The story circulated around high school basketball and the problems that many high school coaches saw emerging in Chicago, Illinois.  High school coaches were seeing some of their top players leave the team for different schools even as they approached the middle of their postseason sometimes.

The reasons for why these highly touted players would leave in the middle of the season have a lot to do with their club basketball involvement.  Club basketball tournaments take place throughout the course of the summer and allow college coaches to see some of the best high school players all in one place. 

 As a result the college coaches often contact the club coaches rather than the player’s high school coach, completely skipping any contact with the school.  The belief by some is that the athlete has been with the club coach since they were very young and first started to play club basketball and under the club coach the team’s get sponsorships. 

 Therefore, because of contracts with sponsors and the athlete’s connection to a club coach the explanation for why a player transfers midseason begins to make sense.  If a player’s club coach is the coach at a different high school then often times they will transfer to play under their club coach all year round.

However, one of the large issues with this is the dispute between club coaches and high school coaches when this happens because high school coaches feel like they are getting the short end of the stick.  One issue that both sides don’t seem to be working towards properly achieving is what is in the best interest of the athletes.

I think it is unfortunate to have to see a high school player sit out for a season of basketball at their new school due to their transfer within the city.  The fact that the players have to suffer as a result from a decision that was made by parents and coaches is disappointing to see. 

 I also feel a sense of understanding for why high school athletics may be upset by club sports.  By completely eliminating playing one’s sport in high school so that club sports can be pursued is unfortunate and continually becoming more and more of a problem as people see a decline in the numbers of students that go out for high school sports in many places. 

Basketball is not the only sport that sees this happening, but living in Iowa I have seen the same struggle between high school teams and club teams with soccer.  The idea that a player has a better chance of being noticed at a club game rather than a high school game is very appealing to high school players that are interested in playing the game in college. 

What is concerning to me is that as of now there is no limit to how much these ideals will develop.  I fear for high school athletic programs and kids who cannot afford to play a club sport.  I worry for them the most, because I think it is possible that things may get to the point where good players will no longer be noticed by college scouts if they are simply just playing through their high school program.

          There was one paper night recently that while I was working on our final issue for the school year my newspaper teacher raised a very good point.  She mentioned that she just didn’t understand why a senior would drop out of high school in the last trimester of their senior year.

            I was also shocked by this problem.  Not to say that there are large numbers of seniors across the state that are dropping out with thirty days left in their high school career, but the fact that there is even any at all does not seem very logical.  

            I understand that with some students there is the possibility that a serious personal issue may occur and an absence from school is required, however it seems doubtful to me that this could possibly be the case with every individual that has dropped out as a senior. 

            I think that it is important for students to realize the consequences of such a decision.  By dropping out as a senior not only are you unable to receive your G.E.D. but you have also wasted four years or your life, because you did not receive anything on paper that shows what you accomplished over the past four years. Whether you feel you learned a lot or not, very few businesses will be willing to take you on as an employee without a high school education.

            Therefore, when it comes to the point that the senior who dropped out during his final year in high school realizes that they cannot find work they will look to understand why this is. The answer will be easy to find and that is the advantage of the millions of people they are competing with for a job is at least the high school diploma they received.

            This will then be followed by a return to high school courses for another four years, while their peers are finishing up college and maybe looking at attending grad school or going into their field of work. 

I’m not trying to say that it is impossible for a senior who drops out during their final year of high school to be successful, however I think it is logical to believe that their odds of being successful drastically decrease with the decision to shoot themselves in the foot for the rest of their lives by quitting on school early by a few days.

Ultimately I know writing a blog on this issue may not be heard by many and even if it is read who knows if it will create a change in thoughts, however it seems like it would be a tragedy for someone who has to regret for the rest of their life, their decision to not finish high school when they had the chance.  

            As one who takes a great deal of interest in my involvement in high school athletics I recently had the opportunity to write a newspaper story on a sport that I don’t play.  Baseball, America’s pastime, is a sport that I never found enough interest in to play.

However writing about baseball did appeal to me and as I thought of questions to ask my sources I realized one issue that is too often overlooked in high school baseball and softball in Iowa.  Whether or not it is fair that a student athlete could possibly be involved in the baseball or softball programs for five years.  The reason for this is a result of the fact that Iowa high schools have their baseball and softball seasons in the summer.  Therefore it allows eighth graders the opportunity to play a high school sport the summer right after middle school.

