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• FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thursday, February 5,2004
Chatter Box | H UkIS] S] l Wacky Facts
“If you’re feeling pressured to try certain things W|\ ■ The Stanley Cup is the only professional
that don t feel right to you, go with your gut instinct. wn\ aHt Jul sports trophy that each player on the winning team
It'll never steer you wrong.” gets to take home.
Brad Pitt, SBBBw jB/ ® 1997, Darren McCarty of the Detroit Red Wings
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in Teen People. f >W\W\WI «W' WMF W/fiSv for a rOund ° f B° lf “ afternoon.
WLJ- W —World Almanac for Kids
W- ' ■ MJB | Distributed by Knight Ridder/Thbune
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Under pressure
Overzealous adults? Avoid stress with a game plan
By E.mh.ie Le Beau
Chicago Tribune
Cheer in a major cheer
leading competition and
, the pressure is on.
Brittani W., 13, of
Wilmington, Mass., cheers in about
10 competitions a year. She says one
person’s small mistake can ruin it for
the entire squad.
“There’s a pressure that if you
mess up, someone else could get the
title because you got a point deduc
tion,” she says.
Since Brittani loves to compete,
she says she’s not bothered by the
pressure. She says she even has a
secret weapon to handle her worries:
“Once you get on the floor, all you
need to do is believe in yourself and
you’ll get though it,” she says. “It’s a
lot about confidence.”
Brittani keeps her stress in check,
but many kids feel there is too much
pressure to win in sports. In a recent
survey, 75 percent of kids say they’ve
quit a sport because parents or
coaches put too much emphasis on
winning, according to the National
Parent Teacher Association.
Erica Hanrahan, a softball coach
in Illinois, says she’s seen how
scowling parents can ruin the fun of
the game. “I see kids who are con
stantly looking over their shoulder at
their parent instead of focusing on
the game. They’re not having fun,”
she says.
return for another season, but quitting mid
season lets down your team and coach.
“Follow through,” says Eitan F. “That’s part
VW of sportsmanship.”
\| X » Where’s your sports equipment? If
U 1 you truly enjoy your game, sports psycholo-
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time to quit.
'Xf ■Do the negatives outweigh the
ff-- i positives? Before you quit, Hanrahan
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en j°y about playing the sport. But don’t con
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\ \ T - Hanrahan says “things get better with prac-
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’■ W" ' ■JASON H. WHITLEY/KRT
Hockey players learn different way to communicate on the ice
Stan Mikita, one of the most famous
Chicago Blackhawks to ever skim the
ice and a National Hockey League Hall
of Famer, found a new way to contribute to the
game after his retirement: He raises loads of
money for a free hockey school for deaf and
hard-of-hearing kids.
The American Hearing Impaired Hockey
Association (AHIHA) each year brings kids
with hearing problems from all over the coun
try to the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in
Woodridge, 111., for a special hockey clinic.
For one week, the kids receive lessons in the
game tailored to their needs. They even get to
brush elbows with other famous Blackhawks,
like Bobby Hull.
The school started about 30 years ago. Irv
Tiahnybik known by most of the hockey
kids as “Uncle Irv” decided he wanted to
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Sports psychologist Brad Beckwith
of St. Louis says if parents are hound
ing kids to win, it’s OK to block them
out. “Be in the moment right then and
there,” he says. “Play the game
because you like it, not because some
one else wants you to play.”
If blocking out your piouting par
ents is too hard, Hanrahan says you
should focus on the positive things
your coaches tell you. She says
coaches put kids in the game because
they believe in them. “Not everyone
is a star athlete, but we all have
things we can contribute,” she says.
For kids who contribute loads of
quick saves or winning points, pres
sure sometimes comes from within.
Dana K., 12, of Manassas, Va., is a
competitive swimmer who has set
the Virginia Olympic record for the
200-meter butterfly.
Dana says having a supportive
coach and teammates helps her take
both winning and losing in stride.
“They’re always there for me. If I do
good, they are there to celebrate with
me,” she says. “If I do bad, they’re
there to comfort me.”
Not all coaches and teammates are
always supportive. Eitan F., 14, of
Chicago says he has known a few
coaches who really put pressure on
their players to win.
But winning isn’t everything,
Eitan says. A lot of great lessons can
come from losing. “A big lesson is
how to lose,” he says. “When you
lose, you learn from your mistakes.”
share his love of hockey with his young son,
Lex, who was nearly deaf. So he contacted his
friend Mikita about starting a special league for
hearing-impaired kids, and in 1973 the school
was launched.
Hockey is “different for kids who can’t hear,
because they can’t take directions unless
they’re able to read lips or sign language,”
Tiahnybik explains.
Kids in the hockey school wear helmets
with letters on them, such as “L” for lip read
ing and “S” for sign language. The letters indi
cate how the instructors must communicate
with the players.
Michael B„ 13, of Elk Grove Village, 111.,
wears both letters. “My biggest challenge is
not hearing the referee’s whistle,” he says. “I
watch for signals in the reflection of the glass”
around the rink.
SEND STRESS PACKING
Here are some ways to ease the anxiety:
■ Don’t look at the scoreboard.
Playing a sport is about playing, not keeping
a running tally. Sports psychologist Brad
Beckwith says you should keep your eyes
off the scoreboard and on the ball.
