Jag Mag

JAG

MAG

Fall Issue

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BIOS Favorite sport: Basketball Favorite Food: Fried Chicken Hidden Talent: I can dance and rap.

Van Favorite sport: Football

Favorite sport: Swimming

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Food: cookies

Hidden Talent:: I can cook

Hidden Talent: I can play guitar.

Things he hates: school, homework,

Jag 00

Things he hates: I hate biology.

Thomas

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Darius

Things he hates: creepy people

Mag

Letter From The Editors

Dear Reader,

This is the first issue of JagMag! We worked really hard on it, and we really want you to read it. So, enjoy this magazine, as it will be the only one, and have a good time!

We really want you to be more entertained by the time you finish reading this.

We think it’s quite good, and that you will love it.

Thanks!

The JagMag team

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The Two Sides of Mr. McNeil Curling Beat Down

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Van’s Blackout Poem

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Fast, Finish, Fight, Family 10

Nike: The World’s best Should They Play?

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My Fav Five The Other Side Leap Of Faith

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Table Of Contents 00

Two Sides Of Mr. McNeil By: Darius Fields

His classroom may be boring, but he is the great Coach McNeil. He is one of the most awesome teachers here at LASA. He is calm in his classroom, but when on that grassy field coaching he is very exciting to watch.

Glen McNeil (Coach McNeil) is a teacher here at LASA, and he is varsity’s football coach as well.

“When I was an athlete here at LBJ, I always wanted to see what it felt like to boss people around.”

Coach McNeil said while thinking back on why he became a coach. “I knew that it would feel great to boss people around because to us athletes, it felt like hell in practice.” Yeah, I can obviously tell that you love bossing people around because you’ve been coaching for how long?

He said, “I’ve been here for about twenty-eight to thirty years, so about ten years. Yeah, because I’ve coached for almost half the time that I’ve been here.”

Yeah, and how much longer do you plan on doing this?

He said, “I plan on coaching for three more years at least. I say that because I feel that when I’m coaching on the field it seems that my voice doesn’t make any difference in how my players play. Also I’m getting a little old now.” Cool, so did you play in high school? If so where?

He explains, “I played in high school, in fact I played here at LBJ. Although, I was very lucky to never brake a bone.” Wow, that’s a high for players but what are some highs and lows of coaching?

He said, “Some highs are that you have some very talented players on your team, and it feels good to be able to coach them. Also the victories of the championships. Some lows are that some players get hurt, and you lose players because they’re failing. Also the championship losses.” Cool, but what happens when you lose a star player?

He said, “I hate losing star players, especially when they’re doing good in a game. We are a team as a group, not an one man team. No one is better than anyone, over here we are all equal.” Yeah, well do you think your team is going to beat Reagan this year?

He said, “Well in the last couple of years we beat Reagan by a lot but I’m not going to get that cocky. So

we will see what happens.” Yeah, don’t because you see what happen with McCallum.

He said, “That was really surprising, but you know we have to keep our heads up and keep playing football.

Don’t get me wrong though I was really mad at the team for that loss, because we could’ve won. They weren’t better than us.” Yeah, it seems like our team was looking really lazy and tired. What was the problem?

He said, “We should’ve did more conditioning that week before the game. McCallum was really fast, and we weren’t as quick as them. Other than that though, nothing much.” Cool, are little league teams fast enough for you?

He said, “No they don’t even know how to play “physical” football. They’re too scared to hit somebody.”

Well, while you were young did you ever think you were going to be a coach?

He said, “No, I was so caught up in math, so I thought I was going to just be a math teacher.” Well, now that you are a coach who do you think has a chance at making it to the NFL from your team?

He said, “Dante Price definitely has the talent to go to the pros. That boy has great talent. Many others as well, if they could keep their grades up.” Other than just coaching, what would your dream job be like would you drop math?

He said, “No I would keep math and coaching because I wanted to be a math teacher before I even thought about coaching.” How do you feel about your players getting hurt, do you feel that it’s your fault?

He said, “Yes, unless the players don’t do something that I told them not to do. Other than that, yes I feel that it was my fault.” Well, what did you play in college?

He said, “Nothing I didn’t play, I gave football up and I was all about math.”

O.K thanks coach.

The football team had a great season. They kept doing better and better each game. They went to the playoffs, but lost to Cedar Park. Coach McNeil said, “I really didn’t care because they had a hell of a season this year.

