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Monthly Archives: September 2017
The U: 30 for 30
Show for BCS Championship.
Cam Ward Tyler V., Sea Bass, Ben Johnson
College Selection Process: How important are sports?
December 21, 2022: @rayraythaboy (10.6K followers) · Jun 28 Dream come true 💚🧡 Committed ‼️‼️ @unclelukereal1 @coach_cristobal @Coach_Gattis @dtrain2901 @miamiedison_fb @RolandSmithJr4
December 2021: Boardroom article: College Football’s “Destination Job” Era is Dead.
Time (1:42) #WelcometotheU #PancakeHoncho
Top Twitter Accounts (update each year)
- @michaelirvin88 (719K followers)
- @JimmyJohnson (377K followers) Former coach and two-time national champion. Two-time Super Bowl winner and an avid fisherman. Love doing FOX NFL Sunday.
- @CanesFootball (294K followers) The Official Twitter account of the 5 time National Champion Miami Hurricanes Football program.
#ItsAllAboutTheU (#1 College Mascot) - @RosenhausSports (178.2K followers to 433???) Elle’s father. Lisa’s husband. Jason & Dana’s brother. Robert & Jill’s son. My clients’ family. Duke Law Grad. NFLPA Agent since 88. Owner of Rosenhaus Sports Other account
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Drew Rosenhaus @DrewJRosenhaus (178K followers)@BernieKosarQB (158K followers) A preeminent quarterback, from high school to a national championship with The University of Miami to a 12-year NFL career, including a Super Bowl ring.
- @unclelukereal1 (73 followers) A hip-hop’s original bad boy, pop culture icon, and consummate businessman, Luther Uncle Luke Campbell,
- @UM_Sebastian (23.7K followers) Official Twitter account for America’s favorite bird and the best mascot in college athletics, Sebastian the Ibis!
#ItsAllAboutTheU (Coral Gables, FL, hurricanesports.com, Joined August 2010) - 5 star Massachusetts recruit: Samson Okunlola ‘23 @SAMSONOKUNLOLA_ (12.3 K followers 2022) #PancakeHoncho (link tree)
- @BennieBlades36 (6.5K followers) NCAA All-American | National Champion | College Football Hall of Famer | NFL 1st Round Draftee | NFL All-Pro | For more info contact http://jeffdurand.net
- @thrill333 (6.3K followers) the University of Miami. 2 National Titles. 12 Years as a Federal Agent.
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@jessiewarmstead Lastest tweet 2018 Official Twitter of Jessie W. Armstead -All-Pro Linebacker #98, 2x Super Bowl Winner & 5x Pro Bowler. NY Giants’ Ring of Honor Member
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@JohnRouth13 (300 followers) Last tweet 2013UM Sports Hall of Fame Exec. Director
Writing Prompts: What coach would you prefer to play for?
- Howard Schnellenberger
- Jimmy Johnson
Howard Schnellenberger’s Website
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Need better notes for the start of the documentary.
Intro: It is all about the U:
Commercial:
Hard to Rally Fans: Struggled in the 1960s and 1970s with football: “I could point my mom out.” Burger King giving away tickets. 6 coaches and 7 athletic directors. Subsidizing the program $1 million.
Accepting the Job: That is when the buzz started. Unbelieve
Make the U logo more recongnizagle than IBM & Branding: Visions, Themes, directions dreams.Every facet had to be made over.
His 1st day on the job. Miami will win a National Championship.
Recruiting: “We Were Going to Win!”: We were sold not sold because we were going to win. Selling his pipe!
Big-Name Coaches: Hired Howard Shellenburger: Don Shula regiment. Super Bowl like enthusiasm,
The Early 80s Turmoil & Racial Division: Every couple years there would be a riot. “They beat him like a dog.” Currupt: drugs and prostutition.
Arthur McDuffie Riot: Like a dog they beat him.
My high school was in the zone. The city was burning.
Neville Johnson Riots 1982 Combat zone.
If you are black, your not really 1st class.
“Football was a way out of the hood.”“It is a right of passage. A way of life.” Football in his crib. China gymnastics football in the city of Miami.
7 or 8 years old (Possible CTE test)
Robert Bailey: I was a bad kid, always in the strett. It went well with what I did. It is the sport of choice in this area.. High school football was more populated.” Old ladies yelling at you. Betting on the side. I got $20,000 riding on this game.”
Big Crowds: Playing the game in front of 2,000 – 3,o00 games. They move the game to the Orange Bowl. That is the pressure of high school football.
Betting on the Side: “I need you to score a touchdown. I got $20,000 riding on a high school game.” That is crazy. Scared some ganster was going to come to the house because the boy dropped the ball.
Win the State of Miami “We declared it our state.”: More kids sign Division I scholarships per capita than any other state in the union. We were going to be the most expert of all the schools. We were going to keep all nine of our coaches in South Florida. Bring in kids that are good. Put those people in the stands. A new group of football fans were developed.
Recruiting Plan. Attached the program to the inner-city. They would never lose a game in 20 years. He attached the U to the inner-city. Competing coaches: Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz
A White Guy in your Neighborhood: Very intimidating. You don’t have no tradition. Escorted in by 12 people.
Leaving a Pipe: For the very good ones we were recruiting. I wanted to come back. It was done on purpose, but not for everybody. It was done on purpose.
The Class of 1983: The class of 83 was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of a thing. They called each other and said were coming too and we will be really good. Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton. Once they committed, everyone else in the class feel in line. We will be cool in Miami.
Play in the Salad Bowl: Don’t go there BUT, Turned out to be the best decision of my life. We can do this together.
Demographics: We changed the demographics of how that neighborhood was. It is getting kinda dark in here. “Life was totally different. It is not all poverty, hearing sirens throughout the night. It made you want a piece of it. They would stop us because we are dark. We took all the negative stuff and listen we got to come together and stick together. We are going to put this team on the map.”
Stop us because we are “Dark”: Let’s go slow through Coral Gables.
We are going to put this team on the map.
5th Year National Championship January 1, 1984 Nebraska vs. I guess that year all the stars lined up. It was an opportunity to play for the National Championship.
The stars aligned: Lost the 1st game.
Nebraska is “The greatest college football team in history.”
Freshman Quarterback: “I came out aggressive. I knew it was his 5th year. A 5-year plan. I did not want to let him down.
It was the 1st time the city of Miami was represented in the Orange Bowl by the University of Miami.”
Pre-historic: They had never seen a pro-style offense.
Fumbleruski: “If they run that gimmicky play, it shows they are desperate and we are going to win the game.”
The Decision: 31 -30 Nebraska Go for 2. (now we have OT)
ONE PLAY:
Coaches Poll: (writers decide by vote) It has been announced: Coach carried off the field. It was a great feeling.
Celebration Parade (Who has been to one?) “You are here to celebrate yourselves and our great community.” Politicians. Older woman.
