Obesity and It's Affects on Your Adolescent
18/05/14 15:16
Obesity has become an epidemic in our society. The current lifestyle consists of decreased levels of physical activity and an increase in the consumption of hyper-caloric foods has created this epidemic. Simultaneously, social pressures push for thinness as an attribute of beauty. Seeking to identify with a social group has made human beings to conform to these standards. This has led to the emergence of the concept of the “deviant individual” regarding obesity. These individuals are considered to have an imperfect body, which causes feelings of inadequacy and discriminatory feelings on the part of others.
Obese persons are a target of preconception and discrimination, attend school for fewer years, have a lower probability of being accepted into more competitive schools or jobs, have lower salaries, and less stable romantic relationships (De Sousa, 2008). The stigma of obesity arises in adolescence, due to the development of an imbalanced bodily image. This is because adolescents with excessive weight or obesity observe their differences, and hear rude, offensive comments from peers, causing them to limit their involvement in athletic activities and social life.
De Sousa, 2008 conducted a study on obesity and body image amongst adolescences. His findings were that the percentage of individuals that considered themselves “fat” is greater than the actual prevalence of obesity. Their study showed a higher rate of physical inactivity, lower family functionality, lower self-concept, and a higher depression index. Adolescents who truly are obese had lower academic success rates and also found that obesity is more prevalent in males, but females tend to be more likely to consider themselves “fat”.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
References
De Sousa, P.,Miguel Lopes. (2008). Body-image and obesity in adolescence: A comparative study of social-demographic, psychological, and behavioral aspects. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11(2), 551-63. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/274589631?accountid=27965
Obese persons are a target of preconception and discrimination, attend school for fewer years, have a lower probability of being accepted into more competitive schools or jobs, have lower salaries, and less stable romantic relationships (De Sousa, 2008). The stigma of obesity arises in adolescence, due to the development of an imbalanced bodily image. This is because adolescents with excessive weight or obesity observe their differences, and hear rude, offensive comments from peers, causing them to limit their involvement in athletic activities and social life.
De Sousa, 2008 conducted a study on obesity and body image amongst adolescences. His findings were that the percentage of individuals that considered themselves “fat” is greater than the actual prevalence of obesity. Their study showed a higher rate of physical inactivity, lower family functionality, lower self-concept, and a higher depression index. Adolescents who truly are obese had lower academic success rates and also found that obesity is more prevalent in males, but females tend to be more likely to consider themselves “fat”.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
References
De Sousa, P.,Miguel Lopes. (2008). Body-image and obesity in adolescence: A comparative study of social-demographic, psychological, and behavioral aspects. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11(2), 551-63. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/274589631?accountid=27965
The Need For Field Generals
12/05/14 09:46
Another Saturday of soccer has come and gone, some wins and some losses that should have been wins. It’s all about fun right, so who cares? It’s Monday and I can’t let it go that easily. I see some deficiency in how we have instructed our teams on how to win. Time to make some simple corrections.
We need field generals! Every team that steps on the pitch needs a field general, otherwise known as captains. Why? As a coach your job is to set the strategy and tactical formation, to evaluate the performance at particular positions and how cohesively they are playing together. Your field general needs to be the athlete on the field that sets the tone of play for the team. They have to act the way you would if you were eligible to play.
Allow me to present a real world example; Dwight D. Eisenhower had the foresight to see the brilliance of a young tank commander in 1919. This young commander came from a long line of military service. He struggled early in his youth to read and write, but had an affinity for military drills. He graduated from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Calvary. His most enduring quality was that he was a hard-driving, dedicated leader. This young man went by the name of George S. Patton. Although Patton had instances of going overboard, Eisenhower trusted him to lead the Third Army into battle during World War II. General Patton was respected not only by his fellow soldiers, but also by the German high command. Patton's colorful personality, hard-driving leadership style and success as a commander, combined with his frequent political missteps, produced a mixed and often contradictory image. Patton's great oratory skill is seen as integral to his ability to inspire troops under his command. He has been regarded as arrogant, publicity-seeking and personally flawed, but ... among the greatest generals of the war.
Do you have a field general that can inspire your team to push forward? Can they lead by example and set the tone for the game. Will they play hard when they are up and play harder when things are falling apart? You need to designate your field general and put them in command, because you can yell from the sideline but your team will respond to their field general because they on the battlefield with them.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS,USAW-1
We need field generals! Every team that steps on the pitch needs a field general, otherwise known as captains. Why? As a coach your job is to set the strategy and tactical formation, to evaluate the performance at particular positions and how cohesively they are playing together. Your field general needs to be the athlete on the field that sets the tone of play for the team. They have to act the way you would if you were eligible to play.
