Youth soccer coaching's six cardinal sins

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

1. Failing to consider the health and safety of your players.


Nothing is more important than the health and safety of your players.
Playing areas, pitches and equipment, (especially portable goals) should be inspected for defects before you use them and if the defects cannot be corrected, you should not use them.
Tatty training balls, for example, should be discarded before a piece of the outer covering catches a player's eye and you should make sure players do not play with anything that has a spike on the end - slalom poles should not be used as javelins!
And children should not be exposed to extreme weather conditions. I sometimes get asked what is the best way to keep players warm on freezing match days. My answer is that if it's freezing, you shouldn't be playing!
Similarly, if your players are very young you should not train or play if it's very hot – small children do not have an effective cooling system and will quickly dehydrate in hot weather.
2. Making players wait in lines and/or giving lectures.

Young soccer players come to training sessions to play soccer, not stand around waiting to get a touch on the ball or listen while you lecture them.
You can get away with using games or drills that have an element of waiting in lines if you keep the lines very short and fast moving but bear in mind that the younger your players, the shorter and faster the lines have to be.
When introducing an activity, try to remember that you have 20 seconds at most to gain your players attention when introducing a new task during training sessions.1 If you fail to make the task meaningful or understandable in that time, they will begin to tune you out and you will need to start again.
So think carefully about how you explain games and drills.
It's best to start by telling your players why you want them to do something ("we need to do this because it will help you become better at... ") followed by a demonstration. Then check their understanding ("does everyone know what to do?") before starting the exercise.
How long should games/drills last?
The younger the players, the shorter your games need to be. For five year olds, for example, I like to change the activity every five to 10 minutes. Older players should be able to maintain focus on an activity for longer but you should always move on within a reasonable period of time – do not turn training activities into tests of endurance!
3. Being late and/or tolerating lateness.

Youth soccer coaching is all about having standards.
As a minimum, you should expect your players to turn up for training and matches on time and ideally they should arrive early. There is nothing worse than having to repeat yourself to a player who turns up late – it's a waste of your valuable time and is also disrespectful, both to you and the rest of the squad.
You need to lead by example so get to the training ground or pitch before your players, set up your equipment and start your sessions dead on time. Don't wait for anyone and tell latecomers to stand to one side until the next activity begins.
Tip: encourage good timekeeping by setting up a couple of goals and letting anyone who arrives early play a game before the session officially starts.
4. Not giving game time to players who train.

Players who turn up at training sessions deserve to play in matches, end of story.
Saying that they're "not good enough" or "the score is too close, I can't make any changes" is never an excuse for keeping a young player on the bench. Your players are children, not professionals, and they all deserve a chance to play in matches with their friends.
5. Not communicating your coaching "philosophy" to parents and carers.

You can't run a youth soccer team without the support of parents and carers. And you won't have their support if you don't tell them what approach you are going to take to your coaching.
Before the season starts you need to have a meeting with parents to discuss your plans and expectations for the season. Encourage questions and let them know that you have given a lot of thought to how you're going to coach their children.
Listen to their suggestions – you do not have a monopoly on the best ideas – ask them to help you by bringing their children to coaching sessions and matches on time (see sin number 3), help you prepare pitches for match days and raise funds for new kit and equipment.
The more involved your parents are, the more time you will have to actually coach their children and the less likely you are to suffer defections to rival teams.
6. Not smiling :(

Don't be afraid to smile. A smile lets your players know that you are happy coaching them and that soccer is a game to be enjoyed, not a life or death struggle.

So be happy in your coaching. Enjoy the time you spend with your players.

References

1. Dianne Dukette and David Cornish, The Essential 20: Twenty Components of an Excellent Health Care Team, RoseDog Books, 2009, pp.72-73.

The Chicken or the Egg?

I've been reading John Webster's Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch.Very interesting stuff. On p. 43 he makes a claim that was particularly striking and insightful: "All other Christian doctrines are applications or corollaries of the one doctrine, the doctrine of the Trinity, in which the doctrine of the church, no less than the doctrine of revelation, has its proper home." For my own work in thinking about scripture theologically, this statement has far-reaching implications. I think that sometimes we think of the doctrine of the Trinity as derived from a particular theological reading of scripture, rather than of our theological reading of scripture as derived from the doctrine of the Trinity. I'm still thinking through this.... To be continued....

Getting Better Decisions During A Game - The Use of Technology In Football

Sourced from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/

Here is an interesting piece of information - the average duration of a Manager (coach) at a Premier League / Champions League Club in Europe is said to be between 9 - 14 months! A game lost due to a poor decision, for want of access to good information, can have massive consequences for Managers of top flight Football teams.

The future of Clubs, sponsors, players and certainly Managers (coaches) can turn on a decision in a game, a decision that is not advantaged by the luxury of endless replays that the football public enjoys after the game. By the time the dust has settled on the game lost to a bad decision, there is often little attention given to the fact that the referee's decision was proven to be wrong. It doesn't change the result of the game nor the fate of those adversely affected by the decision.

