. Despite this challenge Alex overcame it.

According to Psychology Today in 2011challenges helps to create some of the greatest emotional gains. On top of the benefits gained from overcoming a challenge and leaving his comfort zone, Alex also was able to

in

swimming, “He is motivated by personal bests, but he also wants to do better than those around him and so I think that is a large part of his motivators,” Cardinale says.

These motivating factors helped him get to

swimming you have to spot where you are going, and have to breathe away from the current so you don’t swallow floods of water with every breathe.

Another major challenge Alex had to face while he was at zones was

build and create friendships.

“Michael Shea or Daniel Cavillo from San Antonio, and many different swimmers who I had known like I’d say hi to them on a pool deck, but until this

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swim meet I was never able to develop a friendship with them,” Alex says.

This meet for Alex was about forming and strengthening friendships. On top of strengthening his friendships with other swimmers from his region, he was also able to meet up with swimmers from out of state.

“We traded items of memorabilia such as t-shirts, so we could have something to take home,” Alex says.

One of the major parts of these multi state meets is the ability to meet swimmers from all around the country. You can learn about how speeds and swimming traditions vary around the country.

Based on the relaxed atmosphere, “This was a fun thing almost,” Alex says. “Kind of like an award for doing good in TAGS.”

Although Alex says he was tired at the Zones Championship from having swam at TAGS two days earlier, and he knew there were no meets after this one. Aside from not being nervous at the meet, he still pushed himself to do well in the meet because he wanted his region to be the best in the zone.

“I really wanted to go out there and prove myself, and it was just a different kind of sense because this was a meet I had never been to before,” Alex says.

The competition at these meets is huge.

“The meet was about ten times the size of any meet he had ever been to,” Alex says.

To win events at this meet, or even make finals in the events was significantly harder than in any meet he had

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This picture is of Alex swimming backstroke in a swim meet, taken by Bryce Yeazell.

swam in previously because these are the fastest This is a picture of men swimmers from each state, and the diving off of the starting blocks to same number of slots for finals. Despite begin a race, courtesy of pixabay.com these challenges, Alex still had a great performance at the Zones Championship he says.

“I was able to achieve four finals out of my seven events which is pretty good. Only one other person, in my zone, from my age group, Michael Shea, was able to achieve as many finals as I did,” Alex says.

On top having good swims in the Southern Zones Championship, Alex also did well in TAGS the week earlier. Based on his performances from previous meets he was able to be the only swimmer in south Texas to gain the achievement of be ing on every relay for his age group at zones.

“One thing that I’m very proud of as a mother, is my son was put in every one of the relays. He was so good at freestyle, at that time, that he literally was in every relay, and nobody else had that opportunity,” Teresa says.

The Zone Championship for Alex was different from any other swim meet he had previously attended. The meet was out of town. He had no family with him and few people he had known before. The meet was huge, yet it wasn’t a meet where he was as nervous for his events because there was no other meet after this one to qualify for. He wanted to prove his speed to others, but he wasn’t nervous about his performance. The meet was about bonding and creating friendships. “The meet was different.

I really wanted to go out there and prove myself,” Alex says. ◆◆◆

“Alex is very dedicated to the sport,” Cardinale says.

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How to Improve Your Start in Swimming

by Bryce Yeazell

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The background photo is courtesy of cubeville.org.

In swimming, one of the most neglected parts of racing is the start. According to San Diego State University, a good start can save you up to two meters of swimming, and it can shave half of a second off of your time. Although, the start in swimming is a small part of the race, it can be the deciding factor between winning and getting second.

Swimmer’s Perspective

Scientific Perspective

Both

According to wired.com, Swimmers should push off of the starting blocks from a crouch with their rear leg at a 90-degree angle, in order to optimize the power of launch off of the starting blocks.

“You have to be almost where it feels like you’re going to tip into the water,” Alex says. “If you start leaning backwards it is going to take more energy to get off of the blocks.”

Alex says to make sure all of your fingers, including your thumb, are gripping the blocks to achieve maximum power.

“Make sure to not use just your legs. Use all of your arms as well in order to get the full power,” Alex says.

According to wired.com, although many swimmer don’t pull up on the blocks during their starts, they should in order to make their starts more efficient.

According to Rushall and Pyke, the start in swimming is a short duration power activity, where any fatigue from high exertion will be repaid almost immediately because it uses ATP energy from the alactacid energy system as its major energy source.

According to San Diego State University, “Starting is primarily a power skill that requires an athlete to exert as much force as quickly as possible.”

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A Grand Slam

Discussing the lasting positive impacts baseball produces in youth.

By James Palmer

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From Left to Right. Two youth baseball players throwing during a game. The end of a youth baseball game. A catcher at the home plate during a game of baseball. All photos courtesy of pixabay.

