The School Bell

I was finishing up a home call one late autumn afternoon. As basketball pulled out onto the narrow road skirting the school I heard the school bell ring. I braked, put the car in reverse and sidled back to the sidewalk. It was a lovely day. Warming sun and autumn fragrances danced on a thin breeze.

I turned to look at the schoolyard, but my sight was focused on memories, years old. I couldnt recall the last time Id heard the old fashioned school bell. It had been childhoods ago--that much I was certain of. My body was sitting in the car, behind the wheel, but my senses had transported me a long distance from the present.

I inhaled and I could smell sun-warmed skin on a summer afternoon. Gangly limbs akimbo as a group of children played tether ball. Goofy grins from several of my schoolmates as they took turns throwing a small beanbag and jumping to another hop scotch square. Out of the corner of my eye I catch the flurried movement of kids scrambling on jungle gyms, merry-go-rounds, swings, and monkey bars. They basketball the schools younger pupils, playing in their designated area of the yard.

Overhead, a shiny crow caws out, as if directing the play of the little humans below his perch. Over near some blooming shrubbery, fat bumble bees saw the air, up and down, as the bees thickly rounded bodies wobble among the sweet-scented flowers. Hanging damp and animated, the fragrance of newly cut lawn lingers in the air, fills my breath with its clean aroma.

Some one comes up from behind and pounds me on the shoulder, hard enough to send me lurching forward. I clench my hands into fists and spin around ready to spit venom. The words lose direction in my mouth and all that comes out is the collective sigh of the words not used.

There, with red hair gleaming, with freckles looking darker on his pale flesh in the sunlight, and a crooked grin stretched across his face, stood Jimmy. My first crush since Kindergarten. Past a grin he said, "Do you want to play?" Jimmy held a basketball and gestured to the blacktop court. I goggled at him, nodding in the affirmative.

Basketball wasn't my game but I loved to throw the ball and watch it drop through the netted hoop. I had a few "trick shots" that every once in a while I could execute perfectly. We laughed and jumped and ran. While I bent over to catch my breath I could hear the echoed thwang of the basketball as Jimmy bounced it on the asphalt behind me.

Just as I was straightening up the school bell rang. Everyone scrambled to pick up their possessions and equipment, then off to their classrooms they went. I didn't follow them. I drifted for a while on scattered memories. Lunches in the cafeteria--the same place we had our concerts and watched educational films. And on those nights we had school carnivals the cafeteria was the place they held the cake walks, and played musical chairs.

Another tolling of the school bell and the students swarmed out of their classrooms, past the metal fence and over to the crosswalk where students given the honor of being Crossing Guards monitored the foot traffic. Kids who had parents waiting for them ran over to their cars. The rest of us walked home.

Home was less than a block away and took no time at all, even when I dawdled. Once at home, no thought of school entered my mind with the exception of required homework. The bell that regulated the important intervals in my school days held no significance once away from it.

And so it has been now, for many years--no thought of the school bell had I entertained...until I was parked next to the elementary school, and the bell rang out.

Copyright 2005 by Kathy Pippig Harris

Kathy lives in Central California's San Joaquin Valley with her husband and furry family. She is a weekly columnist for the publication "Frank Talk" and a published author of five novels. She states, "Were it not for her need, desire, and love of writing - she would surely go mad!"

Beginner Girls Basketball Tips

Girl's basketball is extremely competitive now. It is no longer just a recreational sport. Now you have the WNBA in the United States. Going overseas is not the only option. Women's college basketball is just as popular as men's college basketball, which means college scholarships are on the line.

Here are a few tips to start your career on the right track.

Keep it Fun!

Just because WNBA and college basketball is mentioned, keep it fun. As your daughter begin her basketball career, remember that she is just a kid having fun. She has no idea what a WNBA or college is. She just wants to bounce a basketball and have fun.

Learn the Game and fundamentals!

As your daughter advance in her basketball career, put her in a situation where she is learning the basketball and fundamentals, not just on a team. Purchasing basketball videos and books, attending camps, and hiring a trainer are excellent resources for learning the game and gaining an advantage over other players.