That said, these decisions are seldom the consequence of a Referee or Referee's Assistant carelessness. When they drop a clanger, it's because they just can't see (in real time, not slow time) all of the incident. Only people in good position around the ground get to see exactly what happened. Perhaps our referees need a bit of assitance? Two ways to do that - use technology (and here we are usually talking about cameras and immediate review of incidents by an official not on the ground), or, more referee's assistants on the ground at those points on the ground where the usual decison making disaster scenarios occur.

Here are three examples I saw last weekend:

• GK caught the ball, fell backwards just enough to cross the goal line and take the ball, ever so quickly into and out of the goal area. Referee and assitants could not see the GK cross the line, so no goal. Only a coupl of players saw what really happened.


• Attacking team player dribbles to the byline, while challenged the ball goes out, player continues and cuts the ball back to a team mate, who slams it into the net. Now a few players and spectators sw that one, but the Referee and assitants just were not in the sweet spot to see the ball go out.


• Attacking player goes to the byline, bloaked by defender, so trys to knock the ball onto the defender to get a corner. He missed and the ball went out without touching the defender, though it did have on odd spin on it. Referee had some players between himself and the ball and concluded that it had hit a defender. Now I was at the behind the byline a short distance away and stopped to watch this action. It should have been a goal kick, but I could see why it was hard for the Ref, while the nearest Ref's assistant was back near halfway (blind side of the field). Bad luck I guess, But what followed was a corner kick that was headed into the net. The game turned on that one. Bad luck.

Alas, FIFA (Mr Blatter to be precise) is opposed to the use of technology in the big leagues and competitions. Neither Blatter or Platini (UEFA) will  allow the technologies  to be trialled. Bit of a shame really, for it would have stopped Herny's diabolical handball dead in it's tracks. The support for the introduction of technology among the PL Clubs in Europe is enormous, but they await Mr Blatter's pleasure.

We have a fair bit of experience with the use of technology in support of Referee's decision making in Australia - Rugby League, Rugby Union and Cricket. Its part of the these games at the top level. Sometimes it goes wrong even with the use of technology (cameras) and referral to an additional referee. Nothing is perfect, but its good to get a few more important decisions right.

I think you will find this discussion very interesting - it captures the mood and the massive risks that are inherit at the top end of game when some poor bugger with a whistle gets it wrong because he or she just did not see enough of the incident to make a better decision.

What do you think?

Download Podcast here:

EAT

Living in PE for the past year has afforded me the time to pursue interests that I have put off for a long time and for a variety of reasons.  Along with traveling, gymming, and bagpiping, I'm also taking photography courses and language lessons, putting a major dent in the stack of books I've been meaning to read, and brushing up on some piano pieces that have fallen by the wayside over the years.  I'm certainly not looking for things to occupy my time, but when this week's Crawl took us to a new coffee shop adjacent to The Scrapbook Nook, I got the itch to start scrapbooking again.  My daughter, Liz, and I have worked on a couple of family vacation  scrapbooks and, in the course of doing so, have accumulated two huge boxes full of scrapbooking tools and materials.  I left them in NY.  So, this week's Coffee Crawl started off with a quick look through the scrapbook shop to make a list of things I need get started on my "African Adventures" scrapbook!





Meet the Owners
Philippa and Cassandra Dyson


Now, as I said, The Scrapbook Nook is adjacent to this week's Coffee Crawl site, a new shop called EAT that officially opened on Monday, Aug 22.  It just so happens that the owners of the shops are mother and daughter, Philippa and Cassandra Dyson.  Cassandra's new coffee shop venture came about as a result of her providing "eats" at scrapbooking events held at her mother's shop.  And, as one thing leads to another... Cassandra is now the proud owner of EAT, located at 152 Main Rd. in Walmer.  The shop is open Monday-Friday, 9-4, and Saturdays, 9-1 for freshly made salads, sandwiches and baked goods to take-away.  Patrons are also welcome to eat in and enjoy a LavAzza coffee at one of the tables or in the lounge area of this cheerily decorated shop.  Whether you eat in or take out, EAT has two chefs on staff along with Cassandra as the barista to quickly serve you.  There is a spacious parking lot in front that can accommodate customers for the scrapbook shop and for EAT.

Thursday's Crawlers, Gail Darne, Les Baldwin, Nomusa Nkomo, Beth Vieira, Fran and Keith de Beer, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Margaret Zoetmulder, and June Nash, were dertermined to follow the No Food On The Crawl Rule this week despite the shop's name nad the Luciano Pavarotti quote on the chalkboard.  We were successful, though the temptation was intense with all the delicious looking pastries on display.  So, we all ordered our usual coffees (and Nomusa, her tea) sans goodies and everyone got busy checking out Beth's family scrapbook that she brought along.  Nice work on the book, Beth.  I'm sure your family treasures it!  After Beth's book made the rounds, I brought out my Kindle that I've been promising to bring with me.  It kind of felt like Show-and-Tell Day at the Crawl!