When I first started thinking of the issue I felt that there could be some controversy over whether or not other coaches and student athletes thought that five years of eligibility for baseball and softball players was fair.  Although I was able to find those students that felt this wasn’t fair, the support for the five years of eligibility in summer sports seemed almost overwhelming.

 First in talking with coaches, it was their belief that baseball and softball is tough enough for many kids to be involved in because of student’s involvement at work and in other activities.  Therefore, it was one coach’s opinion that many schools would be unable to field a team if eighth graders were not eligible.  Another coach went on to explain that if there were no summer baseball for eighth graders going into their freshmen year of high school, with no club baseball there would be a strong possibility that those kids would just sit around all summer and miss out on an opportunity to play the game.  Many student athletes agreed with this logic but also included some of their own.

Baseball and softball players alike agreed that because their sports fall in the summer, that is why they have five years of eligibility simply due to a timing issue.  Others also believed that because baseball and softball was taken out of the middle schools awhile back it also made sense to let eighth graders play going into high school for that reason. 

As a student athlete in other sports I can honestly say that the five years of eligibility that my friends have in their summer sport does not bother me.  I think it would be nice if I could play my sports for five years but I understand why baseball and softball players get to play for 5 years, furthermore I think it is logical that they do.

            As a high school soccer player the selection process for sub state is the one thing that has irritated me the most this year and in the past.  I think that the sub state brackets do not actually work to get the best teams in the state to make it to the state tournament.

            My disagreement with the sub state brackets was exemplified at one point during this spring’s season.  Our sub state bracket consists of six teams of which include C.R. Jefferson, C.R. Washington, C.R. Kennedy, Iowa City West, Prairie and Linn-Mar.  The two teams with the best regular season records get a first round bye and the winner of the entire bracket advances to the state tournament.

            At one point this year all six of those teams were ranked in the state.  While at the same time other sub state groups only consist of one or two teams at most that have a state ranking.  With this in mind I think it becomes easy to understand that the sub state brackets are unfair.

            By placing all these teams that did exceptionally well in the regular season in the same sub state group the Iowa High School Athletic Association, IHSAA, is simply allowing some of the top teams in the state to knock each other out in sub state play.  At the same time they are permitting two teams that had mediocre seasons to play for a state tournament berth in some other sub state group. 

            I think the biggest problem of all is that the people in charge of sub state bracket selections expressed their willingness to make a change at the beginning of the season by acknowledging that the change to sub state groups chosen as a result of a team’s record in regular season play would occur this season gave hope to many of the players and coaches.  However, this quickly changed and once again the problems that had occurred in the past would likely happen again, and sure enough they did. 

            Often times people will say that it takes more than one person to bring about an issue in order for a change to occur.  Yet, this has already happened and no change has been seen.  Therefore, all I can do is demand that action be taken because not only is it in the best interests of the coaches and players that deserve to be in the state tournament but also in the best interest of the game of soccer because it’s an injustice to allow a continual level of mediocrity into the state tournament year after year.

I’m not one who will sit in front of my computer all day and watch videos on you-tube as a form of entertainment but recently there was one video that truly caught my attention. 

You wouldn’t think that a person could be fascinated by a video titled “Hannibal For King,” but I must admit that I a guilty of having watched it at least six times the first day I saw it. 

Mostly I did this to convince myself that what I was seeing was real, but also because as someone who has dedicated a fair amount of time to strength and conditioning this video demonstrated an obvious extreme amount of dedication to that.

In the video Hannibal is no regular guy at a park in Brooklyn, New York.  Parks in larger cities have bars and benches that basically act as an outdoor workout place that is sort of a jungle gym.

Hannibal not using any weights just the bars and benches finds a way to get a workout.  While holding himself in the air with the support of metal bars he is able to do pull ups, push ups, leg raises, and several other motions that stresses the body.

Certainly my explanation does not do his workout justice and to really appreciate it you must take the four minutes to watch the video.

To see someone grab a hold of a bar and then hold one side of their body parallel to the ground takes an unthinkable amount of abdominal strength and goes to show how you don’t necessarily need the luxury of having access to a weight room to become strong.

I enjoyed seeing how this man was able to take advantage of just an ordinary park setup in his jean shorts and some tennis shoes.  He knew that to get a workout he didn’t need a gym all he needed was a jungle gym and his own willingness and desire to get strong. 

I felt that this was one of those great and inspiring stories that is out there just waiting to be told and its really too bad the media has never covered anything like this from what I have seen.

