The Playbook by LASA Ezine

Letter from the Editors

Meet the Editors

Shooting Across America

Girls' Lacrosse Field and Positions

The Unfortunate Series of Events

The Sport of Tennis and the Business During COVID

The Quarantine Finals

Bubble Business

Inside the Mind of Volleyball

Proper Passing 101

Tackling Safety in Football

34 36

Concussions in the NFL Special Thanks

Sydney Mims Sydney Mims is in her first year at LASA high. She loves her pets and cool days. She currently plays volleyball and lacrosse for school. Out of school, she plays on two lacrosse club teams, and considers lacrosse to be her favorite sport. Sydney was introduced the sport of lacrosse to her in kindergarten, where she started out playing boy?s lacrosse. Traveling around the country, being able to play great teams is what never fails to fuel her passion for the sport. In the future, she hopes to continue playing lacrosse in high school, and go to her dream college.

Aditya Gupta Aditya Gupta, a freshman in high school is somebody who thoroughly enjoys all different aspects, and loves to play almost all sports. He currently plays soccer for club and school, basketball, and runs track. After recently playing basketball in middle school, he has found himself immersed in the sport, and has taken great interest in the NBA, specifically the bubble. The NBA, basketball, and many other sports have been greatly affected in the past few months, and Aditya looks forward to when we can engage in many contact sports without risk again.

Henr y Thompson Henry Thompson is a freshman attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He is a big fan of football and both watches it regularly and plays on the LASA team. He is a avid supporter of the Longhorns and the Cowboys and has watched football his entire life, but only decided this year to start playing. This season is already over but he is excited for the next one since it will be his first with out having to go through all the COVID regulations.

W illiam Gu William Gu is a freshman at LASA high school in Austin Texas. He loves the outdoors, sports, and technology. He is hopeful about his future, and hopes to work as a software engineer. He chose to write about COVID affecting tennis as his story because COVID has greatly affected his life, as well as his favorite hobby, tennis. He also hopes that everyone realizes the severity of COVID-19, so the world can come slowly back to normal again.

Maggie Jar nigan Maggie Jarnigan is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin, Texas. She plays middle hitter in volleyball, and has played the sport since third grade. Writing an article about the psychology behind volleyball came from her passion in volleyball, and her interest in discovering how mentality truly changes how you play. Since it is a sport that relies so heavily on communication and dealing with high pressure situations, the hope is that people will see how much our minds can make our break the performance. She hopes to work in either the medical or law field in the future, to help other people.

Michelle Tumolo runs down the field in hopes to score a a goal during a match for Team USA

Photo Courtesy of Michelle Tumolo

The Story of How Girls' Lacrosse has Swept Through the US By Sydney Mims

acrosse rose in popularity in New England and was heavily centered around the area, but not anymore. Just as fast as a shot on goal, girls? lacrosse is spreading throughout America. Being heavily Northeastern centered, girls?lacrosse wasn?t big in many other places. Soon, a boom of clubs and programs started

popping up around the country. The addition of the Title XI law then came into play, which states that ?no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,?according to the NCAA. This was one of many

influences towards the huge explosion of the sport?s popularity. Lacrosse has been around for hundreds of years, explained Michelle Tumolo, who plays for the US national team. ?Lacrosse was created by the Native American Indians, which they first referred to the sport as ?stick ball,?? Michelle Tumolo said. ?It was

much different from the sport you see now, but it was a way for the warriors to toughen up for war, for recreation and religious reasons.? Girls?lacrosse, however, started up in a place far away from North America. US national team and WPLL Pride goalie Liz Hogan said the modern version of the sport started across the pond. ?Women?s lacrosse? originated in Scotland,? said Hogan. ?But I definitely know the general story that everyone gets, that the Native Americans created it (lacrosse) for war games, to train, and obviously some different offchutes of it and is somewhat the game we play now.? Hogan talked about a video she had seen that showed mid-20th century girls? lacrosse. ?These girls didn?t have eye guards or anything, and they just had a wooden stick, and the goalie had pretty much nothing on (in terms of protection),? Hogan said. ?And they were just going after it. The style of play was a lot more physical than I thought it would be. I just assumed that it was dainty back then, but they were crushing each

other.? So womens?lacrosse started up in Northern Europe, as opposed to where the sport originated, in North America. However, it wasn?t until the

that women?s lacrosse is a sport that can be costly, but compared to the boys, is a lot more cost efficient.? Boys lacrosse is typically more expensive than girls