This Week's Crawlers
Les, Margaret, Nomusa, Keith, Fran, June, Beth, Stella, Beryl, Gail


Once our coffees were served (and Beth and I put away our props) the Crawlers made mention of the earthquake that shook the eastern coast of the U.S. last week, and Hurricane Irene that was heading toward the U.S.  Guess it was a crazy week in NY!!!  We then talked a bit about the northern/southern hemisphere opposite seasons thing and how beautiful the northeastern U.S. is in the fall.  Autumn is my favorite season in the U.S., not just because of the changing leaves but because it's the start of the football season... American football, that is.  For those of you who know what an avid football fan I am, no worries, we get the Sunday and Monday night games televised here, though in the middle of the night.  Lou and I record the games them watch them poolsode later in the week.  So, the talk of autumn led to football which led to rugby (of course, it's SA) and finally ended up with cricket, the one sport that I totally don't get!  All this talk of sports wouldn't be complete without some trash talking about celeb singers who screw up their own national anthems at major sporting events.  Such a travesty recently occurred here in SA at the New Zealand All Blacks vs. the SA Springboks rugby match.  I can understand how such an error can be made here since the SA national anthem is actually a combination of two songs, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" sung in Xhosa followed by "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" sung partly in Afrikaans and partly in English.  Now there's some hard-core pressure to get that right!!!

A brief discussion of the Crawlers' favorite music ensued with The Beatles and Broadway musicals topping the list.  Keith abstained from voting because he doesn't like music... except the SA national anthem... maybe he'll be asked to sing it at the next big game!  So Keith's only input at the end of the Crawl was his useless fact of the week... giraffes have the highest blood pressure of all mammals... totally irrelevant but that's the whole point, right?



A final thought ~  What my friend, Nancy in Corning, NY, says about scrapbooking: "If it's not in the scrapbook, it didn't happen."  Well, I better get down to The Scrapbook Nook, pick up some supplies for my "African Adventures" scrapbook.... and grab a cappuccino at EAT while I'm there!

Thank you to Philippa and Cassandra for combining your efforts and sharing your passions with the residents of PE.  Good luck with your new shop, Cassandra!

Until next week,

Ellen

CEO Capital Football Heather Reid Has A lot To Say On Football Overseas and Here In The ACT Region

This is a Nearpost Local special edition – an extended discussion with the CEO Capital Football, Heather Reid. Heather is still the only female CEO of a member Federation within the FFA. Heather Reid is also the CEO of Canberra United.

Heather has only recently returned from Europe, where she attended the Womens World Cup, represented the CEO of the FFA at the FIFA women’s football symposium and recruited a new Head Coach for Canberra United.

Photo above is of the new Canberra United coach.

Heather talks about the standard of Football across the nations in the World Cup and the issues discussed at the FIFA symposium. A very interesting football discussion and some candid observations about the Matilda’s performance.

And this is just the start of this discussion with the CEO Capital Football.

We cover a lot of ground and it’s all about things that impact on Football in the ACT region.

The matters we discuss evidence some decent forward planning at Capital Football and I must say, in the nick of time. Nothing is ever completely resolved in the biggest particpation sport in the ACT region, but we are beginning to see some important progress, good ideas, some fortuitious opportunites emerging, and a healthy dose of pragmatism.

Now the challenge is to bring the Clubs along and before things too far ahead at Football House. This appears to be happening for some for the issues, but its essential that conversations and analysis at Football House (Board, Standing Advisory committees and staff) translate into substantive engagement and support across all Clubs  at the earliest possible time. There is always the temptation to serve up a one solution option as effective consultation. Supporting documents which underpin discussion need to get published on the Capital Football and Club websites as soon as possible. Good communication and time for consultation is essential. This takes time at Club level.

Here’s a starting list of some of things that get honorable mentions in this discussion:

• New Canberra United Coach – why a female coach?

• The Canberra United roster – fascinating and not yet finished!

• The financial management of Canberra United – sponsorship and grants see this "club" just about cost neutral to Capital Football which is good news. This is a big step forward. Something to celebrate! (Its an important first step to detaching Canberra United from Capital Football and perhaps separating the management of both - but that's clearly a little further into the future)

• The importance of ACTAS women’s program and the Capital Football age representative teams that compete at the National Junior Championships

• The review of the Mens Premier League structure – changes to be implemented in 2012. This is likely to involve significant change to the present arrangements.

• The impact of the FFA’s National competition review on football in the ACT – considerable! Can’t wait till it arrives, best to get started.