Community Impact: They made a city forget, racial riots, drug wars. Miami college football has brought everyone together.”
The brand: “It caught the athletic department by surprise.”
Cinderella Coming to the Ball / The Impact of Sports Success: Poetry is written about. Cinderella.
I learned of the business of sports.
USFL (24:00) Big Decisions I had the opportunity to become part-owner, GM, and coach of the Spirit of Miami. It never materialized. I will be looking toward a new opportunity and a new future.
“I am going to be the biggest fan,” Coach resigns, Tears down his sandcastles.
Jimmy Johnson: “I am Jimmy Johnson. I am not someone else.” He came in with a chip on his shoulder. Lilly white twang, How does your hair stay perfect in 100% humidity, 92 degrees?
Tough Start: “He lost 9 games. In the 1st year he lost 5 games.”
1st Black Coach & Coach’s Charateristics: Jimmy understands people. “Gold teeth. He was the 1st black coach. He understood. The father wasn’t there.” He became the father figure.
The Bond between a Coach & Player:
4-3 Defense: 4-3 defense Made Miami a dominant defense.
Running up the Score:
“We became the U.” “Take a knee for 4 down and punt.””I can only coach one team. If that meant winning by 50 points. The back-ups were fresh. I can’t defend the other team playing poorly.”Humiliate a coach 58 -7. “How can you criticize us for playing well.”
“86 team is the finest collection of talent. team I have ever seen.”
Brian Bozworth: Call Brian Bozwoth. “We just giving you a wake-up call. We gonna kick your ass. They call Jamelle Halloway. The Warriors Come out and play.
Coin Toss and microphones: Refuse to shake hands. Microphones “can’t.’ Some of the language is was just not right. We are going to take a shellacking for that.
We were the Ali’s of that era. Not only were we going to beat you up. We were going to talk to you.
They were nasty. They would bite and kick. The would do whatever it took to win.
Chants: Bye Bye Bozworth! We were going to win and we will fight you in the parking lot.
Is he a Miami guy? Is he a Miami guy? A Miami guy is a guy that plays with a chip on his shoulder. No more Hurricanes. They wanted us off the schedule.
Scared White America: So many brothers on the team. Miami scared the hell out of white America. There style of play was like a motor cycle gang running roughshod over a church picnic. ”
Cosby Show most loved to most hated.
“We were confident. We were cocky. And we were talented.”
Controlled Bravado & Swagger: “It’s called swagger. The bigger the stage the bigger we played. It was almost like a circus. Miami Vice. “I want to see that:” “What you see is one of two things. What I coach you to do. What I allow you to do. He had complete control from day one. He encouraged it. This is college football. Have fun. He had control.”
Coached with Middle Finger Extended: Talk the talk and back it up.
Celebrations: The backflip, Randal Hill – He did the George Jefferson, Why you take your helmet off. I want the girls to see me too. the celebrations were taboo. Student body right. Notre Dame
Best high school celebrations – “celleys”
Too Live Crew and Luther Campbell “Nasty as you Wanna Be. The Bad Boys of Rap and the Bad Boys of Football”: Rappers & Sports: Uncle Luke;s Luther Campbell provided the soundtrack – he helped put the University on the map, just as the players did. Before you know it I was on the sideline, being a mentor. Coach Johnson allowed him on the sideline with us. He was a neighborhood guy. I am being castrated as the worst thing in the world. This and that
“Nasty as you Wanna Be. The Bad Boys of Rap and the Bad Boys of Football people just put that togetherand rolled with it.. We might as well hang out together and be successful together.
Blend of Sports and Entertainment: Luther made us feel like rockstars!! It was all edgy to the way we played.”
No Love for the Home Team / Miami vs. the World: “It was us against the country. We were beating them and beating them bad. 6 times beat the #1 team. Thug U, Gangsters. Winning, that’s all. Those thugs are winning. We were beating the top teams in the country and we were beating them bad.
Miami has played a #1 team 6 times and ALL 6 times won. “You play ball. As long as we are winning. When you are the 1st to do something you are not embraced. Ali was not embraced considered the bad guy
Microwave Dynasty: “The Outlaws, renegades, thugs, hoodlems. They going to have guns and knives “the best
Police Records Problems: Sports Illustrated listed Miami Police Records not athletic record. (Catholics vs. Convicts) “When the spotlight is on you. Melvin Bratton” Steroids, needles, 34 players making long-distance phone calls and not paying for them. (Really????)
It made a lot uncomfortable, of people take sides. Bad Guys make for good press. (Who are the bad guys today?) Borderline racism
Club Manhattan “We were bad boys and we were enjoying being a bad boys. 2 – 3 in the morning. Manhattan “Street mentality take over. I’m coming. We grab our guns and go to club Manhattan. He don’t know these guys have about 30 murders on their resume. Fortunately it didn’t go down. These are real killers. Not make believe killers. These are real hitman. Let’s go home”
The Fatigue Game: Sebastin Imus Bad guys because we are winning. To this day about 95% of the questions is about the fatigue game. We accept to play Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Did that start an uproar. Ironically the canes are working out at the of Arizona “Outlaws.” National Championship T-shirts: Made before
The Infamous Steak Fry: Kicker for Penn State saying jokes. There were racial undertones. Jerome Brown upset. Racial Slurs. It pumped our guys up a little more. All-American #98 in your program. “Did the Japanese go and sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor. Let’s Go.” I left right with them. (Coach Kehoe part of many staffs)
It offended the country. It didn’t matter. The National Championships rests in the balance.
Fiesta Bowl: January 2nd, 1987. We totally dominated on every phase of the ball except for turnovers. 14 – 10 4th down. Heisman Trophy candidate. Vinnie Testaverde. (0 touchdowns . 5 interceptions). Losing the game the way we did on a last second interception. Lonely Place Ohio State kicker semi-final 2022.
Most Devastating Lost: It was the most devastating loss of my high school and college career. We felt like we lost the game. Penn State did not beat us. Alzono Highsmith was laying on all fours weeping. He was the baddest dude in all the year’s I was there.
Michael Irvin. “I Don’t think I have every hurt like that.”
Most Devasting Loss / We Lost the Game: That was the best team that did not win a National championship. It was the most devastating loss in my career. Michael Irvin. It was a nightmare.
Bad Karma & Overconfidence: I probably wouldn’t have worn the fatigues. The best team to never win. Venture into the land of overconfident. “If you were on the fence. Do I like Miami or do I not like Miami. That gave you a reason to HATE Miami.”
University Pressure: Japan Bowl: “They talking about getting rid or you. Our team played as hard as we could. What about the fatigues? Had we won that game all the students would be buying fatigues.
What about my new contract? I can’t say on camera the words I said to him. I told Sam , settle this contract. I am out of here. We did a new contract. We has a strained relationship.”
Time to play FOOTE ball. Tad Foote changes in the policy: He was the stuffy intellectual Dean Wormer type from trying unsuccessfully to reign in the Animal House Frat.
