The season is winding down. Routines change, friendships have grown, priorities change. As a player, what should you do now? When practice time comes and there is no practice, what do you do? When there are no games to prepare for, what do you do with your time?
Here are a just a few thoughts I had as to how to recover and prepare for the next season.
1. Take 3 - 4 weeks to relax. It has been a long, physically and mentally draining season. If you want to improve, you have to give yourself a chance to recover.
2. Catch up and get ahead of your schoolwork.
3. Talk to your coach and evaluate your season. Talk about what you did well and what you did not. Determine the areas you need to improve on. Discuss the things you would like to do and how to accomplish them.
4. After taking a month off, start on your off-season workout program. The program should be about 75% skill work and 25% play.
5. Develop your shooting stroke. If you want to become a GREAT shooter and raise your percentage, it MUST happen during the off season. It's just TOO difficult to develop these skills and improve during the season. It must be done during the off season!
6. Start a strength training program. Your objective should be to gain strength from now until the end of the summer.
7. As you enter the summer, add more play to your workout. You should be at about 50% skill work, 50% play. Don't neglect your weight work. Great strength gains can be made during this period.
8. Go to camp. Learn form other coaches, play against different players. The more diverse your summer experience, the better player you will become.
9. When the summer is over, your routine changes. GET AHEAD in the classroom. Once the season starts, it is easy for your schoolwork to slip.
10. Change your workout routine to 25% skill, 75% play.
11. Switch you strength training routine to an endurance and strength maintenance routine.
12. A week before the season, take some time off. Get ready to go.
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12 Surefire Basketball Tips for the Off Season - What Should Players Do Between Seasons? - 0 views
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The Dumbest Plays in NFL History - NFL FanHouse - 0 views
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Benefits of Pets - 0 views
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Pets reduce stress - studies have shown that simply petting your cat or dog can lower your heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, a great benefit of pet ownership. Companion pets help safeguard against loneliness and depression - Who can resist returning the affection you receive from a pet. They love you unconditionally; well, at least dogs do! They are always happy to see you and make you feel good even when you’ve had a bad day. More benefits of having a pet are... Pets encourage us to get out and exercise - What better way to get exercise than to share a walk with your dog or a play outing to the park. If you have a cat or an older small dog, you can still take them for a walk in a pet stroller. Another benefit of owning a pet is... Helping us meet people - Almost everyone loves animals and many people may want to meet your dog or cat during your outings with your pet. Those times give us an opportunity to increase our circle of friends. The next benefit of a pet is...
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A dog or cat will help children’s self esteem and social development – pets are accepting and give positive reinforcement to children. Having a pet will benefit your child’s development as it promotes learning how to be responsible. They will listen to all your stories without fail – even if your human friends get tired from time to time of what you have to say, your pet will always think you “look great”, will never argue with you, and will never tell you they are too tired to talk. This is one of the greatest benefits of pets that people don’t recognize! Pets will make you laugh, the best stress reliever in the world – your new family pet will provide many hours of amusement for your family as you “explore” your world together. What a wonderful benefit of having a pet in your home! Another benefit of pet ownership is they help older people feel less isolated – They lessen loss for older people who are on their own and help to keep them involved in caring for another being.
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Pets can keep you company while you garden - This may be a stretch, but there is nothing cuter than a cat peeking out from behind the petals of your flower garden or a dog helping you “turn the earth”. Some may not consider digging a benefit of having a pet, but if properly trained it shouldn’t be a problem and your dog can actually help you tote your gardening tools around the yard and your cat will appreciate the catnip in your herb garden.
