April 2011 Archives

Hey guys,

Being involved with the courage center events has helped me see a completely different experience of sports than I was ever use to. It seems that in society today, everyone needs to have the best, look the best, and be the best, and this is extremely true in most of the sports in the US as well. When working with the Courage Center atheletes, it seemed that none of those concepts really applied. The athletes were there to stay active, socialize with other people, and most importantly, have fun. While they were competitve when it came to the sports, they definitely followed the pleasure and participation sports model, although power and performance was still definitely a factor in the wheelchair basketball games, as the players were agressive and showed a great deal of intensity when playing. Going along with what Eli stated in his post, it's unbelievable that there isn't more media coverage of some of these sports, as the skill and dedication required for these is mind boggling. It's easy to look at athletes with disabilities and feel sympathy, but that shouldn't be the natural response. These athletes require respect and admiration for their athletic ability, not awe or praise for overcoming a disability. This volunteer experience provided a great chance to see the different types and experiences of the many different sports models that exist in the United States, even though they may not be displayed evenly throughout the media.

As a volunteer at the Courage Center, I have been exposed to incredible stories, driven individuals, displays of passion and dedication to the game, and an atmosphere that is as accepting and encouraging as it is competitive. When many people envision quad or adapted sports, the first aspects which come to mind are often slow paced, minimal contact, and more cooperative games and activities which focus only on teamwork and having fun rather than competition and winning. Admittedly, I had some similar misconceptions prior to my time at Courage Center. However, after volunteering for most of the semester, I have witnessed a whole new division of adapted sports I never really imagined that involves competition, determination and aggressiveness. I think the main reason why this is true for not only myself, but also the general population, as it seems, is the lack of attention and coverage. Rarely in the news or media do you hear stories on adapted sports, and when you do, it often focuses on the individual and the obstacles they have overcome, rather than the sport itself or viewing the individual as an actual athlete. The athletes I have encountered are as competitive, driven, and want to win just as much as able-bodied athletes. Especially working with wheelchair basketball athletes, which is what I spent the majority of my time doing, I found that the sport of wheelchair basketball is full contact and full speed. Chairs bang together and people are knocked over as a result of intense collisions. There is definitely a sense of over conformity to the sport considering many of these individuals are expected by the general public not to even be athletes in the first place, let alone play at the level and intensity that they do. When a player in a wheelchair falls to the floor, it is common instinct to want to help the athlete back to an upright position. However, help is often the last thing these individuals want, and with an amazing display of strength and balance, the players are often able get themselves in an upright position and immediately back into the action of the game. When I first witnessed this happen, it told me a lot about the athletes. When an able-bodied athlete falls or is knocked over during a game, they are expected to get up on their own, or at least without help from officials and spectators. Wheelchair athletes view themselves as no different than any other athlete, and rightfully so, so there is no reason in their minds why they would need help from people outside of the game. At one of the basketball tournaments I attended, I began talking with an African-American individual who played for the Milwaukee Bucks wheelchair basketball team. He talked about how he became a paraplegic after he was mistakenly identified and shot as a result of gang violence. He was an incredible able-bodied athlete before the incident, and that competitive mental attitude as well as his physical capabilities and prowess transferred over to the wheelchair basketball court. It was a humbling experience to talk with this individual, and it made me realize how much we take sports and able-bodiedness for granted. In between games, he offered that I could use an extra chair of his and he challenged me to a game of one on one. To say that I got beat would be an immense understatement. For anyone who has tried shooting a basketball from a seated position, you know how hard it is. Now add in the variable of rolling and having to control your movement while shooting at the same time. Being in that position allowed me gain so much more respect for the athletes and the game in general. In order to really get a sense of the atmosphere of adapted sports, it just takes exposure to the sports, and I encourage all of you to check it out if you get the chance.
-Eli Fark

