SportsChallenge Alliance: Overtime!

Coaches: Listen to the General

2010-09-07T10:15:00.003-04:00

By David Danzig

Coaches could learn a lot from the way that General David Petraeus was able
to implement the "surge" of troops and change the tide of the Iraq war.

In sports terms, Petraeus can be seen to have inherited a culture of losing
when he took command of all coalition forces in Iraq in 2007. As chronicled
in Tom Ricks' book "Fiasco" and Greg Jaffe and David Cloud's "The Fourth
Star," when Petraeus took over, there was an overwhelming sense among troops
on the ground that the war effort was "drifting" and that the mission was
beyond reach.

Petraeus' first job was to set achievable goals, an undertaking often
discussed in sports but rarely seriously undertaken. For two years he
labored with his aides at a Fort in Kansas, devising a counter-insurgency
strategy designed to "win" the war. But winning on Petraeus' terms would
look a lot different than it had previously. It was no longer about killing
foreign fighters; it was about securing the population at home.

Under his leadership, his commanders saw that they were never going to win
the war by chasing around terrorists and capturing or killing them. The
collateral damage was just too great. This method of fighting produced more
enemies than it conquered.

Instead, Petraeus and his top aides launched a new strategy. They sought to
win the war by playing defense -- building small, secure posts in the middle
of cities and villages designed to prevent al Qaeda and insurgents from
terrorizing the local population. They no longer chased the bad guys around
the country and counted success by the number of kills, but rather saw their
job as holding ground and preventing civilian deaths.

Recasting the "game" in this way was revolutionary for the commanders he
supervised. A war that seemed un-winnable now seemed like it might be
worthwhile after all.

Petraeus saw his job as one that focused not only on finding the right
strategy to win the war but -- just as importantly -- communicating that
strategy clearly to the troops so that they would understand where their
leadership was taking them and why.

As Jaffe and Cloud point out, Petraeus realized that the more he focused on
"staying on message," the more likely he was to send clear signals to the
troops. For example, Petraeus asked for an update on one obscure electrical
tower in a particular commander's region during every flag officer staff
meeting. Time and time again, Petraeus would take time out from strategic
discussions to ask about the lone tower. Was it fixed? Where were the parts
coming from?

The point, as Jaffe and Cloud say, was not that Petraeus particularly cared
about this tower, but as the 1-star General struggled to answer Petreaus'
questions about it, every other 1-star General in the room thought to
himself, "I better be sure that my towers are functional because I don't
want to become the focus of his questioning."

Both of these books are filled with other excellent examples of how Petraeus
used his role as a leader to inspire others to fulfill seemingly impossible
tasks. See, for example, a great story about how Petraeus was shot during a
training exercise, required emergency evacuation by helicopter, followed by
life-threatening surgery on his chest, and then managed to convince doctors
to release him from the hospital three days later by doing more than 100
push-ups in a row!

Petraeus has moved on from his role in Iraq and is rumored to be considering
a run for President. Lucky for those of us who are coaching that he is not
considering a job in the sports world!

David Danzig is a long-time friend of SportsChallenge and a former basketball coach at the Edmund Burke School in Washington D.C. He has been trained by the Positive Coaching Alliance. Currently, he coaches in Rome, Italy and works for Human Rights Watch.

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Nine: Loyalty

2010-08-27T10:13:00.003-04:00

Just like summer, Coach Berg's blog series is ending all too quickly. Here is the final chapter in her 2010 SC Themes revisited series.

SUMMER THEME: LOYALTY

At the end of the SC Leadership Academy, we send off the student-athletes with a theme to focus on throughout the rest of the summer. This summer’s theme is loyalty—to our friends, family, academics, sport’s teams, and most importantly to our self. Although the coaches cannot see how the student-athletes are doing with this theme post SC, loyalty was present throughout the nine-day Leadership Academy. About one in four student-athletes were returnees from the year before. Moreover, about 90% of the coaching staff was either a returning coach from the year before and/or SportsChallenge student-athlete alum! There is a saying that goes, “If you want to know how good of a coach you are, see how many of your athletes come back next season.” With such a large number of returning coaches and student-athletes, SportsChallenge has proven itself to be a unique, positive environment that keeps adults and teenagers alike coming back to learn more. May we all be willing to have that same loyalty to our future endeavors—on and off the field/court.

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Talk about loyalty, 90% of the SC staff in 2010 were returning student-athletes or coaches.

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Eight: Resilience

2010-08-24T23:04:00.000-04:00

DAY 8: RESILIENCE

Perhaps one of the most important life skills a person can develop is the ability to bounce back after a loss. The best example of resilience at Summer Academy had to be the white team during the “SportsChallenge games”—a sort of SportsChallenge Olympics which divides all 120 student-athletes into four teams: red, white, yellow, and blue. This year’s competitions included dodgeball, Capture the Egg (i.e. capture the flag except with eggs), a water balloon toss, and a dance competition. The white team was in last place after the first event—the dodgeball tournament. Then, the white team bounced back and won the entire SportsChallenge games for the first time ever in SportsChallenge Summer Academy history! Three claps for the white team!

~Coach Molly Arenberg

"The best example of resilience at Summer Academy had to be the white team

during the 'SportsChallenge games'"

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Seven: Following

2010-08-19T18:11:00.003-04:00

DAY 7: FOLLOWING

You may be confused to see “following” as a theme-of-the-day for a leadership academy. However, understanding when to follow is just as important as great leadership. After all, a leader by definition is a person who guides and influences a group of people—a group of followers. And one of the most important indicators of success of a leader is that very first person willing to follow. At SportsChallenge, Coach Stafford talked to the student-athletes about what makes a good follower. A good follower is an active participant within the group. She/he is willing to not only back-up the ideas of the leader, but also willing to contribute new ways to improve upon the leader’s idea. A great follower is involved actively in the betterment of the leader and the group.

Coach Stafford talks about "following" at evening forum.

The best example of following from Summer Academy would have to be every single student-athlete that attended the 2010 academy. Every coach agreed that this particular group of student-athletes quickly and eagerly embraced the SportsChallenge way. Part of the coaching staff’s goal is to lead the student-athletes to a point where they are confident in their ability to lead amongst their peers. This was only successful with the active participation of every student-athlete as a follower of their coaches and the life lessons SportsChallenge presented to them.

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Six: ENERGY

2010-08-18T22:26:00.004-04:00

DAY 6: ENERGY

Morning Vitamins sessions were a daily energizer at SC

The energy at SC is contagious. I think one of the most energetic moments this summer was when the coaching staff challenged the student-athletes to an obstacle course during the morning vitamins session—testing speed, quickness, agility and strength. The student-athletes and coaches were cheering for each other non-stop and pushing their bodies to the limit! To the coaching staff’s dismay, the student-athletes won! Good work programmers!

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Five: BALANCE

2010-08-17T21:53:00.002-04:00

DAY 5: BALANCE

Whether it is balancing commitments to school, a sport’s team, work, family or friends, learning how to balance daily responsibilities is an ongoing challenge presented throughout life. Halfway through the Leadership Academy, all the student-athletes got a twenty-four hour period of rest. Adequate rest time is just as important as hard work, and the student-athletes took full advantage of their break period. Some student-athletes socialized with their new diverse group of friends, some watched Avatar in the St. Andrew’s theater, and some slept in. My Marquette University Cross Country coach Mike Nelson once told me, “The next most important thing to working hard is adequate rest time afterwards.”

~Coach Molly Arenberg

SC Student Athletes enjoy a little time off in the St. Andrew's theater.

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Four: COMMUNICATION

2010-08-16T21:32:00.004-04:00

DAY 4: COMMUNICATION

In athletics, there ought to be constant communication both verbal and non-verbal, between players, coaches, teammates, etc. One of my favorite parts of SportsChallenge is the prevalence of non-verbal communication among the coaches and student-athletes. Everywhere you go, you will see people giving each other high-fives and fist bumps! Coach Garcia of the girls’ basketball program even made up her own handshake that she did with each of her student-athlete advisees whenever they saw each other!

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Coach Drury encourages using non-verbal communication.

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Three: EMPATHY

2010-08-15T20:25:00.003-04:00

DAY 3: EMPATHY

The ability to place yourself in another person’s shoes is an invaluable life skill. The strength of the relationships we develop in our families, at school, at work, and on our sport teams is greater when we can see the world through another person’s eyes. Empathy is an opportunity to step outside of our world and better understand the thoughts and feelings of those around us.

One of my favorite examples of empathy throughout the Summer Academy was when the girls’ basketball program and the girls’ soccer program joined to play the other program’s sport for a training session. The girls’ basketball program ended up playing an all-time favorite soccer shooting exercise, “power-finesse.” The girls’ soccer program ended up playing the basketball shooting exercise, “knock out.” To further emphasize the theme-of-the-day, the coaches literally put themselves in another person’s shoes and swapped gear for the training session. The basketball coaches were decked out in soccer shorts, shin guards, soccer socks, and cleats. The soccer staff could have fooled any b-baller as they were fashioning jerseys, basketball shorts, sweatbands, and basketball shoes.

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Coach Berg's 2010 Themes Cont'd, Part Two: FOCUS

2010-08-14T12:00:00.004-04:00

DAY 2: FOCUS

The ability to focus is paramount in the classroom and during competition. One of the most important parts of the Summer Academy are the advisory meetings on the second day. The advisory meetings are when the student-athletes sit down and really think about what they want to focus on and get out of their nine days at SportsChallenge. Each coach is an advisor for four student-athletes.
This summer, almost all of the student-athletes made a goal of participating at least once in every leadership and sports psychology class. What a great goal to focus on during the classroom portion of the Summer Academy! If the student-athletes gained the confidence to raise their hand in class at SportsChallenge, imagine how much more they’ll get out of their school classes at home!

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Be sure to check out Part Three tomorrow!

The Themes of 2010

2010-08-12T22:03:00.005-04:00

Every year at Summer Academy, the evening is highlighted by a “theme-of-the-day.” Presented as a challenge for the student-athletes to embrace their next day, the theme-of-the-day is a characteristic that helps define leadership. After two years as a coach and two as a student-athlete, Molly Arenberg is a “theme-of-the-day” veteran. So, who better to re-live this year’s Summer Academy by recounting our theme-of-the-days than the Marquette soccer star herself?

INTRO/DAY ONE

One hundred twenty high school student-athletes, 40 coaches, 24 athletic training sessions, 12 sports psychology and leadership classes, nine days, two college prep seminars, one leadership academy—one SportsChallenge family. There are many ways to try to quantify and describe the 2010 SportsChallenge Summer Leadership Academy. Unlike any other sports camp, SportsChallenge nearly doubles the typical four to five day sport camp in length and intensity. In order to focus the student-athletes for each of the nine days, there is a designated “theme-of-the-day” presented each day of the program. I think the best way to catch a glimpse of this summer’s Leadership Academy is to take a look day-by-day, theme-by-theme.

