Have you ever had a coach, teacher, parent, boss or anyone else ever tell you that “we have always done it this way”? After decades or centuries, some things really do not change. Is it […]
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Articles
A Recovering Agent Looks at the NFL Draft
After actively representing NFL players as a certified contract advisor- more commonly known as an agent- for a decade, almost every question I am asked, even today, about my time as an agent centers around […]
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The Facilitators of Abusive Cultures in Sport
For abusive cultures to survive and even prosper, the abusers need to be supported, they need facilitators. The facilitators are usually management or a funding agency with the role of facilitator varying dependent upon the […]
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Lest We Forget
April 25 is ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). On this day in 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. […]
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Sports Coach: The Dangers of Hubris
There is no doubt that self-confidence is an important factor regarding successful outcomes in sport, both for the coach and for the athlete. Having complete trust and confidence that a goal can be achieved is […]
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Find Your Flow
What has gotten you through the past year? Have you taken up baking sourdough bread or nurturing a small jungle of houseplants? According to psychologist Adam Grant, many of us have been in a state […]
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Flag Football or Backyard MMA?
This past weekend, in Niles, Michigan, a youth flag football game took a turn for the bizarre and dangerous. A coach for one of the teams playing became incensed at a call made by officials […]
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Shooting the Messenger? Then Remove the Ammunition!
Earlier I wrote “Sex, Lies, and Who Can Score the Most Points” about a certain lewd act in a public toilet being filmed and distributed by someone looking over the top of the stall. It […]
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Sex, Lies, and Who Can Score the Most Points?
An unnamed Parramatta NRL (National Rugby League) player has apparently been filmed having consensual sex with a woman in a public bathroom in a leaked video earlier this week. This footage was obtained by a […]
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Not So Glad All Over
Sunday night’s announcement that twelve of the largest European soccer teams were pulling out of UEFA Champions League competition to form the new European Super League rocked the football world. The reaction was loud and […]
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The Evolution of a Bully
In an organization or team, a weak culture is an inspiration killer and demotivates, nobody is likely to stand up and be noticed, or do anything noteworthy, unless they feel safe to do so. In […]
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The Mindful Athlete
There are plenty of quotes and cliches about the mental aspect of sports. Mountaineer Edmund Hillary, the first to climb Mount Everest, once said: “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” Muhammad Ali […]
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Negative Fan Perspectives of Athletes
Professional athletes, especially the stars, are frequently envied for their athletic abilities. Everyone has their favorite player that they try to model their game after, or go around yelling things like “Kobe!” when throwing garbage […]
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Escaping Toxic Culture- The New York Mets Challenges
There is little purpose in rooting for or even loving a team that fails to extend an honest effort or reasonable level of respect to their fans. That’s true of players and management alike, and every franchise should begin to make a reasonable effort to eliminate sexual and gender based harassment from their culture because it is the right thing to do.
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The Culture Behind Competition in Sport
For many in sport, striving to be their best and comparing their efforts against their competition is what pushes the boundaries of performance. Double Olympic Heptathlon Champion Daley Thompson once said he would train twice […]
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In the Blood: Family Culture & Sports
It has often been said that the family that plays together, stays together. A determinant of sporting participation in youth is the sporting culture that runs through the family. The propensity to play sport is […]
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The Corinthian Spirit: Integrity, Fairness and Loyalty
The one thing we know for sure is that the vast majority of athletes and sports coaches abhor cheating – they just cannot stand seeing cheats prosper. There are so many great athletes across sports […]
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Hope is Dope!
“Dude, You’re On ESPN!” That’s what Dom Valdespino told his girlfriend, Hope Trautwein, after she completed the impossible last weekend, a perfect perfect game. That’s right, two perfects. Twenty-one batters came up, and twenty-one batters […]
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Why Do We Overlook Toxicity In Leaders Simply Because They Perform Well?