"Title XI is way more than just sports. I think it really helped females in general open up to different things." - Liz Hogan, Team USA

creation of the Title XI law that girls?lacrosse really started spreading across the US.

lacrosse because of the amount of protective equipment that is required to play.

?I think part of it is Title XI,? said Hogan when asked about how she personally thinks the sport has spread throughout America. ?There were a lot of disproportionate schools at all levels that definitely lean towards the male side, and lacrosse, for better or for worse, tends to be a sport with a lot of high numbers, and not a lot of cost for the women?s sport.?

The law also helps make many colleges offer more competitive sports to women all around the country.

The Title XI law 's basis is all about inclusion for everyone, no matter the gender. ?Title XI is way more than just sports,? Hogan continued. ?I think it really helped females in general just open up to different things. And I think

?If you look at how many women's lacrosse programs there are in the country, we have 100+ to only 74 men's programs. That is just in the Division I level,? said Tumolo. Another worry for colleges when starting up sports is money. Funding and managing competitive collegiate teams can sometimes be very costly. ?I think Title XI increased the opportunity for girls to play sports, because, in theory, colleges would want to

produce more revenue generating sports, which are usually basketball or football and then progress in that style versus having a lot of sports... like lacrosse that may not generate a lot of revenue,? said Karen Sutton, former Duke lacrosse player and current Team USA doctor. ?So Title XI pushed the colleges to have more non-revenue generating sports, including the girls' sports.? However, womens?lacrosse has a male equivalent to it; mens?lacrosse is a sport offered widely across the country . ?Then I think for girls lacrosse (with Title XI) has an equivalent male sport to it, so if schools already have a men's lacrosse team, they at

least know the framework of a women's team,? said Sutton, and then continued on about the costs of the sport. ?So I think athletic departments felt more comfortable adding girls?lacrosse. And especially with girls?lacrosse, there isn?t a lot of equipment involved, so it?s not an entirely expensive sport to start up.? Title XI definitely had a huge impact on how the sport traveled around the United States. But there are other factors as well. "I also think that girls?lacrosse gains more popularity through Instagram and other social media, and also through the men?s leagues,? said Hogan. ?You also have a lot of dads that picked up the sport on the Eastcoast that are now Hogan saves a shot on goal.

moving out west, or central. They want their daughters to play lacrosse.?

"I believe lacrosse has grown so quickly because of it being a new and exciting sport to play." - Michelle Tumolo, Team USA

The sheer fun of girls? lacrosse is also a large reason why so many women have picked up the sport. ?I believe lacrosse has grown so quickly because of it being a new and exciting sport to play,? said Tumolo. ?...It is such a creative and fun sport... It is so exciting to continue to take my game to the next level as I try a new dodge or shot or stick trick!? Some also enjoy the high competitiveness of the sport. ?I like it because it constantly challenges me? It has been an outlet at times, it?s challenged me sometimes, and it?s just something that I keep coming back to because you keep chasing that high of making a save, but then you also want to keep reaching for your goals, too,? said Hogan.