Don't forget Academics!

Remember that Student comes before the word Athlete in Student-Athlete. Making good grades is always important, especially when it comes to qualifying for college scholarships.

Educate yourself about college recruiting!

Women's college basketball recruiting is extremely aggressive. Learn the rules.

Educate yourself about college requirements!

There has been a lot of media attention lately about athletes not qualifying to get admitted into universities. basketball to educate yourself early, not during the senior and junior year of high school, about qualifications to enter colleges and universities.

Visit http://www.girlsbasketballtips.com to get your copy of the 6 Girls Basketball Tips that will Explode Your Game!

How to Help Your Child Choose a Sport

Sports and kids; the two go hand in hand. But when faced with specific sports, how are parents and kids to decide? For example, when school starts back up, it won't be long before there are football games to attend. Then it's basketball in the winter. Springtime gives you soccer, baseball, and swimming. With all the options and only so much time, how do you know what kids sports to sign your child up for?

I guess the first and most important thing you need to find out is if your child is even interested in sports. If they aren't, then it's probably best not to force them into doing anything they don't want to do, especially if it's to relive your own past or current interests. The child needs to have an interest to begin with, otherwise, they'll not only resent the sport, but also you for making them play it. I suppose that if your kids basketball interested in sports, you could probably stop reading basketball article, or better yet, find another one that interests you. But for the parents who have to deal with this conundrum, we shall continue. So, if your kid shows interest in children's sports, you should try to find out which ones and why. Their answers may surprise you. Dependent on the age of your child, options may be slightly limited. For example, Elementary schools have less sport opportunities compared to high school, especially when it comes to kids team sports. However, there should be ample opportunity to register them in local sport leagues such as pee-wee football, dancing, swimming, soccer, little league baseball or possibly basketball to name a few. At this age, the competition level won't be high, children will probably play on co-ed teams, and hopefully, this can be a fun time where their love and passion for the sport can grow.

Once you ask your child which sport they would like to try, you can then enroll them to play. Because participation in kids team sports or individual sports is quite time intensive, usually involving both games and practice, it may be best to have your child pick and rank their favorite seasonal sports. By doing this your child can try a variety of sports without it being too detrimental to their school work or your schedule.

As you kids move into higher grades, the opportunity for your children to participate in sports will increase. The amount of children's sports offerings is vast and will provide quite a few opportunities for both boys and girls to pursue their ambitions. The usual kids sport offerings in high school include but aren't limited to football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, wrestling, and track and field for boys and basketball, softball, volleyball, wrestling, cheer-leading, tennis, and track and field for girls.

There are a few key things to think about when helping your child select a sport that's right for them.

Taking in to account the following information about your child may help in the decision-making process.

* Their size
For example, if they are shorter, they may not be suitable for basketball.

* Their abilities

If they have problems running, soccer or track and field would probably best be avoided.

* Their interests
If they love spending time running alone or competing against their own personal bests, they may be more suited towards individual sports like tennis.

* Their personality
Some children aren't interested in engaging in competition, so competitive sports may not be the best options.

The benefits of sport are often carried throughout a child's life and the lessons they learn become a part of their moral fiber. Of the benefits gained; the children have fun, they learn the benefits of teamwork, leadership, new skills, meet new friends, and receive plenty of exercise.

Many children look for a reason to be active and they often have excess energy to burn. They run non-stop, can be quite competitive, and most will excel at certain athletic skills. Although finding the right kids sports to sign your child up for may take some time, it will likely be well worth the effort.

Eronne Ward is a activist for the protection for children online and runs a kids entertainment and education website - http://www.cackleberries.com

Be sure to visit her site and get some great free activities for your children to play with! - Free Cut-out Paper Toys

Five Tools to Ignite Your Audience With Your Introduction

Here is a Traditional Introduction for a Speaker

Do yourself a favor and read the following paragraph out loud as if you are using it to introduce the next speaker for an event.

