R.I.S.E September Issue

R.I.S.E SEPTEMBER 2021

WHO ARE WE?

introducing the RISE community

ATHLETES HUB

Our athletes speak out on their experiences

R.I.S.E

R.I.S.E

CONTENTS 4 BlueChips X R.I.S.E

5 Stories of Resilience

6 Stories from Anonymous

2 Editor's Note 3 MEET THE TEAM 4 New Releases 6 R.I.S.E R.I.S.E Introductor 10 DAILY INSIDER: Athletes Corner Bringing athletes together that share the same stories, experiences and more..

11 Athlete's SPOTLIGHT 12 2022 HB SEE YOU COMBINE Take a look to see if HB See You Combine is coming to a city near you!

5 Emerging Writers Dive into the stories of our emerging writers and their stories R.I.S.E | 2

MEET THE TEAM Executive Director BERNIE HEADLEY

coachbernie@sportsacademy360.com

Editor-In-Chief/Digital content editor JAHLYNN HANCOCK

Content director JAHLYNN HANCOCK

social media DIRECTOR KAYLA PALMORE

video/photo content producer KAYLA PALMORE

sports information & communications director AREONNA DOWDY

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R.I.S.E X BLUECHIPS

BlueChips is a social networking

The networking platform of BlueChips

platform that is designed to assist

is going to be the LinkedIn for athletes,

student-athletes in getting exposure by providing them the Introducing BlueChips to the sports realm.

WRITTEN BY JAHLYNN HANCOCK PHOTO: VIA BLUECHIPS

necessary tools in gaining attention for their athletic careers.

BlueChips is in development of a web application that will allow for athletes to access both on desktops and mobile devices.

4 | R.I.S.E

The platform's goal is to link studentathletes with coaches, scouts, and other professionals during their recruitment process.

In addition to the connection of fcoaches, scoats, etc, student-athletes will be allowed to network with their teammates, friends from other schools and fans.

R.I.S.E

NEWS RELEASE SEPETEMBER 21'

Coach Bernie, AVCA Awards Coach Bernie Headley was annoced the 2021 AVCA Networking Award Winner.

Bernie was nominated this award for his outstanding ability for networking and involvement in the community.

HB See You in 2022 The HB See You Combine & Exposure camp was a success this summer 2021.

We are proud to announce that the HB See You Combine & Exposure Camp will be returning for the 2022 Summer season.

The combine will be expanding to 2 additional cities, allowing athletes a chance to college exposure.

Fall Try-Outs Fall Try-Outs are coming!!

360 Sports Academy is hosting fall try-outs on October 27th & October 28th, 2021

Try-Outs will be held at our home gym: CSO Sports Multiplex 1301 E. 47th Street Chicago, Il 60653 There is a $20 try-out fee.

Please register at our website, http://www.sportsacademy360.com/ Registration is now open.

Try-Outs begin at 6pm.

360 HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL HB SEE YOU CAMP & COMBINE

By Jahlynn Hancock

360 Sports Academy concluded their first annual HB See You Exposure Camp & Combine this year, hosting over 80 athletes on Chicago's Near South Side.

Coach Bernie, founder and head coach, is the first of many coaches to bring an event to a well diverse, urban area in the Chicagoland area. The HB See You Combine & Exposure Camp was created to bring attention to those athletes who tend to be fly under the radar when it comes to getting the proper attention when recruitment season goes underway.

The Combine invited small to mid-sized Div I, II, III of HBCU colleges, along with local area JUCO universities.

With the success of the first annual HB See You combine, we look forward for next year's combine, bringing our community's athletes talents to the frontline. It is important for our communities to invest into our athletes, as the exposure camp made sure of that.

From Jackson State to Central State University, we saw an amazing outcome from our select universities that were in attendance for this year's showcase. Local universities, such as NIU and Loyola Chicago, were in attendance to watch as our athletes showcased their talents.

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RESILENCE

My experience in Vegas --- ‘Nationals Volleyball’

I had never been to Vegas before, and it was a great experience to mix both business and leisure.

The chemistry between my team and I, isn’t the best as it should be, but that stems from the obvious separation between white and black players. Our team’s first encounter was that everyone was the go and bond at the pool. With the obvious separation, they didn’t include me, or the other black player in that bond and we were left to find ourselves elsewhere.

It was obvious that there was separation amongst the group, as all plans that included the other girls, we were the only two players that were left out of those plans. When it came to game time, that’s when my mental health was put to the ultimate test. It was my chance to do my thing and do exactly what I know, and it was my time to show out and be the best.