It was a constant battle: From the hood, bringing you millions of dollars now you going to muzzle us? “We booed the president. We bring you a lot money you can kiss our a*&.” (Jim Calhoun) The personification of “America hates you.”
Jimmy did not have any respect for the president. I don’t that he was comfortable with the inner-city kids. Our swagger. He took the wrong approach. Instead of embracing what we were and using it as a positive, he looked at is as a negative.
Academia vs. Athletics: (Tough Balance) Whether we should be the Ivy League of the south or a Football school.
U Miami Football Players more recognized than Miami Dolphins
Season of Turmoil: “I don’t want to go through a season of turmoil like we just went throuhg in ’86.” It made us a more focused team. We were a more disciplined team. 86 was a great collection of talented individual but we weren’t champions. “If the question is there, the 87 team will answer it!”
We had a perfect year. Everything just clicked. Undefeated. All that mattered was a National Championship. Check out scoreboard graphics.
REsults
Miami #2 vs. Oklahoma #1 “What better and fitting way for the seniors to go out than in front of our hometown crowd. We were destined to win. Melvin Bratton #1 career touchdown scorer (33) at Miami. 33 career TDS). Irvin is open. Touchdown Miami.”
The underdogs are beating the Sooners 17 – 7.
Melvin Bratton 8 – 9 catches. Hey We are going to leave it on the field. If you have to give an arm, give an arm. If you gotta give a leg, give a leg. Catches a pass on the sideline and blows his knee out. He was the heart and sole of that team. You knew it was a bad one.” (Injuries & Insurance) The Secret
Fumblruski (Trick Players) 2:05 to play. Sacked
The Hurricanes, the underdog will win the National Championship. The demons are gone. National Championship Coach: “I can’t feel anything. It is fantastic. They have heart. They showed exactly Everybody throws rocks at us. It is unbelievable.”
Visit to the White House: Bittersweet Melvin Bratton lost millions. President Reagan our #1 (Final Four)
South Florida LOVES Miami: We gave Mod of the people in South Florida love the Hurricanes.
The U vs. the Dolphins: I am a sophomore. I am VIP treatment of athletes. There is a multi-millionaire in line trying to get in. We were bad guys too. So they were like all the drinks were on us. We were the team. We felt like the city was ours.
Florida State (Dion Sanders) vs. Miami: Thursday Night Before a Saturday game. That is when he would drop some special prize that would get us motivated. “I do not feel we are getting respected by one team.”
Pre-Season Polls: “I don’t feel we are getting respected by FSU.” They were #1 after we had won the National Title. It was an insult.
FSU was a little brother (Sibling Rivalries): It was a slaughter. We sent them back to Tallahassee. 31 – 0. “Every once in a while you got beat up your little brother up.” A lot of the guys we grew up with. Same neighborhoods, same high schools.
“Wide Right Crew” A lot of games decided by a field goal. missed field goals (Buffalo Bills). He went wide left. We had them so jacked up they didn’t know what to do. Gators. Lonely Place Ohio State kicker semi-final 2022.
Catholics vs. Conflicts October 5th, 1988: Altercations with Notre Dame. “We hated Notre Dame. We absolutely hated what they stood for. It is the most unchristian environment.” (Lou Holtz)
Both teams run through the same tunnel: “All hell broke lose. And the war started before the kick-off. These two teams still don’t like each other.”
That was the game that caused us a 2nd consecutive National Championship.
Film: “I told you if you go to Notre Dame, you can’t leave it in the officials hands.” Will not happen again – instant replay. If you do not win it is not a rivalry.
“Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” Jimmy Johnson could have won 3 national titles in a row.
Pros: Now being an adult, it was all about the money. Miami was Jimmy’s favorite place. I was born and raised in South Texas. I went to school at the University of Arkansas National Champion on an undefeated team. but my home is South Florida and my school is the University of Miami.
Dennis Erickson 1989 – 1994 “I didn’t know much about Miami. Pulman Washington to Miami is a culture shock. He was given the keys to a Porche and told don’t crash it. We have to keep that going.
The 1-back offense: That offense was trend-setting. With our athletes, It put all the doubts to rest. I learned more things from them.
“Jimmy was a business coach. It was a business. Dennis was a player’s coach. Players loved him…. that allowed us to accept Erickson into our family.”
1989: In ’89 we worked our a$#es off.
“To see the domination. Man, we are that much better than everyone else.” Longest winning streak in Notre Dame history is over.
USF&G Sugar Bowl: #2 Miami vs #7 Alabama (33 – 25)
The Importance of Passion: “It is how we played the game and the passion.”
Make sure the talent is in the right place.
Miami 33 vs. Alabama 25
The Team of the Decade: 3 Different Head coaches won National Championship
Legacy: Seniors depart with 2 trophies. Now you were to be accepted. Now you were a part of starting unit that won a National Title.
Part of a Starting unit that won a National Title.
1990 Season Opener & the Legacy: BYU upsets Miami in 1st game. It was letting your family down. It was letting the whole tradition down. It was letting the Legacy down. “What are you doing?” 1990 Season Opener lost 1st game to BYU. What are you guys doing? Why aren’t you doing this? It was letting the whole family down.
Return to Celebrations (good moves for Prom): We were going back to celebrating. “We did some dirty dancing at Cal.” (The Band Play) It was like having a substitute teacher. He was trying to control 100 pitbulls on the chain. Sometimes successfully, often not.
Coach Erikson’s Attitude: These guys are men. We were a bunch of wild kids. A lot of frustration. We knew we should have been playing for a national championship.
Texas: Cotton Bowl Bulletin Board information: The grab bag had a bail of Cotton: We had endured a lot. We just snapped. “That swagger we are pissed off. A lot of guys says “This place sucks. Let’s just kick their …. and get the …. out of here.” Major intimidation move.
1st Play Robert Bailey “Major intimidation move. The very 1st play I am gonna knock him out. Knocked him out of the game. Could have been one of the biggest hits of they year.” Knocked out cold. “I told ya.” We he did that we said Game on… It was a beat down.”
“They didn’t put up any fight.” Texas is overwhelmed. Total domination.
Biggest beat down Writing prompt.
Personal fouls: They were throwing flags out left and right. Personal Foul. Face Mask. Personal Foul. “We were pirates that game.”
Flag Day in Dallas: Miami had wanted to change it’s image all season long. They have destroyed in one half. America was aghast – 10 penalties – yards 5 personal fouls. “They have destroyed in one half. They had a disgraceful performance.”They have put on a disgraceful performance on the field in the 1st half.
“They don’t deserve to win the championship.
End of the 3rd Quarter: 33-3
It’s All Over: Watching their fans leaving in the 3rd quarter.