A high school level baseball field. Photo courtesy of pixabay.com

T

he clean lines of the white chalk foul box, dirtless bases, and the neatly raked infield are illuminated by lights around the bright green field.

The fresh fragrance of the carefully trimmed grass fills the young players with feelings of excitement. The sharp crack of a bat cuts through the serenity, reminding the players of the intense game. This intense sport is known as little league baseball. This American sport creates a close-knit community, provides health benefits and instills lifelong values into youth.

Both youth and adults participate in youth baseball. Youth learn each position of baseball including pitcher, catcher, infield baseman,

outfielder baseman, and batter. It is one of the few sports where the player performs both in a team and individually throughout the course of a game. As a batter, youth perform individually, hitting the ball and running to the base. As a fielder, youth work as a team, supporting each other if a fielding error is made and relying on one another to perform plays like quickly returning the ball to a fellow team member. Adults volunteer as coaches, umpires, team parents, concession operators, scorebook recorder, pitch counters, announcing and scoreboard managers. The amount of adult volunteers needed for a typical youth baseball team involves each player’s parent. This participation by the parents

builds a strong social community within the team.

Mike Armour, father of four sons who all played youth baseball, has coached for over 11 years at a baseball league, Northwest Little League, in Austin, Texas. He has coached a variety of ages of youth with a large range of experiences on each team. Baseball is a very demanding sport, requiring countless hours of teaching and practicing, Armour says. A typical youth baseball practice occurs approximately twice a week, with a duration of 2 to 3 hours. Volunteer parents guide the youth in drills such as Soft Toss (a batting drill used to warm up a batter before being pitched to by a coach), Around The Horn (a infield drill that

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engages the entire team, enriching accuracy and speed of throws), and Pop Flies (an outfield drill where a coach hits or throws high balls and the players practice catching the ball and throwing it from large distances).

Although it is necessary to practice intensively, Armour says that baseball is a very rewarding sport.

A rewarding experience occurred when he coached a Jacob Greendyk. Photo courtesy team of seven-year-olds. of James Palmer

“This boy hit a hard line drive in-between first and second base and our second baseman broke toward the ball with a look of determination on his face,” Armour says. “He stretched out his glove, made the catch and executed a perfect underhand toss to the waiting first baseman to complete an incredible, game ending double play.

Gloves went flying, boys went running and jumping, cheering and piling on top of each other.”

Witnessing the Noah Cooley. Photo courtesy of advanced baseball James Palmer techniques perfectly executed by the team of seven-yearolds was fulfilling for all involved: coaches, parents, and the team. Even at a professional level, this advanced technique, called a double play, only occurs about once per game, according to teamrankings. com. The coach’s guidance was performed. The players’ practice was executed. The team won.

The parents cheered. The community was bonded by this positive experience.

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Michael Armour. Photo courtesy of James Palmer

Jacob Greendyk, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, and Noah Cooley, a freshman at McCallum High School, believe baseball provides much more than the fun, team building experiences players have during a game. Greendyk says that baseball has had many positive effects on his life, including assimilating him with his new community when he first moved to Austin, seven years ago. Greendyk says that his parents benefitted greatly through his youth baseball career as they were able to develop friends in their new city easier.

“[My] parents got to meet people [when] we first moved to Austin,” Greendyk says. “My parents are still close with many of the people we met through baseball, as they helped my family get to know people in our new city.”

The small wooden bleachers typical of a neighborhood baseball field provide a social foundation for parents and fans, resulting in a multi generational, tightly-knit community.

It is not uncommon to see newborn babies alongside great-grandparents outside, in the fresh spring air, observing a youth baseball game. Win or lose, the cheering crowd will encourage the young players out on the field.

Through volunteering for the team, the adults enrich new relationships. Other than the initial benefits Greendyk’s parents experienced, Jacob says that baseball serves as a great way to make friends, especially for someone who just moved from New York, knowing no one.

“When I moved here, I knew no one, had to leave all my friends behind and had to pretty much start my social life over,” Greendyk says. “Baseball was the only constant, staying with me and helping me make new friends, cope with the stress of moving, and have some deeply needed fun.”

Cooley, an ambitious high school student and avid baseball player, has learned how to apply the stress management techniques he obtained through baseball to his schoolwork. He says that learning the relationship between the amount of work and the quality of reward, at a young age, is one of the most influential messages he has learned from baseball. He understands that the more work and effort he applies to his school work, the higher grade or reward he will achieve.

Cooley says that he applies this ideal as much

as he can, noticing how much of an effect it has had on his lifestyle.

“Baseball has really taught me how to deal with and react to all outcomes,” Cooley says. “Baseball has given me this toolbox of skills that I can apply anywhere, whether it is at school, with my family, or just hanging with friends.”

In addition to the social attributes, baseball produces health benefits.

The U.S. government’s 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines recommends at least an hour of exercise daily.