I must be honest, me and my team didn’t do great the first day, and in the mist of it, I didn’t get the ball at all. This set me back from being able to show the coaches what I can do and the talents that I have. For the last game of the day, I was hurt. As an athlete, there is risk of injury and I injured my left foot, and when I told my coach about it, it seemed that he was more upset that he couldn’t use my talents for a win than showing compassion that I was hurt. I walked out ashamed of myself which I shouldn’t have, but I did.

When the important games came, they started passing me the ball and I was killing it. We won those tough games because we played as a team, and I got the ball a lot which was great!

After our championship match, they stood all the teams up on the stage and passed out the medals and called out the all-tournament team players.

I just knew my name was going to be called. There was no doubt in my mind that I haven’t laid my blood, sweat, and tears for this team and worked my butt off to be the best outside on our team. I was ready and 3 girls on my team were called along with 3 girls from every other team and once they said these were the all-tournament team players my heart completely dropped.

All those mental breakdowns because I was never accepted by my team along with not one day going by without me always having to put up a fight because of the way I looked. Those missed opportunities because I was never passed the ball or never played because of the selfish environment of my team.

I asked myself, why keep going if I can’t even get what I worked for? What do I keep undergoing through all this pain and stress for just to keep getting treated worse and worse every time? Why do I even stay at this club if they can’t ever address the problems with this team and really support me as a player The number of times where I let the stress and anxiety of playing this sport take over my mind to an unhealthy extent is not even a number I can name. I just changed my whole environment of volleyball after this day and tournament. I changed clubs, trainers, my game preparing routine, the way I thought about things, and the way I get to success because I made a promise to myself that in the end you most definitely will see me being the greatest in what I do.

These hard times with this team and in this sport has held me back but at the same time it didn’t hold me back because I’m still here and I’m still willing to work. I use this story to inspire others around me that are also African American student athletes to show that you are not the only one going through these issues.

-Anonymous

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INSPIRED

When Journalism was presented as an option for an elective my junior year of high school, I knew I wanted to take this class.

Writing has always my safety net. I knew I possessed the skills to write. The only problem I had was figuring out how was I going to use my writing skills and turn it into a career.

What inspired me to continue writing and pursue a career in journalism, was realizing there was a lack of black and brown skin women like me.

Now you have women like Jemele Hill, Terrika According to the Merriam-Webster, the definition Foster-Brasby, Cari Champion, etc who are given of inspire is to influence, move, or guide by divine a platform and inspire me to be a woman in or supernatural inspiration. I believe being sports.

inspired or having inspiration can be a challenging concept to understand or grasp because what I already had the passion and fire of determination inspires one person, may not inspire the other.

I would personally define inspiration as an aroused spirit that brings excitement and willingness to learn, grow, and pursue your dreams.

to become a sports journalist, so when the inspiration set in, it made it easier for me to strive to be the next best, black, woman sports journalist.

Remember to always keep your personal values The feeling of being inspired makes you feel alive, close because they will influence the way others almost like a breath of fresh air. To experience this perceive you yet inspire the people around you. feeling, you have to be in tuned with your visions and your true authentic self.

My hope is that I inspire someone to chase their dreams and to live a life they’re proud of.

Such a state of being is temporary and doesn’t keep you thinking about the purpose of life.

Rather, it allows you to experience life in a -Areonna Dowdy meaningful way. So, what do you have when you’re not feeling inspired?

One cannot rely on the feeling of waiting for an inspiration, for it comes and goes. The best thing to do is to already have the belief that you are capable and willing to pursue any plans or goals that you set for yourself. So, when the inspiration comes, you have the discipline and mindset to proceed with constant action.

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S STRONG

My name is MiMi Harris, a senior volleyball athlete from Arizona. I have been playing volleyball for about 7 years now, and with every sport we all know injuries are practically inevitable. But you never expect to lose your senior season from an injury.

I have had several injuries ranging from multiple ankle sprains, a concussion, plantar fasciitis in the sole of my foot, and patellar tendinitis in my knee. My most recent and most painful injury happened at a tournament in Wisconsin in 2019.

I hustled after a ball, and was so focused on saving the ball, that I was not spatially aware of how close I was to the crowd. I fell into a folding chair, catching my arm in the chair.

It was painful, but I had to keep playing and ignore the discomfort. My mom and I thought it was just a minor soreness or something similar, so I did a combination of cortisone injections-a shot into the injured body part to decrease pain and inflammation to allow the athlete to continue playing, and physical therapy (PT) for about 18 months to try and strengthen my shoulder and take the pain away.

After I realized that I was not showing signs of improvements, my mom and I decided to seek another professional opinion. I got X-rays, and was told I had a posterior labrum tear, along with bony impingement in my shoulder. In simpler terms, I had a tear of the fibrous cartilage in the back of shoulder that holds the shoulder joint together, and in the front of my shoulder, my bones were pinching on each other, similar to a minor dislocation, causing me weakness, pain, and a loss of mobility.