DAY 1: RISK

Right away, SportsChallenge encourages the student-athletes to take risks throughout their stay—on and off the field/court. Most student-athletes take advantage of the safe SC environment to make mistakes on the field/court and learn from them. However, if you ask a student-athlete a time at SportsChallenge when they most enjoyed taking a risk, they would indubitably tell you a story about a time they participated in the SportsChallenge original pompine.

Pompine is a game where a challenge (e.g. sing a song during a meal, perform a skit at evening forum in front of the entire program, eat a piece of orange peel) is presented by a “pompinator.” The pompinator counts to three, and everyone shows a number between zero and five with their hand. All the numbers are added up, and the pompinator counts around the participating group up to that number. Whoever it lands on loses (or wins… beauty is in the eye of the beholder). My favorite pompine was when Coach Schirmeister had to eat her lunch without using her hands! It was entertaining to say the least!

~Coach Molly Arenberg

Re-live Summer Academy daily through Coach Berg’s theme-of-the-day posts as she reflects on each day of camp!

Reflection From an SC Alumnus!

2010-07-04T08:54:00.004-04:00

Eric, Sports Challenge Alumn ('02, '03), has been coming back to SC the past two summers to help out and take photographs of SportsChallenge in session.
Below, Eric shares his experience of coming back to SC!!!

Seven or eight years ago my family and I, together, made the two-hour drive up to Middletown from DC. For the past two years, I have been making the drive myself. Although the drive has changed a little, (Middletown now has a Wal-Mart, etc.) the one constant that remains is the nervous energy that builds in my stomach as I turn onto Silver Lake road just a mile away or so from the St. Andrews.

I arrive a little after lunch Friday afternoon and although it’s siesta time, the SC student-athletes can be seen practicing dance moves for the grand finale of color wars later that evening. The white team, led by coaches L. Caldwell, Hartheimer, Weinfield, Polykoff, Griffith, McGarvey, Garcia, Hare, Barrera and Garcia appear to be in organized chaos. As Coach Polykoff shows off his impressive moves from “Thriller”, a handful of people are gathered doing the Soulja Boy and student-athletes Sean Brown and Malcolm Williams practice singing their duet for Coach Koster, a judge for the performance.

Shortly before 3 p.m. the teams break up for an intensive two and a half hour afternoon of Athletics. As I enter the gym to begin my volunteer task of taking pics, I find myself immediately wanting to jump in with the girls program for a game of dribble tag but have to remind myself to keep my lens focused. The girls work on their shooting form in small groups as Coaches Drury, Griffith, Carden, Garcia, JP and Gomez walk around to critique and encourage.

After satisfying my basketball fix, I make my way out to the pitch. The boys soccer program immediately catches my attention as soccer balls fly from side to side across the row of tennis courts as part of a “soccer tennis” tournament set up by Coaches Dean, Gonzalez, Weinfield, Nolan, Barrera, A. Galvan and C. Galvan. Directly adjacent to them, the girls are running around playing a game called “haveit” where the object of the game is to literally try and run circles around your teammates, accruing points for each lap, while the other team passes the ball between their legs and over their heads as quickly as possible. Coaches Gibson, Roberts, Arenberg, Caldwell, Hare and Holle look on, encourage and keep tally while Coach Schirmeister runs full speed with one of the teams all the while encouraging at the top of her lungs.

The sun sets as the student-athletes filter into the cafeteria for some suppertime nourishment and last minute preparations for SportsChallenge’s version of America’s Best Dance Crew. By 8:05 the auditorium is overflowing with energy and excitement as the performances begin. A Journey remake, drag queen Lady GaGa, break dancing, and three incredible a capella performances highlight the night as the white team and their MJ moves take home the gold. After the show, it’s off to bed, for some much needed sleep before another long day.

By seven a.m. the student-athletes have lined the court for morning an agility, strength and conditioning workout aptly named “Vitamins” for the SC athlete. They fly through it with quickness and determination and carry the energy straight into two Athletic sessions and leadership class for the day.

In the afternoon, I make way to the basketball courts where coaches McGarvey, Roach, Shay, Grell, Deasey, Hyde and Polykoff are leading the boys program through a couple drills before their playoff tournament to decide who will be crowned the 2010 SC champion. Each game is intense and well fought but Team Paparazi led by Coach Deasey rises to the occasion to claim victory in the Championship game. Tired and exhausted after a second long day, I try to relax before waking up to say goodbye to one more summer at SC.

The quality of learning, character building, athletic training, and fun that I experienced over the past two days has been a constant fixture over the eight years I have known SC. It is as constant as the nervous energy I will get next year when I make the drive again.

-Eric Schlein

"It's All About Your Mentality"

2010-07-01T10:31:00.004-04:00

Mark Puma, from (AMC, New York), describes to a few coaches how his role as a leader is different here at SportsChallenge than it is back home.

"You learn so much. You think all your going to do is sports, sports, sports,…and it’s not all about that--it’s about your mentality. Some people, they could be the best players, but if they don’t have that mentality, they can’t go that far or be a team player. You can't be selfish or not want to give something to the program. Here you learn that with a team, you’re going to get further than you could by yourself. It’s better to be united as whole team than as an individual."

Mark participating in his afternoon Leadership class.

Questioner: Are you the captain of your team team in New York?

Mark: No

Questioner: Do you feel like a leader?

Mark: Yeah, in a way...I try to push other people do better. Not only skill wise, but outside too, like schoolwork. I sometimes help them out with their schoolwork, and their problems.

Q: What about here at SC?

Mark: Here, I start new, and I work on getting to know people, and I’ve worked on figuring out my spot on the field. I like meeting the different types of people.

Q: What type of leader you’ve become?

Mark: I think I mostly lead by example. It motivates me even more to see them working hard if I know they’re following my lead.

Q: Have the coaches here been different?

Mark: Well, here they make sure you get better, and that you’re working on it. For example, I kicked the ball and I over shot it, and they taught me to lean towards the ball more, so that it doesn’t go as high.

Mark P. (part of the White Team), tagging someone for "Capture the Egg"
After the second part of SportsChallenge games, the White Team led the way in first place.

Finding Your Voice and Valuing Others' Perspectives

2010-07-01T10:28:00.010-04:00

Well, I feel that here at SportsChallenge I have to be more vocal, because I know I’m a shy person. I’ve learned to step up out of my shell, and communicate--and if I don’t, my ideas won’t come out. If I don’t step up I know I won’t get better at what I’m doing.

As a female, you have to work hard. When you play coed, you have to play a little aggressive with boys. They just think they have the control – you have to prove to them you can be a leader – you have to speak your ideas, play aggressively, and motivate your team.

In class, I’m usually quiet – now I raise my hand more, instead of the teacher having to call on me. When we set our SMARRTE goals, my advisor made it really specific and told me how many times a day I should try to speak out.
My advisor and I set the goal to speak once to three times in class...and on the field I play defense, so my goal has to been to tell them to push up more, or come back.

In my Sports Psychology Class, we did an activity called "human knot". We were tangled, and this kid Bader was in my class, and he’s usually the one who steps out and talks. The teachers though, said he couldn’t talk for this exercise. Everybody, including me, started to talk more, and I felt that was an opportunity for me to speak up more. I learned that you have to be able to listen well, and speak just at once.

This has been really different than Bell. At Bell, there’s a lot of Hispanics, and El Salvadorians. Here though, there are folk from Philadelphia, and New York.
I think it’s cool that our roommates are basketball players, because we have to step in there shoes, and get to know them. I also think it’s cool that we switch up sports, and get to play with them.

I learned that we speak different languages. We talk slang, but their slang is way different from DC. When we say a word, they’re like "what??"
Since your so used to your DC people, it’s a good opportunity to step to the other side and see how they speak, and their language.

-Elsa (Bell, Washington DC)

SportsChallenge Alumna Describes How SC Has Helped Her on Her College Soccer Team

2010-06-30T16:03:00.006-04:00

Coach Celeste (right), coaches her players to not lean back too far when striking the soccer ball.

Did you learn things at SportsChallenge that helped you once you started playing on your college team?
"Yes! I remember my first year here in '05 as a student athlete, I came with my sister and a lot of other BAYSL girls. The biggest thing I needed to work on was my tone of voice, which is ironic because now I’m teaching class on exactly that! When I play, and get frustrated, I have a very hard time trying to correct people without criticizing them much. I remember Coach Nakamoto and Coach Koster pulling me aside and saying that this is something to work on. For the communication day, that was my goal. That has helped me soooooo much now. I was the worst. My motivation wasn’t to upset people, but to push them to my expectations. Now, I’m better at speaking to people as we’re playing and as we’re on the field. I’ve learned how to speak on the field. I still try to work on it now, especially as a coach. I’m trying to work on how to address players.

It has been a huge help on my college team – I’m so much better at speaking to teammates.

This year, I plan to bring the SMARRTE goal sheet to my team at college to fill it out at the beginning of the season. So we’re all on the same page, all have a goal, and all have a plan that we can look back at. I’m also going to bring back some of the team building exercises, just to build team comrades."
-Coach Celeste (Alabama A&M University)

How SportsChallenge is Unique

2010-06-30T15:13:00.008-04:00

Benny (left) encourages Coach Polycoff and others on their squat jumps

SportsChallenge is different from other camps because of it's attention to the little details that other camps fail to pay attention to. The psychology classes are one of the key ingredients that set SportsChallenge aside from all of the other camps. The classes portray the emotion of positivity, which automatically helps you on the court/field. Not only do the classes ooze with positivity, but the general vibe from both the coaches and the players exhibits that everyone wants to be here and wants to get better. From a first time SportsChallenger, I can honestly say that the general feeling/vibe attaches you right away, and doesn’t let go. If you have to do a penalty run, you have 29 other guys cheering you on; if you are the last one to finish a stretch, you have 29 other guys clapping it up for you till you finish. The encouragement from the players and coaches alone sets SportsChallenge aside from other camps.

-Benny, (The Calhoun School, New York)

SMARRTE GOALS

2010-06-30T10:58:00.005-04:00

Here at SportsChallenge, we teach SMARRTE goals. Not smart goals, SMARRTE goals!!
Kaneesha and Karen describe goals they made for the 9 day program, and these goals are the perfect example of SportsChallenge SMARRTE goals.
SMARRTE goals consist of being:
Specific
Measurable
Accountable
Reach
Realistic
Time
Effort

Today in my basketball elective I worked on post entry passes. Basically, you get around a defender to pass to the high post, and you have to look at your target before you pass, and you have to focus. You can’t waste your dribble, and you have to get shoulder to hip to draw contact, and create space.

Goals:
My goal for the week is to meet two new people during lunchtime, and I’ve achieved that. I think I want to get to know them more now...more than just their name and where they’re from.

My athletic goal is make smarter decisions in passing and offense. I’m going work on that little by little, by paying attention to the little details, and really use communication with my teammates. Knowing who has the ball, and who has which offensive player guarded.

-Kanecia (High School for Health Professions and Human Services, New York) and Karen (Long Island City High School, New York)

Sports Psychology Classroom Debates

2010-06-30T10:03:00.010-04:00

Questioner: We’re here with Malcolm and Kaiza, returning SportsChallenge athletes, and members of Sports Psychology 206. What were you guys up to in class today?