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Pets reduce stress - studies have shown that simply petting your cat or dog can lower your heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, a great benefit of pet ownership. Companion pets help safeguard against loneliness and depression - Who can resist returning the affection you receive from a pet. They love you unconditionally; well, at least dogs do! They are always happy to see you and make you feel good even when you've had a bad day. More benefits of having a pet are... Pets encourage us to get out and exercise - What better way to get exercise than to share a walk with your dog or a play outing to the park. If you have a cat or an older small dog, you can still take them for a walk in a pet stroller. Another benefit of owning a pet is... Helping us meet people - Almost everyone loves animals and many people may want to meet your dog or cat during your outings with your pet. Those times give us an opportunity to increase our circle of friends. The next benefit of a pet is... A dog or cat will help children's self esteem and social development - pets are accepting and give positive reinforcement to children. Having a pet will benefit your child's development as it promotes learning how to be responsible. They will listen to all your stories without fail - even if your human friends get tired from time to time of what you have to say, your pet will always think you "look great", will never argue with you, and will never tell you they are too tired to talk. This is one of the greatest benefits of pets that people don't recognize! Pets will make you laugh, the best stress reliever in the world - your new family pet will provide many hours of amusement for your family as you "explore" your world together. What a wonderful benefit of having a pet in your home! Another benefit of pet ownership is they help older people feel less isolated - They lessen loss for older people who are on their own and help to
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Off-Season Basketball Coaching, Coach's Clipboard Playbook - 0 views
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As coaches, we expect our players to work in the off-season and make improvements. But what about us as coaches... what are we doing in the off-season to help our team and to improve ourselves as coaches?
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Maintain balance in your personal life. Right after the season is over, step back and forget about it for a couple weeks. Take time for your family and friends, relax, enjoy life and your time away from the gym.
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We already discussed re-evaluating your system, plays, players, etc. Make the necessary adjustments, if any, that you think will help next season. Think about your goals for the upcoming season. Now is the time to create a master practice plan, if you find that helpful.
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state athletic associations have rules as to how much time you can spend with your players in the off-season, so make sure you understand the rules first. The off-season is a good time to try to correct individual shooting technique and other fundamental errors.
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he off-season is a good time to experiment with your players. If you have a few team camps and scrimmages, now is the time to try a player in a new role or a new position... for example, moving a player into the post, or a wing player to the point guard position, etc. The off-season is also a good time to try out a new offense or defense. But I wouldn't show all my favorite plays in scrimmages. Finally... let's go back to our first discussion point. Play a little golf, go fishing, take a family trip, etc. Enjoy the off-season!
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Scientists: Humans 'very likely' cause global warming - CNN.com - 0 views
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Fossil fuels like methane and carbon dioxide trap heat near the surface, a process known as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, but human activities, like the burning of fossil fuels, can pour enormous volumes of these gases into the atmosphere, raising the planet's temperature and destabilizing the climate. (Watch what happens to our planet when manmade emissions get trapped in the atmosphere )
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Thanksgiving - 0 views
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The history of Thanksgiving goes much further back than Plymouth and 1621. In fact, people across the world from every culture have been celebrating and giving thanks for thousands of years. In this country, long before English colonists arrived, Native People celebrated many different days of thanksgiving. “Strawberry Thanksgiving” and “Green Corn Thanksgiving” are just two of kinds of celebrations for the Wampanoag and other Native People. In 1621, the English colonists at Plymouth (some people call them “Pilgrims” today) had a three-day feast to celebrate their first harvest. More than 90 native Wampanoag People joined the 50 English colonists in the festivities. Historians dont know for sure why the Wampanoag joined the gathering or what activities went on for those three days. Form the one short paragraph that was written about the celebration at the time, we know that they ate, drank, and played games. Back in England, English people celebrated the harvest by feasting and playing games in much the same way. The English did not call the 1621 event a “thanksgiving.” A day of “thanksgiving” was very different for the colonists. It was a day of prayer to thank God when something really good happened. The English actually had their first thanksgiving in the summer of 1623. On this day they gave thanks for the rain that ended a long drought.