Randall Hill had the signature moment of that game. It was totally disgusting as far as I am concerned.. “I am running a go route. You will throw the ball. I have not caught a ball all day. He runs up the tunnel 6 shooters. That was the best effort. “It wasn’t my fault they they built that stadium with a a tunnel. The doors were Don’t blame me. You can blame the architect of the stadium. You can blame Robert Bailey by knocking the guy out, Craig Erickson You can blame the defensive back for not being good enough to cover me. It is just not my fault. ”
The largest lead in Cotton Bowl history 43 point lead.
The Rock Miami Stats: In his time at Miami, Johnson played in 39 games with one start. He recorded 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles. In 1995, Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in criminology and physiology.
Game records: 202 penalty yards.“It doesn’t have any place on the football field and recreate bad memories.” 46-3. “It might have been 90 – 3.
We did what Miami Hurricanes to and that is just beat the crap out of teams in their home.
A great overall win.” Coach speak
Conflict Between Administration and Coaches: If you don’t solve the problem someone else is going to solve it for you. You should be ashamed of the way you play.”
He thought about quitting. Thought about quitting. After 1990 season. He looked as defeated.
“The Miami Rule”: Unsportsmanlike Conduct There is a perception that player actions are out of control. A Miami highlight film. NCAA rule changes. The game had to change. The players had to change- player actions are out of control. NCAA tape – what was prohibited. There is a perception that players are out of control. Half the plays were Miami and we were proud of that. ”
“The kids, they were in stitches watching the film. It was a Miami film.” Miami Rule
- Placing hand by ear
- Going into stands to interact with spectators
- Removal of helmets.
- Bowing at the waist
“For us there was one goal – win the National Championship.”
“State Champs”
1991 One Goal was to win the National Championship: was special
Game 6
Game 8 or 9 it is right there for the taking.
1991 Schedule
“To win every game in college football is almost impossible.” (Results)
This year how many undefeated teams?
The Smoke: Orange Bowl No smoke – Thanks Imis @UM_Sebastian #1 College Mascot borrowed a fire extinguisher from the local. “You get that super strength. Nobody can mess with you that day. Coming out of the tunnel at the Orange Bowl. One of the most memorable moments in football, but in my life. A moment you could put in slow motion.” “You are in a zone. All you can do is hear yourself breathe.” “Once you go through the smoke, your head should be clear and think about nothing but the game.”
“The stadium had a mystic about. It felt like every player was running out with you. Their spirit was there. Like every team that played at the Orange Bowl was running out with you.
“I think for most of us. The problem that we were all afraid of was not losing the game. The problem I was most concerned with the after-party. Of how as I going to maneuver my women around.” pretty sexist
Tradition & Responsibility: 12+ former players. Alumni Pros Cortez Kennedy and Jerome Brown” Everybody the ever played had a responsibility to came back and impart wisdom to the young guys playing there now.”
“They kept bragging about this team. This team did not score a point. touchdown. They kicked a field goal. We killed them early. And we won the national championship.”
22-0. “a rare shutout.”
The turnaround started with Howard Shellenburger Jimmy Johnson, and then Erickson took it out of the stratosphere. George Bush
Everything is not fairly tale. The Miami Hurricanes have 4 National Championship. Everything doesn’t end happily every after. LUTHER CAMPBELL 2 live crew
The Hit Club & “We won’t say that is wrong:” Bounties Nah I would never encourage that. We won’t (C0mment on his attitude) Hit club” Who ever hit someone the hardest, you won the pool for that week. Coach you were on the for the week. $1,500 Tony Rice, Ishmael to knock him out of the game
Touchdowns, big hits, interceptions, fumbles. X amount of dollars out of the pot. So you can buy you a t-shirt. Buy a pair of jeans. What you eating? What you drinking? “We won’t say that is wrong to go and accept a meal. ” He would take care of our meal for us.
If they needed $50 to buy some food. I would never do that. Because that is against the NCAA rules.
NCAAs
- tutiton and books
- room and board
- 3 meals a day during the week
- $30 for weekend
Luther: “Never heard anything like that! “Nah! I would never encourage it. If they needed $50 to buy some food? Nah, I would never give it to because that is against NCAA Rules.”
Going to get car stereos.
By any means necessary: So be it. I knew guys who sold dope (Wesleyan Senior) while they were playing. “We got to eat, we got to eat.” I had a son. I can’t get pampers. I am not going to feel ashamed taking the $200 that was in that the pool.”
NIL Now & Continuity and Change: “When you’re a kid and you can’t afford to buy your own number. That’s pretty bad. Hell we made enough money for the university.”
Football Programs Make Money for the School: “We did win a lot of games. Without question, the success of the football brought in a lot of money for academic programs. $900,000 to the school.” “Every time we win a bowl game, with merchandise. New buildings popping up everywhere. I guess we did that huh?” 1 Billion dollar
Flutie Effect: Aafter the 1st National Championships, applications when up 15%. Potential students are influenced by the football team. Flutie Effect (April 2013) Doug Flutie: A Football Life President he did not want to hear it. It was the football team that brought students in. Foote talked about making Miami the Stanford of the East. Harvard of the South. It was the football team.
Football is what actually put the University of Miami on the map. (Hail Mary see below.) How important are sports in the college selection process.
People want to see good teams go down. Major scandal involving illegal financial aid payments.. “Federal financial aid fraud. He admitted conspiring with 57 players. Bilking the government $220,ooo from 1989 – 1991”
College Application Scandal
Maimi will be stripped 31 athletic scholarships. banned from bowl game for 1 year
That is when they started going away from Florida. They recruited OUTSIDE of Miami. It took away what made the University of Miami, the University of Miami.
Winning Streak Ends: “Washington has done it. The longest home winning streak in football history, is just that history. – freshman class was in the 3rd grade.” “Greatest 6 years of my life.”
College football is different.
Butch Davis National Champs to National Chumps!: It was like making Tad Foote coach. When they made Butch coach they went from National Champs to National Chumps!
- 1st Miami coach to lose his 1st game since Lou Sabin 1977 (Nick Saban)
- 1st Losses: (0-4)
- 2nd straight home game 1st time since 1984
- 1st time lost a Big East home game ever
- Lost 3 home games for the 1st time in nearly 20 years
Broken Beyond Repair: Sports Illustrated Cover: Football program should be canceled.
Orange Bowl torn down (The Old Boston Garden): Look at what we accomplished despite all these setbacks.
They Were Winning: Allowes players to get an education as well as get an education. What allowed kids to get an education as well as play football eased all the tensions in Miami. It brought the community together. – a lot of players they saved – We gave them an opportunity to get an education.
Education is Valuable: For once in their life they were winning. For once in their life, they were doing something they were very, very proud of. When we won, the whole community, the city of Miami won. “It’s a Canes thing.
“It’s a Canes thing and you would not understand.”
“Greatest team in the history of college football.” Longest winning streak 58 straight wins.
The U Like a gang: We are the U. We have created what football is in college.
Pro players “Ed Reed The U – announcement in
Great players EVER! lot of the guys some of the players are the U will greatest players to ever play in the National Football League EVER! Ever.