Malcolm: We were debating our opinions about certain topics, and whether or not it was inside or outside of our circle of control.

Kaiza: That’s the general idea of what we did.

Questioner: Can you give me an example of something you debated?

Kaiza: Luck! We debated whether or not luck was inside of our control. We got into a pretty heated debate, with a lot of good input from both sides.

Malcolm: Out of all the topics, luck was the most heated argument, and it brought out the most ideas from everybody.

Kaiza: A lot of different angles to approach it from.

Questioner: What were some other hotly debated topics?

Kaiza: Team chemistry. There were a lot similar to this that you could go both ways on – many where I had to have an internal debate first.

Questioner: Were you surprised by the debates?

Kaiza: Surprised by some of the rebuttals – people had interesting ways of tackling the prompt.

Questioner: what has been your biggest take away from classes so far

Malcolm: Honestly, I’ve made sure that based on the debates we’ve had, I’ve learned how to take in others opinions. …I can empathize how they feel about the situation, and compare to how I feel about the situation. It shows me how others think.

Kaiza: Similarly, it’s taught me how to be open minded, and not just to look at things from my point of view, but others.

Kids debate in their Sports Psychology Class about what is in their "Circle of Control"

Student-athletes also spent a lot of time discussing the fact that referee's calls are outside their circle of control; by recognizing that a referee call is outside their circle of control, the students supported the idea that they should not waste energy worrying about a bad call.

(Malcolm-Urban Dove, New York; Kaiza-California)

Sharing Personal Experiences

2010-06-29T20:43:00.002-04:00

The class I am taking is about stereotypes and cross-cultural communication. We discuss stereotypes that exist towards groups of people. It is really interesting because the class is very diverse, and every student has a different opinion on most subjects. One thing that we all agree on is that stereotypes are bad. Coach Edwards, one of our teachers, encourages us to leave the politically correctness out of the equation so that we aren’t only scratching the surface of the issues we discuss. We share personal experiences that give us each as listeners a chance to use empathy, which is our theme for today, and put ourselves in our classmates’ shoes. The class has really opened my eyes to the stereotypes that exist in today’s society, and although it is early in the camp, I can already feel a difference in my personal empathy.

-Chris (Landon High School, Washington DC)

How Big's Your Circle

2010-06-29T09:18:00.004-04:00

Sports Psyche AP is by far the best, most intense class at SportsChallenge! Taught by Coach Koster and me, a group of 25 returning student-athletes have been pushing themselves mentally in class. Yesterday, we worked through an awesome discussion of what is inside our circle of control.

As a class, we came up with a list of 40 different things that can affect the outcome of a game, such as hard work, referees, field condition, focus, energy, etc. Then, the student-athletes were asked to decide if they felt a particular factor was inside, or outside one's circle of control. Students moved to the side of the room they agreed with, and then they had small group discussions to decide who would argue their case on behalf of the group. Finally, the two representatives from each side came to the center, and they debated why a factor was on the inside, or the outside. The discussions were great - student-athletes were not only coming up with creative arguments, but they were pushing each other to think further. The theme of the day is Empathy, and several times throughout the discussion students were asked to put themseles in each others shoes. When we spoke about field condition, something most of the group felt was outside of their circle of control, Jonathan stepped up and said "When it snowed on our field in New York last winter, our team showed up to the field 5 hours before the game and shoveled the whole thing".

The challenge to student-athletes after the exercise is to work on enlarging their circle of control. As we grow into leadership roles, it's important that we work on making our circles larger.
-Coach Stafford (Washington DC)

Infected by the SC Bug!

2010-06-28T22:28:00.005-04:00

As we walked into the dinning hall for dinner we uncovered a competition that would lead to one of the loudest most energetic events I have ever experienced. SportsChallenge Games are a combination of random basketball and soccer players, male and female mixed into four color teams! We all came into a gym that felt to be 110 degrees, and everyone’s sweat dripping like a waterfall. Regardless, everyone was involved representing their color squad, and attempted to get the most points by leaving their shy selves in the dorms. Everyone seemed to have been infected with the SC bug. Day 3 of SC and I cant wait for tomorrow!

-Stephanie (Big Apple Youth Soccer, New York)

SPORTSCHALLENGE GAMES VIDEO

In preparation for Dodgeball, the four different teams yelled cheers together to get pumped up!

Theme of the Day: Focus

2010-06-28T13:32:00.007-04:00

After a hearty breakfast, SportsChallenge athletes hit the fields and court for the morning practice session. For girl’s soccer, this morning was especially energetic. We started the session off with a game relating to the theme of the day, which is focus. This theme of focus carried into the intense practice that followed. The first activity during practice involved working on improving our individual skills. Some did diving headers, others worked on power shooting and finishing off of crosses. The energy was high throughout and everyone was excited and happy to be there. This pure enthusiasm shows that SportsChallenge athletes are unique because they are passionate about their sport and love to improve.
-Alice and Helen

Early Bird Gets The Wor...kout

2010-06-28T08:56:00.006-04:00

Waking up at 6:30 AM is not something that most high school students look forward to, especially not during the summer. This morning proved (yet again) that SportsChallenge student-athletes are not like most high school student athletes. The tennis courts were filled by 6:45, meaning that everyone was 15 minutes early for the session. The athletes didn’t just arrive early, they showed up ready to work hard. We built on our ladder work from yesterday, picking up the pace and intensity. After ladder work, we introduced an advanced agility and balance drill that had everyone jumping and sweating. If the rest of the days goes as well as this morning, it’s going to be another great day at SportsChallenge.

-Coach Deasey

The athletes begin their morning with high knees and butt kicks for warm up. Coach Deasey, (right, yellow shorts), encourages them to go across the tennis courts all together in a straight line.

Girl's and Boy's Basketball worked on agility, changing direction, and abs on the tennis courts.

Girl's and Boy's Soccer rock out in the Tripe-H workout: Hurdles, Headers and Hills.

Coach Arenberg enthusiastically calls out to the Soccer players asking if they are READY to get started!

They Know Me, They Push Me

2010-06-27T21:28:00.008-04:00

Kathleen, articulate and insightful, describes the ways of Sports Challenge! She commented that bringing a fan was definitely a good suggestion! She also appreciates the way the Staff makes sure you never go hungry with frequent snack times!

"The first day at SportsChallenge started very early. Here they do not have many rules, but they make certain that you abide by the ones they do have: being on time, being respectful and being prepared. I for one am not a morning person, but the coaches stressing not to be late did the job! In fact, I even got to morning Vitamins on time! Even I was surprised. The coaches are enthusiastic and kind. Furthermore, they work to learn everyone's name.
I found the psychology class particularly interesting as it focuses on the cognitive aspect of how athletes perform. The theme of the day (there will be one for every day) was risk. I found that those participating took risks by branching out and meeting new people."
-Kathleen (Texas)

Students Inspired to Make the Most of Their Time Here

2010-06-27T19:47:00.003-04:00

From the moment of our first all camp meeting, I knew this would be an amazing experience. You could feel the energy of everybody there from the start and it seemed like everything would run smoothly from there. The coaches and staff immediately introduced themselves and were the chillest people imaginable. Nobody here knew what to expect but I think we all wanted to get the most out of this camp.

-Jawhar K.

Student-Athletes Jawhar Kimbrough (left) and Karen Jiminez were awarded a green shirt this morning for hard work and excellence during Vitamin A.

Rockin' Start

2010-06-27T09:48:00.007-04:00

Coach Griffith led fast feet this morning at Vitamins.

VITAMIN AAAAAA!!

The tennis courts were alive and full of energy this morning! Our first
session of Vitamins was fantastic. The bucket of boom was pumping tunes
and the morning tone was set with some rockin' dance moves from Coaches
Grell, Poly, Gibs and Berg. The student-athletes were motivated by Coach
Griffith's and Stafford's enthusiasm and went to work on the speed and
agility drills. After our warm-up, there were ladders, hurdles and boxes
going all at once. Everyone was working very hard,and then all of a sudden
Coach Deasey heard the AB TRAIN coming, and the entire group hopped on
board by holding the plank position. That accompanied by some high-energy
foot fire drills wrapped up an AWESOME first day of Vitamins! I am now
feeling energized and I know the day is just going to continue as great as
the note it started on!!
-Coach Carden

The Student-Athletes woke up at 6:30AM to begin the morning with ladders! Vitamins begins at 7:00AM sharp every morning.

CONTAGIOUS ENERGY

2010-06-26T22:17:00.002-04:00

I knew today would be a GREAT day from the moment that I walked into breakfast and immediately was asked by Coach Edwards ‘what today was?’ and my fellow co-coach, Coach Holle replied with ‘GAME DAY!”. It’s the day we [the staff] have all been working towards for the past couple of days. By around 3 o’clock tonight most the student-athletes had arrived and the energy was electric and contagious. I remember when I first arrived as a student-athlete in 2006 that I was nervous, but as soon as getting on campus began to realize the great journey I was about to embark on with my 100 and more new friends. Meeting all the new student-athletes was exciting and makes me look forward to the great relationships I have already begun to build with them. After our opening meeting where Coach Morgan introduced the great week we have planned, it was time to hit the athletic fields/courts. After getting some energy out and getting a vibe for the team/family we would be playing with for the next week, it was time to close the day with evening forum, which I remember as being one of my favorite things when I was a student-athlete. At the beginning each program had some loud and enthusiastic cheers to truly show the energy that is already buzzing around campus. From the heartfelt appreciations and red leaderships shirts handed out, the forum was a fantastic way to end the AWESOME first day here at Sports Challenge. I am overly pumped for the week ahead and can already tell that each one of the people at SportsChallenge will change my life for the better and it is my goal to do the same. The good times are already beginning to roll here at Sports Challenge Leadership Academy and won’t stop for NINE days!! Looking forward to tomorrow- that’s all for now- COACH HARE

FIRST DAY!!!!

2010-06-26T21:01:00.004-04:00

And the student-athletes have finally arrived! Finally putting faces to the names we have been elegantly drawing on dorm name tags and binders, the coaches and staff have illustrated the true meaning of enthusiasm and friendliness in the opening 5 hours of the program with hugs and high fives (to the student athletes who don't understand why everyone already knows there name). While perhaps ambushed at first with the energy and encouragement to "open up," by evening forum the different sports were already having yelling competitions with who can be the most loyal (and therefore loud) to their sport. Already imitating the meaning of family, we (for the most part) sat politely and listened to the rules for the next 8 days, voiced encouragement to Savannah as she took the second public risk of the program (the first to everyone who came without knowing any one here!), and gave our first appreciations. Right now they are all in their first classes, learning the art of sports psychology and soaking up as much knowledge as they can from their beloved coaches. Sports Challenge Leadership Academy has finally started!

Boy's Basketball huddles in their first session. Guest Eric Boateng (St. Andrew's and Arizona State student-athlete graduate,) helps coach.

Staff Trains for Student-Athletes to Arrive!