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Kids Search - powered by EBSCOhost: France and It's Celebrations - 0 views
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Section: Festival The start of the New Year has been celebrated in China for more than 3,000 years. New Year was a time when the farmers gave thanks for the harvest and prayed to the gods for a good harvest in the coming year. This was the one period in the busy farming year when there was time to have a celebration and when the family could get together, relax, and be merry. Chinese New Year begins with a New Moon. The Lunar Year is calculated from the time it takes for the Moon to travel around the Earth, while the Western (Gregorian) calendar is based on the time it takes for the Earth to circle the Sun. The orbits of the Moon bear no relation to the time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun, which is why the Chinese Lunar New Year is celebrated on a different date each year. In China the New Year was renamed the Spring Festival, in 1911, when the Western calendar was officially accepted in China. However, it is still commonly known around the world as the Chinese New Year. Chinese years are named after one of twelve animals. These have been used in the same order to name the years since the sixth century A.D. Each animal is said to have its own personality and emotions, which are present in people born within its year. ~~~~~~~~By Sarah Moyse This article is copyrighted. All rights reserved.Source: Chinese New Year (0-7613-0374-X)
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Holidays are very important to the French. The French begin the year with a celebration of the Jour de l'An, which is New Year's Day. They greet each other by saying "Bonne Annee!" (Happy New Year). On January 6th there is la Fete des Rois (the Festival of the Three Kings), where people have a King's Cake. Whoever finds the special toy that has been baked into the cake gets to be king or queen for the day. In February, the French celebrate la Saint-Valentin or Valentine's Day by giving, valentines and chocolates. Also the French mark the start of Lent (a religious time when people fast) with Mardi Gras celebrations. On the 1st of April people play tricks on each other and say "Poisson d'avril!" which means "April fish!" People have little paper fishes that they cut out and try to stick on the backs of their friends that day. Easter is an important holiday in France. On the morning of Easter Sunday, most French people go to church. Afterwards, they carry home candles that have been blessed by priests. For Easter, which is called Le Pacques, omelettes, (an egg dish) are usually eaten for breakfast. People also give each other chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies.
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Holidays are very important to the French. The French begin the year with a celebration of the Jour de l'An, which is New Year's Day. They greet each other by saying "Bonne Annee!" (Happy New Year). On January 6th there is la Fete des Rois (the Festival of the Three Kings), where people have a King's Cake. Whoever finds the special toy that has been baked into the cake gets to be king or queen for the day. In February, the French celebrate la Saint-Valentin or Valentine's Day by giving, valentines and chocolates. Also the French mark the start of Lent (a religious time when people fast) with Mardi Gras celebrations. On the 1st of April people play tricks on each other and say "Poisson d'avril!" which means "April fish!" People have little paper fishes that they cut out and try to stick on the backs of their friends that day.
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Easter is an important holiday in France. On the morning of Easter Sunday, most French people go to church. Afterwards, they carry home candles that have been blessed by priests. For Easter, which is called Le Pacques, omelettes, (an egg dish) are usually eaten for breakfast. People also give each other chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies. May 1st is May Day and French people wear corsages made of flowers like the lily-of-valley, which they also give to friends for good luck. During the summer months, there is the Tour de France, which is a bicycle race. The 14th of July is France's Independence Day, called Bastille Day. There are parades and fireworks, and people decorate their houses and celebrate all day. Christmas is a favorite holiday in France for the young and old. On Christmas Eve, families often attend midnight mass. After church, they return home for a big dinner called le reveillon. Dinner often consists of such foods like soup, turkey, goose, and oysters. A popular dessert at Christmas time is buche de Noel, a cake filled with chocolate and rolled into the shape of a log. The cake represents the Yule log that burns in the fireplaces of the French people during Christmas.
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Japan -- Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition - 0 views
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Japan is a country marked by contrast between old and new. The country values its complex and ancient cultural tradition.
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The islands of Japan form an arc that stretches about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from northeast to southwest.
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Much of Japan's original vegetation has been replaced by farming or by plant species brought in from other countries.
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The burakumin (people of the village) are ethnically the same as the majority of Japanese. However, their ancestors were members of the former outcast class. The burakumin are often treated unfairly.
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Shinto is based on the worship of local spirits in nature.
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Japan has a rich and complex culture. Native Japanese traditions have been mixed with cultural styles adapted from China and, later, from the West. Japanese culture and art emphasize understated simplicity, elegance, and grace. For example, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, flower arranging, and garden design are highly stylized and refined. On the other hand, contemporary Japanese society fully embraces Western-style popular culture—influenced by television, motion pictures, and advertising.
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modern Japanese writers include Soseki Natsume, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, and Yukio Mishima.
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Poetry plays a central role in Japanese culture.
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The carefully composed paintings used few brush strokes to suggest a scene in nature.
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Japanese No plays are generally short, stylized, and heroic.
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Today the martial arts are more important as competitive sports and as aids to physical and mental fitness.
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The Japanese economy grew remarkably throughout the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.
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Historical records, however, show that Japan was not united as one state until the late 4th or early 5th century AD. It was ruled by the Yamato dynasty.
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Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world.
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By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to keep European and United States traders away.
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A new government was established under the young emperor Mutsuhito, who took the name of Meiji, meaning “enlightened government.”
