Pivot Work
September 21, 2011
Consider the pivot move in basketball. The player receives the ball, plants his or her foot and spins 90 to 180 degrees. Without moving the pivot foot, the player turns from facing one direction to facing a different direction. And with that new perspective, the player either passes the ball to a cutting teammate or dribble drives toward the goal.
If these are pivotal times in school sports – and I believe they are – we must, if we are to make the most of these times, remember the skills that many of us worked on when we played basketball and still often admire as effective when we watch basketball. The pivot.
- One foot firmly planted. A foot that can’t be moved. Our base. Our fixed orientation.
- Then the spin that changes our field of vision from one direction to another.
- Then a sharp pass to a teammate, one who’s gotten a step on an opponent.
- Or, if no teammate is open to receive our assist, a determined drive of our own toward the goal.
If these are pivotal times, and if we are to be the “pivotal generation,” this is the drill: Fixed to our core beliefs, look around for new ideas and cutting edge partners to assist, and take it to the goal ourselves if we must.
The Languages of Sports
August 6, 2013
Our state is enriched by the cultural diversity which has resulted from decades of families relocating from other countries to Michigan for the opportunities available here.
Often the children in these families are conversant in English, but their parents are less so. This is why, for example, the Refugee Development Center in Lansing not only provides ESL classes for students but also for parents; and why the RDC provides interpreters to accompany parents to school events such as parent-teacher conferences. The RDC currently serves refugees from 28 different countries.
Becoming increasingly sensitized to these dynamics, the MHSAA has recently begun a long process of providing certain of its documents in other languages than English. We’re going to focus on those documents that we provide to schools which parents would want to read to learn about what is being described to or required of their children with respect to interscholastic athletic participation.
The first such documents are the two-page and four-page preparticipation physical examination forms. And the first languages chosen for the service are Spanish, which is the most common non-English language spoken in the United States, and Arabic, which acknowledges that Michigan is home to the largest Arabic-speaking population in the US.
You will find these documents here.