2010-06-25T22:01:00.005-04:00

Traveling by bus, train and plane from diverse backgrounds, the student-athletes will join us tomorrow on the beautiful but hot campus of St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware.
The staff has worked tirelessly the past four days preparing for the programmers to arrive! After late hours of preparation, the staff is ready and excited to meet all of the student-athletes! We have gone through situational training for both coaching and teaching; we are ready for the week to begin.

Through these meetings, we have seen the staff growing and developing relationships that will help the week be successful! The staff has grown very close from being together early in the morning to late at night.

We are eagerly waiting for everything to begin!
The staff has covered many different topics on the art of coaching and teaching
-core values
-the three different types of leaders (lead by example, the enforcer, the encourager)
-multiculturalism
-the necessity to challenge our student-athletes
-what various characteristics make up the ultimate leader

Through these discussions, we see that sports are an optimal venue for the teaching of life skills, especially leadership.

Coach Drury Shares Cox Leadership Workshop Stories

2010-04-03T14:31:00.000-04:00

Last month we had our annual Cox Leadership Workshop at Triple R Ranch in Chesapeake, VA. It’s my favorite project during the school year; I run it with an old classmate and fellow colleague, Catherine Bowles. Workshop, as the kids call it, was a 3 day retreat where 27 student staff members lead 150 student delegates in various leadership skills activities.

This year’s workshop adopted the theme ‘It’s your move’. Around campus you would find many types of moves: dance moves, game moves, all of which nobody had heard of. Throughout the weekend, it poured, and we were constantly trekking through the mud and trying to stay dry. However, the delegates persevered and formed new relationships, came out of their shells, solved problems, and performed skits – truly making moves.

The delegates were split into six councils, named after uncommon dance moves: Batusi, Kolo, Zopetto, Czardas, Ductia, and Farruca. Within their councils, the delegates experienced activities in group dynamics, communication skills, time/stress management, and what makes a leader. All of the activities were led by the student staffers. In addition to all the behind the scenes planning, the staff had us laughing every meal, with their creative themes and skits. Mini skits are meant to teach lessons on Cox heritage, sportsmanship, how to get involved, how to treat others, etc.

Our very own Jeremy Edwards was a guest speaker, discussing Emotional Intelligence. He opened our eyes as he motivated and broadened our horizons. It was a great time for Coach Edwards and I to catch up, continue to build our friendship, and learn from each other. Coach Edwards continues to challenge me to think outside my box – necessary at all ages!

The best part of Workshop is seeing the staff’s hard work come together…once the weekend starts, Catherine and I are able to step back and watch it unfold; student leaders come into their own and blossom while working with their councils. The delegates step into roles they once would have never taken on and begin to find themselves – quiet delegates take on big roles in skits and pleasantly shock everyone! In relation to this year’s theme, it was clear to see many of our future student leaders starting to make their move.

Workshop 2010 was a huge success. Students teaching peers; peers learning from peers. I’ll miss the laughs, the hustle and bustle from one activity to the next, staying up all night, building relationships with students and colleagues, and watching students blossom. Can’t wait for 2011…

MLK HS Named Football Kings of New York by BBC

2010-03-19T21:32:00.000-04:00

Martin Luther King Jr High School has a troubled history. It hit the news in 2002, when a student shot two fellow students, seriously injuring them. Shortly afterwards, it became one of the first in New York City to be closed due to low performance and high drop-out rates. The building now houses six smaller schools. Their 2,400 students still have to pass through a metal detector and file past two uniformed police officers to get to their classrooms.
But its boys' football team, still playing under the MLK banner, is a success by anyone's measure. Not only has it won 12 out of 14 city championships, its players also have one of highest graduation rates and are regularly awarded scholarships to prestigious colleges.
The man behind the success of the team is Martin Jacobson, aka Coach Jake

Check out the slideshow!

I am Blessed...

2010-03-08T22:05:00.000-05:00

From the first moment my tiny fingers dribbled a ball and assisted my dad to a rim-breaking alley-oop on my Little Tikes basketball hoop, I had a smile on my face. It was clear to me and probably crystal clear to my parents that we needed a stronger rim and more importantly that basketball was going to be an integral part of my life. Now fast forward almost two decades, and here I am still dribbling a ball and still wearing that same smile. I guess some things really do never change :o)

Not a day passes here in Holland that I don’t stop and remind myself that I am truly blessed. Playing basketball overseas has been one of the most rewarding and life-shaping experiences thus far in my life because I have come to learn what I’m made of and what really matters to me. When I signed my first contract, my thoughts were consumed by the opportunity to compete at the next level and develop my skills as a player. Never did I imagine I would find a home away from home, meet people that would treat me like family, take weekend trips to various countries, learn some Finnish and Dutch and be able to speak them, cross the Arctic Circle and sit on the real Santa Claus’ lap from the North Pole, set foot in the massive Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, teach a few economics classes at a university in Holland, cruise the streets of Rome on a vespa, walk through the hallways of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, admire with my own eyes Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel, and the list goes on…

I am certain that basketball is and will always be a passion of mine because it is so much more than a game. It has granted me infinite opportunities both on and off the court and has also taught me more than any book could about life and all its valuable lessons. It is now my third season playing professionally overseas since graduating college. I have played one and a half seasons in Finland, half a season in Sweden and am currently closing out a season in Holland. In the past three years, I’ve been on a team that finished dead-last in our league winning barely a handful of games, and I’ve also been a part of squad that was crowned National Champions and rarely saw a loss. I’ve had to practice three times a day for one team and also only three times a week for another. I’ve played in front of sold-out crowds and in gyms where you could barely hear the ball bounce because it was so loud, and I’ve also played in front of empty bleachers and in gyms that you could hear every squeak of every sneaker. I’ve been on teams with multiple international players and also been the only foreigner as an American. Looking back on it all, I can say I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum from a player’s perspective. The best part of that realization is that every single one of my experiences has contributed to who I am right in this moment, and I am grateful for the hardest, most impossible times as much as the happiest, indescribably amazing ones.

Fortunately for me, the learning and growing doesn’t stop when I step off the court. This season in Holland has been a testament to that too. During the days, I’ve been working at a primary school as a member of the “overblijf-team,” in which I watch the kids during their recess and monitor their lunch period. Also, before my practices in the evenings, I have been assistant coaching our U20 girls’ team and taking Dutch lessons with some of the foreign players of our men’s team. Every day presents a new challenge, and every day I look forward to it!

I have and will always love being able to lace up my sneakers and go to work on the court, but I’ve also come to love and appreciate everything basketball has enabled me to learn about life and myself. I can’t say it enough…I am blessed!

Can't wait till this summer at SportsChallenge. -Coach Megan Griffith

"Come spend a day with Coach K!"

2010-03-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

SportsChallenge Coach Kizmahr Grell currently plays professional basketball for the Rotterdam Challengers in the Netherlands. Here is a day in the life of Coach Grell...

6:45am: Hit snooze button on alarm going off for 8am practice.
6:50am: Hit snooze button...again.
7:00am: Wakened by teammates who live in the upstairs apartment.
7:05am: Put a shine on my pearly whites with crest...media might be stalking me again.
7:10am: Prepare All-American breakfast...peanut butter and banana sandwich.
7:30am: Out the door. The weather is actually lovely this morning. I think
to myself "what a perfect day for an afternoon saunter around the
neighborhood." [Editor's note: Most of us have never heard Coach Kiz use the word saunter or lovely but apparently this is the way he speaks overseas.]
8:00am: Practice starts...250 MADE shots. 50 from 5 spots. 100 free throws.
9:00am: Practice continues...go through team sets and lots of defense.
10:45am: Team Lift...I tend to do the beach workout in the middle of winter. The beach
workout consists of reps of chest and abs. Occasionally calves. [Editor's Note: Beach workout?? I thought it was freezing over there...how 'bout some lunges?!]
1:00pm: This time is essential. It's my recovery period. I catch up with shows in the states such as One Tree Hill, Scrubs, Heroes, The Office, The Hills, and the new smash hit Paris Hilton BFF. To stay articulate and to keep up with the witty banter between Coaches Kodis, Molly and I, I also read. I am currently reading Homer's "Odyssey." I also check facebook to see how many friendly insults Coach Molly and Kodis have written on my wall. By the time I am caught up with my shows and reading, it is time to get ready for...practice...again.
7:00pm: The night practices are always packed with fun stuff like suicides and full
court sprints. These practices we usually play a lot of 5 on 5 to get ready for games.
10:00pm: I arrive home and shower. [Editor's Note: Finally!!] Prepare food only to be reminded of what a terrible cook I am.
11:30pm: Fall asleep. Yes, the hard work pays off.

Coach Kizmahr Grell not only coaches at SportsChallenge but he also attended SportsChallenge as a student-athlete!

Malamo's SportsChallenge Experience... Good or Bad?

2010-02-18T11:21:00.000-05:00

SportsChallenge was the best way I could've started off the summer of 2009 and my school year, especially since I was going to start Junior Year in September. I honestly thought it was going to be a chance for me to improve on my soccer skills and that's it, but as cliché as this might sound, this PROGRAM made me a stronger person, on and off the field; someone who can deal with things in a different manner. Pre- Sports Challenge, if I was loosing a soccer game I would transmit negative energy to my team and get really angry and be overcome with a feeling of being defeated, which I loathe.

Post- Sports Challenge, I found myself automatically taking deep breaths and telling myself that I can and should NOT give up. This made that defeated feeling go away. Unfortunately, I think the getting angry and giving up part of me is such a big part of me that just a week couldn't fix in totality, but that's reality. Fortunately, it did make me see that the way I handled things on the field was not a great way to resolve things, so I thank the program for helping me recognize it and for giving me ways that I could resolve any situation.

The deep breaths were my number one solution, and that helps even when I'm bombarded with tests and homework and projects. My school's pretty challenging, and with it being Junior year, I had so much on my shoulders and in my mind; Malamo, keep your grades up, Focus on your SAT's, Get to soccer practice on time, Don't let this girl score! People might think that I'm over exaggerating, but I'm really not. Seriously, starting in September my schedule went a little something like this: Monday- Friday: School (During lunch: getting as much homework as I can, that's been assigned, done) , School Soccer, Go Home, Eat, and on Tuesday's and Thursdays: Club Soccer Practice. Saturday: SAT Prep, Community Service and Club Soccer Game(s) Sunday: SAT Prep, Club Soccer Game(s), Homework and Hanging out to get away from academic things and even soccer. I even took time on Sunday nights to just breathe, like we did two times in the auditorium. This helped clear my head and think about the following week in peace, instead of having everything running in my head like a tornado.

If I had the power, I think I would make SportsChallenge a mandatory program for everyone to take at least once. It combines what you love to do with learning to be a leader. It teaches you not just about leadership in your sport, but it also applies to the real world by default. I have to say that without SportsChallenge, I could've balanced everything, BUT I give this program credit for helping me NOT freak out, not even once throughout it. I did everything to the best of my ability, because of the self confidence that the program instilled in me. Now we're in February, I can say I've survived more than half of Junior year and it went VERY smoothly and successfully! I don't know if it would've turned out that way had I not participated in the program. Thank you so much Sports Challenge! I feel the need to add that the program introduced me to amazing people that I have many great memories with that started during the program and now continue outside of SportsChallenge. These will hopefully be life long friendships. So, thank you for the memories, the friendships, the skills, the confidence and the ability to handle ANYTHING that crosses my path, with a different attitude that I believe is getting better all the time.