Photo Courtesy of Liz Hogan 8

And others enjoy the physical

and social features of the sport. ?...I think lacrosse combines a lot of different athletic characteristics,? said Sutton, talking about how playing lacrosse allowed her to capitalize on her speed. ?The second thing I liked about lacrosse was there?s always a social aspect to it? so it really builds a sense of comradery with the team." While the sport of girls? lacrosse is growing at a rapid rate, there still are some restraints that are keeping it from growing even larger. ?I think that officiating might be a real problem? we are short on officials right now, we are always short on officials, so I think that might hurt our sport a little bit,? said Hogan. The cost of the sport is also a deterrent for possible players. ?I?d also love to see the price of equipment go down,? Hogan said. ?I think that lacrosse could keep growing in the wealthier areas, but I think we are missing out on a huge pool of talented players that simply just cannot afford the newest 300 dollar stick. Even though girls?lacrosse isn?t like mens, where they

have the helmet, the gloves, and all of that, the stick is still expensive.? The thing the lacrosse community is always thinking about is how the sport can always expand further. ?I think that the entry level is the biggest one we need to tap into,? said Hogan, when asked about what she would recommend for all levels of girls?lacrosse to continue to grow across the country. You?ll get new high school players, naturally, because it is the first time there is competitive sports, but I think at that point it is too late. The more we can draw kids at the lower middle school level? and just really try to get people exposed to the sport.? Another thing that is brought up is the addition of lacrosse to the Olympics in the future, and how that could inspire young players. ?I think we have a pretty bright future, with potentially getting lacrosse into the Olympics in 2028,? said Hogan. ?...We are looking at it for lacrosse to get in the Olympics...I think women?s lacrosse in general could be spotlighted in the future,?

Sutton said. Girls?lacrosse is a sport with strict rules for playstyle and safety, and with that comes a lot of interjections from the referees that officiate the games. ?And another thing... is just not having the whistle blown as much,? Sutton said, looking through the perspective of a fan. She thinks that if the sport was quicker, it could possibly attract more fans. ?One thing people have talked about is not coming back to the draw/ faceoff, and just having the goalie clear it after every goal. So it almost ends up like basketball, where you are continuously moving and not stopping the field all the time,? said Sutton. An important part of lacrosse is proper coaching and direction on teams. ?The sport of lacrosse needs players to continue to turn into coaches. It is so important for our sport to learn from athletes that have played the sport, who are passionate and want to spread their knowledge to all ages,? said Tumolo.

Girls' Lacrosse

T he U n f o r t u n at e Ser i es o f Ev en t s By William Gu T h r o u gh o u t t h i s p an d em i c, m an y b u si n esses h av e b een f o r ced t o r ed u ce b u si n ess, o r i n m o st cases, b e co m p l et el y sh u t d ow n . M o r e sp eci f i cal l y, t en n i s h as b een h u gel y i m p act ed d u r i n g t h i s t i m e, ev en t h o u gh i t w as r at ed o n e o f t h e saf est act i v i t i es t o d o t h r o u gh o u t q u ar an t i n e.

ne glance at a tennis tennis was rated one of the ?I agreed we needed to take club today, and no safest sports to play during the necessary precautions, one would realize how imposed quarantine by however tennis and golf were much those clubs have been physicians from the Texas rated one of the safest through throughout the last six Medical Association(TMA) activities during the closure. or so months. Looking at them COVID-19 Task Force and the Private clubs stayed open today, one would see an TMA Committee on Infectious during this time because of the abundance of people, in Diseases, the government still safety of being outside and complete contrast to Shaping their lives for the future and having maintaining the social when clubs were shut players I taught 25 years ago still contact me and distancing. We probably down, with no one tell me how I helped them with commitment and could have remained open there to fill up the using the city wide safety discipline for their current jobs and families. empty courts, nor protocols, ? Pleasant said. -Darin Pleasant, Head Coach at Grey Rock anyone to maintain ?We follow citywide safety the courts. It seems protocol. For example, that nothing has everyone must wear a required most city owned clubs changed, although behind the mask... we sanitize the building and parks to close. During this scenes much has happened. every hour, and sanitize the time, those owners have had to courts once players are COVID has been a huge find different ways in order to finished with their time. We no challenge for business owners, keep their business afloat for longer provide water on the from grocery stores to sports the time being. Darin Pleasant, courts, players must bring their clubs. Sports clubs have been the head coach at Grey Rock own or purchase a bottle... We hit hard, due the restrictions Tennis Club in Austin, Texas, have signs around the club 12 put on going outside and social said that they had to follow all reminding social distancing distancing. Although city protocol. and mask wearing.? 12