The combined time of the biweekly practices and games satisfies four days of exercise a week. The Guidelines recommend three different types of activity: Vigorous Aerobic activity, Muscle Strengthening, and Bone Strengthening exercises. Vigorous aerobic activity is obtained in many ways during a typical youth baseball practice including base running and fielding practices. Batting practice is a common way of strengthening

A little league baseball player. Photo courtesy of James Palmer.

weight baseball players put on their arms.

The diverse drills and skills needed in baseball offer a wider range of physical benefits than most sports.

While other sports are based off of repetitive motions, baseball utilizes different skill sets for different tasks.

For example, hitting the ball is nothing like catching or throwing the ball.

According to NIH, exercise increases cognitive function for those that participate.

Studies show that exercise also benefits decision making and planning abilities. Armour says that baseball is a very demanding sport, and provides players with extensive amounts of exercise, effectively increasing cognitive abilities in their later years.

Both Greendyk and Cooley say that baseball is an important aspect of every youth’s life, instilling valuable traits at a young age. Both players have experienced drastic effects in their day to day life as a result of their baseball

“Through the cold winter tryouts, to the hot summer tournaments, baseball has taught me many strong morals, effectively making me who I am.” muscles, as recommended by the Guidelines. According to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the bones in the throwing arm of baseball players is nearly double the strength of a nonbaseball player. This increased bone capability is produced by the repeated

career. Greendyk says that as a result of baseball, he learned important moral values such as teamwork, trustworthiness, and dependability-- principles he wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

“When your team is down in the last inning, and the game is lying on someone else’s shoulders, you really understand how to trust other people, and how to support them, no matter the outcome,” Greendyk says. “These values really left a lasting impact on me, making me the person I am today.”

The batter is looking right down the pitching line. The bases are loaded.

The batter needs to hit all three runners home in order to win the game. It is moments like these that set baseball apart, and teach players values such as bravery, teamwork, trustworthiness, and dependability.

Through the various health benefits, powerful morals engraved in players, and the developing of a positive community surrounding the sport, baseball positively impacts youth. Baseball is a popular sport, that integrates itself in various cultural expressions, such as books and movies.

Rob Manfred, the current Little League Baseball commissioner, says that in America, almost one-third of the population of kids play or have played baseball in some form. Baseball is a rewarding experience that shouldn’t be missed. As Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel say in A League of Their Own, “[Baseball] is what gets inside you. It’s what lights you up.”◆◆◆

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B

aseball ThroughBy James thePalmer Years

1839

1858

First baseball made in factories with standard size and weight. Before this baseball were commonly made by hand of a player.

1845

First baseball field planned and construction begun at Ebbets field

Baseball was invented

by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York

1846

First ever professional baseball game was played between the New York Knickerbockers and the New York Nine

1954

1857

Players were to remove all gear from the field and store it in a dugout. This cleared the field and reduced hazards.

Rule change resulting in the winner not being the first team to 23 points (as it had been in the past) and instead the team with the highest score after 9 innings.

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1947

Jackie Robinson was the first african american professional baseball player. He played for the brooklyn dodgers.

1986

The free agent market ended and lowered all players salaries.

1968

The first collective bargaining agreement is negotiated.

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1876

Jim Tyng modified a fencing mask and created the first catcher’s mask.

1872

Baseball gloves were finally adopted and accepted. Before, using a glove was a sign of weakness and frowned upon.

1939

Stephen Carlton Clark founded the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York

1901

The first baseball hat with a team logo was adopted by the detroit tigers.

1897

Roger Bresnahan made the first helmet for use by batters. It was similar to an old leather football helmet.

1925

The home run distance was changed to a minimum of 250 feet to stay relevant with the increases in technology and batting skill.

1996

A higher salary is finally agreed upon increasing the popularity of baseball.

1994

The world series is canceled due to a strike by players. This resulted in a debate for higher pay.

Photos courtesy of wikimedia and pixabay

2016

Baseball salaries are up 20,700 percent since 1994.

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1

2

3 First- In this photo by Shaun Pope, a YMCA player shoots the ball in practice Second- In this photo by Shaun Pope, a YMCA player poses for a picture after a game.

Third- In this photo by Shaun Pope, Kids shoot around at a local YMCA. In this photo by Steve Depolo, a player shoots over an opposing player

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Photo by Jorge Villa

Nick Venn “Even when I’m thirty I think I’ll still be playing basketball”

“Basketball has large health benefits”

“Concentration is greatly increased from playing the game”

Hoop Dreams

How Basketball Helps Youth Story by: Gus Albach

T

he gleam of the lights shines down from the rafters, onto the hardwood floors below. The referees set the game clock, and prepare for the tip off to start the game. The gymnasium is silent as the two teams square up.

The ref blows his whistle, and the ball flies up through the air. The two players below bend their knees, shooting upward with determination towards the ball. For most this vision isn’t very common, but for players in the Youth Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) basketball league, it’s a weekly sight.