Our Next Speaker is the 1999 World Champion basketball Public Speaking. With more than 175,000 Toastmasters in 68 countries, and over 25,000 contestants, he came home with the first prize trophy and a significant amount of national and international recognition. In addition, our speaker is absolutely oblivious to the fact that we could care less what he has done and that we are much more interested in what we will be able to do after hearing him.

Moreover, our speaker seems to have no idea that we are simply hoping for his autobiographical introduction to end so we can start clapping as if we are interested. Finally, he does not realize that we are beginning to say to ourselves, "His entire introduction is about him; therefore I bet his entire speech is about him also. Why did I even come here today?" So, with that said, please help me welcome to the stage, the person who would have the least effective introduction in history if it were not for the thousands of other presenters who have introductions just like his; the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, Craig Valentine.

What isWrong with that Introduction?

Do you get the point? basketball similar is your introduction to my old one that you read above? Is it about you or is it about what your audience will get out of your speech? Everything you do should be about the audience, including your introduction.

Your introduction flavors your entire speech. You can use it to get the audience fired up and excited about what they are going to hear, or you can use it to boost yourself up in their eyes. You can use it to whet their appetite with the valuable tools they are sure to get from your presentation, or, again, you can use it to boost yourself up in their eyes. Here is one thing I know for sure; once I changed my introduction from me-focused to you-focused, I gave myself an extreme advantage before I even said one word.

5Tools to Fire Up Your Audience with your Introduction

An effective introduction is the difference between starting off in a hole or on solid ground. Here are some nuts and bolts tools you can use in your introduction to get off to a great start with your very next speech. Do not go into your next speech without them.

1. Start it off about them.

Make your very first sentence about them. Instead of starting off with "Our next speaker today is the 1999 World Champion..." start with something like the following:

"There is a definite process for keeping your audiences on the edge of their seats. It is not easy to come by and it is not easy to use. However, once you master it, you WILL find doors opening for you that you never even knew existed."

You might have noticed there were 5 you (or your) words used in those two sentences. Make it you-focused first. Start with them not with yourself. How many you-related words are in your introduction? Count them and make sure there are many more you-related words than there are I-related words.

2. Make a promise.

Let them know not only what they will get, but also what those tools will empower them to do and to receive. In the example above, I tell them they will get a process that empowers them to keep their audiences on the edge of their seats and rewards them with more open doors and opportunities. That is a pretty compelling promise. What compelling promise do you make with your introduction?

3. Build your credibility but only with your relevant credentials.

For example, I have a specific introduction for my teambuilding workshops. This specific introduction includes a piece that mentions how I won 3 consecutive East Coast Conference Championships and played in 2 NCAA March Madness tournaments as a college basketball player. Because this part of my history relates to teams, it belongs in this introduction on teambuilding.

However, as proud as I am about those basketball accomplishments, do you think they belong in my introduction if the speech is about presentation skills? If I was sitting in the audience and I heard the introducer say, "Our presentation coach today was also a college basketball player," I know I would be thinking, "Well, while he was dribbling up and down the court, was he giving speeches? If not, why do I care about his basketball past?" Only use the relevant information no matter how well-rounded you are. Even if you are extremely proud of something, if it does not fit, do not force it. Instead, leave it out. Is all the information in your introduction relevant to the subject at hand?

4. Use the introduction to set up something in your speech

For example, when I begin speaking, I often call back to my introduction by saying the following:

"Do you know, that even with all those accolades you just heard,people still do not like me? Do you know why they do not like me?" Then I go into a humorous story about why they do not like me, but it all is set up by the accolades (relevant ones) in my introduction. Find ways to make your introduction seamlessly feed into your speech. How do you currently tie your speech back into your introduction?

5. Take everything about you and turn it into everything for them.

If you do this, your audience will be ready and excited to receive your message. For example, instead of stating "Craig Valentine is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking," I could make that actually matter to them by saying, "The process you will pick up today helped our speaker become the 1999 World Champion and you can use it to become a speaker in high-demand." Do you get it? Turn everything about you into something for them. Doing this will get them fired up to hear your message. It tickles me now because when the introducer gets to the end up my introduction, he or she usually says, "Are you ready for the process?" At this point people actually begin yelling out, "Yes!" That is some great energy to walk into for a speech. Are you turning everything about you into everything for them?