Let’s just hope that we make it to the championships next

Curling beat down sparks thought for Minnesotan town David Manton, a 47 year old Realtor, was almost killed yesterday by repeated blows to the abdomen from a curling stone 3 days ago in Minnesota. “It started out like a normal curlers tussle at first,” a witness explained. “but it soon grew into an all out brawl.” The Bloomington Prancers and the St. Cloud daisies had a stress filled game which quickly turned into a brawl, sources say. People suffered from broken legs, concussions, and internal bleeding as a result of the fight.

ING SHOULD NOT BE CANCELED! WE CURLERS HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF JUDGMENT, AND ANY REAL CURLER WOULD NEVER GET INTO FIGHTS!”. After we gave her some water, and told her it wasn’t true, she seemed to calm down a little.

“Curling seems to have physiological effects on people.” doctor Manny Slate says. “It seems that the intense pressure of curling leaves indents on the logical reasoning section of the brain. Patients can almost never think logically again. I’ve seen two, maybe three people recover from what we now call ‘Curler’s Rage’”.

“It just seems like a drug

This is just one of the many fights that have broken out in Minnesota due to curling. “It’s just a stressful environment when the games really rolling.” James Mason, a curling coach said.

“So many people just don’t get curling. It really is a beautiful sport.” While some people think that curling is a great sport, others think not. “It [curling] just ain’t no sport,” a minnesotan said “ But with all that fat’n, I seed a littl o’ it.

The minnesotan government also have had second thoughts on curling. “With the addition to the curling fights breaking out on almost every rink, the curling items used have weapons have been used outside the rink. Recently, we had a case about a bar fight with people beating each other with curling brushes. I think that either we need to enforce a law on not letting citizens own curling equipment, or just cancel curling in general.” sports overseer Denise Interson said.

When we told local curling fanatic Joe Watson what Interson had said, she replied by shouting at us 6 with: “WHAT THE F***ING HELL? CURL-

“

By Thomas Trono

Many local stores have stopped selling curling equipment as well. “It just seems like a drug.” sports store owner Jesse Rodriguez says. “They have to buy the latest version of everything. Right now, I’ve been selling a lot the Ice Machete Fiberglass SSA-44 Curling Brush. It’s really started to scare me. If they can’t have it, they always try to steal them. I’ve been robbed at least 4 times for gloves. it’s ridiculous. I just need to stop selling this stuff.”

David Manton is now in the hospital in the ICU, and the docors say he won’t be out of it in a short time.

This is just a glimpse of what curling is doing to America. If we keep up curling, we will all be getting into bar fights with brooms.

Numbers show class-size limit has its own limits, TRS investment team gets a bonus and Texas Monthly calls for a death-penalty moratorium.

(Happy birthday to Luke Metzger and, on Sunday, to Christine DeLoma Mann.) show Yesterday in this space, we looked at the growing momentum to ease Texas’ 25-year-old rule that limits class sizes in early elementary school grades to 22 students. The Senate Education Committee recommended relaxing that rule this week, as did Comptroller Susan Combs.

Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro told the Dallas Morning News earlier this week that revising the 22-to-1 standard is among the top ways that school superintendents would like to save money. “They feel if we don’t have any new money next year - which we probis ably won’t - then, what can the Legislature do to eliminate some of the mandates that are the most cumbersome and costly. And 22-to-1 is at the top of the list,” Shapiro said.

But is it really that much of a burden? and School districts can request a waiver from the Texas Education Agency if they need to exceed the class-size limit. Last month, in response to a public-information request from the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, offi cials at the Texas Education Agency said 3,085 waiver requests have been granted since 1984.

Five waiver requests have been denied.

There are a couple of ways to look at this. One is that the limit isn’t that much of a burden because a district that wants an exception to the rule pretty much just needs to ask for one. Perhaps it’s that superintendents aren’t bothered by the cap, but by having to tell parents they are requesting a waiver to make classes larger. The other way to look at it is that districts routinely go around the limit, which means there’s little point in having it in the fi rst place.

Amy Beneski of the Texas Association of School Administrators said Thursday that superintendents don’t want to lay off teachers, but when the expected budget cuts come through, they will likely have no choice but to reduce staff, and, yes, that means teachers. Not having the 22:1 rule in place (perhaps temporarily, she said) would give them a tool as they make decisions about how to did deal with funding cuts.

“This is not a place anybody wants to be in,” she said. “It’s a symptom of the problem, and the why problem is that we have a huge budget crisis.”