As a sports club for tennis and golf was not an essential part of society, it was forced to close due to COVID regulations imposed by the city. Pleasant said that it had effected all employees, and mostly everyone that was a part of the club. ?Since we are not an essential business, we were completely closed affecting all employees. As for the members and non members, they needed to find places to play elsewhere which

was sparse,? Pleasant said. ?The City of Austin closed public facilities, locked gates and also took down nets preventing people from playing tennis.? When Pleasant was asked about how he thought of the government actions during this time, he thought that making those decisions for everyone would have been tough, as there would always be people against it. ?The President should lead by example. This was new

for everyone, I do not envy those who made decisions during this time. Every decision was going to be scrutinized? , said Pleasant. Pleasant knew the effects this imposed shutdown by the City of Austin would have on their business, so

Courts at Grey Rock Tennis Club from above. Courtesy of City of Austin

he had to get creative. While many of their employees were either unemployed, looking for a new job, or doing a side job, Pleasant and his coworker, Chris Haggard, a former top 20 doubles player in the world, still held private and group lessons at nearby courts in order to keep income coming in and to continue to train all of the players. Pleasant here described that when COVID was in full force, it affected the club immensely, as well as the staff who worked there. ? It was definitely a challenge finding courts to train players when the club was closed, ? said Pleasant. ?Obviously the club made no revenue during the closure and staff had to look for other work, ?. However, there was also time spent completely off from work. ?When the city was on total shut down, it was nice to go hiking and spend time outdoors with my family. I have enjoyed the kids being home for school and 14 spending more time with them.? 14

One cannot be a great, or even good coach without enjoying coaching. Pleasant was clear that he enjoys coaching, and the process of being able to coach a player up to the top, and see not just their growth as an athlete, but how it helps and shapes their future life. ?Helping the kids grow as people expand their love for the game. I love helping players achieve goals they never thought were possible. Shaping their lives for the future and having players I taught 25 years ago still contact me and tell me how I helped them with commitment and discipline for their current jobs and families. They have learned valuable life lessons with me through tennis,? Pleasant said. ?I really do enjoy what I do. It is fun to see how these other people adapt and improvise on everything that has been going on, and even better to see everything pay off?, Haggard also said about enjoying his job. During this time, a lot of changes have had to be made on the professional level as well. Although over half of the professional tennis season was canceled, this year has been no different from the usual busy schedule and tight, electrifying

matches. This year, only 3 of the 4 majors were played. The Australian Open, Melbourne, US Open, New York City, and Roland Garros, Paris were the 3 that were held, while Wimbledon(London) was the only grand slam that didn?t occur. The US Open featured a new beginning, the first new grand slam winner in 4 years, as the tennis scene is mostly dominated by the so called ?Big Three?, consisting of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. ? I think a lot of changes have been made recently, especially by those big tournaments. There are lots of new restrictions, and in some places even putting in bubbles like the NBA did. Some precautions have been taken, such as making the players do a COVID test, and keeping socially distant and using masks whenever players are not on court?, said Haggard. ?The most effective precaution would be a mix of all of them. One precaution won?t do anything if none of the others are present. That being said, probably a bubble and wearing a mask help the most.? Haggard responded to how the two tennis organizations, the Association of Tennis

An empty stadium reflecting the state of COVID, courtesy of the US Open

Professionals(the ATP) and Women?s Tennis Association(WTA) had each handled COVID. ?I think that they have all handled it pretty well. They have reduced the number of fans that go to each game, and done a lot of other really good things for the sport of tennis during this time,? said Haggard. Throughout this year, different tournaments have had different precautions, and different levels of COVID at the time as well. ?Some tournaments are lower end, and then they feel like they really don?t need to, as less people would be near

there and less people would thus have to be clean. It also relies on how the tournament is managed, for example, the French open was managed not nearly as well as the US

open was in terms of being safe from COVID? Haggard said. Looking even more into the future, into next year, anything is possible. ?A lot of things down the line are uncertain right now, but everyone is hoping to have the schedule almost completely back to normal?, says Haggard.