As a volunteer at the Courage Center, I have been exposed to incredible stories, driven individuals, displays of passion and dedication to the game, and an atmosphere that is as accepting and encouraging as it is competitive. When many people envision quad or adapted sports, the first aspects which come to mind are often slow paced, minimal contact, and more cooperative games and activities which focus only on teamwork and having fun rather than competition and winning. Admittedly, I had some similar misconceptions prior to my time at Courage Center. However, after volunteering for most of the semester, I have witnessed a whole new division of adapted sports I never really imagined that involves competition, determination and aggressiveness. I think the main reason why this is true for not only myself, but also the general population, as it seems, is the lack of attention and coverage. Rarely in the news or media do you hear stories on adapted sports, and when you do, it often focuses on the individual and the obstacles they have overcome, rather than the sport itself or viewing the individual as an actual athlete. The athletes I have encountered are as competitive, driven, and want to win just as much as able-bodied athletes. Especially working with wheelchair basketball athletes, which is what I spent the majority of my time doing, I found that the sport of wheelchair basketball is full contact and full speed. Chairs bang together and people are knocked over as a result of intense collisions. There is definitely a sense of over conformity to the sport considering many of these individuals are expected by the general public not to even be athletes in the first place, let alone play at the level and intensity that they do. When a player in a wheelchair falls to the floor, it is common instinct to want to help the athlete back to an upright position. However, help is often the last thing these individuals want, and with an amazing display of strength and balance, the players are often able get themselves in an upright position and immediately back into the action of the game. When I first witnessed this happen, it told me a lot about the athletes. When an able-bodied athlete falls or is knocked over during a game, they are expected to get up on their own, or at least without help from officials and spectators. Wheelchair athletes view themselves as no different than any other athlete, and rightfully so, so there is no reason in their minds why they would need help from people outside of the game. At one of the basketball tournaments I attended, I began talking with an African-American individual who played for the Milwaukee Bucks wheelchair basketball team. He talked about how he became a paraplegic after he was mistakenly identified and shot as a result of gang violence. He was an incredible able-bodied athlete before the incident, and that competitive mental attitude as well as his physical capabilities and prowess transferred over to the wheelchair basketball court. It was a humbling experience to talk with this individual, and it made me realize how much we take sports and able-bodiedness for granted. In between games, he offered that I could use an extra chair of his and he challenged me to a game of one on one. To say that I got beat would be an immense understatement. For anyone who has tried shooting a basketball from a seated position, you know how hard it is. Now add in the variable of rolling and having to control your movement while shooting at the same time. Being in that position allowed me gain so much more respect for the athletes and the game in general. In order to really get a sense of the atmosphere of adapted sports, it just takes exposure to the sports, and I encourage all of you to check it out if you get the chance.
-Eli Fark

Hi!
This is Jaime and I am teaching the women's fitness class with Ayah. While teaching the class at Luxton Park, I have observed many examples of the roles that gender, race, social class, government and religion play in sport. The women that attend the fitness class come from low-income neighborhoods composed primarily of minorities and immigrants. Minorities have traditionally been marginalized through sport. In particular, African American women have been underrepresented. From my experiences, it is clear that the women in the class have had little exposure to sport and exercise. At first, nearly all of the exercises were unfamiliar to them, but they have quickly caught on. It is very encouraging to see the dedicated class members teaching new members how to correctly do the exercises. Also, there have historically been fewer opportunities for married women especially those from lower social classes. Many of the women who have only attended the class once or twice said that caring for their children was their main barrier to participation.
Approximately half of the participants are Muslim Somali women. Many Muslim countries have lower incomes and less opportunities to participate in sport and exercise. The patriarchial structure in many of these countries has also restricted women's access to sport. These restrictions have led to less exposure and knowledge of sport and exercise among these women. Their religious practices of keeping their bodies covered and not allowing men to see them exercise limits their opportunities as well. Luckily, the government has provided funds for the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) which funds the fitness class and provides opportunities for these women. This program shows how the government promotes fairness, human rights, and health and fitness in sports and exercise. Hopefully our work through this class will give these women the knowledge and skills to continue exercising throughout their lives.

This is Ayah with some of the connections to course material I have seen over the last few months as I've helped out at the CAPI female exercise class. Some of the recurring themes related to sociology of sport and physical activity have involved racial and gender issues, however I would say the blatant socioeconomic disparity is the most prominent issue.

The exercise classes are held in a community center located in a low-income, immigrant neighborhood; hence all of the women who attend the class are minorities from lower-income backgrounds. It is obvious that this exercise class is one of the first few opportunities these women have had to engage in structured physical activity. They seem very eager to learn why we are doing certain exercises, or what muscles are working during each move. There have also been many questions about how to lose weight. Even though I am not able to answer all of them, their questions have made me realize how much I take for granted all of the education I have had about health, as well as the opportunities I have for physical activity.