Sincerely,
Malamo Koutsogiannis :)

Catch up with Emily Delany

2010-02-15T21:56:00.000-05:00

Hey Sports Challenge,

My name is Emily Delany and I went to SportsChallenge Leadership Alliance over the summer of 2009. I went into the program to improve my basketball skills and learn how to be a leader in my upcoming basketball season. SportsChallenge really helped me become a strong voice on my team this year, and it even resulted in me being put in the light on numerous occasions for captain opportunities. Our basketball team turned out decent this year, but I achieved highest scorer in multiple games, my shot improved drastically, and I had the confidence to shoot the ball in all of my games. In my life and in basketball, I am more confident because of some of the relaxation tips I learned at SportsChallenge. I also gained a stronger mentality to sit in a classroom and focus on the work I had to get done.

Athletically, I thank SportsChallenge for getting me into crazy shape for the basketball season and my workouts in the fall. During my basketball season this year, I shot the ball very well and had the confidence to take shots that I would not have taken in past seasons. My teammates, noticing the change, were more open to coming up to me and asking for some help with their game or drills that they could do at home. Thinking of SportsChallenge warm up drills, I showed my team a few drills and in response we were very focused and well rounded. Overall, SportsChallenge in basketball developed my confidence so much. In the classroom and socially, it helped me to be comfortable in my own skin and break out in crowds as well as able to put myself out their to new friends. SportsChallenge was an awesome experience for building leadership qualities to emerge as a team player and by building myself as a true athlete.

Thanks guys! You Rock!

Emily

SportsChallenge 2010!!

2010-02-07T00:06:00.000-05:00

For all you rising 10th-12th graders! Check out the details for SportsChallenge 2010 Summer Academy! Save the date June 26-July 4! Just click on the photo's to view larger.

Excited!? Go to www.sportschallengealiance.org to apply!

Road Trip!!!

2010-01-19T00:03:00.000-05:00

In the past 14 days, I have spent 45 hours in my car, driving across 10 states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Washington DC (okay that’s city), Virginia, and Michigan. Why did I decide to spend the majority of my winter break driving by myself to the east coast and back? Well, I was motivated by my eagerness to visit a group of friends that I would usually only get to see once a year: my SportsChallenge co-coaches. Now, it would take a pretty awesome group of people to make me want to embark on a lengthy road trip solo. It is hard to pick the perfect adjectives to describe the SportsChallenge coaching staff, but I will try. They are the most genuine, hard-working, hilarious, empathetic, and loving group of people in my life.

Spending that much time in a car gave me a lot of time to do the following things: listen to the same four CDs I have in my car approximately 4,642 times while “singing” at the top of my lungs (i.e. Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, the Glee soundtrack, and Alicia Keys- just in case you were wondering), eat about 1,934 almonds and 28 Honeycrisp apples, pick my nose (no judging…J you know you have done it too), and lastly one of my favorite pastimes— to reflect on life.

Since my east coast road trip was SportsChallenge-themed, I could not help but think of how lucky I was to have been embraced by the SportsChallenge family five years ago in high school. How would my life be different if I never attended SportsChallenge? I would probably still be the determined, focused student-athlete I was prior to participating in the Summer Academy in 2004 and 2005. But I can assure you I would NOT have had the self-confidence or tools to be a leader for the teams I have been a part of since then: Butler University’s Soccer Team (2006-2007), Marquette University’s Soccer Team (2007-2009), and Marquette University’s Cross Country & Track team (2009-present).

After returning to SportsChallenge this past summer as a coach, I am aware now more than ever how much I have applied and used the tools that SportsChallenge gave me five years ago. For example, I write down my goals for the upcoming season using the exact same goals sheet we give our student-athletes to fill out at Summer Academy. I have also exchanged these goals with my teammates and encouraged them to create their own goals for each season as well. Also, I have learned a lot from SportsChallenge’s lesson of the different leadership styles. For the three collegiate teams that I have been a part of, I have mostly utilized the leadership style of “leading by example.” SportsChallenge taught me that there is a leadership myth that all leaders have to be loud and outgoing, and some times I am. However, for the majority of my college athletic career, I have been a newcomer. I was a newcomer at Butler as a freshman. I was a newcomer when I transferred to Marquette’s soccer program as a sophomore. And now I am a newcomer to Marquette’s Cross Country & Track team. It takes time to earn the respect and to establish the relationships necessary to be an effective leader. As such, it has always been most appropriate for me to let the experienced seniors be the vocal leaders for the team; therefore, I have learned to be a good follower—just as important as being a good leader—while trying to patiently earn the respect and establish the positive relationships to have a positive influence on my team. Meanwhile, I have embraced the leadership style of leading by example by working hard on and off the field/track.

The most important lesson I take away from SportsChallenge is how sports are more than just earning a “W.” Sports are a metaphor for everything else we do in life. Hence my favorite SportsChallenge mantra: “Skills for Sport. Skills for life.” There is a lot to be taken from cross country and soccer on a larger scale. They are sports of mental and physical endurance. Most importantly, they are sports of resilience. Hard work is not an option. If you slack off in a race or game, it will show. Giving up, surrendering in the battle, is not an option. And such is my modus operandi in life. My favorite high school soccer coach once advised me to “surround yourself with those who share the same desires as you.” The epitome of this is when my SportsChallenge family surrounds me: the coaches, the teachers, the students, and the athletes. From my time at SC Summer Academy as a student-athlete and coach, I am grateful for all the life lessons and lasting friendships that SportsChallenge has given me. This is why I spent 45 hours in a car driving over 2,000 miles these past two weeks. Never has it been truer that “the road to a friend’s house is never long” (Danish proverb).

-Coach Berg

On and Off The Field, SC Teaches Life Lessons

2010-01-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

My name is Paola Ramos and I am currently a full time student-athlete at Bryant Stratton college. I Attended SportsChallenge in 2006 and 2008. My experience at SportsChallenge was amazing. YOU GUYS ROCK!! You guys helped me find the voice I was searching for all through my soccer career. I can't thank you guys enough for realizing my potential and creating an environment that pushed me when I needed to be pushed, challenged me every single day to constantly improve, nurtured me when you saw that I needed it, and molded me not only into the player that I am today, but also into the person that I am today.

The staff does not consist of coaches but it consists of wonderful friends. When looking back at the days I spent at SportsChallenge and when looking back at the values and memories that I have, so many of these lessons I learned are from camp. I'm talking about values and memories that are involved in words like "friendship," "hardwork," "sacrifice," "compassion," "dignity," "love," "respect," and "perseverance." I learned to always maintain humility in victory’s and defeat’s. I learned that we all can make a difference, that having a voice is one thing and using it is another. All the lessons I have learned from SportsChallenge I use in my everyday life. There isn't one day on and off the field that I don’t use the mistake ritual and “brush it off”.

Happy New Year! SC 2010 Starts NOW!

2010-01-04T22:16:00.000-05:00

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd WE'RE BACK!!! We would like to first say HAPPY NEW YEAR and secondly apologize for our absence on the blog, but don't worry the last few months have been dedicated to planning and thinking about how to make the SportsChallenge blog that much better. I know, I know. You may ask how that is at all possible, but just believe me when I say that it is and it is happening.... STARTING NOW!

What you can look forward to:

Amazing updates and posts from current student-athletes
Find out how SportsChallenge has made an impact on previous programmers
Get advice from current coaches and college athletes on college and recruiting
Gain insights from guest bloggers on a variety of topics
And best of all, you get to be involved in SportsChallenge all year long!!

How is this going to work:

You can find new posts every Monday and Thursday with an occasional wordless wednesday. You may wonder what wordless wednesday is, which is a great question. Wordless Wednesday is a day of silence in the blogsphere where we will only show photo's, and as many of us know, there are always some great photo's taken at SportsChallenge as well as throughout the year by coaches and student-athletes.
Have something to say? COMMENT or let us know we would love to have you post.

We're looking forward to a great 2010, so stay tuned for great pompine stories, exciting updates and amazing tips for your sport and for life. Coach Staci is ready for 2010... ARE YOU?

National Summer Academy Video!

2009-09-29T22:45:00.000-04:00

You can also share it with friends or watch it on Youtube!

SC Visits Abington Friends School in PA!

2009-08-28T16:51:00.000-04:00

LEARN more about our recent leadership workshop at AFS!

Last Day-Best Day

2009-07-31T16:12:00.000-04:00

Last Day-Best Day! Although today was the conclusion of our five-day intensive program, the athletes' energy was as strong as ever. The morning started out with the ultimate Vitamins session: obstacle course relays! The heated competition was between Team Blueberry Waffles and Team Arctic Fox. In a last second effort, Team Blueberry Waffles pulled out the victory. This intense competition was followed by the morning discussion of the theme of the day which was BALANCE. We challenged the student-athletes to work on prioritizing and balancing family, school, athletics and friends during this upcoming school year. Here at SportsChallenge, our motto is "Skills for Sport. Skills for Life." We truly believe that what the student-athletes learned here over the course of our program applies to their every day challenges. We sent the student-athletes off with one final, all encompassing theme for the upcoming school year: INTEGRITY. The purpose of this last theme is to encourage the programmers to consistently practice honesty at home, in the classroom, and on the field/court.

The High School Prep Leadership Program was not only a valuable experience for our athletes but also for our coaching staff. We always feel that leaving the program makes us better people because we learn from the student-athletes just as they learn from us. They make us better coaches and teachers as they also challenge us to become better leaders. We hope to see every student-athlete back next summer whether it is here at HSPLP or the Summer Academy! Three claps for a great week! :o)

White Team ends losing streak at HSPLP

2009-07-31T08:27:00.000-04:00

Today was the first ever SportsChallenge Games at the High School Prep Leadership Program. For those of you involved with SportsChallenge, you know this was a very exciting day, especially, those of you who have been on the White team in the past.

The Blue team was off to a quick lead with a phenomenal entrance that continued with a very creative team cheer.

Entering into the first game of dodgeball, both teams were energetic and ready to play. The White team was out of the gates and ready to go while the Blue team was caught on their heals. No matter how much the Blue team tried, they just couldn't fight off the rocket fire that White was bringing. Just a quick side note, SportsChallenge dodgeball, as some know, is not your traditional dodgeball game. Of course, there is the traditional hit each other with the ball, but there is also an opportunity to bring back your wounded players by one of two things: knocking over a series of cones with a soccer ball or by throwing a ball through a very small circle handing by the crossbar. Needless to say, the game was high energy and definitely had some twists. Check out the White team as they get ready for the first game.

After three intense games, dodgeball ended in a tie, yet the Blue team was still in the lead entering the final competition, the water balloon toss. The Blue team just did not have soft enough hands as White took first, second, and third place.

