School Spirit Banter

I am SO impressed by the creativity of two local area high schools and their students’ videos. As quoted in this Get Schooled post, these ARE examples of what the best “spirit cheers” look like today. You can check out the original video in this “battle” here and the response here.

For me, these videos show just how multiliterate our students are and all of the neat ways in which they are reading, writing, and engaging with the world around them. These videos use rhetorical strategies, rhymes, video angles, music — and this list only continues — all to help show their school spirit. And, I love the fact that they pull in lots of different members from their respective student bodies to be a part of the banter.

No matter which school wins the game, the main point is that these two videos have just under 400,000 hits (combined) in two weeks. Where these students’ voices heard? [I think so!]

Oh, basketball!

By the way, thought I’d just say I’m surviving (and enjoying) being “Coach.” I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a group of very hard working young ladies.

I still find that I hold back a lot — keeping my inner uber competitive athletic self in check. But that inner self isn’t far away…in fact it’s dying to be released. I haven’t found that happy medium between coach and athlete yet.

Yet…

 

Coach

That’s right. Not only am I Ms. Beach, the tough, first year English teacher…I’m Coach Beach, the (I have yet to fill in the blank here). And as I sit here typing away, I can’t help but wonder what I’ve gotten myself into this time!

OK, really I’m sorta joking, but I’m really not. Everyone laughs and is shocked that I would be more nervous about coaching than teaching, but everyone just doesn’t understand. I have a pretty extensive (not sure that’s the word I’m wanting to use here, but I’m going with it, ha!) background in athletics. I seriously have played just about everything (and if not played have tried). I was (well, who am I kidding, AM) a very competitive, hardworking, intense individual. That’s just me. I work hard at all I do, and sports was never an exception. Maybe this work ethic stemmed from always being busy with school/sports, and I pushed myself to excel at both. Being a collegiate athlete is also tied in there somewhere, and I don’t think people realize how demanding playing sports in college can truly be.

Coaching will be a great learning experience for me. And it’s going to be tough. A lot tougher than I thought. It’s hard to explain. I just have this “drive” inside of me…it’s sorta like this exploding feeling that builds up inside my chest. As an athlete, I would’ve used this feeling to dive for that loose ball or sprint down the line to beat the throw home. As a coach, I have no where for that feeling…that heart…that passion…because I am not the athlete. Sure, I motivate, I push my girls, but it’s not the same. (It really is hard to explain.) But as a coach, you can only do so much…the athlete has to find it within herself to find that exploding feeling. Does this make sense? I hope so…at least a little bit.

I don’t think what I’m explaining is too foreign to the English classroom, too. I mean, hey, let’s be honest…English class isn’t always the immediate favorite among students. I work every day to make English class challenging and engaging. I just haven’t found my comfort zone with coaching yet. I don’t want to be too hard, but I am intense and I have high expectations both in and out of the classroom. That’s how I’ve always been. That’s how I’ll always be.

Well, we will see how it goes! I’m definitely excited and looking forward to a great season…and finding out who I truly am as a coach as well. And I think it will be very exciting to see these student-athletes develop and grow on the court/field. And to see that exploding feeling kick in because it truly is an amazing feeling!

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Softball game!

OK, so here are my notes from the game…

-I am still uber competitive and found myself reminiscing on ACC championship games and extra inning games.

-I found myself coaching in my head every time I saw a girl make a mistake. And when I say mistake, I don’t just mean an overthrown ball, but a fundamental mistake. I wonder if this is a sign that I will coach one day. Hmmm.

-I wonder why female athletics are still so far behind their male counterparts. Yes, there is Title IX, but how come girls are playing on a broken down, no fence field, and the boys have a completely furnished field AT the school? Title IX, huh?

It was a good game (and beautiful weather by the way). Went into extra innings and got interesting! I also was able to check out some of the soccer game activities, too, because the field was right beside the softball field. Which reminds me, why are schools cutting out high school sports again? Sports are such an instrumental part to so many students’ lives (and I’m not just saying that as a former athlete). Sports are more about being in shape and keeping busy…

Now time to dust off my glove! 🙂

Dictionaries and Athletes

I really just liked this idea. Period. Basically, I liked how this note talks about the increased focus on academic as well as athletic success for the Oregon State basketball team. I can speak from the experience of having been a student athlete and I cannot emphasize enough that there is a great need at ANY level to take care of academics first. Many would think this would be common sense, but it’s not always the case. Furthermore, motivating young athletes to be the best they can be — both on and off the court — is crucial in the development of the next generation of global thinkers.

And I agree…”it’s great having a president who is also a Motivator/Challenger in Chief.” I’m excited to see what the future will bring!