#Get a Grip Newsletter, #2
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Happy summer everyone!
We just came home from our 18th annual Werdel family trip to the
Home Ranch outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The weather was absolutely crazy. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that it was the first week of summer, as we had 3 days of snow! Yes, full on snow!
Our days consist of eat, hike, eat, hike, ride, or fish, eat, sleep, and repeat. You get the idea. Hiking with my sisters and our families is my favorite activity. We love being outside, exercising, and catching up with everyone's busy lives.
Family time is one of our challenges, as we all have kids in sports. We all try to make the Father's Day week a priority. Some of the kids have had miss it at one time or another, with 9 grandchildren in baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, track, rugby, rowing, swimming, and water polo (hope I didn't forget one!).
I would love to know how you keep your family time and traditions alive with all the summer sports chaos. Please share your stories on our
#Get a Grip Facebook page or by
emailing me.
Have a great 4th of July and enjoy Wimbledon!
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"Range" has been sitting on my nightstand for weeks but I hadn't had the time to dive into it. Thank you to our reader, Marc, who emailed me to suggest it for the newsletter. The audio version is also quite good.
When Epstein began writing about the data that athletes who go on to become the elite are usually not the specializers, the reactions from parents was pure disbelief. Can’t be true! Maybe in some other sport, but that isn’t true in our sport!
Right?! We all learned from Gladwell’s 10,000 hours, deliberate practice, Tiger Mom, and from Earl Woods developing Tiger, before the age of 2. We are all caught up in the rat race to keep up, but research is showing that this form of early hyper-specialization isn’t the path for most elite athletes.
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FROM MY DESK
Social media can affect college, pro scouting as some teams check through middle school. “It’s an extension of the background check,” one coach said. “I think you can learn a lot about players (through) their social media posts.”
A columnist enters the magical world of practices, game days, and cheese sticks. So far, so good—but it’s early.
Spending on youth sports soars as families chase scholarships and roster spots for their sons or daughters.
Great article and must read for all parents
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YOU ASKED!
I have been asked this question so many times, that I did a blog post on it last month. The easy answer is do not EVER think that your child can’t make it to the high D1 level without choosing online schooling. We just finished the process for the USTA Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, and the applicants were primarily in traditional schools with incredible grades, high national rankings, and all going on to play college tennis.
The Pros and Cons of online/homeschooling issue is a tough one and individual to every family with style of education, family life, level of tournament play, and budget. To read the full article,
CLICK HERE.
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#GET A GRIP BOOKSHELF
“RANGE: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World", by David Epstein
Quick
thank you
shout out to one of our readers, Marc, for sending in the suggestion for this book to be spotlighted in this issue's Bookshelf. I loved this book so much that I decided to write this issue's blog article on my take aways from the book.
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think, according to David Epstein.
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But if you take a closer look at the world's top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, you'll find that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
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This week's
Meaningful Meals
conversation starter:
"If you were going to create a new holiday, what would it be and how would people celebrate it?"
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This week's
Meaningful Meals
recipe:
Next week we are hosting the family July 4th BBQ while on vacation at Lake Gaston. We have a BBQ planned with Smoked Brisket, Hasselback Potatoes, Panzanella Salad, Cole Slaw, Biscuits, and a Berry Pavlova for dessert.
Here is a link to the menu and recipes.
Enjoy!
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE
This issue of #Get a Grip, we are spotlighting a dear friend of mine and his work starting
PHIT AMERICA
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Jim Baugh is the former President of Wilson Sporting Goods, a Sports Industry Hall of Fame inductee, and has done tremendous work as a leader in initiatives to "Get America Moving" through national and local programs.
PHIT America is a national charity and ‘movement’ that is improving the health of Americans, especially children, through increased physical activity. The ‘Inactivity Pandemic’ is deadly and getting worse. US Kids are ranked 47th out of 50 developed countries in fitness. Only 7% of kids are active to CDC activity standards. One of the major causes is approximately 50% of all schools have eliminated physical education in our schools with the average school budget for PE at $462 for elementary schools.
PHIT America is rebuilding these school programs by supplying grants to over 600 schools to date helping 300,000+ kids become physically active. Beside the physical health benefits of physical activity, we have definitive proof that more active kids do better in school. Physical activity is the wonder drug.
PHIT America feels our school administrators have overlooked the best and easiest ways for children to learn - Increased Physical Activity. Evidence and research is pouring in t
hat physical activity during the school day is the missing link in our education system. At roughly the same time that our education ranking started to slip, the amount of physical activity during the school day started to be stripped from schools. In fact, in a December 2015 research project by Pediatrics Magazine, it was discovered that teens are active (or moving) only 23 minutes per day while at school and 42 minutes all day long. It is sad. Children have been told to 'sit and learn,' but learning is being hampered by the sitting.
There is tremendous research about the positive impact of physical activity on learning and one study just completed which is mind boggling. In Greenville, South Carolina, 600 children who had daily PE were measured for 'fluid intelligence' and fitness after 6 years versus other schools who had little to no PE. When we stripped PE out of our schools, we dramatically hurt kids physically and also their academic performance.
It is time to increase physical education in our schools. This will help both the children's health and their academic performance. This is why we at PHIT America say...
PHIT Kids = Healthier & Smarter Kids
PHIT America is led by Sports Industry Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Baugh, who also was President of Wilson. Jim and his team are looking for new support from corporations, foundations, individuals and other to expand their grants to help kids lead active, healthy lives. PHIT America is able to get ‘kids moving’ for less than $10 per child. If you are interested in helping PHIT America, contact Jim Baugh at
Jim@PHITAmerica.org.
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I love meeting my readers. Please email me to ask a question and share your thoughts on #Get a Grip.
Do you have ideas for books, recipes, and organizations that we should share in a future newsletter?
If so, click here to email me!
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Know someone who would enjoy it? I appreciate you forwarding it to them!
Thank you for reading!
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