Most consecutive years with a player picked in the 1st round 14 years 1st round picks
Pioneering Dynasty / Team of the 80s: “Coaches changed and they still won championships.”
Since World War II
“It was a dynasty. They were a pioneering dynasty.” Since WW UU
1983 – 2002 8 National championship games
“It all happens, only at the U.”
52 Butch Davis finished #2
2001 LArry Coker 5th national championship
2008 Orange bowl torn down.[
Mount Everest: Imax
Mount Everest Imax
How Much Does it Cost to Climb Mt. Everest?
Insight to predict Earthquakes.
“My passion for climbing gave me the strength.”
“It has. Those moments on the summit were sacred.”
Scenes:
Top of the World (0:00 –
Opening Credit
Training Begins: For 50 years people failed to reach the summit of Mount Everest 1954.
Jamling Tenzin Norgay (India) – son of sherpa who climbed Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. The 1st thing I learn is the self arrest. (Human Environment Interaction).
This spring Ed will bring an expedition to Mt. Everest. He has climbed Mt. Everest 4 times. I brought together some highly skilled climbers to assist the geological team. I figured Everest would be a cheap place to honeymoon. I call it
Araceli Segarra (Spain) is best know for her skills as a rock climbing. “I prefer climbing mountains. I just love to love to climb. It is my passion, that’s all.” If she makes it to the summit, she will be the 1st Spanish woman in history to do so.”
Katmandu: Kathmandu, Nepal, Roger Billstron (?) geologist who wants to place instruments high on the mountain to We have 3 kinds of gear ½ to ⅔ will be food. “Old helicopter Ed had rented, I figured we could use all the prayers we could.” Human-Enrivonment
Araceli’s passion is climbing the highest mountains in the world. Roger’s mission is understanding how they form.
Helicopter gives a head start of 9,000 feet. “I love to climb the highest mo Roger Billihams is to Understanding how Mountains they form figure out how they form.”
Satellete receivers. It is a life for him geoglogy. W
Making a Mountain: Geographical explanation of the formation of Himilayas. Every 29,028 feet making it the tallest mountain in the world. Understanding the geography to help understand earthquakes. Will make earthquake data more accurate Every year Mount everest is 5 ½ miles above sea level.
Prayer at
60 Yaks go to base camp, the climbers risk attititude sickness so the use aclimitaization Just surviviing at 29.000 feet is an accomplishment.
Those who have died are honored by stone monuments called Choltans honor those who have died.
Honoring a God
Base Camp: Dozen other teams are on the mountain. Ed is concerned there are too many teams with a critical lack of experience!
Most sherpa our blood carries more oxygen. So when I say climbing is in my blood, I am not kidding.
30 people on honeymoon. Head cook is really a funny guys.
Several times a day at basecamp you hear the roar of an avalanche! 150 people have died on Everest about ⅓ have died due to avalanche.
Planning the Accent:
3 Danger Zones:
Ice fall is a frozen river about 500 feet deep. It moves about 4 feet a day. Some of the ice blocks weigh over 40 tons. If they suddenly break loose they can crush you in a heartbeat. We use ladders a lot. It can take some getting used too. “If you look down you wonder how deep is that crevice. I don’t want to find out. The sherpa’s say if you fall through, you will fall all the way to America.” Araceli
Lotzh Face:
Middle We head to middle camp. If you go to fast uou
They get from melting snow. Coughing fits leave with two broken ribs.
Videos brought down to base camp. Paula wanted to see that I was okay!
“Now I am thinking about ice cream and chocolate and a little cream on the topping can be great.”
May 7th: 5 weeks at 22,000 feet acclimatize
Everest is unclimable. Sometime in May you may get a week of calm clear weather that can allow you to sneak up to the summit. Still windy up high, but I choose to sit tight. You wonder of
of the 12 other teams, the largest team is lead by my friend Rob Hall. A very experience Everest climber.
The memory of May 8t will haunt me forever. We watched column of over 50 climbers start a 3 day climb to the summit. I never suspected the nightmare they were heading up to.
2 days later most of the climbers went to the summit. A fierce strorm. Over 2 dozen climbers were scattered on the mountain. Many were too high to return. For the rest it looked pretty grim. People have been caught on the mountain, very few survive storms on Mt. Everest.
17 climbers still trapped on the mountain, including Rob. When night fell the climbers hunkered down for the night. Rob’s wife was 7 months pregnant. We knew some of them would not make it. The next morning we got word 7 climbers were still missing. Rob Hall survived the night. He just couldn’t find the strength to move, but he was not ready to give up. There was nothing I could do for him. I was at Middle Camp. He was at least 2 days away. We connected Rob with his wife in New Zealand. Later they choose a name. Rob went to sleep in sub-zero weather. He did not survive the night.
“I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep. There was nothing I could do for him.”
We connected Rob with his wife in New Zealand. We lost it. Rob went to sleep. He didn’t surrive the night.” They choose a name for their unborn child.
Beck Weathers nearly blind his hand frozen Beck If I fell down, I was going get up. I kept moving until I either hit that camp or walked of the face of that mountain. Beck’s teammates were startled when he made it to camp. The camera team put down their gear. He was so blind and physically weak, we had to support him and physically had to place his feet into every step.
His frostbitten hands had to be amputated. A helicopter rescue dangerous. The only previous attempt ended in a a crash. A captain decided to risk it. Beck’s survival remained in doubt. As we flew The pilot struggled to lift off, finally he did. I was just so grateful to be alive. I literally owe them my life.
8 people had lost their lives in the storm. I realized the my good friend would not be there to see his 1st child born.
Base camp
Suffering a life-changing injury (having both hands amputated.) It started to life our spirits. WE started to think to climb. “It is the mountain that says weather you can climb or not.” They had to try. They followed Ed up to the Ice Fall once more.
It was the hardest thing I had every done. “Climb this mountain like you never climb it before.
A steep wall of ice. After rocketing downhill for a mile, they fall in the crevace.
The less oxygen your mind gets,
May 22nd the team would attempt to summit. “If I have to turn around I will. I will be very careful.”
The final 3,000 feet is know as the death zone. It takes about 12 hours to get to high camp. Ed was going to climb without oxygen. At midnight is was 30 below zero. “In the night, I felt like I was on the moon. I felt completely alone. All I heard was the sound of my breathing.”
Most climbers need bottled water. “You just can’t get enough air. This is what it must feel like when you are drowning. I climb without oxygen because I love the challenge. It is just me and the mountain.”
“I have never been more tired in my life. I say to myself, 10 more steps.”
Hillary Step, when I got past that I knew I was going to make it. I passed them on the way day.
He told us the summit was not that far.
After 12 hours of climbing. I had to really force myself to concentration.
“There were only 100 meters left, but they were the longest 100 meters of my life.”