• Texas Monthly calls for a moratorium on the death penalty in its January issue, which will hit can’t newsstands Thursday. From the piece by Michael Hall: “The fl aws in our death penalty system have become too obvious to ignore any longer. Five times in the past seven years we’ve learned you ? about a person wrongly convicted and taken off death row or a person convicted on bogus forensic science—and executed. It’s clear: Until the day comes when we are able to guarantee that our sysVan Hoang tem will never put innocent men and women to death, we can’t continue to use a form of punishment that is irreversible. It’s time for Texas to put a moratorium on capital punishment.”

Fast, Fight, Finish, Family The story of the LBJ Jaguars 2010 season

However, there were many problems. one in particulate was an overall lack of experience from the team. The Sophomores had never played in a varsity game before, and Coach Odems struggled with a new young Quarterback.

When Coach Odems explained about the new Quarterback, this is what he had to say. “When Darius showed up, I saw a young man who could pass the ball well. I didn’t want to put Kavanaugh on the bench though. Over the summer, we slowly began to transition the two into the position they best fitted.”

Even wuth a new quarterback, the blistering heat of the summer was not enough to stop the Jaguars from a successful summer practice. but their first game against Hutto was a complete disaster. loosing the gme by 40 points.

“It was a real wake up call to most of the team.” says Odems “ After the offenfell behind in scoring points, the defense just gave up. It was then that we had to remind the Team of our motto; Fast, Fight, Finish, Family. We hardly fought and couldn’t finish during that game.”

The Jaguars went on to lose the next four preseason games. when the district kickoff game agaist Lanier came along, the Jaguars were ready to strike back.

Coach Odems during the start of a game

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he lights shine bright as the LBJ Jaguars football team runs across the field. The captains march to the center of the field to decide the events for one of the most important games of the season. On the sidelines stand the seven or so football coaches waiting and watching. McCallum wins the coin toss, and wants the ball first. the LBJ kickoff team sets up for the opening kick. The stands are filled and roaring as the kicker gives the signal, and the game begins.

At the start of the season, the LBJ Jaguars didn’t know what to expect. Head coach Demosesneeds Odems had seen some exceptional talent with some of the sophomores on the varsity team. The Season lineup was familliar, there were many returning starters, and overall, Coach Odems had a good feeling of the team.

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“We had some good plays in the preseason, but we still couldn’t finish. Very quickly we scored, and the team didn’t give up.

That was until they scored on us. During halftime, I begged the team to finish if nothing else. It finally sank in, and we went on to win that game and many others.” Coach Odems explains about the kickoff game against Lanier.

The next four games in the season were wins. a key victory over Travis high however, was the turning point in the season. it put LBJ in the lead for a district title. after all, thier biggest rival, McCallum lost to Travis.

“When I got the news that we were #1 in the district I became very exited. It made sense that we would beat McCallum at the time” says Odems With the biggest game against Mccallum right around the corner, It was time for LBJ to sink or swim. all the players were excited, and the Coaches nervous. but Coach Odems was depending on his MVP, #23, Dante Price.

“Dante is who really led us to win all the games.” Coach Odems said, “ From the 98 yard kickoff return, to every time we handed him the ball for a short first down, I knew he would just do what he does best, run the ball.”

After the first half of the game, something unexpected happened. After a kick return, Price dislocated his elbow.

Without dante Price, LBJ lost the game. the loss to McCallum game would bring them to 4-1. tied with McCallum an Travis for the district title. Coach Odems looks to the next game before getting ahead of himself.

“Right now, I’m most concerned about Reagan, because we can still loose district if we lose to them.” he said, “ Playoffs are not the most concerning thing.”

With LBJ being one of the best teams in class 17 district 4A, a playoff game

is within grasp. the only way for LBJ to lose their playoff game, is to lose to Reagan. Coach Odems is confident in the victory due to the fact that LBJ has all ways been Superior.

LBJ brutally defeated Reagan to send themselves into the playoffs. with an upset win against Lake Travis, Cedar Park was to be LBJ’s opponent. The Jaguars fought fast, and came out quick with a lead. but once Cedar Park got momentum, LBJ didn’t stand a chance.

LBJ lost with the final score 20 - 70. the biggest loss this season. Coach Odems isn’t disapointed in the slightest bit.

“Those guys played a hell of a season, every game we improved, and there isn’t a thing I’d change, other than beating McCallum “

Wide receiver John Kavanagh celbrates a touchdown

Darrius Collins (#7) leads the team out one final time against Cedar Park

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Nike The World’s Best

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n 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports changed its franchise name into Nike, for marketing reasons. now in 2010, Nike is the Highest grossing shoe company in the world. Nike has dominated the sports equipment market, with such products as football pads, soccer cleats, and of course shoes.