The main thing I have learned is how great the inequality is between the middle-class, predominantly white suburb where I grew up, and the low income, minority community in Minneapolis. It is especially sad to see that this community is just a quick walk away from campus, where students are offered a plethora of PE courses, walking/biking paths, and a massive rec center. I feel guilty when I make the five minute trip from this world of academia to the exercise class, where we workout in a gym that is old, rundown and in obvious need of repair. This experience has made me think about how most of us are here at the U to earn our degrees with the hopes that it will enable us to live a high standard of life (at least by materialistic standards). How often do we realize that as we graduate and move on, the neighborhoods right next door to the U are filled with people who do not have the same opportunity we all have to advance in life? Ironically, as we all graduate and move on most of them will remain behind in the University's shadow.

For my CSL community service project I am working with a volunteer organization known as Homework 'n' Hoops, which is organized by the bigger volunteer program known as the Project for Pride and Living (PPL). This program is a free after school program for elementary children in South Minneapolis whom are within the ages of 8-12 (2nd through 6th grade). This program utilizes a one to one ratio of volunteers and students in a mentorship program. The mentor and the youth form a personal connection in the program and spend all of their time together, studying, making goals, achieving those goals, and leisure activities. HnH focuses on getting homework done and uses constant reward systems for completing goals in the forms of certificates, or points that can be used in a sort of shop to buy games and toys that visits once a semester. Youths in this program are scheduled for 4 hours a week at HnH, either two on each Monday and Wednesday or two each on Tuesday and Thursday. For each day they have a different mentor. With their mentor, the youth have goal setting time, then study time, then leisure time, and finally reflect on their day. For leisure time the youth chooses among the options of Art, a game room including pool and carpet ball, a science project, or gym time. Most of the youth are of Hispanic descent and have families in the lower social class, hence HnH being free.

Wanting to see how the kids interact within a sport setting I have taken up the position of the gym instructor on Thursday nights. This gives me 30 min with the youth during the leisure time, if they choose to come. IT will be interesting to see how the autonomy that this program gives the children will affect who chooses to come to gym and who does not. The gym programs rotate in an uneven distribution throughout the month and it should be interesting to see which activities are more encouraged by attendance. After my first night with the program, capture the flag seems to have garnered a lot of attendance by both male and female youth. I am interested to see how the autonomy given to the students is seen in gender participation in gym, whether the gym activity is structured or not, and how the mentors mentality on gym time affects the students view towards gym time.

I have also been asked by the coordinator to implement a new exercise program by the name of Fitness Skilltastics into the gym time. This is more of plain exercise structured loosely into a game that can be competitive or non-competitive. After looking more into the program I feel that this could be used as a good dynamic warm-up before gym time. I am curious as to how the program will be accepted by the youth in gym time, and if implementing it will affect attendance. I also want to look into possibly incorporating gym time into the point system that they have in place so that gym time may be more beneficial for more of the students. After all exercise is essential to health and this is the age group right before when a lot of participation is seen to drop off, especially within females.

All in all there is a lot to learn at HnH this semester.