Today I heard an interesting story on ESPN about why there are so few African-American men on the PGA tour.  Much of the discussion revolved around the idea that African-American boys as a result of often times demographics and simply financial situations, at a young age they are not able to be involved with a sport that has some significant costs to play. 

To go along with this the sportscaster posed another question about golf’s very own Tiger Woods.  He asked these sports analysts if they felt that it was Woods’s job to be the role model or leader in getting more African-American golfers starting at a younger age.  The analysts went on to say that they did not feel that Woods should be obligated to do this nor should people place him as the centerpiece for going towards getting more of the African-American youth interested in golf.  One of the comments that I found to be most interesting was when the analysts shared his belief that the extent of Woods’s involvement in the matter was completely his choice. 

When I heard this I felt it was speaking to a bigger issue on a much broader scope.  That being, whether or not people of prominence should involve themselves in issues in society that may be controversial.  Often times in the past I would hear of those celebrities that refuse to share their opinions on certain matters simply because when they do share their opinions it just creates problems where they are either greatly being criticized or supported by the American public.  I cannot say that I disagree with this interpretation by celebrities, because it has turned out to be true in the past. 

However, what I have to disagree with is the scrutiny that celebrities’ comments are put under, but on the other hand when celebrities have the belief that their actions and words do not influence others I find that too be almost selfish to some extent.  Therefore, no I don’t think Tiger Woods is obligated to lead the way in helping the African-American youth become interested in golf.  However I, do think that he could have an influence on such a matter that I do not see him being criticized for supporting.   

In light of the recent ruling on same-sex marriage in Iowa, I wanted to give my insight into how I see this change affecting the state in the near future and much further down the road. 

First, I realize that there will be those who speak out against it and those that are against it but do not publicly announce it.  On the other end of things I know that there will be people that are in support of a new law allowing it.  However, as your average student I find myself falling somewhere in the middle of all this. 

When it comes to same-sex marriage I really don’t care because when I think about it although I see that life choice as different from my own personal views the people that are a part of same-sex marriages are not harming me in any way.  That is why I don’t feel as if I have an opinion towards either end of opinions on this subject so I am okay with it, because I don’t see it as influencing me at all. 

However, that is my own personal opinion and I would be a fool to think that same-sex marriage will not be an ongoing struggle for many years to follow in Iowa.  Personally I wish that people would think about the fact that there is enough hatred in this world already and that involving themselves in speaking out against this would just be a waste of their time when it comes down to it.

One thing that I do feel effects me and is something that I am interested in is the Iowa Supreme Court.  With their recent ruling on the subject of same-sex marriage they gave Iowan’s a lot to understand.  Such a ruling reflects a certain level of liberalism and one can assume that in the future if the court is faced with a decision on a different subject with similar magnitude there is a chance that once again a liberal ruling would not be a stretch.  I think it is important that as a student I notice these things about our Supreme Court here in Iowa, because when it comes time for a decision that does affect me I will be able to anticipate how they will rule.  

Dallas police officer Robert Powell pulled Moats over in the hospital parking lot, because Moats had ran a red light no more than a block away from the hospital.  While Moats’s wife and her sister immediately ran up to see their mother officer Powell prevented Moats from going into the hospital.  Two nurses came down to the parking lot and informed Powell that Moats’s mother-in-law only had minutes to live.  This was followed by the arrival of another officer who demanded that Powell be sympathetic to Moat’s situation and let him see his mother-in-law.  After refusing Powell gave Moats a ticket for running a red light and finally let Moats go.

However, by the time Moats made it to his mother-in-law’s side she had already passed.  The Dallas chief of police has apologized to Moats and his family and has acknowledged that officer Powell is now under investigation.  Moats’s response to the apology was simply that he accepts however that it is a moment of his life that he will never get back.

In light of this story I began thinking of how disgusted I was by this particular event and how people in general have increasingly began to lose sight of a moral uprightness in today’s society.  I feel that officer Powell represents a man on a power trip and someone that demonstrates a complete disregard for others.  In the job description of an officer the words to serve and to protect seem to be most significant in this event.  Officer Powell’s actions do not reflect the service to the American people nor does it reflect the protection of Moats’s personal rights to be with his mother-in-law during an important time.

As a result I feel that there does need to be an example made of Powell who in this case was obliged to show any true human sympathies towards Moats.  However I was glad to hear that when the Dallas police chief was criticized by some officers for his decision to go against officer Powell he clearly explained that as an officer Powell acted in an unacceptable manner and that he will not support such actions even if they are done by a fellow officer.