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Japan soon sought to build an empire. It successfully fought a war with China (1894–95) and with Russia (1904–05).
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The Japanese government believed that expansion through military conquest would help the economy.
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Under the terms of surrender, Japan had to give up all the territory it had acquired since 1895.
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Japan rebuilt its ruined economy, using new technology in every major industry.
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Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition - 0 views
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Occasions of many kinds are celebrated with poems, and thousands of poems are submitted for the poetry prize awarded by the emperor each New Year.
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Japanese literature is noted for distinctive forms of drama as well as of poetry.
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No plays can be considered as scenes from the ceremonial life of lords and ladies during Japan's Middle Ages.
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the Japanese puppet play is serious drama combining words, music, and dancing.
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Early Japanese novels consisted of series of incidents, each incident built around a poem.
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Summer Workouts For Perimeter Players - Basketball Coaching - 0 views
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If you’re serious about coaching basketball, you need to develop an off-season workout for your players.
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t is vital to your team’s success that your players come into the season fit. Before the AAU or summer leagues start, you should meet with your players individually and evaluate their play during the past season. At this time you should also give your player a written list of things they need to concentrate on during their off-season workouts.
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The History Of Army Skydiving « Sky Diving Weblog - 0 views
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Today we enjoy skydiving as a breathtaking leisure sport, but its origins lie within the army. The history books are chock full of dates and occurrences where skydiving has played an important part.
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Army skydiving had a big role to play in the Second World War, when paratroopers dropped into enemy zones to fight
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Skydiving is a natural sport to develop from army training.
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many expert skydivers found their passion after joining the army.
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So it seems army skydiving has gone from being a skill developed to get into enemy territory quickly and efficiently, to a spectator sport appreciated by the masses.
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Outrage at 'starvation' of a stray dog for art | Art and design | The Observer - 0 views
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Chaining up a dog and forcing it to go without food and water in the name of art is a surefire way of making yourself unpopular with animal lovers. The furore created by Damien Hirst's pickled sheep and Tracey Emin's dirty bed pales into insignificance against the international outrage Guillermo 'Habacuc' Vargas has unleashed. The Costa Rican has been called an animal abuser, killer and worse over claims that a stray dog called Natividad died of starvation after he displayed it at an exhibition last year at the Códice Gallery in Managua, Nicaragua. Vargas tethered the animal without food and water under the words 'Eres Lo Que Lees' - 'You Are What You Read' - made out of dog biscuits while he played the Sandinista anthem backwards and set 175 pieces of crack cocaine alight in a massive incense burner. More than a million people have signed an online petition urging organisers of this year's event to stop Vargas taking part. Vargas, 32, said he wanted to test the public's reaction, and insisted none of the exhibition visitors intervened to stop the animal's suffering. He refused to say whether the animal had survived the show, but said he had received dozens of death threats. Juanita Bermúdez, director of the Códice Gallery, insisted Natividad escaped after just one day. She said: 'It was untied all the time except for the three hours the exhibition lasted and it was fed regularly with dog food Habacuc himself brought in.'
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tells what guillermo said his reason was to do what he did and mentions what juanita owner of the art gallery had to say
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Curse of the Bambino - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views
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reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 until 2004.
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begun after the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth, sometimes called The Bambino, to the New York Yankees in the off-season of 1919-1920.
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The curse
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winning the first World Series in 1903 and amassing five World Series titles prior to selling Ruth
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he once-lackluster Yankees became one of the most successful franchises in North American professional sports.
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ended in 2004, when the Red Sox came back from a 0-3 best-of-seven deficit to beat the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series and then went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series.
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the curse
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In 1949, the Red Sox needed to win just one of the last two games of the season to win the pennant, but lost both games to the Yankees, who would go on to win a record five consecutive World Series from 1949 to 1953.
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In 1967, the Red Sox surprisingly reversed the awful results of the 1966 season by winning the American League pennant on the last weekend of the season. In the World Series, they once again faced the Cardinals, and just as in 1946, the Series went to a seventh game. St. Louis won the deciding contest 7-2
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In 2003, the Red Sox were playing the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Boston held a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning, and manager Grady Little opted to stay with starting pitcher Pedro Martínez rather than go to the bullpen. New York rallied off the tired Martínez, scoring three runs off a single and three doubles to tie the game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Aaron Boone launched a solo home run off knuckleballing Boston starter Tim Wakefield (pitching in relief) to win the game and the pennant for the Yankees.