This injury negatively impacted my daily life, and also how I performed on the court. I struggled with simple things such as reaching behind my back, and I lost most of my strength to do overhead motions that are common in volleyball: spiking and serving.

To heal this injury, I had surgery the first week of July 2021, fortunately after getting the chance to finish my club season. The surgery was painful beyond words, and was worse than I expected. I have never been seriously injured to require surgery, so I did not really know what to expect.

Ten days after my surgery, I started my PT journey, and I now go three times a week, until the end of my healing process. It is very exhausting and challenging to stay motivated because I want to play and heal quicker than the time set for my healing.

To keep myself looking ahead, I continuously watch my own film, and remind myself that since my pain is gone now, I will be much more skilled, quicker, and stronger when I return to the court. I also tell myself that God is putting me through this injury for a reason, and that whatever his plan is, has the purpose to positively contribute to the path I am designed to be on.

I am accepting of this temporary set back, using it as a time to get stronger and better for the club season, and be my teammates biggest cheerleader.

As an athlete, we will experience different aspects of the game that will impact our mental, emotional, and physical sides of our sport, and the obstacles like surgeries that come along with being an athlete. With an injury as extensive as my labrum tear, the physical aspect was of course the most painful followed by the emotional challenges of an injured athlete.

Trying to stay positive in the midst of not being able to play my last year of volleyball, has truly been a hard task. But with the amazing support system I have, it has made it that much easier to accept this temporary norm.

Finally, the mental aspect is very similar to the emotional aspect by trying to keep my spirits high, and focus on the future when I am able to compete on the court again. All in all, I believe every negative situation can always somehow be turned into a positive.

I will come back STRONGER, more skilled, and mentally tougher than before, and show everyone that there is nothing that I cannot handle.

-Mimi Harris

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EMPOWERED It may be difficult for some, and it may be easy for others, but I am here to provide insights on my experience on how to find the best college that fits who you are and you can apply this to your volleyball recruiting experience.

I would first recommend asking a lot of questions.

You need to be able to ask the right questions and ask questions that will highlight the experience that you will be going through.

One question that I feel every single African American student athlete should ask a college is “What is your school and program currently doing to address diversity, equity, and inclusion?” Either I became more interested in the school or completely disinterested.

Some answers were very detailed and honest with good intentions for African American student athletes like me. Some other answers that were given were “I don’t know”, “My spouse is black”, “We don’t see color”, and plenty of mumbling with long answers that never actually related to my question.

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In a school I would imagine that most African American student athletes would want to feel like they are supported, that the school is diversely aware, that they are comfortable enough to speak out about a problem or feel like there is a listening ear always in their corner.

If a school can or can’t answer this question for me then it makes it a lot easier for me to filter out if I would consider going there or not.

Questions I would also recommend asking college coaches are: “Where am I ranked on your list of players?”

“Where do you see me fitting into your program?”

“What other players are you bringing in that are in my class and the class before me?”

These questions I feel are important to ask because you can get a better understanding on if you are a priority to them and if they really have a plan for you if you came to their school. You want a coach and staff that is going to care about you and not just what they can use to their advantage.

You are spending 4 years with the coaching staff and players, so you are going to want to be comfortable, supported, and you want it to be a good fit. Asking a lot of questions really helps you to never be surprised at what you are getting into. Now when you get to a point of visiting schools and dialing down your college options you are going to have to get to the real conversations and ask questions about housing, financial package and tuition, college meal plans, any class questions, etc. These are just suggestions to help make choosing a college a little less stressful and a lot more enjoyable.

-Anonymous

DAILY INSIDER: ATHLETE'S CORNER

WRITTEN BY: JAHLYNN HANCOCK

What is Athlete's Corner?

Athlete's Corner is designed for athletes across the Chicagoland area and amongst the R.I.S.E family to share their experiences in the athletic realm.

The idea is to allow for those athletes who may share the same experiences to come together and feed off one another in terms of building a strong bond within their community and come to terms of changing the overall environment when it comes to sports.

The R.I.S.E team visions to bring the Athlete's Corner to the future HB See You events and other future events.

We will keep our R.I.S.E family updated as we finalize our plans and development for R.I.S.E X Athlete's Corner.

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HB SEE YOU COMBINE TOUR 2022

Thats Right! The HB See You Combine and Exposure Camp is expanding! We are proud to announce the dates for the combine for 2022 in three cities.

Chicago, Illinois June 3rd-5th Baltimore, Maryland June 17th-19th Raleigh, North Carolina TBD 11