Nick Manning

Hey,
Its Lindsey, and this is my second blog post. Over the time that I have spent at the Ginew Golden Eagles program the main problem that has been brought to my attention is my own ignorance. As a young white middle class female, one that believes everyone should get along. My thoughts ofnreality could pretty much be rainbow and ponies. In my world I was brought up to not see color or race, to always be the bigger person, never step on toes, and always be politically correct. The idea that there are extreme racial tensions, and that sometimes stereotypes are correct never really occurred to me. At least, I never experienced them in such an up front way.
While at the Native American Community center most weeks I went on both Monday and Wednesday nights. On Mondays I spent time working with younger kids ages 6-10, and on Wednesdays I worked with kids 11-17 ( but most stopped coming at age15). To start, talking to the kids was a challenge. Many of these children come from broken homes with alcoholic parents where the meal they get while we are with them may be their only meal of the day. One child I became particularly close with was named Lakota. He demonstrated to me all the experiences I was too sheltered to understand. Each week I came he got more talkative and more friendly. One Monday while eating dinner with me he matter of factly exclaimed, "I hate Somalians". The tone of his voice was so nonchalant and matter of fact it shocked me. He did not say it with any racist slur or hatred that you may hear if an adult said the same thing. He was so sure that this was the way everyone thought that he did not even think what he said was bad. When I asked him why he said they were bad drivers and kept killing his native people. This was my first raw exposure to childhood racism so I simply said to him that he shouldn't hate anyone and shouldn't talk like that at program. His response was a surprised look and a shrug of the shoulders then to ask me how my day was. Obviously his statement was not something he felt strong about and a case of environment and the people around him.
The next week when at program I asked him how school wad going and if he played any sports. His response was no, he needed to go home to take care of his mom. Then he went on the start tearing up and asked me if he could come home with me instead. He explained that his mom was an alcoholic and had started drinking thus morning before he went to school. He said he knew that when he got home from program her and his father would be fighting. It broke my heart to say no and know that he would have to go home to a place he dreaded going. Next week he came to program with a heavy limp and when asked about it wouldn't talk about it. Due to past history I am unaware of his family was contacted and measures were taken to ensure no child abuse was taking place.
In connection with the class the coordinators of the program tried to place focuses on problem that effect Native American teens, things like obesity, diabetes, drugs, alcohol, STD's, pregnancy, and racial tensions. Many days we had gym time after homework hour where the kids could play games in the gym or in the cafeteria. During these times almost all of the kids chose to play kickball or basketball with the counselors, but it concerned the coordinators that the children weren't getting enough of their heritage within their exercise. This was when we began to do a LaCrosse clinic with the kids which is a traditionally Native game. Overall the kids loved it and they learned about their history while staying active. Huge success!
From working with middle-class children almost everyday during high school to under privileged Native American children on the south-side of Minneapolis it was a crazy change. I was no longer allowed to be ignorant to the social struggles that other people faced each day. To be honest I did not talk to the children about sports since a majority of them did not participate in sport. This experience was a more wholistic wake-up where I was exposed to the hardships of others. The world is not all rainbows and ponies and each time someone thinks, wow my life blows, it could always be so much worse.
Sport participation can be an indicator of SEC, race, and gender. All of these differences were noted during my experiences at the Ginew Golden Eagles program.

What I have seen at HnH since my last blog entry has reminded me of two of our book chapters in particular: youth sports and gender in sports. (I may be recycling this material in my final paper if that is OK, because these are some of the best connections I have found.)

Last week, both mentors and mentees were asked to fill out a survey indicating which sports and games they liked or didn't like to play during rec time. So instead of the people in the charge of the program--or just the mentors--simply declaring what we were going to play, the young kids were given some of the power to choose what they wanted to do. As we have read, this is not always the case. Youth often feel forced into certain sports, or into any sports in general. At HnH, youth have the option not to play sports at all.

Also connecting to the youth sport (and probably sport socialization) chapter is the nature of the games being played. Generally, there will be a volunteer in charge of overseeing gym time, and the kids' mentors are there, too. But the gym leader doesn't usually do much in terms of organizing and controlling the games. Sometimes, there are even rule modifications to make things even simpler (such as no tag-up rule in kickball). Rules were not enforced much, if at all, in basketball. The kids get loud and wild and argue over who gets the ball. The environment of play is very unstructured, unlike in the club team or school settings we read about in the book. Sometimes I think a little more structure would be beneficial. Kids should have to know and follow at least basic rules, and sometimes things get out of control when one of the bigger kids hogs the ball.

Shifting to the gender chapter, I noticed some interesting things during our kickball game. Only one female mentee (mine) chose to play kickball that day. (Side note: I was surprised she did, because she had not chosen gym time any of the previous weeks when I was there.) And when some of the boys had bad kicks, other boys teased them for "kicking like a girl." One of the smaller boys (who had a lot of excess energy) was trying to "scream like a girl" and asking other kids if he was succeeding at that goal. This game showed that kids (probably because of what they have learned from society) recognize or create divisions between genders.

Unrelated HnH notes:
*I learned that my mentee is on a swim team.
*I saw a few kids wearing sports t-shirts/jerseys.
*We had canned peaches for snack on Monday. Delicious.

Hi, it is Megan Ryan again, here with my second blog entry (I changed the title to Part 2 since I have completely lost track of the weeks at Homework 'n' Hoops).

Today was the first day at HnH where I was inspired to write a blog entry. As the title reveals, I found a mentee after my own heart (it's just too bad it isn't my actual mentee).