Courts locked due to COVID, Courtesy of William Gu

Everyone has high hopes that the future will hold even better stuff, more exciting matches, the crowd roaring up into the night sky, but for now, that won?t be possible.

The Spor t of Tennis and t he A lock on the gate to tennis courts, showing that in some areas these public courts have been closed still due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Courtesy of William Gu

These courts were often empty, and were eve Photo courtesy o

Time vs Prof it

Courtesy of the US Open

Prof it

6k 5k

2k An empty stadium, as half of the tennis season was canceled due to COVID. Although this particular tournament was allowed to be played, 2 of the other major's(the largest tournaments) were not able to occur.

May 2019

Time

May 2020

e Business Dur ing COVID Design by William Gu *purel y f rom ATP group l esson* Source: Darin Pleasent Month

Profits before COVID(2019)

Profits after/ during COVID(2020)

April

6.3k

3.2k

May

6.2k

June

6.4k

4.8k

July

6.5k

5.2k

August

6.4k

5.4k

September

6.3k

5.6k

October

6.2k

5.7k (projected)

en closed throughout the summer due to COVID. of City of Austin

Due to COVID-19, there have been a lot of cancellations on the professional level, as well as many public areas in cities. This has lead to a lot of businesses losing money, and more families struggling due to a lack of jobs. Also, precautions taken by the city have greatly impacted how a lot of public parks and clubs are being run, due to new restrictions and wanting to avoid a possible COVID outbreak. As well, on the professional level, many tournaments have been canceled, and over half the season was unable to occur.

Bu bbl e Bu si n ess By Aditya Gup

pta

The NBA has truly come into the spotlight of the sports industry throughout this pandemic with the Bubble. In a year of an election, sports have played a larger role in controversial issues, jobs are being greatly affected in different ways, and players continue to voice their opinions through their actions.

Clippers vs. Nuggets in game 7, courtesy of LA Clippers

haos in the political realm, small businesses are being devastated, and many controversial topics have become a part of the NBA?s image. The NBA Bubble, also known as the Disney or Orlando Bubble, was an isolation zone for 22 teams and around 6,000 staff members. Each player was instructed to quarantine and wear a mask at all times except eating. The NBA definitely took very drastic measures to assure their players did not contract the virus, and it paid off. ?This was such a unique and abnormal situation the people just felt isolated, people felt alone, you have

to quarantine for ten to fourteen days in a room by yourself and it?s just a very different lifestyle,? said Alex Cerda, assistant video coordinator for the LA Clippers. A complete lifestyle change can greatly affect the mental health of players in practice, and during games. ?There have been multiple players that have spoke to that about mental health inside the bubble, so it is just a very difficult time for a lot of people, because it is something we have never seen before or been through before,? Cerda said. Despite all the setbacks, the NBA did a phenomenal job of tending to the players needs and requests. ?I know a lot of players complained

within the first couple days about the food, and so the NBA, they hired a bunch of chefs to come into the bubble to cater and make all the food for the players, because the quality wasn't there,? Cerda said. Throughout the 4 months of the Bubble, there was a total of zero accumulated COVID cases. ?I think the way we did it should be the way every organization should do it,? Cerda said. In the year of the election, many sports are dealing with controversial topics, and many fans are outraged with players voicing their political opinions and personal beliefs. ?There's a lot of stuff going on this year, and basketball has taken a big part in that in

terms of leadership,? Cerda said. For many players, expressing themselves on the court is their only method of making their voice be heard. ?You can see the impact sports has in society and you can see a lot of the players standing up for injustice like in the Bubble, they stopped playing.? said Cerda. ?The Milwaukee Bucks decided they're not going to play and that was really cool to see that our league is taking a stance and wanting change.?

