...aspect of the world there is some sort of gender inequality. In most sports the men have many more resources available to them compared to the women. There have been many great coaches and athletes who have overcome the obstacles that the fewer resources have brought on. These athletes or coaches have been successful regardless of the situation. One of these coaches is Patricia Head Summitt. Despite the gender inequalities that are evident in the sport of basketball she has become the greatest coach in the sport. Pat Summitt was born to Richard and Hazel Head on June 14, 1952. She was born in Ashland City, Tennessee. She married R.B. Summitt who she later divorced and together they had one son named Tyler. Pat attended the University of Tennessee at Martin. She majored in physical education and was a member on the women’s basketball team there. Along with playing for her school she was a member of the United States World University team. Summitt graduated in 1974. Immediately after graduating she was offered the job of head women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She accepted the job offer and worked in this position from 1974 until 2012. As a child Pat grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee but later moved across the county line to Henrietta, Tennessee so that Pat would be able to participate on a women’s high school team. She played for Cheatham County High School where she was a four year starter and earned all-district honors her senior...
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...author of this portfolio is currently the head boy’s basketball coach at Desert Hot Springs High School. Basketball has always been a passion of the author ever since he was a young boy playing the game in front of his childhood home. Immediately after high school, he had put himself in a situation of being a young father raising a newborn, beautiful little girl. It was then, when he realized that he wanted to become a basketball coach. He felt that it would be tough for him to pursue a career playing basketball, while having to support a family, so he figured why not coach the sport that he was passionate about. His experiences with former coaches, both positive and negative, have helped shape his coaching philosophy. The first high school coach that the author played for helped him realize the coach that he did not want to become for his players. This high school coach would be consistently late to practice, make inappropriate comments to players and simply roll the basketballs out and have the team practice on their own. This coach almost turned the author off from playing the sport that he adored because of the ineffective coaching style that was demonstrated. The author then ended up transferring schools in hope for a better experience playing basketball. The last coach that the author played for in high...
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...What is your dream job? My dream job is to be a high school special education teacher because I have experience in this field already and love my job. I like working with special education students because they are so genuine and are extremely willing to learn. With so much experience already, I feel like I have know what I am getting myself into with the work such as IEP that it will just come natural. Waking up every morning as an aide in the class makes me believe when I run the class it will be more enjoyable. The reason I ever made this choice was because I started helping in a Special Education class when I was in fifth grade and throughout my high school career. Would you ever want to branch out and run any clubs, sports, or after school activities? In another field of my career I would love to also be the varsity head basketball coach for my high school. I played basketball in high school and I love the sport. I know a lot about it and would feel so lucky to keep participating in something that I did in and loved so much in high school. I also know that one question principals ask when they interview a teacher is would you be willing to be a coach of any sport, and it would be something I would love to do. Another job I would accept would be the head baseball coach because I am also very knowledgeable in the sport and have previous experience in coaching. Are you qualified for these jobs? I have qualified for both jobs with my experience and background...
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...College hoops' black coaching issue Myron Medcalf [ARCHIVE] ESPN.com | July 18, 2013 When a national sportswriter calls to talk about minority hiring in college basketball, folks of all races seem to get nervous. As I sought feedback following last week's release of the "2012 Racial and Gender Report Card: College Sport" by Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport -- the report excludes historically black colleges and universities -- which states that the current pool of Division I African-American head coaches (18.6 percent through the 2011-12 season) is at its lowest mark since the 1995-96 season, people weren't sure what, if anything, they should say. Multiple administrators passed on the opportunity. The NCAA wanted to see my questions, and then it wanted a pre-interview phone conversation before it ultimately emailed its responses. The coaches who talked on the record always ended our chats with the same concern: "I didn't say anything that will make me look bad, right?" Shaka Smart Andy Lyons/Getty Images To reach Shaka Smart's level, black coaches often have to overcome certain labels. I don't blame them. It's an incendiary issue, because we're uncomfortable with race as dialogue. It's still a subject that makes athletic directors -- 89 percent of whom are white at the Division I level, per the report -- squirm. Minority coaches speak cautiously, because they don't want to be labeled as rebels or militants. That hesitancy...