As someone from New England, anything that has to do with bad news for New York sports teams generally makes me happy, especially if it has to do with New York’s American League baseball team. […]
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The Dirty Art of Sportswashing
Saudi Arabia has reportedly spent $1.5 billion on bolstering its reputation by investing in major sporting events. Grant Liberty from the Human Rights Organization says that the Saudi kingdom has generously bankrolled high-profile events such […]
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Spring into Fall Ball: The Importance of Spring Football in Player Development
FBS spring football is in full effect with Powerhouse Clemson hosting its spring game this past Saturday. After a yearlong hiatus due to COVID, it is exciting to see traditional spring football back. The games […]
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Golf is Not a Game of Perfect
Golf is the antidote to our anxious western culture. To be successful at golf, you have to unlearn many habits that have been drilled into us in school and later as we worked our way […]
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PIVOT!! PIVOT!!
When we hear the word “pivot” I’d be willing to bet many of us first think of Ross Geller’s famous “PIVOT!! PIVOT!!” Growing up a dancer, when I hear the word pivot, I think of […]
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The Wrong Platform: Athletes Spreading Disinformation
I’ve written in the past about the role athletes can play in promoting positive change in their communities. Their platform offers unparalleled influence, and several serve as community leaders and activists for noble causes. Athletes […]
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Are All of Your Organization’s Actions in the Best Interests of the Athletes and Team?
Yesterday, Culture in Sports participated in our first webinar. It was with Drexel University’s School of Education’s Sport Coaching Leadership Program. It was a great opportunity for us to share what we are currently working […]
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The Coaching Relationship; Avoiding Toxicity
A few hours after this article drops, Culture in Sports will be presenting its first webinar in conjunction with Drexel University’s School of Education’s Sport Coaching Leadership Program. The title and subject matter of this […]
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The Lessons of a Value Based Culture in Performance Sport
How do we instil the values into the athletes in our shared sports culture? How are these values created and subsequently evolve? Are they set in stone for any member of the sports culture to […]
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You Don’t Have to be a Star To Shine
I remember in the ‘good old days’ when psychology wasn’t associated with youth sports and we weren’t encumbered with scholarly theory on whether or not we should be rewarded for showing up. Yes, we did […]
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Persistence, Determination and Performance
If there was ever an example of a sporting legend that displayed an unprecedented degree of persistence and determination it would be the mountaineer Edward Whymper. There can be no doubt, in the mind of […]
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You Can’t Hoot with the Owls at Night and Fly with the Eagles in the Morning
Have you seen Ted Lasso yet? If not, you should. It’s not really about what you expect it to be. Sure, the show chronicles a folksy American football coach from Kansas going to England to […]
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Pete Rose and the Astros
I realize that seeing the title of this article may cause some confusion. To clarify up front, no, Pete Rose has nothing to do with the Houston Astros, and they have nothing to do with […]
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The Digitization of Sports Paraphernalia
2021 has been the year of cryptocurrency. Millions have taken the plunge into the unknown, purchasing digital assets as if, suddenly, the mystery and uncertainty surrounding the blockchain has gone up in smoke. Digital assets […]
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Mental Health & Sports
“Cycling gave me something to live for, no doubt about it.” – Justin Lang Australia is a country that loves its sports, but unfortunately for most people, once they’re out of school they begin to […]
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Hey, You’ve Got Politics in My Sports
I love both chocolate and peanut butter. Put the two together, and you have magic. This simple but genius idea behind Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has made Halloween and Easter better holidays. It also created […]
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“Sport has the Power to Change the World”
Nelson Mandela is famously quoted as saying “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. […]
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Are We Burning Kids Out?
Youth sports are a staple of American culture, often viewed as the surest track to developing talented athletes. It makes sense — more practice time and more gameplay lead to better skill and fitness. For […]
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Be the Best Coach You Can Be
Being a coach is not easy. A coach must look out for the safety and well being of the athletes, team, assistant coaches, and support staff. A coach has to provide a safe environment, not […]
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Radical Sportsmanship & the U.S. Olympic Trials
Among the most, if not the most, intense and competitive athletic events in the world are the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The reasons are simple enough, every nation has a limitation on Olympic slots, either […]
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Can Sport Salvage Our Troubled Youth?