In attempts to get some last minute points, the Blue team moved into a beautiful pyramid formation while showing some Blue team love with cheers.

Despite attempts made by the Blue team, in the end, the White team came away with the win for the first time in SportsChallenge history. Congratulations White team.

Tomorrow is the last day of SportsChallenge High School Prep, so make sure to stay tuned for the exciting activities and events that will take place.

Thank You Vitamin Water

2009-07-29T14:29:00.000-04:00

Here at SportsChallenge, we start everymorning with a speed and agility we call Vitamins. Luckily, this year we've also had the opportunity to provide the student athletes with real vitamins, curtesy of our sponsor Vitamin Water. Vitamin water has set us up with drinks for all of the student athletes, as well as coolers to keep them all cool in. The athletes pick up a bottle every day after athletics on their way to their Sports Leadership class. Early word is that lemonade is their favorite flavor. Three claps for Vitamin Water!

Amazing Advisory

2009-07-28T16:46:00.000-04:00

The advising system at SportsChallenge allows for incredible relationships to be built between player and coach over the period of just a few days. While every staff member makes a point of trying get to know all the players, the relationship between advisor and advisee creates phenomenal teaching opportunities and enables deeper bonds to be build between player and coach.

Here at the High School Prep Leadership Program (HSPLP) advisor to player ratio has come out to an almost unheard of 1:2 (well, really 1:1.89). The personal attention that can be given to each player makes teaching athletic fundamentals much easier on both the teacher and the student. Just this morning the basketball program worked on shooting form. With six top of the line hoops and seven advisee groups, the players got more reps in than they could have at any other program, and they got the personal attention of some fantastic coaches armed with both a knowledge of the game and a understanding of how to reach out to their advisees.

Unlike the traditional 'camp', SportsChallenge is built on relationships, and the HSPLP has provided a great chance for coaches and players to get to know each other's games and personalities very quickly.

SportsChallenge is awesome.

-Coach Matt Deasey

HSPLP Soccer

2009-07-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

The soccer sessions at HSPLP are intense and competitive. Student-athletes are working on individual technical skills in the morning and playing small sided games and scrimmages in the afternoon. Yesterday they learned strategies for defending in one v. one and two v. one situations. The student-athletes were aggressive and did well on body positioning. Despite some hard tackles and painful falls while working on defense, our soccer players remained tough and resilient through out the day. This morning soccer players worked on shooting technique. They are learning to keep their ankle locked and place their planting foot next to the ball when shooting. We played a competitive game of power-finesse. Lots of goals were scored and challenges made. It is amazing to hear the student-athletes on the field- they encourage each other and even compliment others who are not on their team. I can't believe there is only two more days left- time FLIES when you are having FUN!

-Coach Morris

It's getting loud!

2009-07-28T15:07:00.001-04:00

It was loud today at SportsChallenge. Basketball players calling out "great pass", soccer players calling out "awesome touch, nice through-ball", students frantically describing pictures to their partners during leadership classes. All over campus, student athletes were fully embracing today's theme of communication. The bar was set high in the morning community forum, where Chef/Coach Edwards struggled to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while taking directions from our brave volunteer Doris. The theme was stressed throughout the morning sessions, and the basketball program exemplified communication as they ran flawless three man weaves up and down the court. The soccer program had some fierce competition, and the pentagon games continue to heat up. Check out the action from today in the pictures below.

Coach Polykoff works with Robert on his form

Nigel describes a picture to Tatianna in leadership class
Saul and TJ try the same activity.
Dee gets some love from Coach Arenberg after a great defensive stop.

The basketball staff represents their dribble goggles.
Deandre practices some dribbling skills.

Gerbils lead Pentagon Challenge

2009-07-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

The sun was out and the student- athletes were eager to perform the skills they learned in this mornings session, which consisted of foot skills with Coach Galvan and Morris and ball control with Coach Berg and Noah.

Ready to go, after a quick warm up, we went right into a small sided scrimmage where the programmers really took risks whether it was by communication with new teammates, attempting new skills or playing tricky passes through and over defenders. Check out some pictures below!

Yonah gives a great header back to a teammate.

Carlos breaks away toward the goal.

The afternoon did not end there, the competitions and fun continued as the coaches introduced the first ever Pentagon Challenge.

What is the Pentagon Challenge?

The first week long point series at SportsChallenge specifically within the soccer program.
Five competitions, to represent the five points of a pentagon, will take place, one at the end of each afternoon athletics session.
Two teams are battling to obtain the most points to reign as the winners of the Pentagon Challenge.
The winners will be announced Friday after a day of extreme competition.

Meet the Teams

Barcelona: Sam, Dee, Carlos, Renee, Elsa, Reid and Emely

The Gerbils: Yonah, Doris, Saul, Dalia, Edia, Joesph, Cierra

Challenge One

The first challenge was the shooting and teamwork game called the Two-minute Drill. Each team has two minutes to score as many goals as possible. Players have to work through the pressure and work together to remind teammates on where they need to be during the drill. After an intense battle, Barcelona and the Gerbils were tied. A one-minutes overtime session left the Gerbils as the champions taking home ten points for their team.

Stay tuned as the soccer programs continues to work hard this week and find out what happens with the Pentagon Challenge Standings!

High School Prep 2009

2009-07-27T08:38:00.000-04:00

High School Prep has officially begun! At Trinity College, in Washington, DC, the soccer and basketball programs got underway with their first practice session this morning. Sporting their new bimini blue shirts, the students athletes jumped right into action with morning vitamins followed by a brief morning meeting, where the theme of the day was introduced with a lively skit done by Coach Garcia, Berg and Grell. Risk is today's theme, and just by being here the student athlete's have taken the first big risk. Basketball and soccer coaches alike were psyched about the way student athletes were already taking risks in their sessions by being on their toes, meeting new people, and vocally encouraging one another. Check out some photos from the morning session below.

Deandre and Alex work on shooting under pressure.

Jamile plays defense against Deandre

Renee shows off her Passing skills and movement off the ball.

Elsa smiling big for the camera. Looking good!

Yonah shows great control heading it back to his partner.

Stay tuned for more SportsChallenge High School prep action throughout the day. Kids are finished up with their leadership class and heading to lunch to refuel for Sports Psych and their second athletic session of the day.

Check this out!!

2009-07-14T14:15:00.000-04:00

Summer Academy student-athletes are featured on the website FairGameNews.com. Check it out now!

SC Attracts Programmers from Ireland

2009-07-04T13:59:00.000-04:00

Shane Jennings (boys soccer) and Ciaran Ashe (Boys basketball) travelled across the pond from Ireland to be part of the SportsChallenge Program. Both athletes are a great addition to the SportsChallenge summer academy on the field/court and in the classrooms. Jennings was a red shirt winner on Wednesday. For those of you who are not familiar with red shirts, it is when an athlete shows exceptional leadership throughout the day whether it be in training, the classroom or in the cafeteria.

Check out the article below:

SC Rocks

2009-07-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

My name is Shannon L. and I am from Philadelphia, PA and I am a new student here at Sportschallenge. This experience so far has been challenging and has made me become a better player and student. I have been to basketball camps throughout my life, but this tops them all. I have learned to become a LEADER and to associate with different people from outside my race. My basketball teammates are wonderful and the coaching staff is the BEST. Inside the classroom is especially a wonderful experience because we learn many different things. In my classroom we are creating a movie, which is going to be a major hit, by the way. Before I leave I would like to bring up that the word TEAM means a lot to me, but here at Sports Challenge I came to realize that TEAM means Train, Endure, Achieve and Matter. Again my name is Shannon L. and I am a Junior and can not wait until the next camp of Sports Challenge in 2010.

P.S. : THE WHOLE ENTIRE SPORTS CHALLENGE STAFF/STUDENTS

"ROCK"

Shannon L. (Age 16)

Philadelphia, (girls basketball program)

Soccer Energy. Focus and Fun

2009-07-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was all about using our heads in the morning girls soccer session. We focused on learning proper heading techniques while having fun. We started the day off with extremely high energy which set the stage for the rest of the day. After warm-ups we got into our elective rotations:

- Attacking Headers
- Defensive Headers
- Passing Headers

In the attacking elective we focused on diving headers. All the girls learned proper form for flying through the air. As one set of girls was busy taking flight, our second group was focused on taking a power step and exploding through the ball to get it up and over the attacking players in front of them in a game of "Monkey in the Middle". The girls got serious height and distance on the ball by using every inch of their body to generate power. In the third and final elective, the girls worked on passing and directional headers. We played an exciting game of "Train" where we lined up one behind the other and had to head the ball behind us, with the correct accuracy and pace for it to make its way to the end of the line. In each of the electives the coaching staff incorporated exciting games so the girls could enjoy learning or improving each skill.

Finally, we combined the three electives for a competitive game of "Heading Wars" where we got into teams of two and battled for the top spot. the girls and coaching staff tried different combinations of power, diving and passing headers to get the ball passed their opponents. The game was full of encouraging words of support and of course friendly "smack Talk" between all of the teams.

-Coach Celeste Roberts (former student-athlete 2004 & 2005)

Break Day No Break Down

2009-07-02T09:39:00.000-04:00

The "break day" has brought with it an air of serenity throughout the campus. Enthusiastic smiles and waves have replaced whistles and beats from the boom bucket. After three consecutive mornings of grueling 7am vitamin sessions and two-a-days, the student athletes (and the coaches) have come to appreciate the value of a few extra hours of sleep.

The sustained physical effort and mental focus required by the SportsChallenge experience makes the importance of rest very clear. Morning options for recovery activities include: movies in the auditorium (with AC of course), yoga (both bikram and flow), and a relaxing dip in the pool.

Enlightened planes are the only areas in which standing is encouraged.

In addition to relaxation, the break day schedule includes time for individual meetings between student athletes and advisors. In these meetings, the student athletes have the chance to assess their progress towards the goals they set earlier in the week and set up an action plan for the final four days of the program. As both a coach and former student athlete at SC, I've found the SMARRTE goal setting rubric to be one of the best resources the program has to offer.

The uniquely spelled acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reach/Realistic, and Effort: by making goals within this framework, student-athletes and staff alike use a specific measuring stick for everything that they do at SportsChallenge--and beyond.

-Coach Matt Deasey

Pictures from the Pitch

2009-07-01T21:10:00.001-04:00

The soccer guys and girls were in full action today - check out the pictures below.

Christelles clears the ball from the back.
Lali tries to stop Iman (red shirt winner today!) from scoring.
The soccer guys are excited for their volleying!

Fransisco lines up a kick
Alex hones in on a shot.

Kenya lays out to boot a ball.

The soccer staff is having a great time with the girls!

Mid Day Checkup - Student Athlete Edition

2009-07-01T12:50:00.000-04:00

I took one step on campus not knowing what to expect. I didn’t know if camp here at sports challenge would be intense or easy. Since I have been here I learned to open up, talk, and experience difference. At sports challenge I believe the focus here is to learn to be a leader. Since I have been here I learned to be a leader and make a difference. Each day we are given themes to accomplish. Those themes are Risk, Vision, Empathy, and Communication. I can honestly say I have made it my business to incorporate each and every theme. Now when I go back to my home town which is Philadelphia I can share what I have learned and hopes learn to.