Throughout the United States, kids play basketball. Whether you’re just beginning at age 6, or an experienced player at age 15, basketball is a part of your life.

Photo by Jorge Villa

Andy Degrasse “Basketball has helped me to stay active. Whenever I’m bored I play”

Kendall Kucera

Photo by Gus Albach

“Playing basketball has helped me to meet new friends”

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Playing basketball is known to have The majority of coaches in the YMCA benefits like helping to increase one’s are the mothers or fathers of players, fitness, but basketball delves deeper with some having even played than helping someone’s physical health. basketball at the YMCA when they According to a study by the American were young. It may seem challenging Psychological Association, they have to coach without prior experience, mental benefits too. Recent studies have apparently it isn’t. shown that playing basketball can help to deal with stress, depression, and anger.

These new studies show one more reason to play basketball.

Since before the civil war the YMCA has been providing members with equipment for training and working out, and since the creation of basketball in 1891 the YMCA has worked to spread the game across the world. Basketball’s current greatness as an American sport can partially be attributed to the YMCA, according to Michigan State university professor, Dr. Alan Arbogast It was at a YMCA in Boston, Mass. Where the first game of basketball was played.

After the creation the YMCA sent “ambassadors” of the game to Asia and Europe, in hope of spreading the game.

At the time of the invention of the game, the YMCA created small leagues in areas where the game was popular.

In the present day, the YMCA is doing no different, and continuing to host basketball leagues across the nation. ”The YMCA is continuing to work on creating a fun and competitive basketball league at all of our In this photo by EMC photography, a locations,” Kristen Mohon, the director played dribbles past an opponent of sports at the Townlake YMCA says.

“We’ve never had any complaints ”We’ve created a local community of saying that coaching is hard,” Mohon young players and parents themselves.” says. “As far as I can tell coaching a The YMCA has helped to create such youth team doesn’t require more than a community by using volunteers as the basic knowledge of basketball.” coaches.

Along with using volunteers as coaches, the YMCA has done other things to build a community. In order to make sure all athletes have a chance to participate, the YMCA has created rules limiting the time

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played by better players, and forcing the coach to play all players evenly.

What this ends up doing is ensuring that each child will play every game, and each kid on the team will be playing the same amount. In doing so the YMCA ensures that all players will have the same chance at playing for the team says Mohon. Unlike some of the other leagues in Austin, the YMCA doesn’t host tryouts. Instead the YMCA chooses the teams randomly, while allowing friends to request to be on the same time.

“One of my favorite parts of playing in the YMCA league was choosing teams,”Nick Venn, an ex-basketball player at the YMCA says. “It was basically random so one team wasn’t given a huge advantage, but I was still able to request to be on the same team as my friends.”

Many experts believe that playing basketball has multiple benefits, playing with friends, and connecting with other people through the game being some of them.

“Even if I’m playing with people I don’t know, I still have fun and connect with other people,” Shahin Masoumi, a player in the YMCA basketball league says.

Although the YMCA league allows benefits for players, no matter what league you play in there are mental and physical benefits. These benefits are some of the reasons basketball has so many players, according to Masoumi.

Besides benefits on the social level, basketball has benefits for the body and dealing with stress. Multiple studies in the past years have pointed towards these benefits.

“When you play any sport, your body releases endorphins, which in turn helps your general mood,” says Jennifer Brunet, a researcher on the subject. “Often when playing sports your mood becomes really good after a period of time.”

According to the Collane Collaboration, a network of researchers on the subject, this effect makes basketball a useful tool when dealing with depression or anger. By playing basketball one can deal with any bad emotions they are feeling, and calm themselves.

“Basketball can be really great for helping to deal with sadness or anger,” Masoumi says.”Sometimes when I’m mad at my mom or I’ll go outside and shoot hoops with some music on. After a few minutes of shooting I’ll usually feel a lot better.”

No matter when you join a sport you still have potential to be good at it. Joining a basketball team your freshman year in high school still leaves plenty of time to improve and become one of the better players on your team, Masoumi says. In fact, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations, high school sport participation has been shooting up for the past twenty years, showing an ever increasing number of teenagers are playing sports.

“The kids that are playing sports currently will see benefits both as they play, and within the years after they play” Brunet says.

Being active can also help to increase concentration, and multitasking. After playing a sport for many years, an athlete becomes better at tracking of multiple things at once. For example a professional basketball player can track where his teammates are, how much room he has to dribble, and how far it is to the basketball in a split second. According to betterhealth. gov, along with improved concentration, sports are able to help with multitasking both on and off the court.

Although kids often don’t join a sport for the benefits of health, and do so for the fun or to be with friends, there are a

In this photo by Shaun Pope, a coach critiques a player

multitude of benefits they are receiving from playing. Whether it be helping to deal with stress or depression, to increased health, or helping to make new friends, sports are helping the child to achieve it. ◆◆◆

“Basketball

will always be important to me.”

