As my second level 1 Fieldwork, I chose to volunteer for the Raleigh County Special Olympics Cheerleading team. There were four cheerleaders whose deficits ranged from Down syndrome, psychological, speech, low muscle tone, also across the autism spectrum. In which, Cheerleading enhances the following: attention span, comprehension, organization, sequencing, increased endurance, postural control, and increases social skills. Over a course of a month we gathered to participate in the learning of cheers and a competition dance. The support the athlete’s family had showed during practices and competition was influential to not only their child or family member but to me, as a volunteer and as an Occupational Therapy Assistant Student.…
Reducing Burnouts in Collegiate Athletics Athletics in the collegiate athletic atmosphere keep creating better and better athletes. Faster. Stronger. More agile. But at what cost?…
For over ten years my average day consisted of four main activities: school, homework, gymnastics, and sleep. While school breaks or holidays may have upset three of the four, competitive gymnastics was always a constant. Three hours a day five days a week with no off season left no room for apathy. During my years as a gymnast, I learned the lessons I am sure every athlete is taught— dedication, time management, and determination. However, gymnastics taught me two lessons that other athletes fail to learn thoroughly.…
Kaleena Siers Ms. DiSalle ELA7 asfkgsubc I was in my dad’s white pickup truck slowly making my way to gymnastics practice. All I had been thinking about was trying my roundoff back handspring since I woke up. I had just stopped doing physical therapy for my achilles and was really worried about trying my new flip. I kept thinking in my head how things could go drastically wrong.…
Although these are worst-case scenario eating disorders, it is an issue that needs attention at all levels of participation. Wrestlers try to lose weight for many different reasons. Some athletes are driven by the improvement of appearance or for better performance. Another reason is that the wrestlers are pressured by coaches or parents to succeed so they choose a lower weight class thinking it has a perceived advantage to win. All these factors contribute to eating disorders in wrestling.…
Taking into account Creighton University’s dedication to a diverse educational community, I consider myself a student with varying talents, abilities, experiences, opinions, and backgrounds. One aspect of my life that separates me from others is my involvement in collegiate athletics. I competed in wrestling at both the Division I and Division III levels. Through wrestling, I have obtained a large amount of experience that will help me in physical therapy school. One of the greatest American wrestlers and coaches of all time, Dan Gable, once said, “Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”…
Osteoporosis in Ballerinas No one can deny the fact that ballerinas put an extraordinary amount of stress on their bodies. Saddly, also no one can deny the persistent presence of eating disorders amongst ballerinas. However, because ballerinas train from such a young age these stressors have been in their lives for such a long time. Yet what bothers me is that the news rarely addresses the impact these long term stressors have on their minds and bodies.…
Quotes “Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated. ”- Unknown Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect.- Shawn Johnson Gymnastics uses every single part of your body, every tiny little muscle that you never even knew.- Shannon Miller Hard days are the best because that's when champions are made.- Gabby Douglas Definition strong and barely controllable emotion the suffering and death of Jesus Syn.…
The story of my life up until now would most certainly be called, Mental Gymnastics. The reasoning is simple. Growing up I was considered shy by those closest to me. I would disagree, I was a very introspective child. I knew I was an audio-visual learner from a young age…
The interest over interscholastic activities have been increasing the last few years. “During the 2009-2010 academic year, more than 7.5 million high school athletes participated in interscholastic athletic activities is US” (DeWit, Unruh, & Srivatsa, 2012). However, by participating in these extracurricular activities the student will increase drastically the risk of developing acute or chronic musculoskeletal injuries. According to data collected by “National Athletic Trainer Association (NATA), an estimated of 1.5 million high-school athletes were injured each year” (DeWit, Unruh, & Srivatsa, 2012).…
In addition, dancers can get injured just as easily as other sport athletes. Research has shown that dancers have very similar injuries compared to other athletes. One study showed that ankle injuries account for about 21% of all sports-related injuries and 31% for ballerinas (“Dance IS a Sport...at Least in Terms of Injury”). This statistic shows that amount of strain that performers and athletes put on their ankle joint is about the same. This proves that dancers and athletes put the same amount of exertion into their work and should be accredited the same for…
“I had always been proud of my body—its strength and grace enabled me to pursue my passions. But now it had become the enemy” (Bried). This is ballet, a wonderful but exhausting, beautiful but horrible art form and sport, and the ones who make the magic happen are the ballerinas. Onstage, they look stunning, all lean muscles and long lines and lovely faces, but backstage and beyond, it’s a different, gruesome story. The ballerina’s body takes a regular beating, every day, and though dancers are true athletes, it is hard for their bodies to keep up with their punishing daily regimen.…
Andie develops an eating disorder after she feels pressured by her coach to lose weight. In a high-risk sport such as gymnastics eating disorders are not uncommon. Gymnastics is an elite sport highly focused on aesthetics and leads to many athletes being over conscious of their body image. There are healthy ways to maintain a lean body image but Andie learns a way that she finds easier. She deprives herself of food and over exercises in order to lose weight.…
Sport related injuries in children and young adults (ages 5-24) account for over 2.6 million visits to the emergency room each year in the United States alone (Goldberg, Moroz, Smith, Ganley, 2007, pg. 265). The increase in sport participation among junior high, high school and college sports, which has led to the rise in injuries, strains for improved rehabilitation and better injury prevention. As the sport world ever changes and the societal demand for more efficient athletes becomes prominent, one must recognize but criticize sports sciences’ impact on athletes’ overall health, their deprivation of human-like qualities, and its disenchantment as society dives further into the science’s mechanics. There is an ongoing scientific challenge…
“Runners on your mark…Set...Poww!” Those were the last sounds I heard during what could have been my last race of my sophomore year in collegiate Track and Field. It was a frisky, yet cool Saturday in April and after a strong performance in the previous indoor and outdoor season (4x100m and 400m), I was determined to continue and uphold my strong form on this day. There is a saying that things do not always turn out the way we hope, but I believe, there is always a positive lesson to be learned from every life event. I love sports.…