In practice today we focused on communication. Coming to sports challenge has helped me communicate with my teammates and roommates alike. When I first came to sports challenge I was shy and quiet. The participation level was low on my part and I was unfocused. By the second full day of sports challenge my confidence was booming and I felt more focused and comfortable on and off the court. I am able to communicate verbally and non-verbally with my teammates on the court, which forms me into a better player. I really want to bring these qualities of communication and risk back to my team at home. I will only be a junior but I am now willing to step up and lead my team with the activities and qualities that sports challenge has given me. Taking risks and communicating have guided me at sports challenge to not only feel comfortable physically on the court but to feel stronger mentally.

Emily D. (Age 16)

Philadelphia, (girls basketball program)

Sports Challenge is an overall amazing experience. You get to meet some amazing people and coaches. Rather than focusing on just sports, which is still a big part of it, they get people to open up and “step out of their comfort zone”, interact with people that you just meet and learn to be a better person in and out of sports. Even though sports challenge is very exhausting, getting up early everyday and getting our vitamins in and the athletic sessions twice a day, they always add in very fun activities and everyone has a blast.

--Travis Norton (Age 17)

San Diego, (boys soccer program)

Hump Day - Communication Day

2009-07-01T09:46:00.000-04:00

The sun is making it's way out here in Middleton, and SC is pumped for another great day. Check back throughout the day for some more student bloggers, some more pictures, and hopefully a few more great stories to tell.

Tuesday in Pictures

2009-07-01T06:34:00.001-04:00

Here are some shots from all the action that took place Tuesday at SC.

Franscisco lines up for a shot.
The girls basketball team braves the rain to workout with the soccer team.
Shane, all the way from the UK, blasts a shot!
Jesse, red shirt winner for the day, clears the ball
Visiting Coach Stan Brunson talks with Coach Edwards about the intricacies of post play
The boys basketball staff gives Coach Roach a hand.

Malcom shows off some moves

Athletes and Coaches excited for lunch!
Some soccer players prep for evening forum.
Katie comes down to collect her red shirt.
The basketball staff discusses the college recruiting process at a panel discussion.
Psych 106 finds itself in a human knot in life!

Check back later today for more action from Wednesday!

Three Days In - Student Athletes Rise to the Occasion

2009-06-30T13:53:00.000-04:00

Sports challenge has been a great experience. Every day you learn something new and grow more as a leader and a basketball player. Sports challenge actually challenge’s you both mentally and physically, and you really do get challenged physically. Most mornings you wake up the sore backs and muscles, but your team mates, coach’s and even random people across the camp push you and make you want to work through the pain and sore muscles. Today I walked into practice not only with sore legs but with bad stomach pains. My team mates helped motivate me but I still needed that extra little push. So I thought about one of my good friends little brother named, Amir. Amir passed away less than a month ago. He was born with a bad heart condition and was always in and out of the hospital. Baby Amir went through multiple surgeries at only the young age of four. He was a honestly a solider even until his very last days in the hospital bed. When doctors told his family he only had a day to live, he banged it out and went for a another three more days. His will to work through the pain and everything else he had to endure makes me think and say if he could go through all of that and still always have a smile on his face then I can live through the sore legs and back and early mornings and so when I feel I cant go any more I think of him and try to bang it out. And thats truly key here, you need to have a motivation and just have fun.

Khoudia N. (Age 15)

New York (Girls Basketball Program)

Well…Sports challenged is definitely the best program that I have been to. These last three days have been a life changing experience for me and I am guessing for many others. It’s a great experience for anyone, and there’s a lot of diversity. You literally are meeting people from all around the world, such as England, Argentina, New York, and San Diego.

There are many things we do especially in the morning, things such as vitamins. Vitamins are a workout of different cycles such as footwork, agility, speed, and strength. If I were not a rising senior I would definitely come back to sports challenge. I think sending your child here would be a favor for them and they would come back even more talented than before

You also eat breakfast lunch and dinner and snacks in between… man you got to love that food. Sports challenge also has coaches that are experienced in the sports your playing in.

Most of the coaches have previously or are currently playing overseas, and all of them either played in college or are still playing. Also as the day goes along you are being observed, because at the end of the day a leadership shirt is given to people that the coaches feel have been the most active, energetic, and helpful on and off the court. Sports challenge is a place where you learn to lead and lead to learn. I love sports challenge and though I’ve only been here for three days so far, they have made me a better ball player and a better leader each day.

Tyseem L (Age 17)

Brooklyn, NY (Boys Basketball Program)

SportsChallenge Games: Outrageous and Spectacular

2009-06-29T23:34:00.000-04:00

SportsChallenge is a place where fun and seriousness coexist side by side, in perfect harmony. There is constant positive energy and good humor, and the next great joke is always only a few seconds away. But when it comes to sports, we couldn't be more business-like: each practice is highly intense, and the coaches and student-athletes work hard to make sure that skill development is always happening. One could say, then, that we are dead serious about sports.

Except, that is, when it comes to SportsChallenge Games.

Today, the program was separated into four distinct teams (Red, Yellow, Blue, and White), and while we're still as competitive as ever, the Games lean heavily-- HEAVILY-- towards fun. Tonight, we donned our team colors proudly and marched into the gym for some dodgeball. And oh, what a night of dodgeball it was!

Balls were whipped around the gym with such force that the spectators and judges were almost as active as the players. Loud and creative cheers from each team made the gym shake (judges have been known to award extra points for great cheering).

The best Dodgeball match of the night was the last, between Blue and Yellow. Yellow opened the game ferociously and took a commanding lead of 9 players to four, but Blue refused to give in. Behind the cool and collected play J.P. Crowley, Blue stormed back and eventually took a 3-2 lead. Just then Crowley was knocked out, leaving 2 players on each team for the final minute. The players jockeyed for position, dodging several balls. Director (and SportsChallenge Games Master of Ceremonies) Jeremy Edwards started the count-down with 10 seconds left. Yellow's Shane Jennings, an Irishman in his second SportsChallenge day, threw his ball at the Blue team, but missed. Then, with two seconds left, Blue attacked. A throw came straight at Jennings, with considerable pace. There was no time to dodge; Jennings needed to catch the ball, or his team would lose. The ball hit Jennings squarely in the chest, but he wrapped his arms around it and held on tight--clinching the match for Yellow as time expired!

His teammates rushed the court and raised Jennings aloft, chanting loudly and wildly. It was an unforgettable moment.

There are many more SportsChallenge Games to come. If the competition is at this level of gloriousness now, I can only imagine what Capture the Egg (an SC original) will look like.

-Coach Matthew Roach

My Day Today

2009-06-29T20:19:00.000-04:00

I’m going to tell a little bit about what I did today at SportsChallenge. First when I woke up I got dressed then I went outside and participated in the vitamin b6 workout program and went through the 4 hard workout drills then I headed over to breakfast and ate! After breakfast I went to basketball practice when I went through numerous drills that I think are going to improve me as a player.

After practice I went to my leadership class. In my leadership class we made a timeline on key events that happened in my life. After that I got together with a partner and shared all the key events. After that we read a packet about team learning and what it means to be a good team. After that we watched a short clip of remember the titans showing key scenes on team identity and leadership. After my leader ship class I went to lunch. After lunch I came back to my dorm and went to sleep for about an hour. I then got up and went to the gym and shot around before practice. During practice we went through different drills. After we went through drills we played our first game of the day. We won our first game of the day and I got to meet some new people on my team and got to build team chemistry. And that’s what I did today-well actually all that before 5pm...there is more to come tonight!

Stacey Y. (age 15)
Washington, DC (boys basketball program)

Working hard on Day 2!

2009-06-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

It's day two here at summer academy. Check out what we are up to on the field/court.

Jean Carlo makes a great save in practice

Jessica passing to a new teammate

The basketball guys start their scrimmages

Make sure to stay tuned for some more images, footage and the results of the first night of the SC Games. Tonight the Red, Blue, White and Yellow teams fight it out on the dodgeball court. Any predictions on who is going to win?

Soreness, Goals, and Anticipating SC Games

2009-06-29T17:31:00.000-04:00

Today, I woke up on the second full day with soreness and new cramps. However, I had to quickly act as though the pain in my legs had gone away as we began our second Vitamins session. Doing sweaty abs and box jumps for for forty-five minutes is truly the best way to wake yourself up at 7 A.M. After we had gotten all sweaty and smelly, we piled in the buses for breakfast. As a vegetarian, I was worried about the new cafeteria's ability to provide non-meat options. However, the extremely nice chef kindly offered for the rest of the breakfasts to make some veg options for us non-meat-eaters. Not only did I have the pleasure of meeting the cooking staff at St. Anne's, but also to meet Mr. Lonnie, our bus driver.

In soccer practice today, we worked on turns and defending those offensive turns. We also had an intensely competitive juggling game, during which the coaches showed their competitive sides. Due to our very tired muscles, we all thanked our coaches for our extra long stretching sessions. All the athletic sessions today were intense and difficult workouts, but always rewarding at the end. Because today's theme is vision, I worked today with a new sense of determination to accomplish the goals, which I planned out last night with the help of my advisors. Personally my goal for the field is to use my weak foot at least three times each session. Though it was difficult because it was the first day with my goal, I felt more aware of the fact that I should be utilizing my weak foot.

We are all about to head to dinner to refill our energy tanks with various treats. After dinner and evening forum, we are all pumped for SC Games '09 (and white team is going to dominate)!!

Charlotte T. (age 17)
Richmond, VA (girls soccer program)

Pool Time!

2009-06-29T15:17:00.000-04:00

Today we had our first session of "open-swim" at the pool. Debunking more myths than those pertaining to leadership (people are born leaders, the best leaders are the most-outgoing, etc), Sports Challenge challenges the myth that one cannot swim within 45 min of eating as the pool was filled with student-athletes after lunch before their afternoon sports session. As far as I know, no one cramped up!

The highlight of the pool time was a creative version of volleyball that a big group of soccer kids started on one side of the pool. Somehow dividing into teams, the kids hit, punched, or threw a volleyball over flags that serve as markers. Yelling, screaming and having an all-around good time, the kids' makeshift game turned into an aggressive competition between the soccer and basketball players (who had been jealously eying the game for the past several minutes).

Temporarily segregated by sport and after some whooping, pointing, and laughing the two sports were able to compromise into one big game and thereby giving Coach Hellerman a clear lane to finish up her 70 laps! This game lasted for the rest of the pool session, leaving everyone happy, fatigued, (though vocal chords perhaps a little scratched), and relatively relaxed and loose for today's last session of sports!

-Coach Alexa Caldwell
Brown University '11

Pompine

2009-06-29T12:58:00.000-04:00

There is an "age-old" SportsChallenge tradition that harkens back to my Haverford College days—THE POMPINE. (Various spellings exist.) It's a game of chance involving a group of athletes or coaches (or both) throwing fingers on one hand and adding up the total result to see who "it" lands on. The loser (or winner depending on the situation) has to do a previously agreed upon task such as clearing the trays at dinner.