Allow me to present a real world example; Dwight D. Eisenhower had the foresight to see the brilliance of a young tank commander in 1919. This young commander came from a long line of military service. He struggled early in his youth to read and write, but had an affinity for military drills. He graduated from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Calvary. His most enduring quality was that he was a hard-driving, dedicated leader. This young man went by the name of George S. Patton. Although Patton had instances of going overboard, Eisenhower trusted him to lead the Third Army into battle during World War II. General Patton was respected not only by his fellow soldiers, but also by the German high command. Patton's colorful personality, hard-driving leadership style and success as a commander, combined with his frequent political missteps, produced a mixed and often contradictory image. Patton's great oratory skill is seen as integral to his ability to inspire troops under his command. He has been regarded as arrogant, publicity-seeking and personally flawed, but ... among the greatest generals of the war.
Do you have a field general that can inspire your team to push forward? Can they lead by example and set the tone for the game. Will they play hard when they are up and play harder when things are falling apart? You need to designate your field general and put them in command, because you can yell from the sideline but your team will respond to their field general because they on the battlefield with them.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS,USAW-1
Philisophical Satire
08/05/14 16:54
In this life you will meet many people. I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing people and also form strong friendships. These people are valuable gems in your life when you find them and you would be wise to hold onto them and guard their friendship like the treasure it is. I say that to say thanks for continuously spurring thought and always providing a witty, articulate, contextual reference for life “Fuzzy.”
Monday morning we had a discussion about the recent Donald Sterling implosion. “Fuzzy” being the mental giant he is tried to hold fast to our agreement not to give it anymore press by allowing it in our discussion but I needed to hear his thoughts so I badgered him into a conversation. For clarity purposes, I do believe and feel that Sterling is a racist idiot, but I also feel he was used as a whipping boy also. The perfect storm of his racist past, his infidelity, and being the first 4 alarm fire for the new commissioner all led up to his being banned by the NBA. I base my argument on the fact that the majority of Americans have been a part of some sort of racial insensitive misconduct at sometime in their life. We are all guilty of making a comment at sometime about another ethnicity without thinking about the consequences.
“Fuzzy” conversationally slaps me with a dose of reality and brings up a prior discussion we had on the court of public opinion and athletes. This leads me to the truth of this article, as Americans we place our athletes on a pedestal. This starts in high school and proliferates up and through the professional ranks. This power comes with great responsibility, so says the amazing Spiderman. The situations and experiences that athletes get themselves into are not necessarily unique to the rest of the population, but we are always quick to pick up the stones and execute sentencing based on the media’s expert testimony. This is the way our culture is, this is the reality and athletes must accept this when they begin to ask for stardom. For the young athlete and next generation phenoms hear this; you belong to us, we make you who you are. When you move into the ranks of collegiate athletics or beyond, you will be held to a higher standard of behavior than the rest of us because we pay your tuition, salaries thru ticket sales, shoe endorsements, advertising, jersey sales, and team/brand bias. We will allow you to be opulent and outrageous but if you step on our toes or offend us we will lay waste to your name. Some would say yeah so? This becomes important if YOUR son or daughter has the opportunity to enter a major collegiate athletic program and begins to deal with the pressures of meeting our expectations. Then all of a sudden YOUR attitude changes towards “give them a break, they are young”. Remember that the next time you are watching a youth sporting competition. It’s about entertainment and fun.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Monday morning we had a discussion about the recent Donald Sterling implosion. “Fuzzy” being the mental giant he is tried to hold fast to our agreement not to give it anymore press by allowing it in our discussion but I needed to hear his thoughts so I badgered him into a conversation. For clarity purposes, I do believe and feel that Sterling is a racist idiot, but I also feel he was used as a whipping boy also. The perfect storm of his racist past, his infidelity, and being the first 4 alarm fire for the new commissioner all led up to his being banned by the NBA. I base my argument on the fact that the majority of Americans have been a part of some sort of racial insensitive misconduct at sometime in their life. We are all guilty of making a comment at sometime about another ethnicity without thinking about the consequences.