• Steps being taken to cover the talented Mens 17 to 20 years development pathway. Changes in circumstances at the AIS have given the ACT Football community an extra-ordinary opportunity, which Capital Football looks to have siezed upon (frankly, this is more than we could ever have hoped for and if delivered in full provides exactly the pathway we have all sort for these young players - at a fraction of the cost of a youth league team):

o AIS to provide a team in the Mens Premier League and to include 4-6 young Canberra players (on non residential scholarships)

o AIS and ACTAS Mens to form a “Club” for the purpose of participating in the Mens Premier League. Allows for movement of players when required to ensure all games are played when scheduled (except where agreed otherwise)

o AIS to include the Canberra based non residential scholarship holders in the National Youth League squad (so they play in this competition as well! Amazing opportunity.)

• Some good progress on the future development of artificial playing surfaces (note I use the plural!) in the Mawson / Phillip area (and not the former golf course range - though that too must not be lost to medium density housing developers - hope this has not been traded off by anyone in football!). This one might just happen.

• Futsal registrations going gangbusters – North and South Canberra, the astonishing Boomerangs FS who are now a part of the NSW Premier League and the start of a local junior Premier League based on Football Club involvement (at last we have tapped the right organisational structure to support Futsal).

Look there is plenty more, so best you get a restorative drink, headphones on or speakers turned up, door closed, feet up and listen in.

Download Podcast here:

Blue Thunder Marching Band Spirit Rally in the Library

Go Orange! Go Big Blue! Cheer on the Keith Stein Blue Thunder Marching Band and the Harvey Neef Mane Line Dancers as they march across the Boise State campus and perform in the library this Friday, August 26th at 12:30pm.

See a complete list of BroncoWelcome 2011 events at http://broncowelcome.boisestate.edu/

Lavenders Courtyard Cafe

As part of our decision making process to move to South Africa, Lou and I made a visit to PE in March, 2010.  On the first day of our visit a consultant, who was showing us around town, took us to a great little cafe for lunch.  I filed the name of the place in my mental Rol-o-Dex promising myself that, should we decide to take the move to SA, I would become a regular there.  Well, you know what they say about good intentions....we've lived in PE for over a year now and, unfortunately, I haven't returned to Lavenders Courtyard Cafe.  I decided that for my daughter's last Crawl before returning to the U.S. the Crawlers should meet at Lavenders.  Good call on my part because it turned out to be Lizzy's favorite Coffee Crawl!



Leanne, Luke, Beth, Keith, Fran, Liz, June, Stella, Gail, Beryl



This week's Crawlers, Beth Vieira, Fran and Keith de Beer, Leanne Waller and her son, Luke, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, and Gail Darne met at Lavenders to bid farewell to Liz and to enjoy a cup (or two) of Masterton's Bolero Espresso coffee.  Lavenders' owner, barista, waiter, and all-around Renaissance Man, Tim Gunston, greeted us and got straight to work taking and filling our coffee orders.  The Crawlers have become expert in ordering with a show of hands for cappuccinos and black coffees....makes things a lot easier, right Tim? 



Meet the Owner - Tim Gunston

 Tim returned with our hot coffees ready to take our breakfast orders and with an apology that, since the baker was sick, no muffins were available, though croissants were just about done (how does that work?).  The "No Food On The Crawl Rule" was at risk of being broken yet again with the mere mention of croissants.  All it takes is one weakling (I think it was June or me this time) and everyone else falls into the temptation....the aroma emanating from the kitchen sealed the deal.  Better luck following the rule next week, folks!  By the way, Tim, the croissants and coffees were outstanding....kudos to you for running the show solo on Thursday without missing a beat!

 






The Courtyard Gazebo

 

Lavenders, a 4 and a half yr old family business, is located at 12 Clevedon Road in Mount Croix.  Plenty of on-street parking is available for patrons who want to come in for breakfast or lunch Mon-Sat, 9-3, or for dinner Tues-Sat from 6 pm.  The comfortable, inviting, and nicely decorated main dining room seats approx 30 people while the courtyard in the back, featuring a beautiful gazebo and lovely garden, seats about 25.  If you're planning to come for dinner, reservations are suggested as the seats fill up rapidly for what looks like an amazing menu.





Lavenders' Restroom

 
A visit to Lavenders wouldn't be complete without a trip to the restroom.  In all seriousness, the bathroom is really quite nice... uniquely decorated with a lavender theme.  Tim told me that people actually ask to take pics of it....yes, it is that cool!  My pic doesn't do it justice....I guess an advanced photography course is in order for me...and soon!  So, speaking of restrooms......a good part of the discussion around the table dealt with how different cultures refer to the necessary room.....uh....loo....uh....latrine.....uh.....lavatory, men's room, ladies' room, washroom bog....AAAAAHHHHH!!!   A brainstorming session ensued and the Crawlers came up with 28 monikers for the "facilities," most of which were appropriate for little Luke's ears.  The group got a bit rowdy (those are Tim's words) though, as the language went down the toilet!!!