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In 2004, the Red Sox once again met the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. After losing the first three games, including a 19–8 drubbing at Fenway in Game 3, the Red Sox trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 4. But the team tied the game with a walk by Kevin Millar and a stolen base by pinch-runner Dave Roberts, followed by an RBI single off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera by third baseman Bill Mueller, and won on a 2-run home run in the 12th inning by David Ortiz. The Red Sox would go on to win the next three games to become the first Major League Baseball team to win a seven-game postseason series after being down 3 games to none.
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The Red Sox then faced the St. Louis Cardinals, the team to whom they lost the 1946 and 1967 World Series, and won in a four-game sweep. Cardinals shortstop Edgar Rentería—who wore number 3, Babe Ruth's uniform number with the Yankees—hit into the final out of the game. The final game took place on October 27 during a total lunar eclipse—the only post-season or World Series game to do so. It also took place exactly 18 years to the day the Red Sox last lost a World Series game. Three years later, the Red Sox would sweep the Colorado Rockies to win another World Series.
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Why Did All Dinosaurs Become Extinct? | Scholastic.com - 0 views
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Adapted from Dinosaurs: The Very Latest Information and Hands-On Activities From the Museum of the Rockies, by Liza Charlesworth and Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer. A Scholastic Professional Book. The last dinosaurs died approximately 65 million years ago. Although the cause of their extinction is still a mystery, climatic change, diseases, changing plant communities, and geologic events could all have played a role. Lately, dinosaur extinction theories have been the subject of much debate and controversy. A recent explanation, supported by many scientists, suggests that dinosaurs died out soon after a huge meteorite crashed to Earth near the Gulf of Mexico. A giant meteorite, they reason, could have landed with an impact that kicked up enough dust and debris to block out sunlight for a long time — leading to a deadly chain of events. Without the sun, all the plants died; without the plants, all the plant-eaters died; and without the plant-eaters, all the meat-eaters died. Sounds reasonable. But there is one problem with this theory: Paleontologists have not yet been able to find dinosaur skeletons in rocks dating to the period of impact. Some evidence even seems to indicate that all the dinosaurs had died before the meteorite hit. What is the answer? As paleontologists search for clues to support their theories, they agree to disagree.
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sounds interseting so i could use this to learn.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
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I can use this to give a general idea of what exactly made the dinosaurs extinct.
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Tokio Hotel Interview - 0 views
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Bill and I started playing live shows in clubs from early on too.
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Yeah, they actually begged us to join the band - that's how we got together.
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Student Research Center - powered by EBSCOhost: Early Japan -- The Yayoi Period - 0 views
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Japan entered into its second major prehistoric period, a civilized era known as the Yayoi period.
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he name Yayoi is derived from an area Tokyo known as Yayoi, where the first documented pottery from this period was discovered in an archaeological excavation in 1884.
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ron and bronze materials are believed to have been exchanged with Japanese envoys either for token tributes or prisoners of war.
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early all of the country's inhabitants belong to the same ethnic group and share the same racial background and cultural characteristics.
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Within the villages, households consist of large families. This usually includes a farmer, his wife and children, grandparents, and grown sons and their families.
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Yayoi culture originally developed in northern Kyushu, the western and southernmost of Japan's main islands.
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Japanese city life is much more Westernized than that of the countryside.
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ayoi culture spread into Honshu (Japan's largest island) and present-day Tokyo in the Middle (100 BC-100 AD) to Late Yayoi (100-300AD) period.
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Modern entertainment is also active in the cities of Japan.
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The Japanese celebrate many holidays and practice many customs throughout the year.
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On May 5 Kodomo-no-Hi (Children's Day) is celebrated. This is a day set aside to honor all children.
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Perhaps the most important development of the Yayoi period was the cultivation of rice, probably introduced from the area near the Yangtze River delta in southern China.
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November 23 marks Kansha-no-Hi (Labor-Thanksgiving Day). On this day, the Japanese give thanks to laborers and for a successful harvest.
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apanese men and women did not choose their marriage partners based on love. Instead, marriage was arranged by families who paired couples based on their social and economic status.
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At the end of the day a large bathtub is filled with hot water. Then, each family member, in turn washes and rinses thoroughly before getting into the tub.