20 City of Austin skyline, courtesy of Alka Bhanot

The NBA truly has taken the lead in the sports world on social justice, regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. ?To see the NBA kind of take the lead in society in general like in terms of standing up for social injustice,? said Cerda. ?You can see the Bubble and see how there are zero covid cases in the Bubble in a ?There's a lot of stuff going on this year, and basketball has taken a big part in that in terms of leadership,? - Alex Cerda, Assistant

Video Coordinator for the LA Clippers NBA player Paul George, courtesy of LA Clippers

three-month span, and it is like the NBA in itself is a society and I am proud to be a part of it.? Everyone's living system has drastically changed ever since early March in 2020. From businesses shutting down to schools closing, people were in a tight spot not understanding where this pandemic would take their life. ?Back in March before COVID hit, my job entailed me being at the office anywhere between 15 and 18 hours a day,? said Cerda. ?That's just the nature of the business, we're always at the office all day every day.? In an interview with Aditya Gupta, Maurice Harris, a personal trainer for Coach Mo?s Elite Fitness said, ?In the beginning it was very unknown and we didn't know what to expect so at the time I wasn't too terribly upset, I was just like ?what do we do?

because there was no plan in place.? The 2019 NBA season was progressing well, but ended up getting suspended early in the season, but picked up again late July. With a total of 35 staff members per team, including players, many NBA employees had no choice but to work remotely. ?Now once the season got suspended, it was complete 180, we were now working remotely,? Cerda said. The NBA consists of over 3,000 employees, and completing responsibilities became difficult for many of those working from the comfort of their home. Throughout lockdown, The Los Angeles Clippers created learning opportunities for their workers by having guests speak over zoom. ?Once a week we had a special guest speak to us on Zoom and we had Russel Willson, Chris Rock, Payton Manning, Alex Rodeiguez,

Jerry Rice, and more,? Cerda said. For businesses, especially gyms, the start of the Pandemic was the hardest time. Eventually there were operational guidelines required to perform, and businesses began to set plans in place in order to profit. ?We set up a space to start our classes, for our adults and our youth which still to this day are held outside. We turned four or five parking spots outside our gym into an outdoor gym,? Harris said. Small gyms have a variety of consumers and, therefore can control clientele. ?One of the good things about being a small gym, you can control the amount of clients in and out,? Harris said. ?The way businesses have progressed throughout this pandemic shows that if humans can share a common goal and work towards it together, the sky's the limit.?

The NBA Bubble The NBA bubble was a $170 million dollar investment.

Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID 19

Courtesy of Alex Cerda

"We have an opportunity to get together, think about some plans and execute them together...We got a chance to do something big and use our platform to the best of our abilities." - Kemba Walker, NBA player

Courtesy of ESPN

A photo of the NBA bubble, in which fans attend the game virtually

Bubble Timeline March 11 NBA suspends the 2019 - 20' basketball season

June 16 - July Courtesy of Aditya Gupta

July 11 - July 29

Players travel to their home facility, and COVID tests begin.

Players arrived in Orlando, were quarantined, and team practices and scrimmages began.

Aug 17 - Sep NBA playoffs start

Courtesy of ESPN

Sep 30 - Oct The NBA Finals take place Courtesy of Neeraj Chawla

I n si d e th e M i n d of Vol l ey bal l By Maggie Jarnigan 24

The LASA varsity volleyball team celebrate winning a point against McCallum High School.

