masterwordsmith-unplugged

Sam Gordon just wanted to run with the older kids. The coaches in the local tackle football league figured, hey, why not? Maybe they could turn it into a drill: Who can outrun Max's little sister? They were shocked to find the answer: no one.

Sam Gordon, now 9, became one of the fastest kids this Salt Lake City area "Gremlins" league had ever seen. They put her in drills and she outran boys two years older. They allowed her into the "Sharks and Minnows" game and stared in awe at not only at her speed, but her ability to move like a tailback.

"She could cut and follow blocks like a college football player," says her coach, Chris Staib.

Sam ended up running for 25 touchdowns and 10 conversions in her first season playing tackle football. She earned the nickname "Sweet Feet" and a breathtaking viral video in which she looks so fast that you have to wonder if it's real.

"Oh it's real," says Staib. "That's her. I was there for all of that."

Sam's dad, Brent, admits his daughter had an adjustment issue at first. "She had a little bit of a struggle," he said Tuesday in a phone interview from his Idaho law office. "The team lost a couple of games. Since she was the primary ball carrier, she felt a lot of pressure to win. She felt blame for losing."

"I started her out in soccer at 4 years old and we would play out in the yard," Brent explains. "And my son's friends were pretty aggressive and rough. She could really handle a lot of the physical play. There were some games where she'd fall down and just keep going."

"Some kids, right before the contact, they stop," Sam told her father. "I don't. I just hit 'em."

A lot of people won't accept a 9-year-old girl playing tackle football, and perhaps with good reason. But it seems Sam loves it. Her dad and coach say she has no hesitation about coming back for another season. And her dad admits he's overwhelmed with pride.

What started as little Sam trying to keep up with her brother is now dozens of older boys trying to keep up with her.

~ Condensed from an article in Yahoo Sports! here. ~

Video of Sam Gordon competing is here. (Mute button lower left.)

Enjoy the seven year old Chinese table tennis prodigy, Xin-Xue Feng , as she shows off her incredible talents.

CLICK HERE to be dazzled.

Thanks to Angela and a few other friends who sent me this link. Have a restful evening!

According to James Vertuno of Huffington Post:

Thanks to reader YK who sent me the following comment which is Shanghai Sam's (a Guardian reader) response to this article London 2012:

China's Ye Shiwen staggered the world – even Ryan Lochte
The 16-year-old prodigy and her compatriot Sun Yang symbolise China's singular approach to talent-spotting

Shanghai Sam's response is a contribution to a comment thread on Comment is Free on The Guardian by a British swimming coach working with the Chinese team, whose identity has been confirmed by the Guardian, on the furore surrounding the swimmer Ye Shiwen. His comment, which was posted on Tuesday 31 July 2012 19.40 BST, has been selected as the Guardian Pick for the post and has also been shared by 110 readers of The Guardian.

If you have the time, please read the main post and as many of the comments as possible.

Comment by Shanghai Sam

I actually am that Brit, although not Head coach, I am in the village with the team. I must say, taking aside the performances for a moment, the vast majority of comments on this (and many other sites I am sure) are riddled with inaccuracies and speculation.

I am certainly not aware of any talent id programme - I am coaching 5 swimmers on this Olympic team and 3 of them I selected myself when they were 13 years old. No-one 'advised' or told me who to select I just used my experience and 'trained eye' to spot the guys I thought would be good.

Chinese athletes train incredibly hard, harder than I can explain in words and as a coach who has placed swimmers on 5 different Olympic Games teams, I have never seen athletes train like this anywhere in the world. They have an unrelenting appetite for hard work, can (and will) endure more pain for longer than their western counterparts, will guarentee to turn up for practice every single time and give their all. They are very proud of their country, they are proud to represent China and have a very team focussed mentaility.

Let's also not forget that this is their only avenue for income; most do not study and sport offers them a way out or a way up from where they and their families currently live in society. If their swimming fails, they fail and the family loses face. This is not an attitude shared by athletes in the west, who - generally speaking - come from comfortable homes with average incomes, 1 or 2 cars per family and 4 weeks or more paid holdays per year. you average Chinese family does not live this way.