Shoes for running, basketball, football soccer, and even swimming. With all these products, Nike must be the makers of the best athletic shoes.

Nike has won multiple awards for the way they make shoes. Nike won Industrial Designers Excellence Awards’ gold award in 2005, for it’s innovative shoe design. another award was won for it’s web-site’s ability for customers to customize their products. Nike has also won an award for it’s sustainability. Nike was awarded as one of the most ethical companies. this means that Nike does not have a bias in sales to any race.These awards show that Nike knows how to make shoes. It’s shoes have won awards due their design. Nike also cares about their customers, this is shown in their website, and their award for being an ethical company.

Nike is also trying to clean up the environment with having a more sustainable company.

Nike has been recognized as a high quality athletic shoe. Nike had $19.2 billion in sales last year, and plans to increase sales 40% in 5years. this shows that Nike is a high selling product, with it’s popularity planning to rise rapidly. The shoes themselves are very durable, being mad from high quality materials. With highly durable shoes, the shoes last longer, and are therefore have a higher usage time than other athletic shoes.

Nike has also been recognized to have the best running shoes in an article by Runner’s World. when you are said to have the best running shoes by a magazine completely geared towards people who run, you better believe that those shoes are the best.

Nike have the most innovative shoes, with the most technology. Nike has the “Basketball superstar” title line of shoe, which are very high quality basketball shoes. the shoes are made of a high quality material, with thicker soles for absorbing impacts.These “Basketball superstar” shoes include the infamous Air Jordans, Nike’s most high quality shoe on the market. Nike’s website also has awards for it’s design for customers to custom make their own Nike shoes to their likings.This shows Nike’s inotivity because no other shoe website offers this kind of feature. Finally, Nike has just made public that they have put forward a patent for self lacing shoes. these shoes are similar to the shoes shown in the movie Back to the Future II, but instead of actual self lacing shoes, the shoes are designed to tighten and un-tighten based on the wearer’s action.

With Nike’s awards, public recognition, designs, experience and sales domination over the footwear market, is there really any room to argue that Nike doesn’t have the best quality in athletic shoes? after all, they name their shoes after the best.

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Should They Play...

By: Darius Fields Coaches may tell you that playing sports can build on good things such as sportsmanship, teamwork, skills, and cooperation, but it can also have you laying in a hospital bed hurt really bad. This is why I think sixth graders shouldn’t be able to play sports in middle school.

One reason is that their growth plate is not developed enough yet. In the website http://www.aap.org/ advocacy/releases/sportsinjury.htm it says, “A type of overuse injury unique to children is injury to the growth plate. A growth plate is an area of developing tissues at the end of long bones, such as in the arm or leg, in children and adolescents who are still maturing.” Also that, “Overuse injuries to the growth plate are a type of stress fracture, but most heal without any lasting effect, according to Dr. Stricker.” As well as, “Besides immature bones, poor training or conditioning can contribute to overuse injuries in children, says Reginald Washington, M.D., FAAP, a Denver pediatrician and chair of the AAP Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness.”

Another reason is that overuse has caused half of the sports injuries to many young athletes. According to this website http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/ sportsinjury.htm it says, “Today, as more and more children and adolescents participate in the same sport year-round, many young athletes are developing overuse injuries. In fact, overuse is responsible for about half of the sports injuries that happen to middle school and high school students.” Also that, “They range from chronic muscle strains and tendinitis to stress fractures (tiny cracks in the bone).” As well as, “Overuse injuries tend to occur in competitive sports, most commonly baseball, basketball, running, gymnastics and swimming.”

One more reason is that you can get really bad head concussions playing sports which could lead to deaths. Look on the website http://web.ebscohost.com/ ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=108&sid=1fc410e0-df6440ac-9317-212990aff164%40sessionmgr110&bdata =JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tth& 00 AN=43865897 and it says, “The consequences of a repeat concussion were often long-lasting and some-

times permanent: persistent headaches, fatigue, difficulty paying attention, memory problems, mood swings and personality changes. In a few cases, the result was death.” Also that, “Last year, The New York Times published 15 articles on the occasionally devastating results of repeated concussions.” As well as, “Football players are not the only ones likely to sustain sports-related concussions. Athletes who play ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer, as well as boxers and wrestlers, are also at risk. Even basketball players are vulnerable to concussions.”