Yesterday, after a suspenseful pompine at lunch, Coach Gomez was chosen as the lucky winner to be carried into evening forum as well as perform an inspiring chant for the word of the day: RISK. Check out how it turned out below! Enjoy :)

This classic pompine was followed by yet another creative gamble when coaches played and the two losers/winners had to wear the clothes chosen by the other loser/winner at this morning's speed and agility session (aka vitamins). So, true to the game, at 6:50am this morning, all 6'5" of Coach Kirk Daulerio was donning the soccer shorts of the relatively very petite Coach Molly Arenberg. Molly is a former soccer player at Marquette; she chose a tie-dyed-t (mid-rift on Coach Daulerio) that made for a an interesting session as Coach Daulerio did the ladder work-out, lunges and hurdles in his new outfit! (Did I mention that Coach Daulerio is the father of two and a college admissions director in his spare time!).

About an hour ago, at the end of their Conflict Resolution class, three girls basketball players lost a pompine and are now very excited about having to read aloud the new poem they created in order to fill the emotional fuel tank of Coach Kizmahr Grell. (I'll leave explaining the emotional fuel tank for another day...)

Coach Jeremy Edwards

Visit from Harry Birnbaun

2009-06-28T23:22:00.000-04:00

Alum Harry Birnbaun graced SportsChallenge with his presence this evening to give students an introduction and lesson on the importance of vision, which is tomorrow's daily word. Coach Molly and Coach Edwards assisted Mr. Birnbaun in finding some fashionable new glasses to help him with his vision or as we say here at summer academy "allow him to see his goals". Needless to say, Mr. Birnbaun was a great addition to evening forum and left nothing but smiles on the coaches and kids faces. Take a second to check out some of the photo's of last night below.

Fun

2009-06-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

This morning we were having much fun with our basketball session. We did work on the pick and roll off the screens; it was fun because everybody was learning how to do it right and we started using it in our games. The other thing i liked about today was our leadership class. we met other campers; it was fun because we all talked about the different ways to remember the other campers name. then we tried to beat the coach's time but we couldn't. even though it's only day 2, i know I would love to come back to sports challenge again.

Devonte J (age 16)
Chicago, IL (boys basketball program)

College Counseling 101

2009-06-28T10:15:00.000-04:00

We just finished up our first college counseling workshop here at the SportsChallenge Summer Academy! In Admissions Committee 101: How Colleges Make Decisions, Coaches Daulerio and Gonzalez covered a range of topics relating to the college application and admissions process.

The turnout was impressive, and the students were engaged, inquisitive, and proactive. For a glimpse into the conversation, picture this Q&A... (Cue harp music and faux fog)

Q: Coach D, What makes a good essay?

A: While it doesn't have to be a Pulitzer-prizewinning piece of literature, an essay should give an admissions officer a closer look at your interests, passions, background, and/or personality. Effort is key! Don't submit a laid-back, half-written paragraph that you threw together at the last minute. The worst essay I've ever read was only about five sentences long, and in those five sentences the word "cheesesteak" was mentioned fifteen times! True story, and it doesn't end well. Don't let it happen to you!

Q: How many recommendations should you submit?

A: Typically a college will ask for a counselor recommendation and one to two teacher recommendations. Some might ask for a peer recommendation. Many colleges will allow you to submit extra letters of reference, but you want to make sure you keep these to a reasonable number, say one or two, if you do decide to submit extra letters. I've seen admissions files with 20 to 30 extra letters that all say the same exact thing - "Suzie is a wonderful person, bright and motivated, and will be a terrific, wonderful, exceptional, yada yada yada student in your community." Not helpful. Keep it to a reasonable number.

Q: What if my school doesn't rank its students?

A: Then you are at a serious disadvantage...oops, I mean, it doesn't matter! Every high school is different, and each of them have their own system of grading and/or ranking their students. College admissions officers will evaluate you within the context of your school's own system. It wouldn't be fair to hold it against a student if their school chooses not to rank, or they do not weight their grades, or they don't even report grades! Colleges will love you just the same, so don't worry, be happy! Hmm, sounds like a song

These were only a few of the many questions students asked during the session. Our goal was to provide insight into the admissions committee process and to relieve some of the anxiety students generally feel as they prepare to apply to college. The key, as we mentioned, is being proactive and being your own self-advocate. Talk to admissions officers. Set appointments with your guidance counselor. Research colleges, visit, and interview. Don't be afraid to ask questions! Above all, realize that there is a college out there for everyone, and if you put the effort into the application process, you will undoubtedly find a good match.

-Coach Kirk Daulerio (SC College Counselor)

Vitamin A

2009-06-28T09:08:00.001-04:00

Good morning Sportschallenge fans! Can you feel the enthusiasm! That's what the student-athletes felt this morning as all 100+ student athletes made it to the tennis courts at 7:00 AM sharp for our first session of Vitamins. All 105 high school athletes were on time, and even better, everyone was pumped and ready to rumble. It was a beautiful morning as Coach Wood walked everyone (student-athletes and coaches!) through a dynamic warm up and a series of speed and agility drills.

Vitamins is the daily 7am workout regime we use at Sportschallenge to get the student-athletes focused and warmed up for their athletic sessions later in the day. It's also an opportunity to teach the student-athletes how to build a complete conditioning workout when they leave the camp. All of the drills are being recorded and uploaded to a website that student athletes will be able to access when they are home after the camp.

We're off to a great start this morning, and as we discussed last night, our student athletes have their hard-hats (work-ethic), sponges (to absorb all they can) and open-minds all in place to get all they can out of the day.

Have you had your vitamins today?!

-Coach Will Stafford

Game Day!

2009-06-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a day...we always worry that we might be packing in too much day one, but once again, the student-athletes stepped up and handled all that we threw out at them!

After a busy afternoon of registration and moving in, the program officially began with the Opening Leadership Seminar. After a welcome from SportsChallenge Founder and Director Kevin Morgan, fellow Directors Molly Hellerman and Jeremy Edwards explored 4 traditional myths about leadership. They energetically leaped around the stage (impressively, given Edwards' torn ACL), and challenged student-athletes to think of themselves as future leaders.

"Leaders are always vocal and charismatic," Hellerman said.

"False! That is a lie!" Edwards cried. "Raise your hand if you have ever led by example, by working hard, " he asked the student-athletes. Everyone raised a hand, demonstrating the point that leadership can often be nonvocal.

Perhaps the highlight of the seminar came when Edwards and Hellerman were looking to debunk the myth that "leaders are born, not made." Coaches Li'Esha Garcia and Shannon Drury appeared on-stage in costume, with Drury apparently in labor and "Dr" Garcia encouraging her to push a baby out. After some further encouragement from the student-athletes ("P-U-S-H! PUSH! PUSH! PUSH!"), Drury "birthed" Coach Kodi Shay, who wriggled free and then raised his arms in the air in triumph. But, as Edwards soon pointed out, outstanding athletes and leaders do not actually emerge from the womb fully formed; hard work and the right learning environment make all the difference.

With high levels of energy and good humor, the student-athletes soon began to take advantage of the unique learning environment of SportsChallenge. In the first athletic session of the program, athletes came in with positive attitudes and a ton of exhuberence.

From my post as a coach in the Boys' Basketball program, I was impressed not only by the high level of talent, but, more importantly, by the student-athletes' willingness to hustle and play together. This first athletic session was a chance for the student-athletes to meet their coaches and get a sense of the rigors and opportunities of SportsChallenge, and they took full advantage. Already, players were calling each other by name, making sweet passes, and playing hard, tough defense. As basketball coaches, we are very much looking forward to harnessing this passion into organized team basketball, and the players are right on board: Basketball Director Bobby Rue asked the basketball players how they wanted to be described at the end of the program, and the players suggested "organized," and "hard-working," as their top choices.

From my conversations with other coaches, it was apparent that each program is off to a similarly exciting start. In particular, we couldn't help but hear the girls' basketball team getting fired up, cheering loudly that each and every one of the girls "Rock!" Apparently, Coach Shannon Drury had brought a box of rocks with "I" and "U" written in marker on either side of them. She then pulled out a rock, showed the "I" side, and said, "You know what? I rock! I don't care what anyone says; I rock!" She then flipped the rock over and turned to the student-athlete next to her. "But you know what else? YOU Rock! And YOU Rock! And YOU Rock!" Before long, the entire girls basketball program was going crazy, encouraging each other and loudly ROCKING out.

These kinds of moments are what make SportsChallenge a special place. And it's only just begun. We can't wait to see what will happen in the week to come!

-Coach Matt Roach

S-C round three!

2009-06-26T23:12:00.000-04:00

Five years, two car rides and one plane ride later, I have returned to the SportsChallenge program in Middletown, DE for a third time. However, I am not returning as the nervous, pumped up high school student-athlete but as an avid, passionate soccer coach. Even though it has been five years, I have been welcomed back into the SportsChallenge family in the same fashion I was as a student-athlete a while back—with open arms and high fives all around. Staff training started Tuesday, June 23rd and I immediately started to learn what I took for granted as a youth soccer participant. What I never realized was all the hard work the coaches put into making this program an experience of a lifetime for any teenager. During the past four days, staff at Sports Challenge have been fine-tuning not only how to become a great coach but also a great mentor, leader and teacher. As a newer coach to the staff, I have to say I have been learning from the best of the best.

I also can not help but reflect on my days as a student-athlete five and six years ago. I still have my old SportsChallenge t-shirts and the handouts on how to be a leader and on how to set "smarte" goals: goals that are Specific, Measurable, Accountable, a Reach, within a Time-frame, and Effort based. Most importantly I still have lasting friendships with my former teammates and coaches. I remember after my first year at Sports Challenge, I made my high school soccer team set three individual goals and three team goals for the season—SportsChallenge style. I was able to step up as a confident, well-rounded leader. And these were not part of my character prior to participating in the program. I did not have any title as captain, but SportsChallenge gave me all the tools I needed to help my team on and off the field. That year, my high school soccer team went from a losing record the season prior to being UNDEFEATED. I could not believe the power of effective leadership!

I am so excited for the student-athletes to come in tomorrow! I hope to impact and touch the lives of the student-athletes just as my life was touched by the coaches five years ago. :-)

-Coach Molly Arenberg

Summer Academy Training

2009-06-26T17:38:00.000-04:00

For the last few days, the SportsChallenge staff has been hard at work here in muggy Middletown, DE, on the beautiful campus of St. Andrew's School. We've been preparing our leadership courses and fine-tuning our soccer and basketball programs to make this year's SportsChallenge epic full of spirit, energy, passion, competition, and fun.

This year, we'll be posting updates on all things SportsChallenge here on our brand new SportsChallenge blog, Overtime! Our aim is to bring you the SportsChallenge experience through the web; we'll have photos, stories, and journal entries from coaches and student-athletes alike. The program starts tomorrow. Stay tuned!

-Coach Matt Roach