I could list countless other differences, but the main point is that these are professional athletes, salaried to train and perform - much in the same way Premier League footballers are paid to perform in England, excpet they train way harder and way longer than these footballers for dar less financial reward.

Many people here are asking me why I have lived in China for 7 years - 3 simple reasons:

1. Facilities - I have access to both 50m and 25m pools in the same building 24 hours per day 7 days per week, there are no NOPs, EOPs, red tape managers, lifeguards, public swim etc getting in the way of my training.

2. Athletes; unlike in the UK (where I worked in both a top University and High Performance Centre) I am able to select any athlete I wish, coach them how I want to, when I want to for as long as I want to. These athletes give me their total attention, time and effort every day.

3. Funding - my athletes are salaried and receive bonuses for performance; I am salaried and receive bonuses for perfomance. We all want performance, not mediocrity, not Sport for All, but GOLD Medals - and they are not afraid to say this. If I want a foreign training camp, money is available; If i want high altitude training - money is available; If I want an assistant coach - money is available; if I want some new gadgets or training equipment, guess what? money is available.

For these, and countless other reasons I am very happy I moved to China; it is the future both financially and in terms of sporting ambition. I am proud to be British, but for myself as a coach, I want to be in a position where I can maximise my ability and realise my potential in my field of employment.

I hope this brief explanation helps to inform the vast majority of the British public out there, who had no idea such vast differences existed. A former well know colleague of mine once said we need to be out of our comfirt zone more often; Well, Chinese athletes do not have a comfort zone; life here is challenging and often uncomfortable and they are now prospering because of it. There will always be 'rogue' individuals in many countries who turn to "The Dark Side" for assistance in training, and many countries have a history of such praactices, but people must realise how far these athletes push themselves EVERY day, how much they sacrifice in terms of living away from home, reduced education opportunities. Simply put the want it more than everyone else.

Enjoy the rest of the Games and "Jia You" Zhong Guo

___________________________________

What we need to see in Malaysia would be sportsmen and sportswomen such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Datuk Nicole David and Pandelela Rinong who by sheer grit, discipline and determination reached where they are today and are still pressing on!

May there be committed coaches who will and can be willing to give their all to train our budding sportsmen/women.

Please leave a comment to share your thoughts. Thanks!

Pandelela Rinong anak Pamg (born 2 March 1993), a Malaysian diver became the first female Malaysian athlete to win a medal at the Olympics, as well as the first to win an Olympic medal in any sport other than badminton, when she took the bronze in the 10m diving event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Before the Olympics began, I had a hunch that this young lady would win. Why? In all her photos, her expressions spell true grit and determination!

The nineteen year old Bidayuh young lady is 5'3" tall and weighs 109 lbs. Pandalela sure has an impressive track record of achievements.

Pandelela Rinong,the top Malaysian female diver at the moment, won the 2011 Sportswoman of The Year award for her strong performance in the diving world series event. Actually her high potential in the diving event started to gain recognition when she won Malaysia's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in an aquatic sport by winning the women's 10m platform.

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, she won a bronze medal in the Women's 10 m Synchronized Platform with Mun Yee Leong and placed 5th in the Women's 10 m platform. She also competed in the Women's 10 m platform at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

She was the flag bearer for the Malaysian contingent at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore where she won the silver medals in the girls' 10m platform event and 3m springboard event.

She became Malaysia's first female flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics where she competed in the individual 10 m platform and the 10 m platform synchronized event with her partner Leong Mun Yee.

She became the first Malaysian female athlete to win an Olympics medal, and the first Malaysian athlete to win an Olympics medal in a sport besides badminton by winning a bronze medal in the Women's 10 m platform at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

WELL DONE, PANDALELA RINONG!! Malaysians are very proud of you!!! May you attain more achievements in the future. The world is before you so march forth and pave your way to victory with your brand of discipline, determination, diligence and a motivated purpose. Watch her go go go in the following video clip.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

According to a Bernama news report:

Pandelela collected 359.20 points to settle at third place behind defending champion Chen Ruolin from China (422.30 points) and silver medallist Brittany Broben from Australia (366.50 points).

This is the second medal for Malaysia from the London edition of the Olympics after the national badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei won the silver medal in the men singles’ final last Sunday.