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...1. American Sport Movies There are few countries in the world in which sports permeate national life to the degree that it does in the United States. Sports are a big part of the fabric of American life. The centrality of sports in American life is amply reflected in the American cinema. For decades movie makers have successfully mined sports to produce some of the most inspiring, poignant, exciting and memorable American movies ever made. The genre of ‘Sport Movies’ established in the Fifties and the Sixties. At the very beginning it was hard to see it as an independent genre because there was a lot of mixture. There have been propaganda movies as well as comedies, dramas, gangster movies or even westerns combined with some sport scenes. So the movie industry defined three categories of sport movies. Category 1: movies in which the main part of the narration is about sport or an athlete Category 2: movies which tell the life story of an athlete Category 3: movies which use sport scenes to describe a special milieu In addition to that there are a lot of movies of another genre which use sport scenes to dramatise the story or to create a good suspense. The first sport movies were all about the so called American Myth of victory and glory. Fair competitions and the better athletes defeating the weaken. The fascination of sport inspiring the people was used to lure the public. Then in the eighties and nineties there have been made a lot of biographical movies...
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...Canadian-American sports coach and innovator. He invented the sport of basketball in 1891 and is often credited with introducing the first football helmet. He wrote the original basketball rulebook, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of both the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship . Born in Canada, Naismith studied physical education in Montreal before moving to the United States, where he developed basketball in late 1891 while teaching at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith also studied medicine in Denver, taking his MD in 1898 before moving to the University of Kansas. After a decade serving there as a faculty member and part-time basketball coach during the sport's fledgling years, he became the Kansas Jayhawks' athletic director. He became a U.S. citizen in 1925 in Lawrence, Kansas. Naismith's contributions to basketball have earned him several posthumous honours, such as in the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in...
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...Change in the NBA The National Basketball Association is a billion dollar business and is known as one of the largest and most prestigious organizations within American sports today. It is also home of one of the most controversial rules in all of sports, which is known as the “one and done rule.” The one and done rule restricts high school basketball players from entering the NBA Draft straight out of high school (Zegers). According to this policy, anyone who wants to enter the NBA Draft must complete at least one season and school year at the collegiate level or be at least the age of nineteen. This policy created by NBA Commissioner David Stern went into effect for the 2005-2006 season of the NBA (Medcalf). The creation of this rule between the National Basketball Association and the players union caused immediate backlash from many players who all felt that the policy was very unreasonable. The one and done rule should be changed to either go play in college for two years or be able to head straight to the NBA, because coaches have difficulty recruiting players who only want to play one year and it could be bad for players to have to go to school first if they were to suffer any problems that could occur due to their decision. Millions of Americans including myself are huge fans of college and NBA basketball. I love to watch my favorite college basketball players go to the NBA and follow their career of playing professional basketball. Prior to the creation of the one...
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...In the background you could hear the faint sound of cars zooming down the street, the occasional squeaky brake reverberating through the air. The sky was a clear blue color while the trees swayed back and forth, as if dancing to the “tweet tweet” of the blue jay resting within the branches. What was Laura Clark doing? She was sitting on the curb, licking a popsicle as it melted under the hot sun’s rays. In the late 1970’s, Laura started playing sports. Basketball, soccer, softball, you name it. Sports were Laura’s passion. Her favorite was soccer, because she loved to run around and feel free. Gold trophies gleam in the sun’s hot ray’s as Laura recalls her childhood. When she was younger she would go out everyday and play kickball with the...
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...who have had the chance to play sports have benefited them not only physically, but also mentally. Athletics have efficiently directed the mental process in students character and academic success. Statistics show that a student athlete is more likely to get higher grades and be more successful after school. School sports teach skills that are used for the rest of a person’s life. Being a student athlete enriches students in many ways; building character, working hard toward goals, and interacting with peers in a team setting. First off, being a student-athlete builds character. Any sport teaches the virtues of character in a person. Respect is essential in sport play. A high school basketball player has to train hard and condition. Coaches push the athlete to the physical limit. This feeling of being completely exhausted and still getting pushed makes the athletes feeling toward a coach negative. Later on, when the athlete realizes the pushing from the coach has made the he or she a better player, and in better shape, the athlete soon reaches the feeling of respect toward the coach....