“Fuzzy” conversationally slaps me with a dose of reality and brings up a prior discussion we had on the court of public opinion and athletes. This leads me to the truth of this article, as Americans we place our athletes on a pedestal. This starts in high school and proliferates up and through the professional ranks. This power comes with great responsibility, so says the amazing Spiderman. The situations and experiences that athletes get themselves into are not necessarily unique to the rest of the population, but we are always quick to pick up the stones and execute sentencing based on the media’s expert testimony. This is the way our culture is, this is the reality and athletes must accept this when they begin to ask for stardom. For the young athlete and next generation phenoms hear this; you belong to us, we make you who you are. When you move into the ranks of collegiate athletics or beyond, you will be held to a higher standard of behavior than the rest of us because we pay your tuition, salaries thru ticket sales, shoe endorsements, advertising, jersey sales, and team/brand bias. We will allow you to be opulent and outrageous but if you step on our toes or offend us we will lay waste to your name. Some would say yeah so? This becomes important if YOUR son or daughter has the opportunity to enter a major collegiate athletic program and begins to deal with the pressures of meeting our expectations. Then all of a sudden YOUR attitude changes towards “give them a break, they are young”. Remember that the next time you are watching a youth sporting competition. It’s about entertainment and fun.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Coaching During a Difficult Match
28/04/14 21:29
Saturday afternoon its game time. Conditions are ideal for a meltdown. I was given the task of coaching our U8-U9 team. This is a mixture of kids that have some experience playing soccer, with many first season players. We were facing a very solid and technically superior team with 4-5 years of cohesive team experience. The stage was set for a 6v6 massacre. The scoring was fast and often, with momentary flashes from my boys of a sense of defense. Our goalie worked double time trying to defend and lead but their striking was relentless. As our kids realized they were outmatched by skill and tactic the reality of the rapid scoring began to set in.
As a coach I felt my blood pressure and heart rate begin to increase. I could hear the anger in my voice began to present itself as I watched the kids volley shots in goal and then turn and airplane back toward the center of the pitch. I was madder than a hornet caught in a spider web and I was losing my composure. As my DOC asked from the sideline, how’s it going? I was boiling inside because our fate on this day was sealed. We are falling apart but the kids can’t know this. I looked to the near corner and saw my wife taking photos of the kids as they played and found my moment of clarity. These kids didn’t care that they were getting slaughtered by this team. They wanted to be outside on this sunny afternoon playing soccer. In this instance, I began to coach. I the next few stops by our goalie were very impressive and I made sure he knew it. I shouted from the sideline, stay relaxed guys and have fun. Wasn’t that the point? These are children that are not being paid to win games, we are not going to breakdown game film, nor are we going to lose sponsorship or ticket sales because we suffered a loss. They are not playing this game to make me look good; I’m coaching them to help them get better. My DOC came over at the half and gave me some words of encouragement and tactically tried to help stop the bleeding, we were simply outgunned.
As the game drew to a close we had been outscored by double digits, and my few kids with game experience hung their heads realizing we had been beaten badly. I told them to grab some water and meet back at the sideline. We all took a knee and I asked a series of questions, how do you feel about the game and the resounding answer was disappointed. I then asked them if they all played their hardest and they responded with solemn head nods yes. I then told them that they had nothing to be disappointed about. Some day’s gentlemen we will face obstacles we can’t defeat, but if we throw everything we have at it and it still overcomes us we still win because we never gave up. As I brought the kids together before sending them home I encouraged them to enjoy the rest of their weekend and that I would see them at practice on Tuesday. Within minutes they were on the next field shooting goals on each other and playing 1v1. As coaches we must realize our pride must be put on the back burner, these kids play the sport for fun and camaraderie. Let them enjoy it without the pressure of being overwhelmed to win every game and represent you, you are there to represent them and teach them how to be better athletes and human beings.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
As a coach I felt my blood pressure and heart rate begin to increase. I could hear the anger in my voice began to present itself as I watched the kids volley shots in goal and then turn and airplane back toward the center of the pitch. I was madder than a hornet caught in a spider web and I was losing my composure. As my DOC asked from the sideline, how’s it going? I was boiling inside because our fate on this day was sealed. We are falling apart but the kids can’t know this. I looked to the near corner and saw my wife taking photos of the kids as they played and found my moment of clarity. These kids didn’t care that they were getting slaughtered by this team. They wanted to be outside on this sunny afternoon playing soccer. In this instance, I began to coach. I the next few stops by our goalie were very impressive and I made sure he knew it. I shouted from the sideline, stay relaxed guys and have fun. Wasn’t that the point? These are children that are not being paid to win games, we are not going to breakdown game film, nor are we going to lose sponsorship or ticket sales because we suffered a loss. They are not playing this game to make me look good; I’m coaching them to help them get better. My DOC came over at the half and gave me some words of encouragement and tactically tried to help stop the bleeding, we were simply outgunned.
As the game drew to a close we had been outscored by double digits, and my few kids with game experience hung their heads realizing we had been beaten badly. I told them to grab some water and meet back at the sideline. We all took a knee and I asked a series of questions, how do you feel about the game and the resounding answer was disappointed. I then asked them if they all played their hardest and they responded with solemn head nods yes. I then told them that they had nothing to be disappointed about. Some day’s gentlemen we will face obstacles we can’t defeat, but if we throw everything we have at it and it still overcomes us we still win because we never gave up. As I brought the kids together before sending them home I encouraged them to enjoy the rest of their weekend and that I would see them at practice on Tuesday. Within minutes they were on the next field shooting goals on each other and playing 1v1. As coaches we must realize our pride must be put on the back burner, these kids play the sport for fun and camaraderie. Let them enjoy it without the pressure of being overwhelmed to win every game and represent you, you are there to represent them and teach them how to be better athletes and human beings.