As I was sitting at the "green" table waiting for my mentee Jasmine to arrive, I was soon shocked to hear a little voice to my right. "You're wearing a Barcelona jersey." it said, quietly and matter-of-factly. Indeed, I was wearing my authentic Xavi Barça jersey today and was wondering if any of the kids would notice. Clearly, one had.

His name is Israel, and he is younger than my 5th grade mentee and usually sits far across the room from the green table, but today felt compelled to make the trek to where I was sitting. I responded to his inquiries about whether Barcelona was my favorite team (his too) and what I thought of the players. As if to test my loyalty, he asked if I could name the whole starting lineup. Obviously, I can do this in my sleep, so I started with the defense and then he took over in the midfield, to prove he knew just as much as I did.

Soon he started bringing up previous players from years past, which made me wonder how he knew these names when he could only have been like 5 years old when they played. I was quite enjoying this little Culé's company, but soon my mentee arrived and I had to turn my attention to her, but not before Israel informed me that it was soccer in the gym today and asked if I would be there. Though I wanted to say yes, I already knew that I would be resigned to an afternoon of carpetball, since Jasmine doesn't like going to the gym.

Now, I know that as a mentor I am supposed to respect my mentee's decision and do whatever they choose to do, but I admit, I tried to persuade Jasmine to going to the gym to play soccer. But she adamantly told me that she didn't like soccer. So, instead we went and played carpetball, but not before Israel asked me one more time if I was going to play with him. I was disappointed; there is only so much carpetball a girl can take.

After a few rounds of said game, Jasmine told me she wanted to go to the gym, but it turned out it was only to watch for a few minutes the rather scrappy game of soccer going on. Here, Jasmine told me that she doesn't like soccer because it hurts her feet, and that she loves basketball much more and practices every weekend with her sister as well as plays on a team. I was impressed that she actually did like a sport since it didn't seem like she ever went to the gym, even when they were playing basketball.

The rest of the evening went much the same as the other nights, but I was still reflecting on the intriguing events at the start of the day. First of all, when we were watching the soccer game, I was struck by the fact that all the players were boys, except for one female mentor who had to be there. It was also interesting how Jasmine wanted to watch for a little bit, but not play. This separation of the genders showed me some of the active gender roles that are apparent at HnH, and also in society as a whole.

But then again, when Israel and I were talking about FC Barcelona, it didn't seem to matter that I was a girl. He wasn't shocked at all; he was just slightly surprised to find someone so knowledgeable about the game who wasn't Hispanic like him. It was more of a racial wall that was crossed than a gender one.

So, in short, I think I found the mentee that I was truly meant to be with. Not that Jasmine isn't a fun girl, but I feel like I can't ever connect with her like I could with a fellow soccer fan. Some things just transcend all barriers.

(PS, sorry this was so epically long, I was motivated. Also, I think I will continue mentoring at HnH next semester as well, it's fun, and I feel like I learn something every time I go there, sometimes even more than the kids ;) )

Hey everybody, this is Dan Senger. I started out my csl working with Homework N' Hoops, but changed over to the courage center due to time restraints with rugby practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The time that I did spend with Homework N' Hoops was a great learning experience though, and I was able to help tutor and help out some kids who were from a troubled background. I tutored at the CVI apartment building on Franklin Av and Elliot on Tuesdays, and I worked with two other volunteers who helped tutor as well. It's amazing to see how much of an impact you can have on kids just by doing things such as helping them read through a book or learn a new game. All of the kids were always excited to be there, and it provided a fun and positive environment for all of them as well. Now I've been helping out the Courage Center with wheelchair basketball. I attended a tournament prior to Spring Break on May 12th and 13th at the Irondale High School and the Courage Center in Golden Valley respectively. The first day I helped set up and then helped with registration for the first couple of hours. This was awesome because I was able to meet and talk to a bunch of the different players that came from all around the area, and some from even as far as Canada! After registration was taken care of, I helped out with concessions for the rest of the time I was there, which wasn't the most exciting task, but I was glad to help out either way (Nachos sold like wildfire). On Sunday I was able to help out with the games and worked the shot clock for three games. First off, I can't believe how hard it is to try and shoot a ball while sitting down! That alone is an amazing thing to do. The speed and skill the players had while playing the game was intense, and the teamwork on the court was fun to watch as well. I'm glad to have taken part in these events, and I've learned quite a bit about sports and through it as well.