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1

Villanova WIldcats

Pulling off a close win against North Carolina in the championship, Villanova had a great tournament and season, and only looks to improve for next season. Villanova finishes first.

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2

UNC Tar Heels

Besides having a great season, North Carolina won every game of the tournament leading up to the final by double digits. It wasn’t until they played Villanova that North Carolina was truly tested. North Carolina finishes second.

Michigan St. Spartans

Despite having talented guard Denzel Valentine, Michigan State suffered an early exit in the tournament at the hands of Middle Tennessee.

The fact that they had a great season leave them in sixth place.

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Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas has won ten consecutive Big 12 championships, the most of any current team in the country, and only lost to VIllanova in an elite eight upset. Kansas finishes at third place.

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Oregon Ducks

Oregon put in a solid performance in the pac12 championship, and made it into the elite eight before falling to Oklahoma and Buddy Hield. Overall though, Oregon had a good season, placing them at seventh place.

Top College Basketball Teams

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5

Oklahoma Sooners

With arguably the most explosive player in the nation this season on their team, Oklahoma has constantly been a team to look out for.

With a 45% shooting rate from behind the three point line, Oklahoma is a deadly team to look out for. Oklahoma rings in at fourth.

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West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia’s full court press led to countless turnovers by the opposing team, and Jaysean Paige, the best sixth man in the country. It shouldn’t come as a surprise they make this list at eighth place.

By: Gus Albach

Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia’s defense was phenomenal this season, allowing the second fewest points per game in division 1, if it weren’t for a tragic collapse against Syracuse the team would be higher than fifth

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Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana had an ok tournament, although the team suffered a big loss against North Carolina in the sweet sixteen. In the end, it is Indiana’s Big Ten championship that lands it at ninth in this list.

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Syracuse Orange

Syracuse didn’t have a spectacular season, and them making the tournament was controversial to begin with. It is Syracuse’s amazing performance in the tournament that puts them at tenth in this list.

All pictures courtesy of Wikipedia

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The Art Of Figure Skating By: Dima Pokinboroda

Why Figure Skating Matters More Than Most People Believe.

Barry Kamber, credit to Dima Pokinboroda

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ilence. No movement, not even a breath. Alisa Pokinboroda, a 7-year-old figure skater in the Boston Skating Club, is crouching in the middle of the rink.

Out of the silence you hear the first few notes of the piano playing. She rises up to see the crowd in her night blue dress. She winds up, and she starts gliding. She slowly stands up, and starts gliding like a feather as she goes from one side to the other. Gracefully she twirls, as her dress spins around her like a glossy dark flower. Her movement expresses deep emotion. The spinning intensifies into a tornado. The show is over before you know it, and through the silence breaks the cheering. To be a well known figure skater you usually have to participate in the Olympics, otherwise you are not well known at all. Figure skating isn’t football, basketball, or baseball here in the U.S., but it is still a major sport People figure skate every day, and although we may not notice, it is a very competitive sport. There are dozens of tournaments a day. Unlike other sports, figure skating may be considered watching an art. the performers skate made me also want to figure skate,” Alisa says

Although figure skating may not be seen as an important sport here in the U.S. it’s quite important in other countries Let’s take a stroll down history lane for a bit and learn the past of the sport. Ice skating began roughly in 3000 B.C. It was discovered in Russia, and people used carved bone to skate on the ice. Many signs of skating have been found then, but never has anyone talked about. Skip about four thousand years and you have William Fitz Stephen, writing about the common people of Canterbury ice skating. Later on during the late 19th century the first figure skating world championship is held in St. Petersburg Russia. The first winter Olympics Barry’s student figure skating, credit to Dima Pokinboroda 38 were in 1924 held in Chamonix, France.

one of the five sports. Ice skating has been something that us, humans, do for 5000 plus years! Figure skating is also an intense sport. This isn’t an easy sport as a lot may think You might think, “Oh, it’s not football, you’re not getting hurt.” or, “In sports like basketball and soccer you actually have to run, jump and work hard.” In figure skating people can make a mistake when landing. They fall and they can get hurt really badly. For example, Evgeni Plushenko, a world champion figure skater, fell during a warm up for his free skating portion during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He had to exit out of the Olympics, and get back surgery. Plushenko may never come back to figure skating. There is no protection in figure skating, “I want and when you are riding fast and making crazy jumps, falling can to become better easily and seriously hurt you. Now there is a new and better. Maybe even go to the section known as Team figure skating.

Olympics if I’m good enough. Going to the Olympics will have to wait, at least until 2022” says Alisa.

