Nov. 13, 2017
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The Linfield Review
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McMinnville, Ore.
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123rd Year
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Issue No. 7
Killgore implements change, fosters community feel By Kaelia Neal
In his first year as athletic director, Garry Killgore has used his “all-in” philosophy to effect positive change. One of his driving missions is fostering greater unity among athletes at Linfield, regardless of their sport or gender. And he feels he’s succeeding in that. “The majority of the athletes know I’m serious, that it’s not fluff to me that I care about all the programs,” Killgore said. “What I’ve seen is more of the
teams being supportive of each other, which is what it should be like, especially at a small college like here.” To help bolster him in that mission, he’s brought Amy Dames-Smith and Jodie Faulk into leadership roles in the department. And it’s paying off, he said. “I expect and appreciate the people I get to work with every day do a great job,” he said. “I trust them, and that’s paramount if you’re trying for a winning combination of people.”
Another significant change, this one more visible to the broader community, is the development of Game Day festivities on Lever Street to celebrate home football games. “Changing the Game Day experience, I think, was incredibly important to me,” Killgore said. “Yes, it generates more revenue, which is awesome. We need to do that. “But we also really have to show we can have fun. It’s OK to have a blast.” Game Day is also a way for the col-
lege to attract recruits, improve retention and provide a positive experience for spectators, Killgore said. “What is exceedingly gratifying is the reaction to it,” he said. “I just got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago from one of our alums, who had celebrated his 50th Homecoming game. And he said, ‘I loved what you did with the Game Day experience. It’s the best Homecoming ever.’ “And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ That dang near made me cry.”
Killgore said he has received very few negative comments on the new ritual. “In fact, Dr. Hellie said that even for a curmudgeon like him, that he’s been impressed by our Game Day experience,” Killgore said of Linfield President Thomas L. Hellie, laughing at the thought. “That’s been exceedingly gratifying to me, because they definitely made me jump through a lot of hoops to >>see Killgore page 4
Review offers supplemental biannual college magazine By The Review Editorial Board
Fiona Kelley
Members of the Sironka dance troup performing a traditional folk song of the Maasai, a tribal group from Kenya. They were joined by an enthusiastic audience on Wednesday night.
The Linfield Review has begun including magazine inserts —1858 The Linfield Review Magazine—to provide a place for investigative and longer feature stories. The first magazine, found inside this issue, includes an interview with President Thomas Hellie regarding his retirement, and an investigation on what student diversity means at Linfield. Another magazine insert will be published in spring 2018. We have created this magazine to give the Review staff a chance to write longer, more in-depth articles. The format of a bi-weekly newspaper can be constricting, so the magazine has allowed us to expand our view. The Review’s magazine offers a
perspective of Linfield specifically for current students. It is written by and for students. We wanted to recognize Hellie’s 11 years of service as Linfield’s president before he retires June 30, 2018. The Q&A format gave him the ability to express the highs and lows during his tenure, lessons he’s learned and advice for the future president in a direct and less formal manner. After the U.S. News & World Report rankings were released, we felt it vital to draw attention to the college’s racial and ethnic diversity. The accompanying graphic done by one of our graphic designers emphasizes the trends over time at Linfield. A graph is easier to comprehend than raw data. We hope you’ll enjoy our first issue of 1858.
Athletes’ anxieties prevent some from reaching full potential By Braelyn Swan and Kaho Akau The stress of school, work, and other responsibilities is often enough for students, and yet there are some who include sports in their busy schedules. Student athletes face the stresses of time management and keeping their grades up to remain eligible, but there are also stressors that can come from sports themselves. Anxiety disorder, anxiety attacks, and panic attacks can be extremely debilitating for anyone who suffers from them. They can prevent student athletes from performing well, or even at all. Psychology professor Tanya Tompkins explained that the “increased and
pronounced” heart rate that comes with panic attacks can make students feel like they’re dying, even though they are young, healthy athletes. She said that athletes at the college level are often heavily invested in the outcomes of their games, and although it feels good to win, the stakes can become too high. There is pressure from outside sources to consistently exceed expectations for fear of letting down the team or not producing a personal record. Tompkins described the U-curve (pictured right) as a point of reference for where nerves can go from helpful to hurtful. “During my sophomore year I had super bad nerves,” he said. “I threw up before almost every game I pitched.”
Neely reports that his anxiety has since lessened and just become a part of his routine. “My first few starts, I threw up and was pretty frustrated about it because I thought I was past that,” Neely said. He turned to professional athletes who also have anxiety, like Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. “I’m no Beast Mode,” he said, “but I can still give it my all and that’s what I did.” Other prominent athletes have reported having anxiety. Olympic medalist Michael Phelps opened up about his experience with anxiety in a new documentary about anxiety in adolescents called “Angst.” >>see Anxiety page 4
The Yerkes-Dodson Law, developed by Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908, states that an athlete’s performance improves with physiological or mental arousal up to a point.