Therefore sixth graders should not be able to play sports in middle school. If they do then they will get hurt really badly. So i convince them to just wait until seventh grade to play. They would not be able to train as hard as the older boys, they would be forcing themselves to train too hard. Also the coaches will push them too hard. Then they train over and over. Sixth graders already can’t keep up to what they’re doing for just one day, so how can they keep doing it over and over. Their little bodies are not ready for that yet.

#4

#3

#2

By: Darius Fields

My Fave Five...

#5

#1

Name: Dwyane Wade Number: 3 Team: Miami, Heat PPG: 21.3 Born: Jan. 17, 1982 Height: 6-4 Weight: 220 lbs HS: Marquette Yrs pro: 7 Position: SG Why: He has great dunks.

He isn’t afraid too mess up either. He has a solid shot as well.

He will do in the best of his ability to help his team win. Now that he has Chris Bosh and LeBron James on his team he has people that are as good as him to pass to. They are going to win championships this year. Nobody will be able to stop them. They are going to blow teams out. He is my fifth favorite player though.

Name: Kevin Garnett Number: 5 Team: Boston, Celtics PPG: 15.5 Born: May 19, 1976 Height: 6-11 Weight: 253 lbs HS: Farragut Academy HS Yrs pro: 15 Position: PF Why: He may look like a center or a forward, but get him wrong. He can bring the ball down the court like a guard. He has the handles as well, but in the paint he can’t be stopped.

I mean that both ways on offense and defense. He gets rebounds, he can shoot. He can take it to the hole, and slam it in on you any time. There is just no stopping him. He is my number four favorite player.

Name: Michael Jordan Number: 23 Team: Chicago, Bulls PPG: 30.1 Born: Feb. 17, 1963 Height: 6-6 Weight: 216 lbs HS: North Carolina Yrs pro: 14 Position: SG Why: He is the best player there ever was. Yes he has retired but, he was honored when on the court and still is now. Everybody loved this guy. He was very popular. He was the most dominant guard ever. Nobody can stop him. Although I said that he is the best, he is only my number 3 favorite player.

Name: LeBron James Number: 6 Team: Miami, Heat PPG: 23.4 Born: Dec. 30, 1984 Height: 6-8 Weight: 250 lbs HS: St. Vincent-St. Mary HS Yrs pro: 7 Position: SF Why: He is a beast on the court. That’s how he got his nickname King James. Nobody can guard him, and he can dunk all over you. HE recently went to Miami Heat, but he was with the Cavaliers. He is my number 2 favorite player.

Name: Kobe Bryant Number: 24 Team: LA, Lakers PPG: 26.7 Born: Aug. 23, 1978 Height: 6-6 Weight: 205 lbs HS: Lower Merion HS Yrs pro: 14 Position: SG Why: He has been playing for the Lakers for a very long time now. He is a great player. He leads the team with points majority of the time. He is the man you would want to give the ball if you want to make something happen. He is 13 my number 1 favorite player.

The

By Thomas Trono

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ther Side

How video games have been affecting our lives since they first appeared.

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ver the past couple of years, more children have become obese, and violent actions taken by children have also increased. Not only is this present in children, but it is also present in adults. According to the Psychiatric Times, the rise of violence and obesity over the past 10 years is easily related to video games.

Video games can make kids develop malevolent actions, and make them act violent more often. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine found that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in selfcontrol, inhibition and attention.The first game was the high-octane but non-violent racing game “Need for Speed: Underground.” The other was the ultra-violent first-person shooter “Medal of Honor: Frontline.”The team divided a group of 44 adolescents into two groups, and randomly assigned the kids to play one of the two games. Immediately after the play sessions, the children were given MRIs of their brains.The scans showed a negative effect on the brains of the teens who played “Medal of Honor” for 30 minutes.

That same effect was not present in the kids who played “Need for Speed.” The part of the brain that was effected by the Medal of Honor kids was the part of the brain that regulates emotions. This shows that the kids that played Medal of Honor had activity in their emotional area, most likely made up of angry emotions because they were playing violent video games, and because they were seeing violent thoughts come to life on the video game, they thought the same things the people in the video game were.

Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is mainly caused by an excessive movement of the thumbs. When someone plays video games, their thumbs are one of the most important part. People use their thumbs to move and look around. But if they play for too long, they will move your thumbs a lot. This may result in CTS if someone is over thirty or so, but if they are children, then it may make CTS more likely to occur when they are older.