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In addition to pottery and iron and bronze tools, archaeologists have depended largely on burial remains to uncover Yayoi culture.
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For years, the Japanese have taken great pride in their performing arts. Dance and theater are essential parts of Japanese culture.
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n northeastern Japan, secondary burials were conducted in which the bones of the dead were exhumed, painted decoratively, and placed in ornamental clay jars.
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"No plays" are other types of theatrical performances common in Japan.
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The gagaku, for example, is classical music that was introduced into Japan from China in the 8th century A.D.
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Western music is also popular in Japan.
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For many years the Japanese style of dress consisted of long, flowing robes called kimonos.
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The climate of Japan varies a great deal from heavy snows and extreme cold along the west coast to warm and humid summers in the rest of the country.
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Causes of Drug Addiction - LoveToKnow Recovery - 0 views
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Elite athletes are susceptible to using drugs. They use them for performance enhancing abilities. Steroids can make muscles bigger, while amphetamines help reduce or numb pain, allowing persons to play injured. Recently, major league baseball has come under fire for drug abuse. Though not as prominent, high school and college athletes have also been known to use drugs to enhance their performance.
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The dope on steroids: Why some athletes take the risk : UMNews : University of Minnesota - 0 views
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The stakes in Athens are fierce. The difference between an Olympic gold or silver medal could be a one hundredth of a second on the track or in the pool; an inch on the pole vault or shot put.
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The athletes who make the Olympic cut are blessed with the right combination of physical and psychological traits, including an intense competitive drive and an unrelenting determination to be the best. This is the stuff of champions.
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Steroids are not just for elite athletes--they can be used by anyone who wants to change his or her body image. The Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report shows more than a million youth taking steroids, and the numbers have been rising every year.
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Unfortunately, sometimes so are steroids. For decades, athletes have used anabolic (meaning muscle-building) steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to build strength and endurance. And those drugs are getting more and more sophisticated in an effort to evade detection. Doping, as the practice is called, is illegal and, by most people's standards, unethical. Athletes who have been caught using these drugs have been stripped of their Olympic medals and world records and banned from their sports, sometimes for years, and on occasions for a lifetime.
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"There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," says Wiese-Bjornstal. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."
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In addition, steroids mess with your body. Potential side effects include high blood pressure, strokes, nausea, sleep problems, increased aggressiveness, and severe mood swings. In men, steroids can reduce sperm count and cause impotence, breast growth, and shrunken testicles. In women, side effects can include reduced breast size, increased body and facial hair, a deepened voice, and menstrual problems.
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With the risks and consequences of steroid use so high, why do some athletes continue to dope?
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"The major underlying factor [with steroids use] is that winning at all costs is the most important thing," says Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology.
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She says that athletes that use steroids often have the mindset that "they are demonstrating that they are as highly committed to their sport as they can be and are doing whatever it takes to prove to themselves, their coaches, and to the world that they are true athletes who will do anything to win."
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From a moral and ethical framework, Wiese-Bjornstal believes this is twisted thinking. "There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," she says. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."
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She also says there is pressure to dope because of the belief that everyone else is doing it, and that if an athlete wants to compete at the highest level, she or he has to do it, too.
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Nancy Cullen, a sports psychology consultant for the University, says the temptation to use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs simply comes down to the rigors and pressure of elite competition and the desire to win. She cites an alarming poll taken in 1995 of 198 sprinters, swimmers, power lifters and others, most of whom were Olympians or aspiring Olympians. The poll asked if the athletes would take a banned performance-enhancing substance if they knew if would help them win and they wouldn't be caught--195 responded, yes.
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Most athletes train for perfection," says Cullen. "The drive to achieve and win is so strong. If the difference between winning or losing is a hundredth of a second, and there is a drug that might give you the edge, the temptation can be great."
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For some Olympic events, steroid scandals have cast a pall over the games, leaving viewers to wonder after each win, "Did he take drugs? Did she?"
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Both Wiese-Bjornstal and Cullen agree that education, beginning with young athletes, is important in the fight against steroid use, as are drug testing and stiffer penalties for those who are caught. They also believe that coaches and parents play an important role in supporting the healthy ambitions of developing athletes.
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"It's important to teach athletes to know what the consequences are and to learn other training practices that are legal and don't involve taking drugs," says Cullen. "Strive to win, strive for perfection, but do it within the rules of the game."