With Pandelela’s success, Malaysia had also repeated its performance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games in the United States, by bagging one silver and one bronze medal.

Pandelela’s excellent performance also broke badminton’s domination in medal contributions — two silver and two bronze medals so far — since Malaysia’s first participation in the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956.

The Prime Minister also congratulated her via his FB and Twitter updates.

According to another report by Hamdan Ismail of Bernama:

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said he would announce the special reward when the diving athlete returned from the Olympics.

He said the reward would befit the achievement of the 19-year-old who became the first Malaysian woman to earn a medal in the 10m platform event.

He said the people of Sarawak were proud to have an athlete from the state, in having bagged the bronze medal in the event.

"She will be an inspiration to others," added Abdul Taib when asked to comment on Pandelela's feat.

In the final at the London Aquatic Centre earlier today, Pandelela shook off a poor start to claw back and accumulate 359.20 points to finish behind gold medalist Chen Ruolin of China and Australia's Brittany Broben who took the silver.

With the achievement, she will receive RM150,000 under the youth and sports ministry's incentive scheme and a monthly pension of RM2,000.

HIP HIP HURRAY and CONGRATULATIONS to Pandalela Rinong. You have created history and set the benchmark for Malaysian sportsmen and sportswomen. Your humility, style, single-mindedness to win despite a poor start shows your indomitable spirit. What an inspiration! You have truly done us proud, Pandelela!!! God bless you!!

Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model: "I want all the kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I want all the kids to copulate me."
New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season: "I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
And, upon hearing Joe Jacoby of the 'Skins say "I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,"
Matt Millen of the Raiders said, "To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too."
Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann 1996: "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
Oiler coach Bum Phillips: When asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips, Phillips responded, "Because she is too damn ugly to kiss goodbye."
Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh: "I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes."
Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: "You guys lineup, alphabetically by height." And "You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle."
Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a freshman because of academic requirements: "I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain on stuff I haven't been through in school."
Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again with promoter Don King: "Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton."
Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker: "That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my @#%#%@ clothes."
Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece:"I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to."
Shaquille O'Neal, on his lack of championships: "I've won at every level, except college and pro."
Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regime of heavyweight Andrew Golota: "He's a guy who gets up at six o'clock in the morning regardless of what time it is".
"Pat Williams, Orlando Magic general manager, on his team's 7-27 record: "We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play." (1992)
Chuck Nevitt, North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice: "My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt." (1982)
Tommy Lasorda, Dodger manager, when asked what terms Mexican-born pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela might settle for in his upcoming contract negotiations: "He wants Texas back." (1981)
Darrell Royal, Texas football coach, asked if the abnormal number of Longhorn injuries that season resulted from poor physical conditioning: "One player was lost because he broke his nose. How do you go about getting a nose in condition for football?" (1966)
Mike McCormack, coach of the hapless Baltimore Colts after the team's co-captain, offensive guard Robert Pratt, pulled a hamstring running onto the field for the coin toss against St. Louis: "I'm going to send the injured reserve players out for the toss next time." (1981)
Steve Spurrier, Florida football coach, telling Gator fans that a fire at Auburn's football dorm had destroyed 20 books: "But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet."
(1991) Jim Finks, New Orleans Saints G.M., when asked after a loss what he thought of the refs: "I'm not allowed to comment on lousy officiating." (1986)
Alan Kulwicki, stock car racer, on racing Saturday nights as opposed to Sunday afternoons: "It's basically the same, just darker." (1991)
Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders tackle, on his decision not to vote: "I was going to write myself in, but I was afraid I'd get shot." (1996)
Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: "I told him, 'Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?' He said, 'Coach, I don't know and I don't care.'" (1991)
Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins: "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings." (1991)
Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F's and one D: "Son, looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject."

-Author Unknown-

Compiled from here and there

With so many friends and loved ones dying in 2010, I decided that if I want to live to see my grandchildren, I had better exercise everyday! I just came back from a squash session with my younger boy. I beat him in three games and the poor guy was so discouraged that he just lost his concentration and his ball control. As a mom, I did not want to mollycoddle him too much, especially since teenage angst has slowly but surely been detected on the radar.