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Simplicity & Teamwork
23/04/14 19:00
Spring has sprung and the warmer weather is here. Saturday 80 degrees, at 5pm and we are about to scrimmage. U11-U12 Boys vs. Girls, this should be interesting, will the girls play more aggressive, will the boys man handle them, will someone end up angry because they missed a perfect opportunity?
All of the above, yes all the above happened. I have been blessed to coach a great group of kids that like all kids have on and off days. The girls outscored the boys 7-2 and some tempers flared and confidence fell. Just another day on the pitch. The recurring theme within this little scrimmage was simplicity. Kids of this generation watch too much TV and spend too much time in front of computers. Yes we all know this, but have we realized what it is doing to their psyche? Our boys are more than capable of devouring our girls, due to physical attributes but they complicate the game. The kids were playing on a 60yd x 40yd field with 5 boys and couldn’t manage to score more than 2 goals. I place the blame on Youtube. Youtube you say, what does that have to do with this? Our boys watch too many highlight reels! I explained to two of our boys at the end of the game that although they are good soccer players they needed to simplify their game. They retorted that are trying to be like Ronaldinho, Messi, and Ronaldo. It’s awesome when kids have role models to immolate, but I had to throw out some facts to them. There are 265 million professional soccer players in the FIFA Organization, and you are focusing on the moves of three, (3 amazing soccer players) but 3. Which one of them stepped on the pitch and took on a team all by himself? Now don’t get me wrong I am all for being a student of the game. Study video and learn new moves to add to your repertoire, but also understand that soccer is not an individual sport. The moves you practice and use must complement your team and most importantly they must put you in a position to score. One player every year wins the coveted Football Player of the Year Award, but it means nothing if your team always finishes in the middle of the pack. Kids in all sports need to focus on the fundamentals. They must focus on the simple aspects of the game, defense and offense, how to put points on the board, and master them. Learning how to do the fundamental things correctly, will lead to less mistakes and missed opportunities. Too often kids are trying to sprint before they have mastered the ability to walk, which in turn delays their ability to progress because they are stuck on trying to master things that are too advanced for them. Put the fireworks back on the shelf and let’s focus on how to strike the match first!
K.I.S.S. ( Keep It Sweet & Simple )
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Sport Psychology Consultant & Strength Coach
All of the above, yes all the above happened. I have been blessed to coach a great group of kids that like all kids have on and off days. The girls outscored the boys 7-2 and some tempers flared and confidence fell. Just another day on the pitch. The recurring theme within this little scrimmage was simplicity. Kids of this generation watch too much TV and spend too much time in front of computers. Yes we all know this, but have we realized what it is doing to their psyche? Our boys are more than capable of devouring our girls, due to physical attributes but they complicate the game. The kids were playing on a 60yd x 40yd field with 5 boys and couldn’t manage to score more than 2 goals. I place the blame on Youtube. Youtube you say, what does that have to do with this? Our boys watch too many highlight reels! I explained to two of our boys at the end of the game that although they are good soccer players they needed to simplify their game. They retorted that are trying to be like Ronaldinho, Messi, and Ronaldo. It’s awesome when kids have role models to immolate, but I had to throw out some facts to them. There are 265 million professional soccer players in the FIFA Organization, and you are focusing on the moves of three, (3 amazing soccer players) but 3. Which one of them stepped on the pitch and took on a team all by himself? Now don’t get me wrong I am all for being a student of the game. Study video and learn new moves to add to your repertoire, but also understand that soccer is not an individual sport. The moves you practice and use must complement your team and most importantly they must put you in a position to score. One player every year wins the coveted Football Player of the Year Award, but it means nothing if your team always finishes in the middle of the pack. Kids in all sports need to focus on the fundamentals. They must focus on the simple aspects of the game, defense and offense, how to put points on the board, and master them. Learning how to do the fundamental things correctly, will lead to less mistakes and missed opportunities. Too often kids are trying to sprint before they have mastered the ability to walk, which in turn delays their ability to progress because they are stuck on trying to master things that are too advanced for them. Put the fireworks back on the shelf and let’s focus on how to strike the match first!
K.I.S.S. ( Keep It Sweet & Simple )
Tory Robinson, MS, CSCS, USAW-1
Sport Psychology Consultant & Strength Coach