The teenaged years are so difficult, there is much to learn to become an independent adult and if there is no one there to help them to understand that mistakes do happen, and to help […]
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The Legend of the Lightning Bolt
Taking place in April 2021 is Athletics Australia’s Australian Track and Field Championships. The event will be held in Sydney and is the largest annual athletics event in Australia and the Oceania region, traditionally attracting […]
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In Search of Contextual Fit
It can be said of most human beings, including sports coaches, that they never fully achieve a complete fit with any role they have chosen in their life. It is always under construction – a […]
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The Power of Positive Thinking
Have you ever been to a yoga class? If not, you should try it sometime. You learn a lot about yourself, mostly about how inflexible you are. It is a place without judgment. At least […]
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Sowing the Field of Dreams
This week in the United States we welcome back our national pastime, the sport of baseball. I know, there are some people who may argue that American football should be the national pastime, however, I’m […]
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Little Major Leagues: The Big Business That is Youth Sports
The other day I spoke with my 15 (and 9 months as she likes to frame it for obvious reasons) year old sister about her most recent soccer tournament. She tells me it was close […]
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Are Too Many Diversity Boxes Just Being Ticked With No Thought To Inclusion?
There is much talk in business communities in the need to change their practices to attract more employees from diverse backgrounds as well as women – particularly within traditional male dominated industries. More women than […]
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8 Tips on Creating a More Positive Lifestyle
1. Do the things that make you happy. When I say to do the things that make you happy I do not mean pick up 4 bottles of wine on your way home from work and […]
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Zuzu’s Petals
“You died on a Saturday morning” No matter how many times I watch Forrest Gump, that line always gets to me. Why did Jenny have to die? She had worked so hard to overcome her […]
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Dehumanizing Athletes: “I Have Feelings Too”
The nature of sports tends to obscure athletes’ human qualities. We often view them as a source of entertainment, as a distraction from the concerns of the real world. When they step out of their […]
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The Right Time to Make Positive Change
Both NCAA basketball tournaments have been very exciting and have proven that there are always Cinderella stories and games that come down to the final buzzer or whistle. There are heroes, villains, officials, and heartbreak […]
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Hope For A Great Sea Change?
Nobel winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney authored these lines in his translation of Sophocles’ drama, The Cure at Troy: “History says, Don’t hopeOn the side of the grave,’But then, once in a lifetimeThe longed for […]
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The Black and White of Ethics
Sport has had a long a varied history with ethics and ethical behaviour from the systematic abuse of gymnasts to the systematic doping in the peloton. Recently there seems to have been a split into […]
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Torture on the Track: The Human-Animal Sporting Partnership
Notwithstanding the skills and athleticism of the jockeys, the horses are athletes in the horseracing equation too. The jockey and the horse are teammates in the sport, a combination of muscle, mind, skill, and instinct […]
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Tough Coach, Caring Coach
It is self-evident that the most effective sports coaches have a major influence, not only on their athletes but also on the sports organisation in which they coach. For sports coaches, especially those classed as […]
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The Wide World of Sports
We are all from somewhere, and this is important because it is the beginning of our story. We don’t know how our story ends but we know where it started. Everybody has a story. Each […]
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Take Risks, Take A Stand
With everything in life, there are risks. Getting out of bed in the morning can be a risky move in some cases. Even driving down the street to the grocery store can be a risky […]
Read More The Pitfalls of Player Health and Safety
Player health and safety has always been more of an abstraction than a concrete practice in the sport of football. In an ideal world, “players play and coaches coach”, each relying on a third party […]
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Teasing Out the Talent from the Chaos Within
Talent may not always have character and attitude,however attitude and character will always contain some level of talent. Bill Sweetenham (elite swim coach) swimmingscience.net 23 October 2017 Take a deep look at the eyes of […]
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Straw, Sticks, or Bricks?
You can tell a lot about an organization’s culture or an individual’s character by how they handle setbacks. There are two paths to go down, acceptance or denial. Setbacks are inevitable. We know this. Lately, […]
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Out With the Old, In With the New?