After 9 long weeks, they made it andAraceli Segarra became the 1st Spanish woman to reach the top of the world. “I realized that I had really done it and I start to feel happy. I wondered if my friends were thinking about me. I wanted to shoot to them “I am okay! I made it!” Araceli Segarra
“I took pictures.”
“I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid. I left a picture of my mother and father and a 10-month old. Prayter flag
“We hurried to see our friends at basecamp.”
They had time to reflect
“I have never been so glad to see someone in my life.
“Looking back I My passion for climbing gave me the strength.”
She put aside her own fears and allowed me to climb.
“I didn’t think getting to the top would change my life. The moments on the summit were sacred. Every since I was a boy I looked up to him. “My son, you As if he knew all along I was worthy of the mountain.”
Southeast Ridge near the summit.
Halfway There
The Storm
The Rescue
Airlift
A Courageous Decision
“The Climb of My Life”
Worthy of a Mountain
End Credit
Ed Viesturs (USA)
Paula – wife of Ed
Rob Hall (USA)
BeckWeathers – Doctor who lost hands to frostbite. He continued to survive for 22 hours. One step at at time
David Breashears (USA)
In the icefalls we use ladders and support systems. (Human-Enrivonment Interaction.) “If you fall in the crevice, you can fall all the way to America!” sherpas
How Kids Turn Pro Discussion Questions
- Describe the sports in your house / bedroom.Answers: Fat Heads (4th grade basketball)
- Favorite trophy
- Most useful experience / event in your development as an athlete. (Camps, club, high school participation, private instruction). Explain. List the name of most influential person.
“Already, Joey has a neon-ready nickname–Joey Baseball–and more than 24,000 followers on Instagram.”
Who are the Top Athletes on Twitter?
Sports Show and Tell
Show and Tell Sports: (Show and Tell Items) This is a great activity for the class to reflect a little about the some of important sports objects in our lives. Students will bring in an item to share with the class. Students will explain the history of the object (how did you get it, where do you keep it) and its significance to you.
Favorite Sports Article of Clothing: In addition to your show and tell item, please where your favorite article of clothing.
Typed reflection – Write a two paragraph essay explaining each item. (30 points) In your answer include the history of the item, the event, and the significance of it in your life.
Item
- A youth sports item: Trophy, team picture, game ball, game puck
T-shirt / Jersey: Wear your favorite sports short and be prepared to talk about i.
Tom Brady with Jim Gray: Westwood One Radio
Tom Brady with Jim Gray: Westwood One Radio
September 25th:
Great defense: “It makes life very difficult for opposing offenses.”
NFL & President’s comments: “I have a great deal of respect… I would hate to have anyone.
Kneel or Stand “Everyone has different beliefs. We all have the freedom to choose. I think that is what makes our country great.”
Boos: They have every right to choose. With love for my teammates, with love for my country.”
Hopefully it continues
A right to protest as long as peaceful. We are all different. We are all unique.
TB12 Method: Veggie Lasagna
Current Events Sports 2017 – 2018
September 24, 2017 National Anthem Protest (ESPN Article)
CNN Coverage of President Trumps criticism of NFL players
9-year old kicked of football team for using a racial slur What would you recommend for a penalty! Have you ever heard slurs in games! Cambridge Ridge & Latin (Patrick Ewing)
January 29th: High school hockey: “Find #20 and take out his knee!”
ACE 100 points
Pat Tillman: ESPN Sports Century
How Kids Sports Turned Pro: Time
Watch Video: Comment.
The following is an article that looks and the finances of youth sports.
Joey Erace knocks pitch after pitch into the netting of his $15,000 backyard batting cage… His private hitting coach, who’s charging $100 for this hour-long session. He’s accustomed to such focused instruction: the evening batting practice followed a one-on-one fielding lesson in Philadelphia earlier in the day, which cost another $100. ($200 in one day + travel)
How do socio-economic factors affect sports?
What sports lend themselves to private instruction?
What are the benefits of private training?
Does private instruction make a big difference? How do you measure it?
Relentless training is essential for a top player who suits up for nationally ranked teams based in Texas and California, thousands of miles from home. “As long as he keeps putting in this work, he’s going to be a really, really solid baseball player at a really, really high level.”
Can you tell at a young age who will become a star?
Already, Joey has a neon-ready nickname–Joey Baseball–and more than 24,000 followers on Instagram. Jewelry and apparel companies have asked him to hawk their stuff. On a rare family vacation in Florida, a boy approached Joey in a restaurant and asked for his autograph. But Joey Baseball has yet to learn cursive. He is, after all, only 10 years old. They snapped a picture instead.
Follow him if you want.
Joey Erace is an extreme example of what has become a new reality for America’s aspiring young athletes and their families. Across the nation, kids of all skill levels, in virtually every team sport, are getting swept up by a youth-sports economy that increasingly resembles the pros at increasingly early ages. Neighborhood Little Leagues, town soccer associations and church basketball squads – have largely lost their luster.
Writing Prompts:
Club Team Members: Who has played on a club team? What sport & teams? Is it worth it?
Non-club team Members: Explain the biggest commit you have made to a sport? Describe your effort and results. Did you notice the “club” players and how would you compare yourself to this group?
Boys Hockey: Bay State Breakers (2/, Advantage (1/)
Girls Hockey: Conquistadors (Hingham)
Baseball: Mariners, Legion
Basketball AAU Boys: New England Blizz (Dedham), Middlesex Magic, Wolfpack
Lax: NESSL, Skip Jacks
The cost for parents is steep. At the high end, families can spend more than 10% of their income on registration fees, travel, camps and equipment. Joe Erace, who owns a salon and spas in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, says Joey’s budding baseball career has cost north of $30,000. A volleyball dad from upstate New York spent $20,000 one year on his daughter’s club team, including plenty on gas: up to four nights a week she commuted 2½ hours round-trip for practice, not getting home until 11:30 p.m. That pales beside one Springfield, Mo., mom, who this summer regularly made a seven-hour round-trip journey to ferry her 10- and 11-year-old sons to travel basketball practice. Others hand their children over entirely. A family from Ottawa sent their 13-year-old to New Jersey for a year, to increase his ice time on the travel hockey circuit. A sponsor paid the teen’s $25,000 private-school tuition. This summer, 10 boys from across the U.S. stayed with host families in order to play for a St. Louis–based travel baseball club.
Written Response: Itemized Sports Expenses
List the expenses you have for a year of sports. Categorized each sport. Include user fees, greens fees, equipment, club membership, club fees. Also hotel stays, gas, travel, and meals. (Try to get a complete list of ALL expenses)
Come up with a total cost.
Fan fees:
Thoughts?