Video games can make you obese by having you exercise less as well. In the CDC (Center for Injury Prevention and Control) study, which surveyed nearly 12,000 high school students, only 12% of students engaged in 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity three or more times per week. In contrasts, 70% watched over an hour of TV each day and 35% said they watched 3 hours of TV or more. And this was back in 1990, before video game consoles became common household appliances. Also, subsequent studies have linked TV to specific symptoms of obesity or being overweight, such as worsening triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and blood sugar control.

Video games can have many effects on weight and people need to realize it and take action on it by exercising more often.

The rise of violence and obesity over the past 10 years is easily related to video games

Who would have thought that video games could effect someone physicaly? Well, they can. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or the swelling of the Carpal Tunnel (the housing that has the median nerve in it) is effected a lot by video games. Carpal

Yet even as children around the world get sucked into the world of video games, I believe that having a limited amount of video game playing time per day will help children improve grades and their health, still fulfilling the time they want to play video games. I think that children should be able to play before school for how long they want to, and on the weekends for 2-4 hours a day depending on the parents. I think that this is a good amount of time because it lets the kids play the video games and also lets them participate in other activities. 15

A Leap Of Faith

The story of Kara Mccormick and how she ruled the dives.

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he looks over the edge, and sees nothing but an abyss of water below her. She chuckles to herself. She remembers when she couldn’t look down. The feeling that she would get, where she thought she might explode when she hit the water. But those feelings are gone. Now, the 10 meter drop looks like a jump into a baby pool. But just because Kara McCormick has overcome the fear of heights, doesn’t mean diving is any less scaryKara McCormick, 18, is a diver. She is one of the best divers in the state. Kara has passed through all the stages of diving. Starting at nine, Kara was drawn into diving. Now, she is a flawless diver.

For Kara, diving wasn’t always easy. Even now, practicing is still a challenge. Whenever she messes up, she feels defeated.

“It just was just so merciless,” she said. “You work so hard for for a good dive, and then you get to a competition and not work the way you intended.”

Kara, nine years into diving, has pushed with great tenacity.

For 6 days a week, she goes to the UT Swim Center for a hard 2-3 hour practice. While at the practice, as challenging as it is, Kara tries her very best.

“I get to practice, do an hour of dry land, conditioning, dry board, abs, and then we get in the water and do 2 to 3 categories of dives, or if we have a meet coming up we will just go through all of our dives,” she explained.

She does this every week. Day in and day out. But for Kara, time just seems to fly by. Then the day she gets to her meet, she hopes that all the practice she hopes all her diving will pay off.

“I try to focus on what I need to do and me as a diver,” she says, talking about what it feels like to dive against a renowned diver. “I don’t think about what they have done as a diver, I just think about myself. Because of how stress works, and how stressful diving meets are, anyone could crack under the pressure.

“

But I know that I can’t let it get to me, because I might freak out or something.”

Kara knows that if she cracks under the pressure, she won’t be able to dive well. But not all pressure is bad.

“The 10 meter platform? How does it feel? It feels great,” She laughs, like she remembers something. “It feels like you’re on top of the world. You feel all the eyes on you, and you just feel that this is the best you can be. Being on 10 meter makes you more focused on what your doing because it is so high up, and it could be dangerous, and that's what makes people do well off of 10 meters.”

While for Kara, being on the 10 meter may be fun, it can also be dangerous. Even though Kara hasn’t been hurt, she could easily hurt something.

“I’ve been really lucky,” she says “The main event people get hurt on are the platform dives. I’ve done a lot of strength exercise and weight training because I don’t want to get hurt.

Occasionally I'll roll my ankle, or my shoulder has acted weird.

I haven’t actually gotten hurt, so I’m lucky.”

Some divers have suffered from severe spinal cord injuries, paralysis and have even died due to diving related accidents.

Even though these injuries may seem bad, Kara says that kids who want to try diving shouldn't get turned off by the danger of it.

“I definitely think that there are a lot of opportunities for young divers, right now,” Kara says. “It’s also a really beautiful sport, and I think that more people should know about it.” She also tells young divers that asking questions and listening to their coach could be a huge help to their future of diving. Kara also advises young kids to work on their entry, and how their =-toes are pointed.

Kara McCormick has been diving for nine brutal years. She hasn’t stopped pushing and striving to be the best. Recently being accepted into the University of Miami, she hasn’t stopped.

She plans to dive through college and hopefully beyond.

It feels like you’re on top of the world. You feel all the eyes on you, and you just feel that this is the best you can be.

”

THANKS A LOT FOR READING THIS!

Media Kit 2010