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get the results you’ve always got. Sometimes, that’s great, when your past results are winning. How long should leaders stay in their position of power? Some very […]
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The NCAA and the Winds of Change
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is in full swing, and teams are jockeying for this year’s championship trophy. The tournament is both a cultural staple, with millions of Americans filling out brackets each year, and […]
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Today Is a New Day
As a leader and coach, I have always gone to bed always thinking about what I could do better for the athletes, team, or the people that I lead. I always try think of ways […]
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Despite Disparities, the Women Have Got Next
This week, three of the best known women’s college basketball coaches in the history of the game, made unprecedented public statements about inequitable treatment involving the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Culture in Sports’ own Jeremy […]
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We Need a Culture of Consistency in Believing
How do you feel about athlete abuse? How do you feel about athlete abuse when it’s in your sport? Is it still abuse? How do you feel about athlete abuse when it’s by your friend? […]
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It Is Just a Game
It is just a game. No, I am not belittling or discounting any of the hard work that athletes, coaches, and staff put into competing. But I am talking about what people do after their […]
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How High: McDermott Sets the Bar
Not many athletes use the psychological tactic of a ‘rating system’ as a means of performance enhancement, in fact according to coach Matt Horsnell, most competitive athletes would find the system has the other effect […]
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Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Judge Cowboys
If you are of a certain age and enjoy country music at all, you immediately recognize the lyrics to Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys. Ed and Patsy Bruce wrote this […]
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It Only Becomes Equal-ish When It Gets Too Loud
March Madness brings out the best and worst. The best being athletes and teams coming together and excelling on the court, with some extremely low-ranking teams going deep into the tournament. You never know what […]
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Lee Westwood and His “Secret Weapon”
One of the most talked-about names in golf recently has been somebody that most have not heard of, his name is Lee Westwood. Westwood is a 47-year-old Professional Golfer who has been in contention to […]
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‘Perfection’ Belongs in the Dictionary and Not in Training Sets
Far too often I witness, in training sets for swimmers, instructions along the lines of ‘ … swim the whole of this section with ‘perfect’ turns or ‘perfect’ form’ and as I make my daily […]
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It’s Time to Level Up
Athletes understand the importance of challenging themselves to reach the next level. Yet, the organizations that support them are stuck in complacency. As a sports fan, I continue to be amazed by the athletes in […]
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What is Your Why?
In January of 2021 Ryan Smith, the new owner of the Utah Jazz announced that for every Jazz win, they would award a 4-year full ride scholarship to a Utah high school senior to attend […]
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The Weighty Issue of Corruption
“Wherever there is power, greed, and money, there is corruption.” ― Ken Poirot Media coverage and money have turned sport into a ‘life-and-death’ situation where cheating to get ahead becomes more and more attractive. Cheating in […]
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Is It I or We?
When you start a sentence about your team, do you start with an I or we? But let me ask two further questions: When you are speaking about your team’s successes, do you say that […]
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Collision Course- Collegiate Athletics & Campus Sexual Assault- Challenges in Recognition
Two American universities were caught up in the same crisis over the last few weeks, that itself is unusual. Louisiana State University (LSU) released a report by the law firm Husch Blackwell reviewing shortcomings in […]
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The Standards and Ethics of Leaders in Sport
The Telegraph Sports Book of the Year 2019 – Sevens Heaven by Ben Ryan – chronicles the ups and downs of a coach who moved his life to the other side of the world to […]
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Sport: A Platform for Advocacy
The influence of top athletes; their ability to amplify important debate allows advocacy on a global level. Sport is unique in that it can bring together people of different cultural backgrounds; different nationalities; different religions […]
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Stamping Out Intolerance
In just a few short weeks, on April 15th, Major League Baseball will celebrate the 74th anniversary of Jack Roosevelt Robinson’s debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The man, better known as Jackie Robinson, was the […]
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Are We Rooting For Laundry?