■ Don’t look at your parents. If mom
and dad are way too into winning, don’t focus
on the face they make when you goof. Instead,
listen to your teammates cheering or your
coach telling you what a good job you did.
H Forget the future. Eitan F. says that
too many kids worry how one game could
affect the full season. “Think of it as one
day, a chance to go out, give it your best and
play with other kids,” he says.
h Set small goals. Instead of focusing
on whether you won, softball coach Erica
Hanrahan recommends making small, per
sonal goals. “It’s not did you win 5 to 2, but
did you learn from your mistakes from last
time,” she says.
■ Learn from losing. It’s OK to lose,
Hanrahan says. “Failing is in everything, that’s
how we learn from our mistakes,” she says.
IS IT TIME TO CALL IT QUITS?
If the thought of putting on your shin
guards or swim cap makes you want to cry,
then it’s time to call it a day. “It’s OK to quit
if it’s no longer fun,” says softball coach
Erica Hanrahan.
Here are some questions to help you
decide whether to call it quits:
■ Is it midseason? It’s one thing not to
return for another season, but quitting mid
season lets down your team and coach.
“Follow through,” says Eitan F. “That’s part
of sportsmanship.”
■ Where’s your sports equipment? If
you truly enjoy your game, sports psycholo
gist Brad Beckwith says you’ll play it out
side of practices. But if your baseball glove
just gathers dust on off-days, then it may be
time to quit.
■ Do the negatives outweigh the
positives? Before you quit, Hanrahan
advises listing the things you dislike and
enjoy about playing the sport. But don’t con
fuse momentary losses with reasons to quit.
Hanrahan says “things get better with prac
tice.” Minor downfalls shouldn’t make you
throw in the towel.
jLjk I *
PHOTO COURTESY OF AHIHA
Beginning players watch closely as American
Hearing Impaired Hockey Association coach
Tom Robbins relays instructions.
Colton J., 13, of Schaumburg, 111., says he
dreams of going to the AHIHA Olympics,
| In The News |
Star yaps about
dog life
Spot Helperman is no ordinary dog. Spot can talk,
read and quote Shakespeare! There’s just one prob
lem. Spot doesn’t want to be a dog. He wants to be a
boy! Spot’s the star of the new movie “Teacher’s
Pet.” It follows the adventures of Spot as he trans
forms into a human. Let’s just A A I —i
say it’s not exactly a smooth U^/X/lJ"** l
transformation. Time for Kids MrwS
asked Spot about his lifelong dream, his eating habits
and what it’s like to mix with other famous mutts.
TFK: In your new movie, “Teacher’s Pet,”
you’re quite a clever dog! How did you learn to
talk, read and quote Shakespeare?
Spot: Oh, all the dogs can do that stuff. I’m
just the one who got found out. I know this Lhasa
apso named Scruff who’s discovered a cure for the
common cold but he’s not telling because
when his master has a cold, he stays home from
school, and they watch cartoons all day, and
Scruff likes it like that.
TFK: You fooled everyone at school by pre
tending to be a fourth-grade boy for an entire
year! What’s it like to be the teacher’s pet?
Spot: It’s both an honor and a burden. I like
being the only kid in the playground who can catch
a Frisbee in his mouth, but keeping your tail tucked
into a pair of pants all day is the ultimate wedgie.
TFK: In the movie, you call on a very strange
man, Dr. Krank, to turn you from dog to boy.
Didn’t the fact that his son is a mutant alligator
and his daughter is half mosquito scare you?
Spot: They’re pretty freaky, all right. But come
on, they started out as swamp creatures. Me, I’m a
clever, talking, Shakespeare-quoting dog. I think
I’ve got a leg up here, don’t you? No pun intended.
TFK: What’s the best and worst thing about
being a dog?
Spot: The best thing is you get to just love,
lick and be happy all day long. The worst thing is
having the greatest day of your life playing out
side and then you have to come in and get a bath.
TFK: What do you like better: Kibble and
bones or a burger and fries?
Spot: The best is kibble and fries. I’m amazed
I’ve never seen it on a menu.
TFK: Do you know Scooby-Doo or any the
101 Dalmatians?
Spot: Yes, all animated dogs are friends with
each other except for Tramp, because we all have
a crush on Lady.
TFK: Now that you’re a famous star with your
very own movie, what do you plan to do next?
Spot: Well, there’s talk of a sequel. I also think
I’d be excellent as a Defense Against the Dark
Arts teacher in a “Harry Potter” movie. I’d do
quite a lovely British accent.
TFK: Do you have any final words for your
dog and human fans?
Spot: Ask not what you can do for your coun
try. Ask what you can do for your dog.
DinaElNabli
© 2004 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.
which are held in Europe. When he plays
hockey with his hearing friends, he admits to
having some difficulties.
“I have to watch their facial expressions and
hand gestures, because sometimes I don’t
understand what they’re saying,” Colton says.
Jessica G., 8, of Mendota Heights, Minn.,
learned to play hockey at AHIHA, and now
plays with the U (Under) 10 League, a hearing
hockey league. She says she has no problems
communicating.
“When I don’t understand something, I just
go up to the coach and ask him,” explains
Jessica, who says she wants to be a profession
al hockey player.
For information about the American
Hearing Impaired Hockey Association, visit the
association’s Web site at www.ahiha.org.
MelNovit