Along the lines of the last statement the discussion moved on to how park rangers track elephants while on a game drive....(only in Africa, folks!!).  If you're hot on the elephants' trail some dung beetle sightings are always a bonus!!   Liz and I then shared stories of our recent weekend at Shamwari Game Reserve including a harrowing encounter with a group of elephants.  She and I decided that our guide, Headman, must "speak a little elephant" since he was able to translate grumblings and predict behaviors of these "giants of the veld."  I then told the group about the book I am currently reading, The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony.  It's definitely on my recommendation list of non-fiction.  Concluding this week's Crawl was Keith's useless (though unintentionally appropriate) fact of the week....an adult elephant's trunk can hold two gallons of water!!!  Keith, where do you come up with this stuff?


So, with our departure from Lavenders, the Crawlers bid a sad farewell to Liz complete with hugs all around.  Liz promised to join us on the Crawl next year when she visits again...all I can say about that is... are there really that many coffee shops in PE?!?  Stay tuned!!!


An update on the "Kids Who Care Coffee Shop"

   *a record amount of money was raised by this year's third graders for their adopted charity

   *Daniel won the title of "Best Waiter"- (a little bit of nepotism never hurt anyone!)

   *Table 6 won the award for "Best Decorated Table"



   *Congrats Daniel and friends for a job well done!!!

~Thank you to Tim Gunston for hosting Liz's farewell Crawl--awesome venue!!

~Thank you to Liz for all your help with posting and reformatting my blog.  I still have a lot of work to do  
   but you got me started on the right track....love you, honey.

Until next week,

Ellen




























Capital Football Technical Director, Roy Thomas Talks About the Way Ahead

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 23 August 2011 at 7:00pm.

Tonights program is an extended interview with the Technical Director, Capital Football, Royston Thomas. Roy is a highly experienced professional Football person, very pragmatic and refreshingly “no fuss” in his approach. The CF TD’s job is a big one, with lots of influences and never enough resources to cover the scope of the various tasks to hand. So deciding what and how it will be done and when, is crucial to success. Being sufficiently determined to pursue these objectives, bring the Football community with you, while flexible enough to change position if better ideas come along, is essential to this position in Football – Roy striked me as being all of that. Roy has been in the job six months and in this interview he provides the NPL listener with some absolutely vital information on the way ahead:


• The structure he will use to deliver the National curriculum:

o CF Centre of Excellence

o CF Centre for Development

• Coach education – quality coaches to underpin the delivery of development

• The importance of close and effective working relationships with the Head Coaches of ACTAS mens and Womens programs

• Priorities for participation by age rep teams at the NJC.

• Delivery of technical support to clubs.

And then there is the welcome news that the 6-8 age group development program(s) will be delivered by Coerver - makes perfect sense! Good decision.
As an exercise in clear thinking, Roys initial approach is sound, makes good sense and looks achievable. There is connective football tissue between the elements of his approach to technical development of young players going forward. Roy has not left the clubs behind in his thinking and that’s a big step forward. This is all something parents and clubs can understand and support.

This interview was very much like a fire-side chat about football - two people passionate about football having a good talk about a few things. Time permitting, it could have gone on for ages and I reckon I would have learnt heaps from Roy.

I start the program with a part of his discussion about the recent Womens Under 14 and Under 15 NJC, then its on to a lot more. Roys observations on coaching and recent, terrific games between Barcelona and Real Madrid, then Canberra Olympic and CFC is a delight and right on the mark. I enjoyed this interview and think you will too.

Download Podcast here:

The Library Welcomes You!

Welcome to the Albertsons Library! We've been busy making the library your go-to place for your research and academic needs. Here are a few of the things you will find at the library:

• Over 110 computers sporting Microsoft Office 2010, Mac and PC laptops for checkout, scanners, and multiple BroncoPrint stations, including wireless printing from your laptop.
• Extensive subject guides in fields such as Public Administration, Radiologic Sciences, Kinesiology, Construction Management, Educational Technology and many more, via the library's LibGuides system.
• Library pages geared toward your scholarly needs, for undergraduates, graduates, and faculty.
• Digital screens in presentation rooms on the first and second floors. You can reserve group study rooms 110 and 201A at the Circulation Desk. 
• A Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor.
• A growing collection of streaming video databases on a wide range of subjects--watch online or on your portable device.
• Research late into the night? Check out our extended library hours.
• Access thousands of articles from journals and magazines from the A-Z list of databases. You will find that more and more of our databases are mobile-friendly, too.
• Have your own laptop or mobile device? The whole building is Wi-Fi enabled.
• The library catalog now sports a large eBook collection--you can read books online or download it to your portable device.  
• Access the library from your phone via our mobile website.