"You kinda have to embrace that fear and allow yourself to be uncomfortable and when you do that you find success." - Sports Psychologist Heather Rivera

Photo Courtesy of LASA Volleyball

lacking the right mentality either makes or breaks you in the end. There's a very debatable saying that sports are 10% physical and 90% mental. Psychology skills that have been developed over the recent years through studies The physical skills in volleyball such as visualization, relaxation, can ultimately be taught through and self talk, are actively being good coaching, lots of practice, taught to professional athletes to and hours of work. Techniques help with their performance. that are developed and taught are Visualization is a tactic to use in used to make great players. But any nerve wracking situation.

omething as little as what you think about during a game seems so insignificant, until it turns out to be the reason you win or lose that game

A player imagines the situation at hand, what they hope their performance to be, and a good outcome happening to help calm their anxiety. ?My like favorite ones are using imagery or visualization so with that you are imagining you playing great, succeeding, and going through a whole script 25

using that.? Sports psychologist Heather Rivera said. ?I also think that just, you know utilizing positive self talk is very helpful in building your self confidence. So when you catch yourself thinking a negative thought you tell yourself a positive thought right.? Rivera added on that subject.

"I think it also creates a way for When asked about mentality, the athletes to kinda refocus and Heather Rivera says, ?If you go you know let go of that point into it with negative thoughts or because they lost it,? Rivera said. anxious or worried. Your result is Something that seems so small going to be negative or not the and insignificant such as result you want. Whereas if you confidence rules the way a have a positive mindset and you person acts. Confidence is a deep, go in looking to succeed, lasting, and resilient belief in believing in your abilities, you are ?What I would actually say is the one's ability. In situations such as going to have a much more most important skill in volleyball serving the ball, when everyone positive outcome.? is the ability to be mentally is watching you, including the tough. Because all the other fans, the opponents, the ref, and athletic skills you can kinda so many other people. If you don't teach,? McCallum high school make it over, or it goes out, then from Austin, Texas volleyball your opponent wins a point and coach Carly Kehn said.

"I think psychology The little decisions such as whether to pass or set, whether and the mental side you should hit the ball or just of the game is huge send a free ball over the net is controlled by the ventromedial and it's definitely prefrontal cortex. The region in the front of your brain that makes a big ultimately is responsible for a person's self confidence, which is difference in how something that most athletes you play."- Sports lack. The use of self talk is psychologist Heather extremely helpful in boosting confidence. Telling yourself in high pressure situations that ?I can do this, I am a good player your team loses one. Going into and have the ability to execute that situation not having this perfectly,?can help you to confidence in your ability to feel more self assured. Especially succeed is detrimental to the in volleyball not just boosting yourself but also your teammates.ultimate success. The attitude or Something unique to the sport is mindset you bring in everyday after every point, whether they life changes each situation. Say win or lose, they come together you have a big exam in math that for a quick team talk to reset you don't feel prepared for. Your their heads and get back to the mindset is already negative, game full throttle. focusing on how you cannot ?That's one of my favorite things succeed. Having that mindset about volleyball is the teams do changes how you think and go come together whether they win into situations. You are more or lose the point.? Rivera said. likely to be less aware, and let things pass you by. 26

When most athletes think about how they want their game to go, they don't hope to fail or make a mistake. Your brain wants you to succeed in what you do, no matter how challenging it may be. But that doesn't mean it never happens.

succeeding. Your brain doesn't going to do my best on this hit,? want to make any unnecessary you're going to be timid to mistakes, so it tends to take the approach anything you do.? said safe route. In the higher levels of Kehn, urging the fact that you volleyball, having that perfect don't have to be the best skill pass to a beautiful set, and the most astonishing kill is what you level to be a good athlete. strive for. But fear is one of the Our minds are the key behind biggest factors that stops that ?I think some of it is like a fear of from happening. The safe route everything, and sports is no failing, so they have that fear of caused by fear tells you just to exception. When watching we failing and they end up failing get it over the net, to not go and tend to focus just on the physical because that fear is so try. It doesn't mean that the skills aspect, not thinking about how prominent in their minds.? needed are not there, but fear there is so much more to it than Rivera says. keeps you from trying something what we may think. We don't that could end badly when you Playing someone who is better could have a guaranteed success. notice what goes on inside the than you skills wise, but letting heads of athletes, or maybe even that intimidation get to you will ?Even if you aren't the best hitter, hurt your athletic performance if you have that thought in your our own. even more. Having fear in your head, and you?re not like ?I'm mind can keep you from Photo Courtesy of LASA Volleyball

LASA Volleyball players stay safe in the gym during picture day.