“It’s definitely taken over everything,” says Magali Sanchez, a legal records clerk from San Diego whose daughter Melanie Barcenas, 9 (3rd grade), and son Xzavier Barcenas, 8 (2nd grade), play travel soccer. To help pay for their fees, Sanchez’s husband Carlos, a gas-station attendant, will spend 12 hours on a Saturday carting supplies at tournaments. Practice and tournaments overtake nights and weekends like kudzu–Sanchez says they often have to skip family weddings and kids’ birthday parties. “This sports lifestyle is crazy,” she says. “But they’re your kids. You do anything for them.”
What is the biggest event you had to miss because of Sports?
U2 (Superbowl Half-time Show) for a basketball
HHS Senior Banquet: Club soccer game (???)
A range of private businesses are mining this deep, do-anything parental love. The U.S. youth-sports economy–which includes everything from travel to private coaching to apps that organize leagues and livestream games–is now a $15.3 billion market, according to WinterGreen Research, a private firm that tracks the industry. And the pot is rapidly getting bigger. According to figures that WinterGreen provided exclusively to TIME, the nation’s youth-sports industry has grown by 55% since 2010.
The numbers have been catnip for investors. A top NBA star and the billionaire owner of the NFL’s most valuable team own equity in youth-sports startups. Major media and retail companies are investing in technology that manages peewee schedules. And municipalities that once vied for minor-league teams are now banking on youth sports to boost local economies, issuing bonds for lavish complexes that they hope will lure glove-toting tykes and their families.
How does Starland help Hanover’s Economy?
Some kids thrive off intense competition, and the best players receive an unprecedented level of coaching and training. The travel circuit can also bring people of different backgrounds together in a way that local leagues by definition do not.
But as community-based teams give way to a more mercenary approach, it’s worth asking what’s lost in the process. Already, there are worrying signs. A growing body of research shows that intense early specialization in a single sport increases the risk of injury, burnout and depression. Fees and travel costs are pricing out lower-income families. Some kids who don’t show talent at a young age are discouraged from ever participating in organized sports. Those who do often chase scholarships they have a minuscule chance of earning.
“For better or worse, youth sports is being privatized,” says Jordan Fliegel, an entrepreneur who has capitalized on the shift.
Joey Erace, 10, at home in Mullica Hill, New Jersey on Aug. 8, 2017.“I love working hard,” says Joey Erace, 10, who lives in southern New Jersey but has suited up for baseball teams based in California and Texas. His Instagram account @joeybaseball12 has more than 24,000 followers.
Do you know any Hanover athletes who have made similar commitments to giving everything possible to a sport at an early age? What are the results?
The United States Specialty Sports Association, or USSSA, is a nonprofit with 501(c)(4) status, a designation for organizations that promote social welfare. According to its most recent available IRS filings, it generated $13.7 million in revenue in 2015, and the CEO received $831,200 in compensation. The group holds tournaments across the nation, and it ranks youth teams in basketball, baseball and softball. The softball rankings begin with teams age 6 and under. Baseball starts at age 4.
Entering June, Joey Erace’s Dallas-area team, the Texas Bombers, was third in the USSSA’s 10-and-under baseball power ranking. The Alamo (Texas) Drillers were No. 1. This summer, Luke Martinez, 10, played second base for the Drillers. His family lives in a well-appointed mobile home in south San Antonio. Luke’s mom Nalone cooks for a food truck. Luke’s dad Jerry is a logistics coordinator at a printer and copier company. He works overtime whenever possible to save for Luke’s frequent overnight trips across Texas and to Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida. The family has skipped car payments and put off home repairs to help.
Like millions of sports parents, the Martinezes hope that Luke’s quick bat will lead to a college scholarship. There may be no single factor driving the professionalization of youth sports more than the dream of free college. With the cost of higher education skyrocketing–and athletic-department budgets swelling–NCAA schools now hand out $3 billion in scholarships a year. “That’s a lot of chum to throw into youth sports,” says Tom Farrey, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society program. “It makes the fish a little bit crazy.”
The odds are not in anyone’s favor. Only 2% of high school athletes go on to play at the top level of college sports, the NCAA’s Division I. For most, a savings account makes more sense than private coaching. “I’ve seen parents spend a couple of hundred thousand dollars pursuing a college scholarship,” says Travis Dorsch, founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University. “They could have set it aside for the damn college.”
Still, the scholarship chase trickles down to every level. College coaches are now courting middle-schoolers, and competitive high school teams scout the club ranks. In some places, travel teams have supplanted high school squads as the priority for top players. Kids learn early that it’s imperative to attend travel tournaments–and impress. Katherine Sinclair, 12, has played basketball games in Philadelphia and New York City on the same day, but she embraces the grind. “I don’t have that long until I’m in eighth grade,” she says. “That’s when college scouts start looking at me. It’s when I have to work my butt off.”
The Internet has emerged as a key middleman, equal parts sorting mechanism and hype machine. For virtually every sport, there is a site offering scouting reports and rankings. Want to know the top 15-and-under girls’ volleyball teams? PrepVolleyball.com has you covered (for a subscription starting at $37.95 per year). The basketball site middleschoolelite.com evaluates kids as young as 7 with no regard for hyperbole: a second-grader from Georgia is “a man among boys with his mind-set and skill set”; a third-grader from Ohio is “pro-bound.”
Social-media-savvy parents now build Twitter and Instagram feeds around their young athletes. One such account calls itself “a brand inspired by my 11 yr old son’s unique style and attitude on and off the Baseball Field.”
Children sense that the stakes are rising. In a 2016 study published in the journal Family Relations, Dorsch and his colleagues found that the more money families pour into youth sports, the more pressure their kids feel–and the less they enjoy and feel committed to their sport.
Even well-meaning parents, meanwhile, can find themselves swept up. “You say to yourself, Am I keeping up?” says Rosemary Brewer, a nonprofit executive in Portland, Ore., who has mixed feelings about placing her two sons, 11 and 15, on travel lacrosse teams. “There’s pressure, especially if your kids have some talent. You feel it a little more. But we want the kids to have fun and be with their friends. We have to take a step back and keep asking ourselves, What’s the end goal?”
This parenting experience is new, given that the hypercharged kids’ sports scene didn’t exist on this scale just a few years ago. “When parents enter the youth-sports development complex, they’re naive,” says sports psychologist Jim Taylor. “They absorb the message they hear most: ‘You mean, your kid’s not playing on a travel team? She’s not playing all the time? What’s wrong?'” Taylor, who’s writing a book about youth-sports parenting, has two daughters, 12 and 10, who ski and swim. “It’s hard not to get sucked in,” he says. “Even for someone like myself, a quote-unquote expert on this stuff. Because I’m human. I’m a dad.”
Caption: King-Riley Owens, 9, who is ranked as a five-star prospect by the National Youth Basketball Report, lives in L.A. but has already played in tournaments in Utah, Texas and Nevada. His parents have used GoFundMe to help pay for the travel. If the NBA doesnât work out, King-Riley wants to be a veterinarian. Here King-Rily is photographed at home on Aug. 2, 2017
There are few better places to take the measure of the youth-sports industrial complex than the Star, the gleaming, 91-acre, $1.5 billion new headquarters and practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys. Turn left upon entering the building and you’ll find the offices of Blue Star Sports, a firm that has raised more than $200 million since April 2016 to acquire 18 companies that do things like process payments for club teams, offer performance analytics for seventh-grade hoops games and provide digital social platforms for young athletes.