Have questions about research, campus, or anything at all? We’re available to help you via our reference chat, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Or you can text us your questions at (208) 546-9982.

We hope you have a fantastic Fall semester at Boise State University!

Osgood Schlatter syndrome

Sourced from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Osgood_Schlatter_syndrome?open

Summary

 

Osgood-Schlatter syndrome is a painful knee condition that affects adolescents. It often occurs during a growth spurt and is associated with physical activity. Symptoms include pain and local swelling in the front of one or both knees. The condition usually completely resolves. Treatment mainly involves activity modification and pain relief.

 

 

 

The knee is a hinge joint, situated between the thigh bone (femur) and shin bones (tibia and fibula). Contraction of the muscles on the front of the thigh (quadriceps) straightens the knee, while contraction of the muscles on the back of the thigh (the hamstrings) bends the knee. The quadriceps muscle attaches to the shin bone below the knee cap (patella) via the thick patella tendon. The point of attachment of the patella tendon to the shin bone is the bony bump (tibial tuberosity) just below the knee.

Osgood-Schlatter syndrome (or disease) is a painful knee condition that tends to affect adolescents. Boys are affected more than girls, although this could be due to differing activity patterns. It is thought that around 13 per cent of adolescent knee pain is due to Osgood-Schlatter syndrome. It often occurs during a growth spurt and is associated with physical activity. It is thought that the tendon attaching the quadriceps muscles to the shin bone becomes tight and causes inflammation and micro-fractures in the tibial tuberosity.

 

The tibial tuberosity swells and feels painful during certain activities such as running, kneeling, or stair climbing. Osgood-Schlatter syndrome usually resolves by itself with time. Treatment options include activity modification, ice, pain relief medications, stretching and physiotherapy.

 

Symptoms

 

The symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter syndrome depend on the severity of the condition, but may include:

 

• Pain in one or both knees


• Pain when straightening the knee joint or full squatting


• Pain on running, or going up and down stairs


• Pain that eases with rest


• A swollen tibial tuberosity


• Red and inflamed skin over the tibial tuberosity


• Quadriceps muscles that can sometimes lose strength and bulk.

 

The risk of fracture

 

The quadriceps muscles are joined to the tibial tuberosity by the patella tendon. During bone growth, the tendon may become tighter. When the quadriceps muscle contracts, it pulls even more on the tight tendon, and the point where the tendon attaches to the shin bone becomes inflamed and micro-fractures occur at the bone. In some cases, bone may become partially dislodged (partial avulsion fracture).

 
The body repairs the fractures by laying down extra bone tissue. The result is a larger than normal bump at the tibial tuberosity.

 
A range of possible causes

 

Some of the causes of Osgood-Schlatter syndrome may include:

 

• Growth spurt - the condition tends to affect adolescent children. Affected boys are often aged about 13-14 years, while affected girls are often aged 10-11 years.


• Exercise - active children, particularly those engaged in athletics and sports, are at increased risk.


• Gender - boys are more susceptible than girls, but perhaps this is because boys typically play more vigorous sports.


• Injury - around half of all children with the condition report a prior knee injury.

 

Diagnosis methods

 

Osgood-Schlatter syndrome is mainly diagnosed by clinical presentation (presenting symptoms and physical examination). However additional tests may be used to rule out other possible causes of the symptoms. Tests include:

•  X-ray


• Ultrasound scan.

 

Treatment options

 

Osgood-Schlatter syndrome usually resolves by itself within 12 months. However, the knee may remain uncomfortable until growing finishes. Treatment options include:

 

• Activity modification or relative rest - completely avoiding activities that are painful for at least a couple of weeks followed by gradual return to activity guided by symptom levels


• Frequent use of icepacks to reduce the local pain and swelling


• Stretching and strengthening exercises for the quadriceps, hamstring and calf muscles – a suitable program can be provided by a physiotherapist


• Medications, including painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs


• Very rarely, surgery - only in extreme cases and only once growth has ended.

 

Where to get help -  Your doctor / Physiotherapist  / Orthopaedic surgeon

 

Things to remember

 

• Osgood-Schlatter syndrome is a painful knee condition that affects adolescents.


• During a growth spurt, it is thought that the tendon attaching the quadriceps muscle to the knee joint becomes tighter, creating a strain on the growing bone (tibial tuberosity) particularly with physical activities that involve contraction of the quadriceps.


• Osgood-Schlatter syndrome usually resolves by itself with a period of activity modification, stretches and pain relief.

Library Game: Research Race!

Want to learn about the library? Do you want to have fun and enter to win prizes while doing so?



The Research Race is for you! Use your mobile device or laptop to learn more about the library.



Don't have a mobile device or laptop? You can check out iPads, netbooks, and laptops (library use only) at the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor of Albertsons Library.