To be honest, I am not a good squash player. I can say I am fairly fit at this point, a definite improvement since I made it a point to work out everyday instead of just rotting in front of the laptop. In the mid 1980's, I used to play with a girlfriend after her lesson with her coach. With their permission, I observed their lessons and that is how I became a fairly good player. However, I lack speed and if not for that, I would have been a very good player indeed.

Actually, I was not that keen to play today as I had just attended Bootcamp yesterday evening and was worried if I would be overdoing it. Thankfully, I did my stretches before I started the game. The first set was a breeze for me and I won it hands down. However, by the time I was leading 8-3, my boy remarked that he would not fight and 'waste' his 'strength' trying to catch up. Of course, momsy here tried to talk his out of that defeatist fatalistic attitude by coaxing him to give it his best shot but he just let it go :-( My boy fought back in the second set and he was leading 6-0. Halfway in the game, I decided to make a comeback to show him that it IS possible to catch up if and when we will ourselves to win and make all the right moves. So I won the game and junior was quite discouraged at the end of the game.

I decided to let him train on his own - after all, that was the fourth time he played squash and he was faring pretty well except for the fighting spirit bit.

Sitting outside, I made friends with two boys who were waiting for their lesson with Coach Peter to begin. Keshava, 8 years old, is such a sweet boy who has been training for 2 years whereas Anil, 11 years, has been playing squash for 6 years and was last year's MSSP gold medallist.

Anil looks like a Form 2 student as he is quite big. I thought it would be good to let him play with my boy so I invited him to play with Nick.

He sauntered into the court and introduced himself and then when he served, my heart nearly popped out cos he whacked the ball with very little strength and yet it moved at lightning speed with a resounding boom sound.

Stunned. I was completely stunned and so was my boy. After a while, I played with Anil and of course lost. The good thing was that he could not take some of my service and so I gained points there.

A while later, I played with Nick and by then the poor guy was so saddened that he just gave up halfway and I won the game even though I kept goading him to give me drop balls.

Honestly, life is all about attitude.

The minute he decided that he was going to lose the game, he lost it.

At that point, I felt I had failed as a mom.

:-(

From young, I tried to encourage him to take up tennis or squash but he was more into football, basketball and last year, he took up badminton and played along the road with us. Occasionally, we would cycle around the neighbourhood together.

Now, I really regret not pushing him in sports - a field which can really develop our grit, determination, resilience and never to crack under pressure.

I took him aside and told him why my footwork was good - cos I learnt it the right way with people to correct me. Ever willing to learn cos I am the typical 'kiasu' character who plays to win, I always try to push myself in whatever I do slowing down only when I took up blogging as I adopted a sedentary lifestyle. But now, all that has changed.

I told him that bad habits have to be corrected and nipped in the bud as soon as possible for otherwise, he would find it a chore to deal with those weaknesses. Finally, he agreed to have lessons with a private coach. Later, I spoke to Khoo at the Squash Academy and scheduled private lessons for my son with one of the coaches there. With that, I hope that he will develop that fighting spirit in him and climb many seemingly insurmountable mountains.

After that, we went to the cafetaria there and made friends with the owner - a very nice young man who makes his own cream puff, curry puff, swiss roll, walnut cake and lots of western and asian dishes. So if you are in that vicinity, do check out the cafetaria there in the squash complex at Bukit Dumbar.

In my younger days, I was a very sporty person and badminton, squash, swimming, aerobics and hiking were my pursuits. I suffered a major setback with my spinal injury (L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3) in 2002 from a hiking accident and I took two years to recover. That was the worst time of my life but I learnt precious lessons which I remember till this day. Resistance training and working out at the gym helped me to regain my strength and strengthened my back but after blogging mania set in, my exercise routine just went haywire but since last month, I have been trying to have a comfortable balance in my life doing what I love most without getting fat :-).

Life is not an easy game to play but with the right attitude and skills, we will survive be it in squash or in any part of our daily lives.

Do leave a comment if you would like to share your experiences. Thanks. Next post will be up later. Have a lovely evening!

What a glorious finish for Spain that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the first time by beating Netherlands! It was a brilliant finish and the goal was well executed by Iniesta. With one kick, Iniesta put Spain on top of the football world for the first time in history in the 116th minute of the battle!