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...Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn New York. He later grew up in Wilmington North Carolina (Johnson 203). Michael’s parents were not athletic but they encouraged their five children to excel in sports if they chose to participate. Michael’s older brother Larry was considered the athlete of the family. Michael and Larry played basketball against each other, and when Michael was thirteen, his father put in a backyard court. Michael went to Laney High School in Wilmington (Johnson 203). As a freshman at Wilmington’s Laney High School. Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team and was cut. Between his sophomore and junior years of high school Jordan added several inches to his height. By the time he was a senior he stood at six feet six. He became one of the most widely- recruited high school athletes in the country (Phelps 87). Michael decided to stick with basketball because of his added height, broad shoulders, and amazing jumping ability. He impressed his coach, Clifton Herring, enough for him to persuade a prestigious basketball camp to allow Michael to attend (Johnson 203). With the help of Coach Herring, Michael intensified his training program to be ready for college competitions. He had grown to be six feet, six inches and had left Laney High School as an all-American. Michael went...
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...develop my skills and stressed the importance of working as a team. We won many games, tournaments and, most importantly, had fun at the same time. When I entered high school, I had a coach that was different than all the other coaches I had growing up and changed me as an athlete, for the worse. I attended a high school outside of my town district. This high school was by no means known for our athletic teams. We had a phenomenal agricultural program that prepared students for future careers, but sports were not as much of an importance to the students. However, there was a dedicated group of students who played on a majority of the athletic teams for our school. Our teams were not the most competitive, and a big part of the reason was due to the poor coaching staff. One of the sports we were least competitive in was basketball. Our coach’s name was Mr. Howard and he was a...
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...After winning his fifth national title Coach Mike Krzyzewski, known as Coach K, was cutting down the white woven net. As Duke University head coach Coach K runs to congratulate his players as tears run down his face. Pride built up inside him bursted out! He is definitely an unforgettable legend in basketball history. Coach K has the most wins out of any coach. Duke University is honored to have such an inspirational coach for men’s basketball. Mike Krzyzewski was born in Chicago, Illinois. Although, his last name is difficult to say no one forgets the name. One time, there was a contest between the Duke basketball players to see who could spell the name Krzyzewski. Marshall Plumlee was the winner of the contest flying by with the correct spelling. Coach K was raised with a Polish background while his mother was a cleaning lady and his father was an elevator operator. Mike always had an interest in sports, but one sport just seemed to click. The sport of basketball then...
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...What I knew Sports have always been fun and exciting for me. When I was a little boy around 5 years old we were living in Virginia and my mom put me in my first basketball camp. It was fun to get on the court and practice and play with the other boys. I could not wait to get to practice each day. Some days I was tired and I realized that sometime you have to push yourself and work hard when you are a part of a team. There is no better feeling than after you have worked hard in practice and the coach calls your name to go on the court and play in a game. Touching the ball for the first time makes you nervous but when you hit the first shot the excitement takes over. Since I was a little boy I have watched basketball games with my mom. Seeing how exciting it is and how the fans go crazy when a player makes a basket made me want to become a basketball player when I grow up. I have watched Kobe Bryant play and I have dreamed of being a great player like he is. Kobe works hard and competes with his heart each night. He seems to enjoy his job and I want to enjoy whatever job I choose for my future. I have followed Kobe throughout his career and have his posters and jerseys. I look at them sometime and tell myself that I will be a great player like him someday. I know that it will take a lot of hard work and long practices to become great. I know that I will be forced to train and keep my body in the best condition. Sports are about being physical, athletic, and strong. The...
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...Wilt Chamberlain Athlete Wilt Norman Chamberlain is famous basketball player in the NBA and Wilt was born August 21,1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he was known as Wilt Silit for his 7?1 frame and he hated that nickname Wilt Silit but it stayed with him for the rest of his life. Wilt was fifth of the nine children that were by his parents and raised by William and Olivia Chamberlain and he had two siblings that didn?t survive infancy by his parents. Wilt father worked as a janitor for a publishing company as a part-time handyman and his mother worked as a housekeeper and took charge of the nine children. The Chamberlains lived in a racially mixed middle class neighborhood Wilt liked and enjoyed a relatively pleasant childhood...
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...Pat Summit once said, “But to us, orange is a flag of pride, because it identifies us as Lady Vols and therefore women of an unmistakable type. Fighters. I remember how many of them fought for a better life for themselves, I just met them halfway” (Jenkins & Summitt, 2013). The importance of a player and coach relationship in the athletes’ athletic and academic objectives is exemplified in this quote. Countless student-athletes begin their careers with aspirations of becoming professionals, and desire a coach who will help them achieve this goal. Disregarding student athletes’ aspirations, in a recent NCAA report, only 19.1 percent of men’s basketball players play professionally, with only 1.1 percent of those playing in the National Basketball...
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