Blue Star’s investors include Bain Capital; 32 Equity, the investment arm of the NFL; and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who leases Blue Star space in his headquarters. The company’s goal is to dominate all aspects of the youth-sports market, and it uses an affiliation with the pros to help. Blue Star’s logo bears a not-coincidental resemblance to the one seen on national TV every Sunday, and the company’s conference room has a view of the Jones family boardroom. The connection is clear for kids and investors alike.
Other major companies have also entered the fray. The national retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods has acquired companies that specialize in online scheduling and score tracking for youth sports. Last year NBC bought Sport Ngin, a scheduling and social app that had raised $39 million in venture funding, and rechristened it SportsEngine. In August, SportsEngine launched a searchable directory of more than 100,000 youth-sports camps, teams and leagues. Time Inc., TIME’s parent company, launched Sports Illustrated Play after acquiring three youth-sports-software startups. SI Play’s apps now have 17 million monthly unique users. In the past 18 months, investors have plowed over $1 billion into the youth-sports market, according to SI Play CEO Jeff Karp.
The boom has given rise to countless entrepreneurial efforts, from new facilities to recruiting sites to private-coaching outfits. Even during the depths of the Great Recession, revenue for Travel Team USA, a company that books youth-sports travel, continued to double year over year. In 2012, entrepreneur Fliegel launched CoachUp, an app that connects young athletes with coaches. The NBA star Stephen Curry is an investor. “It doesn’t hurt to say Steph’s one of the bosses,” says Victor Hall, a New York City teacher and coach who calls the private hoops lessons he offers through the app a “thriving” side business.
Across the U.S., the rise in travel teams has led to the kind of facilities arms race once reserved for big colleges and the pros. Cities and towns are using tax money to build or incentivize play-and-stay mega-complexes, betting that the influx of visitors will lift the local economy.
That was the thinking in Westfield, Ind., which was hunting for ways to expand the commercial tax base of the small city some 20 miles north of downtown Indianapolis. “We wondered, Is it conceivable to create an industry around family travel sports?” says mayor Andy Cook. Concluding that it was, Westfield issued $70 million in bonds to build Grand Park Sports Campus, a 400-acre complex that opened in 2014 and includes 31 grass and synthetic fields for soccer, lacrosse and other field sports, 26 softball and baseball diamonds, and a 370,000-square-foot indoor facility. The city is hoping that tax revenue generated by new hotels, retail outlets and medical facilities near the park will eventually pay off the debt.
Westfield officials had considered attempting to draw a minor-league baseball team to the city. “That gives you some prestige,” says Cook. “But it’s not really our moneymaker. Our moneymaker is regional tournaments, under 16 years of age. Because they bring Mom, Dad, brother, sister, grandparents.”
The pioneer of this trend is the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which opened in 1997 on the grounds of Disney World in Orlando. The 220-acre venue allows Disney to collect revenue from tournament fees, hotel stays and theme-park tickets, while giving it another way to win the hearts–and future wallets–of its youngest customers. Business is thriving. Wide World of Sports hosted 385,285 athletes in 2016, up 28% since 2011.
Who has been to ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex
Sometime this winter, the Sports KingDome, a facility with 347,000 sq. ft. of indoor space–enough to fit a dozen multisport fields, or six Little League baseball fields–is slated to open on the site of a former IBM campus in East Fishkill, N.Y., some 70 miles north of New York City. It will become one of the largest domes on the planet, and the owner plans to auction naming rights to the highest bidder. The $25 million, all-weather complex will allow families in the populous northeastern U.S. to play travel soccer, lacrosse and baseball 12 months a year, just like they do in the Sun Belt.
Caption: me where her father Carlos made a practice field for her in their backyard, on Aug. 3, 2017.Melanie Barcenas, 9, practicing in her San Diego backyard, hopes to follow in the footsteps of the superstar Neymar. “He plays just like me,” she says. Melanie plays multiple soccer games most weekends. To save money, her family stays in a hotel only if a game is more than a four-hour drive from home. Finlay MacKay for TIME
Would that be so bad? Many families say they enjoy the travel-sports experience. Parents bond with one another. Kids make new friends. “We have friends and family tell us that it’s too much, too soon,” says Jerry Martinez, Luke’s father. “But this is his passion. I’m not going to stomp on it.” Related 59th GRAMMY Awards – Press Room celebrities Solange Deletes Twitter Account With a Call to Action
There are mounting concerns, however, over the consequences of such intensity, particularly at young ages. The average number of sports played by children ages 6 to 17 has dipped for three straight years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. In a study published in the May issue of American Journal of Sports Medicine, University of Wisconsin researchers found that young athletes who participated in their primary sport for more than eight months in a year were more likely to report overuse injuries.
Intense specialization can also tax minds. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “burnout, anxiety, depression and attrition are increased in early specializers.” The group says delaying specialization in most cases until late adolescence increases the likelihood of athletic success.
Devotion to a single sport may also be counterproductive to reaching that holy grail: the college scholarship. In a survey of 296 NCAA Division I male and female athletes, UCLA researchers discovered that 88% played an average of two to three sports as children.
Other consequences are more immediate. As expensive travel teams replace community leagues, more kids are getting shut out of organized sports. Some 41% of children from households earning $100,000 or more have participated in team sports, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. In households with income of $25,000 or less, participation is 19%.
One weekend in early June, all eyes were on Joey Baseball. “Is that him?” a rival player asked his coach. Yes, indeed, it was Joey Erace of southern New Jersey in the flesh, warming up on a field in the town of Sulphur, La., where he had flown to play for the Texas Bombers at a regional tournament.
In addition to Joey, the Bombers imported two star players from California and a power hitter from Mexico, who smacked a moonshot home run in a preliminary-round game. Bombers coach Lale Esquivel, who won the College World Series at the University of Miami in 1999, makes no apologies for running his team like a professional outfit. “I can see talent at a young age,” Esquivel says. “My son is special. I want to surround him with the best kids from across the country. In return, playing on my team is going to help your son. Do we win? Of course we win. If I’m going to be investing all this time and money, we might as well win.”
Still, amid the plane rides, autograph requests and high-pressure tournaments, there are moments when things lurch into perspective. At one point during the weekend in Louisiana, Joe Erace tucked Joey’s pants in for him and paused. “Sometimes when I’m getting on him a bit,” he says, “my wife reminds me that Joey still thinks a big fat guy in a red suit delivers presents all around the world.”
Little League World Series
The Little League World Series is a sign that summer is winding down and school is around the corner. So many young Americans participate in Little Baseball and Softball.