Pick up a Research Race game sheet at the Reference Desk, or, you can print your own copy by downloading the game sheet at this link: Research Race Game Sheet



Complete the game by answering the questions and returning the game sheet to the Reference Desk! Completed entries will enter a drawing for fun prizes.



Have fun and welcome back to school!

Kids Who Care Coffee Shop

Just over a year ago, my husband and I left our home in Corning, NY to come to PE, South Africa for Lou's job.  Along with leaving family and friends, I also left my job as a teacher at Southside High School in Elmira, NY.  I have to admit that it didn't take me long to get used to not working, though occasionally the desire to stand before a classroom full of teenagers with an attitude sweeps over me. 

I hadn't stepped through the doors of a school building since June 2010 until last Thursday for PE Coffee Crawl's visit to the Kids Who Care Coffee Shop located at Theodor Herzl Primary School in Walmer.  This coffee shop, run by the 3rd grade class, was open to the public on August 11 from 9 am til 12:30 pm as a fundraiser for "The House Of Resurrection" for AIDS orphans.  One of the participating 3rd graders, Daniel Surmon, happens to be the son of PE Coffee Crawler Leanne Waller and grandson of June Nash.  When June presented the Crawlers with Daniel's request for us to attend this charity event, we all enthusiatically agreed.  What an opportunity...enjoying a cup of coffee while benefitting a good cause at the same time...a real win-win!

Well, we all met in the parking lot and entered the school through a gauntlet of eager 3rd graders bearing cafeteria trays.  Daniel led us to Table 6 which he and three friends, Lisa, Okuhle, and Gabbi, were responsible for decorating earlier that morning.  The decorations provided my Afrikaans lesson for the week as items on the table were labeled in both English and Afrikaans.  The table's orange and black motif was eye-catching and very well coordinated especially with the gold and black fish swimming in the centerpiece bowl.  The fish bowl was a great touch, kids!  And to all the groups who decorated other tables...a job well done...all your creativity and hard work paid off...the place looked tremendous!

                                                                             

The 3rd graders, under the guidance of their teachers, Penny Shaw and Victoria Waller, have adopted "The House Of Resurrection" for AIDS orphans as this school year's focus on community service.  They have been working hard all year to raise money for donations and gifts for this local charity.  It is nice to know that all the funds raised by these entrepreneurial youngsters stays in PE to benefit orphans of local AIDS victims. 

Not only did the children greet and serve the patrons of the "coffee shop," they also helped the school chef, Lizzy Mtyatyeni, to prepare the tea, coffee, and muffins!  Last week's crawlers, Beth Vieira, Gail Darne, Fran and Keith de Beer, June and Howard Nash, Leanne and Lodie Waller, Belinda Hunter, Gail Waller, Beryl and Stella Dawson, and my daughter, Liz, all kept Daniel and crew busy with 2 rounds of coffee and muffins for everyone.  Yes, we did break the No-Food-On-The-Crawl rule, but it was for a good cause and the muffins were awesome! 

 

Meet the Baristas: Lizzy and Victoria




Daniel and Mrs. Shaw

During our visit, I had the opportunity to speak with Daniel's teacher, Penny Shaw as well as the school principal, Elise Crouse.  They were both excited about the day's activities and were very proud of all the students. 

Amid all the youthful enthusiasm of the morning, the Crawlers still managed to get in some interesting table talk.  Topping the list was a discussion of exotic vacation spots including Hawaii, Mauritius, and Madagascar (where I hear all the inhabitants are quite animated.......).  The next topic was obnoxiously large shoe sizes of female celebrities.  Try saying that 5 times fast!  Which led somehow to a discussion of lemurs...how that happened I'll never know but Liz later told me that lemurs are only indigenous to Madagascar.  The conversation then transitioned smoothly into a stovetop versus electric kettle debate; Liz proudly defending the classic stovetop model and Gail Darne responding with a cheeky, "Yeah, we did that in Africa...30 years ago!"  Any thoughts on that one, readers? 

On to Keith's useless fact of the week:  The first air freshener for bathrooms was a pomegranate stuffed with whole cloves.  Talk about spicing things up in the loo!!! 

After a few hours of "coffee for a cause," the Crawl came to an abrupt end with the ringing of the school bell.  Reverting back to our school days, like Pavlov's dogs, all the Crawlers packed up and filed out of the school. 

This Week's Crawlers: Gaile D, Liz, Fran, Keith, June, Howard, Lisa, Daniel, Okuhle, Leanne, Gail W, Beryl, Stella, Beth (Not Pictured: Belinda and Lodie)

* Kudos to Penny Shaw, Victoria Waller, and their 3rd grade class for sponsoring the Kids Who Care Coffee Shop.  Thank you for your efforts! 
* A special thank you to Daniel for inviting the Crawlers...you got my vote for the best waiter. 
* Thank you to Lizzy M. for those wonderful muffins!
* Thank you to all teachers everywhere for inspiring young people to make a difference!