“The sea was angry that day, my friends.” Suppose you are, like me, a Seinfeld fan. In that case, you immediately recall this line and remember George Costanza’s speech at the diner explaining how he […]
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Sailing into a Synchronous Culture
Have you ever noticed the incredible synchronicity of a yachting race team in action? They are perhaps only comparable to the astounding coordination of a pit crew during a formula one race. The finely choreographed […]
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Use Your Powers for Good or Evil
Do you remember listening or watching coaches, teachers, or other adults when you were a young child? Do you remember when they would tell you to do something, you just assumed they had the authority, […]
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Remember We Are Human Too …
We feel and we perceive like any other normal functioning human being. We are the ever inwardly optimistic brigade of finding the next olympic hopeful with heads swirling in big dreams and emails and parent […]
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Fear is Never an Efficient Motivator
This week Sara Davis, in her article What Are You Afraid of? Your Fear May Be Keeping You From Your Destiny, we were reminded to not let fear limit our possibilities. When there are unchecked […]
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The Power of Inclusivity
In the summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to be involved with the Special Olympics World Games based in Los Angeles, California. I spent the whole week working the volleyball portion of the whole […]
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What Are You Afraid of? Your Fear May Be Keeping You From Your Destiny
What are you afraid to try? What has been ringing in your ear for the last couple of weeks, months, days, that you are dying to try? My second question is, what is stopping you? […]
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A Two Year Suspension From Sports Is All Someone Got for the Sexual Abuse and Intimidation of a 13 Year Old Athlete
U.S. Center for Safe Sport and U.S. Figure Skating have just made a bold statement: You can intimidate a 13 year old girl that was sexually abused by a coach, and cover the sexual abuse […]
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International Women’s Day- Sports & Equality
Just yesterday, on this site, Denise Harvey took on the “Tradition of Classism & Racism in ‘Elite’ Sports“. It is true that sports have historically been one of the areas of society where barriers to […]
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A Winning Culture that isn’t Winning
Currently in the English Premier League the defending champions, Liverpool FC, are struggling to win games. Following their weekend defeat to a Fulham team near the bottom of the table, Liverpool recorded their sixth straight […]
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A Tradition of Classism & Racism in ‘Elite’ Sports
Ever since the formation of modern sports in the 19th century, certain sports have been assigned to particular socio-economic groups. Non-contact sports have been associated with the upper classes while the ‘rougher’ sports were relegated […]
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The GOAT and the Golden Eggs
I wish Tiger Woods well in his recovery. The news of his accident was shocking. Coming just a little over a year after Kobe Bryant’s tragic death, we all wondered if we had lost another […]
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Endure, Learn, and Move On
I apologize in advance to all of you haters out there. I am an Astros fan. Still am. Let me explain. I live in The Woodlands, Texas. It is a suburban utopia just north of […]
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Do We Still Need A League Of Their Own?
With the month of March being celebrated as Women’s History Month in the United States, what could be a more appropriate topic of discussion than the disparity in professional sports between male and female pro […]
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Stars of the Sea: Surf Lifesaving, Nippers & Starfish
“The surf lifesaving movement … is truly Australian in spirit. Its character savors [sic.] of sun-drenched sand and a free and boisterous surf. In it we see democracy function as it was meant to. There […]
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Lost in Others’ Whys
When we are young our days are explorations of anything new. We do stuff because we think it looks like fun; our older brother/ sister does it; dad/ mum says it would be go for […]
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Rite of Passage: Kids in Sports
Participation in sports not only helps to develop coordination, physical agility, health, and flexibility, but also to develop friendships, comradery, and the traits necessary for observing fair-play and learning how to lose gracefully. Introducing children […]
Read More Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
In week 17 of the 2020 NFL season the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, in fact they had already clinched the win in their final possession of the game. Most quarterbacks would take […]
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The ‘Business’ of Team Sports
Every team has a culture, the question is what does this culture say about the team? A culture is a set of observable behaviors that are promoted and widely accepted by the organization. Teams whose […]
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Have the Houston Rockets Hit Rock Bottom?
The Houston Rockets had a sad outing against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. It was their 11th straight loss (They now have lost 12 straight), where they had the lowest shooting percentage and the fewest […]
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The Olympics, China and the Possibility of Boycott
It seems difficult in 2021 to separate sports from politics. Calls now are rising on both sides of the U.S. and Canadian border and across the Western nations to organize a boycott of or put […]
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The Highs and Lows in Sports Help Bring People Together
On Tuesday, February 23rd golf legend Tiger Woods experienced a terrifying car accident. His car tumbled down a hill and he was pulled out of the SUV by the jaws of life. After the accident, […]
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