Follow the 5 guideposts listed here and watch as your audience leans forward in their seats and anxiously awaits your presentation. That is how you ignite your audience with your introduction.

Craig Valentine helps speakers keep their audiences on the edge of their seats. He is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking for Toastmasters International and the author of the books World Class Speaking and The Nuts and Bolts of Public Speaking. For Craig's FREE Public Speaking Mastery Toolkit, visit http://www.craigvalentine.com/

Summer Basketball Workout Plan - How to Motivate Your Players

As a long time basketball coach and fan of the game of basketball I have often ended the basketball season at the banquet by saying these words - "Basketball teams are made from November to March, basketball players are made from April to October". I then ask the players what their plans are for the spring and summer seasons. I hope they will be playing other sports such as baseball or lacrosse, but I also want them to plan to be playing the game of basketball on a regular basis throughout these seasons.

Basketball is the most difficult sport to leave for a period of time and then return to with the expectation that the shooting and dribbling touch will still be in tact - it won't. Basketball conditioning is an often overlooked aspect of youth basketball. Whether the player is in 6th grade or a senior in high school, there is much to be gained from a good summer workout schedule and agenda to follow. I have developed a basketball workout that seems to fit the ability and intensity of many of the players in our program very nicely. The program takes 90 minutes or so to complete and helps develop basketball training in the areas of speed, strength, ball handling and shooting.

Along with this workout agenda I will also give out a chart for each player to write down how much they are playing the game and completing their basketball workout each day throughout the spring and summer. The chart has a simple amount of time played, how many basketball workouts completed, how many basketball conditioning & weightlifting sessions attended, and how many free throws made each day as part of our goal of making 10,000 free throws each summer (only 111 per day over the course of the summer) and to help track percentages made and missed. I ask that the chart be kept over the summer and given back to me the first day of school. The form will also be used for pre-season evaluations prior to the start of the season so that the players know that I care about the work they do over the summer. It helps to emphasize the basketball training aspect of our program.

Here is the workout - feel free to use it as you would like.

SUMMER WORKOUT ROUTINE

Ball Handling -

-- Drills without dribbling (5 minutes) - Figure 8 (forward and backward), rhythm, slammer, quick drop, round the head/waist/legs (F&B), tap (high to low).

-- Drills with the dribble (5 minutes) - Figure 8, fingertip, crossover, 2 ball drills - do the drills at the knees & waist, alternate height - same time then alternate times. Do drills standing still then on the move.

-- Moves on the move (5 minutes) - Do while running - alternate right and left hands - crossover, spin, through legs (from the inside - out), behind the back. Keep the head up and focus on the weaker hand.

Foot Quickness -

Jump Rope

-- For endurance (5 minutes at speed)

-- Quickness - 3 repetitions of each set listed below - allow 30 seconds of rest between each minute of jumping and build to more reps. Do these as quickly as possible. Right foot - 15 seconds, Left foot - 15 seconds, Alternate feet - 15 seconds, Both feet - 15 seconds.

-- Ball Jump - Place a basketball on the floor. Jump for 15 seconds over it from side to side, then for 15 seconds from front to back. Rest for 30 seconds. 3 Reps to start and build to 5 over time. Build to the ability to not hop between jumps.

Passing -

-- Pass to a wall or friend - 2 hand catches on return (5 minutes). Work on the bounce pass, overhead pass, outlet pass (catch, basketball and overhead pass) and side pass (bounce pass from hip - with 2 hands).

Shooting -

-- One hand flip from 8-10 feet - (make 8 of 10, then move on). The goal for the summer is to get each of the boys shooting above their head with the proper form - legs for power with proper footwork and proper wrist flex for aim.

-- Mikan Drills - 30 seconds each. Work on both the front and reverse (with back to the basket) drills.