Pr op er Passi n g 101 Designed by Maggie Jarnigan

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Passi n g h an d s 29

Tack l i n g Saf ety I n Footbal l By Henry Thompson

Safety in football is a growing concern across America and two high school coaches explain what they are doing about it. Football has the highest rate of head injuries of any major high school sport. It also has the highest rate of injuries in general.

ecently there has been a lot of concern over concussions in all levels of football. In the past 20 years people have discovered that lots of concussions over a long period of time can cause a disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which can cause depression loss of memory and mood swings. There are also the short term effects such as headaches,

irritability, confusion and loss of consciousness. On top of that there are the normal injuries people face, such as sprained ankles or pulled muscles. There are also lots of new challenges that people face with COVID on how to protect the coaches, fans, and players.

Since COVID 19 has spread, coaches have had to be very vigilant about health safety

?You know if you're sick. Stay home ?Coach Crews COVID. For a while football was off completely. The coaches had to miss spring football and strength and conditioning, but by fall,. Finally football was back. The upside of this is the coaches had a lot of time to get ready for this, according to Bryan Crews, head coach at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin. When the football season came around they were prepared.

Coach Mike Rosenthal, courtesy of Mike Rosenthal

?We check the temperature,? Crews said. ?We do health checks. .? Coach Bryan Crews said, the coach for the LASA football team. ? And of course. Any time they're not playing football. Enforce wearing masks.?

Even with all of this the coaches are still worried about the season. Safety precautions aren't the only thing that they have to worry about.

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?Probably just the worry probably is the constant worry of a positive test or you know a coach getting sick? Coach Crews said about the hardship of COVID.

Crews is not the only one worried about COVID. If one of the kids did end up getting sick not only would there be the worry about the kid but if someone gets sick then they have to shut down the program for a least a week and could potentially end the season for them. Coach Mike Rosenthal of Austin High School said

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Lasa Football Team, courtesy

of football. It's hard to get high school kids to stay home and not go out.

There are also the worries of the kids getting COVID outside 32

?I think the biggest thing is just harping on the kids to be diligent outside of sports

when they go home,? Rosenthal said. Crews agreed, adding players need to look out for the health of their teammates.?You know if you're sick. Stay home,? Crews said.

we're doing is the way we teach tackling. We're really stressing that players keep their heads out of tackling. And that they're tackling their bodies with their shoulders?

Without the sports and conditioning over the summer kids are less adjusted to dehydration and muscle pulls. They are also more vulnerable to heat stroke. To try to combat this the coaches have many methods to counteract this.

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?With different types of stretching that we do And with lessening the full contact in practice,? Rosenthal said. ?We do not do full speed full contact in practice near as much as it was done at the beginning of my career and when I was in high school.?

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In the hot texas summer there are other things they have to worry about.

y of Bryan Crews

Aside from COVID, coaches also have to worry about the usual dangers of football. This has been an issue on all levels of football for the past few years. There have been lots of advancement in the past few years to try to curb

concussions such as targeting penalties and teaching a new way to tackle. ?The most common serious injury in football is concussions,? Crews said. ?And one of the big things

?Yeah, so I think it's been muscle pulls and you know fatigue and dehydration are kind of the biggest things that come up with muscle poles,? Rosenthal said. ?When we try to harp on it just, you know 33 hydration make sure, especially.? 33

Concussions

s in the NFL

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- Alyssa Murray - Liz Hogan - Michelle Tumolo - Karen Sutton - Carly Kehn - Alex Cerda - Heather Rivera - Darin Pleasant - Kevin Garcia

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