Evgeni Plushenko, credit to Google Images

Yulia Lipnitskaya, youngest female figure skater too win gold in Olympics, Google Images

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Alisa with trainer(left), Alisa with mom(right) after winning, credit Vladimir Pokinboroda

“I think figure skating carries out in many aspects of life,” “The says Barry Kamber, a professional ice skating first “Only instructor with a gold medal in figure free time that the ones here and dance. “I have 10 doctors and I won a gold in Massachusetts.

12 lawyers that were my medal. I was

Mainly the “Boston former students.”

Skating Club” We have not driven out anywhere, just here,” Ekaterina says

really proud of myself,” Alisa says

Kim Yuna after performance

Here there are a series of new accidents that could happen. In figure skating the skater is riding on razor sharp skates. Both people could fall and one could cut the others neck. Although the sport may not look dangerous it can be. People do not think about this, especially the Pokinboroda family in Massachusetts. Figure skating is also an incredibly patient and enduring sport. All the simultaneous jumps that you have to do, and continue to skate. Also a lot of the time you want to include some dancing. Figure skating gives you lots of discipline. As it takes long to learn everything.

Discipline and patience helps people in many different aspects of life. After you figure skate you can do something different thanks to your figure skating career.

This shows that figure skating is very important and gets you somewhere. A new PBS study tested 91 deceased football players for brain damage. A whopping 87 out the 91 had brain damage due to football. With injuries like that you aren’t going to go anywhere after you football career is over. While you actually get a lot out of figure skating.

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And you aren’t going to go anywhere after you football career is over. While you actually get a lot out of figure skating. Starting out your figure skating career will be hard.

Some people get lucky and get ahead while some don’t.

Let’s take Barry, he was lucky enough to train with Dorothy Hamill, who went on to win the gold medal in women’s figure skating during the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. To accomplish these high achievements, you have to train a lot.

To accomplish these high achievements, you have to train a lot.

“I prefer kids skating 5 days per week, for the juvenile level,” says Barry “If you want to be a true competitive figure skater. You must figure skate a minimum of three days per week” A lot of time goes into figure skating, ever since the young age of 5. Even though the sport may not be as popular here in the U.S it is still incredibly popular everywhere else in the world. So during the next Olympics that will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018. Hopefully you will watch the figure skating portion of the Olympics.

“Roller skating had no shows, or any place to go.

In ice skating you could teach, skate, or do whatever you wanted to do. Having ice skating was bigger,” Barry says

Map of different regional sections of the U.S., credit Google Images

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The Youngest And Oldest Figure skater Gold medalists By: Dima Pokinboroda Yulia Lipnitskaya sochi2014, 15 yrs, 249 days She is the youngest European champion. She is also undercut the old youngest figure skating gold medalist by 8 days! As a matter of fact she lives in Sochi, which is where she earned her Olympic gold medal. Yulia Lipnitskaya has moved to different. cities to better pursue her career.

The youngest and oldest figure skaters are known for a lot. Either they are incredibly young, and can perform moves that older and more experienced skaters can perform. Or the oldest that do.

London is the capital of Philidelphia, PA is the birthplace of Tara Lipinski. Penn’s largest city, known for its rich history and Liberty bell.

Tara Lipinski, 1998 nagano games 15 yrs, 257 days Tara Lipinski has been the reigning youngest gold medalist for 16 years.

Even though she did not participate in many competitions, she won gold in the four that she did. Tara Lipinski may not have went to the Olympics in 1998 due to a molar infection. Yet after curing it, she decided to go to the Olympics to

claim gold.

Madge Syers 1908 London, 27 yrs, 43 days Madge is the first woman to compete in the World Championships. She won a silver medal, that caused a separate Womans figure skating championship to form. She also happened to win the first two of those championships and the Olympics in 1908. Also competing with her husband in pairs in the same years Magda Julin, 1920 Antwerp, 25 yrs 276 days

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Magda Julin is the 1920 Olympic champion who skated with her baby. Magda was 4 month pregnant.

Magda skated all the way up to the age of 90. She was at an inauguration of the skating rink in Ostersund, before dying 1990

Magda Julin was born in Vichy, France. This is the city used by Marshal Philippe PĂŠtain during World War II to fight off german forces.

England. the royalty of the U.K lives here

Dick Button was born in the small town of Englewood, NJ. This city had an injcrease in population lately.

Yekateringburg, Russia is the birthplace of Yulia. It is the fourth largest city in Russia.

Plushenki was born in Khabarovsk, Russia. It has 2 rivers and is 20 miles from border of China.

Sendai, Japan is the birthplace of Yuzuru Hanyu. It has a wonderful Japanese history museum and a Samurai lord castle

Photo courtesy of Google images

Dick Button, st.moritz1948, 18 yrs, 205 days Dick Button is a big 5 time consecutive world figure skating champion and two time olympic gold champion. He is also the only U.S. figure skater to win gold in the European championships.

Also known for being the first figure skater to land a double-axel jump in 1948. Dick then went on to become a television analyst.

Yuzuru Hanyu, sochi2014 19 yrs, 69 days Hanyu has broken 10 world records. He is currently the only man to break 100 points in the men’s short program. He did so well in the 2014 Sochi Olympics that he broke the world record for win margin by 37.48.

He has won world championship gold one time, silver two times, and bronze once.

Evgeni Plushenko, sochi2014, 31 yrs, 98 days Evgeni is one of the most decorated figure skaters of all time. He happens to only be tied with Gillis GrafstrĂśm, who figure skated in both winter and summer Olympics.

Evgeni Plushenko has suffered 3 back injuries. The latest one has happened in 2014 with the back screws getting damaged.

Lysacek was born in Chicago, IL. This large city has amasing art museums and art Institute.

Evan Lysacek, 2010 vancouver , 24 yrs, 259 days Evan Lysacek started his career at the age of eight. He later went on to win gold at the 2010 olympics. He later did not participate in the 2010-2011 season.

Even though he did not, he announced that he will continue his figure skating career. In 2014 he had a limb injury which forced him to retire from figure skating.

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By Jorge Villa

he tension in the air excites the crowd, “NASA has who waits patiently for the referee’s helped me by whistle to initiate the beginning of the battle introducing me between two teams to show who has worked to the beautiful harder,who is better prepared. Twenty two game, soccer,” soccer players step down to the pitch, the

How Has NASA, LOVING SOCCER, SERVING THE COMMUNITY NASA Helped You?

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r.c ick Fl

“It is really important to me that everybody has a chance to participate and become the best person they can be,” Alison Guckenberger, a NASA board member says.

“I really like the idea of NASA because it is not discriminatory based on how much field where some call their home, a place money you have, any child could come and Photo of Max Irby where they can show their full potential .

by Jorge Villa play for us.”

Finally, after the referee blows the whistle,

NASA’s motto since the beginning

the soccer players run towards the ball with has been, “loving soccer, serving the fierce determination as if they were chasing community.” With that in mind, NASA has Max Irby

happiness. This is the beginning of just one helped schools all around the Austin area North Austin Soccer Alliance (NASA) game, that belong to the Austin Independent School

“NASA with hundreds of other games being played District. NASA says that they believe that has helped each weekend. anyone, regardless of how much money they me learn what NASA is the oldest soccer club in have should have the opportunity do what of a socce true respect Austin, Texas and they partner up Photo r ba they love. According to Guckenberger ll b and teamwork with many schools to support y NASA works with many elementary really means,” them and their communities. and middle schools, such as Also they reach out to

Burnet Middle School and Photo of Christian students and communities Cook Elementary, to take care Salinas by Jorge that do not have enough of their fields because those Villa schools don’t have the money

money to play soccer and give them financial aid to to mow and plant seeds and

Christian Salinas play for them. NASA has do other things involved with “NASA has an enrollment of about two taking care of their fields. NASA helped me thousand soccer players every then uses those fields for practices how to season. NASA is a 100 percent and games for the children that go to those work with volunteer meaning that none of the coaches, schools. Something they also do to help others as a staff, and managers get paid. They do this the community is that they have summer team.” because this lowers the amount of money soccer camps that are run by Challenger every player has to pay in order to join the Sports. According to Guckenberger, they club. For example, most Saturdays mornings, Photo of Andy have summer camps at various schools and Degrasse by NASA soccer players and staff members whatever extra money they get leftover Jorge Villa come out as volunteers to help out with the after paying the coaches from Challenger field’s maintenance and pick up the trash Sports goes back into the schools which goes around the community. directly to the PTA .

Andy Degrasse om

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U-11 NASA Knights are the Western District Champions photo by NASA

One of their biggest partnerships is with Cook Elementary, because they are in an economically disadvantaged area. According to Guckenberger, one of their biggest problems is keeping the students enrolled because many families end up moving out every year to a cheaper area where they can afford paying rent. This was a bad situation for Cook Elementary because their attendance, the financial aid from the state, and the STAAR score were getting lower and lower as time kept going. What NASA decided to do to help solve their problem is to let any Cook elementary student to play for free and receive a uniform at no cost. This has significantly helped because parents now decide to stay because they enjoy having their kids play for NASA for free. According to Guckenberger, she has noticed that it doesn’t matter that some apartment across the city is $50 cheaper because the parents want their kids to play soccer and so they end up staying at Cook Elementary so their kids can play. Guckenberger is on the NASA board.

She is also the manager of two soccer teams, The Red Wings and the Railyard. She is a mother of two kids and a stay at home mom.

“I just want to make sure that every child has the opportunity to play soccer,” Guckenberger says “That soccer is not a discriminatory sport.”

Guckenberger first found out about NASA when she enrolled her son, George Guckenberger with a NASA team. There she says she fell in love with their philosophy and the friendly and positive atmosphere. With a degree in human organization development she was able to relate to what NASA was based on, she says. Both NASA and Guckenberger are strongly against discrimination and through NASA she has been able to make sure that soccer does not discriminate anyone regardless of their money, their skin color, and their gender. She says she believes that soccer was made to unite people, not to break them apart. Guckenberger spends about 20 hours per week working for NASA. She spends a lot of time taking kids to their games and practices. Also she stays at home working on new ways to improve the club and came up with ways to get more money to help more kids around Austin.

“I have noted that the parents of other clubs where they pay a lot of money put way more pressure on their kids and on the organization because of the amount of money they are paying,” Guckenberger says. “The parents want all these results and that can take fun out of soccer and at NASA we just want soccer to be fun.”

“I actually can’t see my life without soccer, it’s just something that will always be with me, it’s something that defines who I am.”

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Both teams running towrads the ball photo taken by Flickr.com

According to Guckenberger, NASA has a huge population of players that receive a scholarship.

They spend a lot of money helping others, but the money they receive is lower than the money they spend so they are looking for ways to get money for those who really need it. They are going to partner with a Jersey Mike’s, a sub shop where they are going to receive cards for a whole week where anyone could go to the shop and buy any size sub for only $3.The $3 then will go straight to NASA for scholarship money because the amount of scholarships has doubled in the past few years. Austin has been getting more expensive to live in and many people are moving from Lonestar or Rangers to NASA because of financial problems that their families are going through. Damian Clark-Warren is the soccer coach of a U-15 NASA soccer team. He does logistics for a living and play soccer on his free time.

“As a coach, I have been the positive male role model for a lot of young men that needed direction, and in some cases help them through some rough times, showing them that it’s okay to be yourself,” Warren says.

According to coach Warren, he was tricked into being a coach in 2002 by his friends. He decided to continue coaching because year after year kids asked him to coach their team. According to Warren, soccer has helped him both mentally and physically.

He was able to go to college for free and play at a semi-pro level.

What really helped him become the person he is now is the people that he met through his soccer career.

“I was fortunate to have played with such a diverse group of people, getting to know and learn about different cultures by playing and understanding the basics, is almost a language all

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at its own,” Warren says. “It has helped me to develop a sense of tolerance and understanding that helps me to a better person, and it’s this understanding that helps me tolerate the kids that I coach.”

Warren says that he believes that NASA is always striving to better itself. He also believes that no one should be left behind regardless of their skin color. He says that NASA is completely different from other clubs because first of all they don’t have any tryouts because NASA believes that tryouts do not justify how good of a player someone is. As a coach he tries his best to teach his player valuable lessons that will hopefully change their lives and make them a better person.

Warren says that he tries to make soccer as fun as possible, but there are moments that he has difficult and advanced practices to help his players improve physically and at some moments mentally. David Santos is a freshman at Lanier High School, an AISD high school.

“Whenever I play soccer it feels like I enter a different world, a world where I can be who I really am, a place where I have the ability to change history, a world where I forget about all worries and just enjoy the moment,” Santos says. “ Through soccer I was able to learn who I really am, I was able to learn my weaknesses and strengths both physically and mentally.”

Santos said that through soccer he has been able to learn things that no one could be able to teach him, like the meaning of teamwork. When you play as a team you depend on your teammates as much as they depend on you, Santos says. Whenever you make a mistake they are there for you and vice versa. Also he says he has learned all about discipline, honesty, hard work, respect, dedication, and willingness with NASA. He said that he’s grateful because those kind of things have shaped him to become the person NASA’s uniform photo he is today. taken by Jorge Villa

The U-15 NASA Kicks after a soccer game photo taken by NASA

“Through soccer I been able to learn things about myself that I didn’t even know about me,” Santos says. “I actually can’t see my life without soccer, it just something that will always be with me, it’s something that defines who I am.

With NASA, Santos has the opportunity to play soccer for a team. He gets financial aid and transportation when his parents are not able to take him to practices and games. With the support he has gotten from NASA and especially Guckenberger he says he has been able to get good grades and especially do what he is passionate about.

“Something that makes NASA one of a kind is just their philosophy to allow anyone who wants to play soccer to simply just play soccer regardless of their skill level,” Santos says. “The only thing that matters is their will to work hard and improve both physically and mentally.”

With an enrollment of almost two thousand players every season, NASA has made soccer a sport that anyone can play. With people like Guckenberger and Warren, NASA continues to strive to improve their atmosphere, to make soccer funner, and a sport that can help unite people regardless of race and money.

“When I first found about this club and about their philosophy, I honestly fell in love with it because they don’t discriminate anyone and that is what soccer is all about,” Santos says. “Soccer doesn’t judge people by their skill level, it judges people by their will to work hard and getter better.”...

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