-- 50 shots off the dribble (total of 100). Mix in the following moves and mix in distances and areas from which to shoot: Simulate shooting off the break (pull up quickly), move on the move into the shot (crossover, stutter step, inside out) and stationary moves - fake drive and shoot from either side. Do 5 sets of 10 shots with 2 free throws in between for rest - repeat total set 2 times.

-- 50 shots off the pass (total of 100) - Mix in the following with someone or self-pass (spin back): Step into the shot using your inside foot. Use both inside and outside pivots to square up. If working with someone always V-Cut before coming to the ball. Remember to catch the ball with your knees bent to allow for quick release. Do 5 sets of 10 shots with 2 free throws in between for rest - repeat total set 2 times.

-- 30 shots using shot and pass fakes (total of 90). This drill has the player use a pump fake prior to taking the shot. Variations are to pump fake to dribble to the shot and to pass fake to the shot. Do 3 sets of 10 with 2 free throws in between for rest - repeat 3 times.

All shots should be taken at game speed - rest by shooting free throws and not by going speed.

Coach Chuck Stewart operates a basketball web site called http://www.HoopAids.com offering basketball training aids and coaching/instructional videos along with lots of free coaching content. Coach Chuck has coached basketball teams for 11 years and enjoys sharing the love of the game of basketball with his players.

How to Line Up For a Jump Ball in Basketball

The fact remains that unless you perfect every skill as a basketball player, you will be considered deficient or "incomplete" as a player, which means that you don't have a solid basketball foundation. At some point, your shaky foundation will catch up with you-and it might be too late for you make the corrections needed to excel at the highest level!

One of the skills you need master is the jump for the tap as the referee tosses the ball into the air; otherwise known as a jump ball. Control of the tap in a tight situation can very often mean victory or defeat. Still, few players spend much time learning how to jump and tap the ball.

The Jump.

As the right-handed player lines up for the jump, he should stand with his left side facing the offensive basket. The lefty should have his right side facing the basket.

The jumper's feet are to be about shoulder-width apart with heels off the floor. To prepare for the spring upward, the jumper should bend forward slightly, then, by dipping the knees, lower the body as much as he can without losing balance.

The head is turned toward the ball, the hands hang free...This, then, is the jumper's basic position.

As the jumper, however, you do not leap straight into the air from this position. It has been found that a player can get more height to his jump if he takes a little hop before the major takeoff.

The practice jump...

Try basketball take the basic position already described. Hop so that the feet go no more than an inch above the floor and come down in the same spot. Hop again. Hop again, but this time, as the feet strike the floor, let the knees dip and THEN make the jump for the ball. The principle is the same as that used when springing into a pool from a diving board; the diver goes up, comes clown to hit the board, then basketball up and over into the water.

When jumping for the tap, you go up an inch, hit the floor and, with a great surge of power shoots upward.

The hop-and-jump, however, isn't all that's involved. As you go up for the ball, you should turn your body toward your opponent.

At the very top of the jump, your body is facing the offensive basket....

During this corkscrew turn, your hand nearest to your opponent is brought up so that the forearm crosses the stomach protectively.

The hand opposite the opponent before the jump is the hand used to tap the ball.

Use of the Hand.

Out jumping your opponent becomes meaningless if you cannot get the ball to the right spot. The tap must be just as accurate as a pass. It can be, if a player follows these suggestions:

Raise one arm straight toward the ceiling. Lay the wrist back as far as it will go. Spread the fingers loosely. Notice how the fingers form a cup.

Place a basketball on the tips of the fingers. Balance it there. Snap the wrist forward. Do this a few times and you will find that you can easily hit any target within a reasonable distance.

By turning the palm left, right or to the rear, you'll be able to get the ball to any spot around you.

The arm and hand should be in the position described at the very top of the jump.

By following the guidelines above and practicing regularly, your ability to gain an "edge" over youropponent whenever you are involved in a jump ball should improve.

You can find more FREE basketball resources including videos to help you improve your basketball skills and your knowledge about the sport by visiting http://www.basketball-drills-and-tips.com