Until tomorrow,

Ellen

P.S. Thank you for being patient with the picture confusion for the time being.  With my improved computer skills and Firefly's guidance, the blog is under construction! 

Performance Psychology - THE MASTER STORYTELLER

Sourced from ACTAS E-News - authored by Sarah Jack

This is a terrific article that makes good reading for players and parents of young players. It goes beyond Football!

Our mind is like the world’s greatest storyteller. It NEVER shuts up. It’s always got a story to tell and guess what it wants more than anything else? It ants what any good storyteller wants. It wants us to listen; it wants to grab our attention and pull us away from what we are doing.

Even if it’s painful, nasty or scary. And some of the stories it tells us are true. We call those ‘facts’. But most of the stories it tells us, we can’t really call ‘facts’. They’re more like opinions, beliefs, ideas, attitudes, assumptions, judgements, predictions etcetera. They’re stories about how we see the world, and what we want to do, and what we think is right and wrong or fair and unfair and so on.

So if you’re willing, sit back, get comfortable and do this exercise – close your eyes; don’t say anything for about thirty seconds – and just listen to the story your mind is telling you right now.

One of the key insights to learn is that our thoughts do not control our actions.

Thoughts have a lot of influence on our actions when we hold on too tightly to them, but they have much less influence when we take a step back from our thoughts and look at them for what they really are ... nothing more or less than a bunch of words or picture ‘inside your head’.

When you have this insight you begin to recognise that a thought; may or may not be true; is definitely not a command you have to obey or a rule to have to follow; is definitely not a threat to you; is not something happening in the physical world; may or may not be important to you – you have a choice as to how much attention you pay it; and can be allowed to come and go of its own accord without any need for you to hold on to it or push it away.

It’s not important if a thought is true or false; positive or negative; right or wrong.

One of the things we do want to learn is how to recognise when a thought is helpful, and when it isn’t.

The question here is; ‘If you let this thought and/or feeling guide your behaviour, will it help you achieve what you want to achieve, to do the things you want to do; to be the person you want to be?’

So ... just listen ... what is your mind telling you right now?

Gunghalin United FC - A Club Heading In the Right Direction - Part 1

This progam was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Austrakian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday 16 August 2011 at 7:00PM.

In tonights program we have the first of the NPL Club series. We speak at length to the Pres and VP of Gungahlin United FC. Gungahlin United is a club that services all its football constituency, they are in an area of massive growth in the ACT region and it would be no surprise, therefore to hear that managing growth is their top priority. They don’t get much support beyond their CLub, in their service to football, but they do have to find the money to pay some pretty big bills – how does about $60k for hire of playing fields for training and games grab you? Its all hard work, but they are fortunate to have good club officials, committee, volunteers (never enough of course) and a legion of players who are doing good things.

This is community Football at its best and we have a lot of good community based Clubs in the ACT and so much of it is devoted to junior / youth Football. This is the peak body's strategic target group for technical development and structural development and assistance by Capital Football. Without Clubs healthy and well supported the game is shackled, no matter how many curriculum you produce, coaches you train or promises are made for a brighter future for the Socceross or Matildas - without good playing surfaces for all age groups, you can't play good football. Ask the Clubs!

Gunghalin United FC needs all the help it can get - they sit in a strategically important growth area within the ACT and we want those children and families rusted on to Football, not AFL!

Sit back with a restorative medicinal and listen in on this very informative fire-side chat with      the President and Vice President of GUFC. This is part 1 of the interview, part 2 will be available on the Blogspot in podcast later this week.

Download Podcast here:

Matildas Coach Talks About Football In Different Places and Social Media!

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday, 08 August 2011 at 7:00PM.

In this program we hear from Tom Sermani, Matildas Coach about the characteristics of the key Womens Football zones around the world. In particular, the differences associated with preparing the Matildas for games in the World Cup and Asian Cup. These differences cannot be ignored and constitute a strong influence over how the Matildas are required to prepare and play to win. It's serious business at the Matildas, you can't sit still and the team must be adjusted to meet the differing requirements of competition.

Tom Sermani gives us his thoughts on the introduciton of "Social Media" communication 'Twitter" to the conduct of the Matilda's campaign in the World Cup. It was sensational. Another first for the Matildas! Now some of our Junior and Senior Clubs are already into the use of Social Media.

Included in this program are excerpts from Ricky Tomlinson's terrific book of Football stories - "Football My Arse"! A must read or listen. Just the tonic when your team takes a nose dive over the weekend. And what does the Fire Chief say on the phone to the Club Manager after advising the distressing news that the Clubhouse is on fire? The answer it too real not to be Football! Tom;ins is the actor who played "Mike Bassett" Manager of the England team - art imitates life!

This quote is pure "Mike Bassett":

"I know what's around the corner;

I just don't know where the corner is!"

Kevin Keegan

ex England Manager

Download Podcast here: