Posts Tagged ‘Olympics’

Maintaining Focus in a multi-competition event

Monday, July 5th, 2010

While all the fans were out partying during the FIFA Soccer World Cup, the teams had to stay focused for their next game .  One of the hardest parts of a multi-competition event is the challenge of staying mentally and physically sharp and focused.  Here are five tips to help your child stay focused the next time he has multiple games or races on his schedule.

Five Tips To Help Your Child Stay Focused.

Keep The Celebrating Brief 

You and your child can be thrilled with each win of the event, but the ultimate goal isn’t accomplished until the final match has been played.  It’s important to acknowledge the success and use it as positive momentum for the next game, but don’t dwell on it and become lackadaisical.  In the midst of celebrating it is easy to cut a cool down short or forget to re-hydrate; these mistakes could be costly during the next competition.

Get Healthy

If your child has a nagging injury or soreness from his previous competition he needs to address it immediately after the competition.  Whether it be taping his ankle, seeing his chiropractor, getting a massage, stretching or icing down his sore muscles, he needs to address his physical condition promptly. 

  • He won’t always feel one hundred percent for his next game; he’ll likely feel some fatigue from his previous competitions, but staying on top of his physical condition will help him feel as  close to it as possible.

 Asses His Next Opponent

  • The first thing your child needs to do after a victory in a tournament is get mentally ready for what comes next. He needs to know when his next competition is and who he is competing against. 

This is the time for him, his team and coach to asses the new opponent and learn his or her strengths and weaknesses.  Not every opponent is the same and your child may need to change his strategy for the new opponent.

Keep A Routine

Throughout your child’s competitions you want to encourage him to be a little self absorbed.  While he should enjoy the friends and family who are there to support him, it isn’t the time for him to be accommodating everyone else’s schedule. 

  • He needs to get plenty of rest; that means going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting naps if at all possible.
  • He should eat familiar and healthy meals; during a tournament isn’t the time for him to try Thai for the first time or to be eating a lot of greasy fast food.
  • Your child shouldn’t feel obligated to play host to his family and friends.  He need to be at his practices and team meetings prepared and on time.

Enjoy The Festivities With Care

Some Competitions may be a once in a life time opportunity and I encourage your child to enjoy it as long as it doesn’t interfere with or sacrifice his preparation for his next competition.

At the 2000 Olympic Games I was strongly discouraged from participating in the Opening Ceremonies because I competed just two days later.  I knew another athlete who had been discouraged from participating in the 1996 Opening Ceremonies.  He had figured he’d just do it at his next Olympics, but he didn’t make the team four years later.  He never got a chance to experience Opening Ceremonies and he really regretted it.  So, in 2000, despite intense pressure not to, I decided to go.  I took some precautions to make sure the experience wasn’t too taxing; I sat down as much as possible, even on the field during the ceremony, I ditched the official shoes high heals and wore comfy tennis shoes instead, I made sure I stayed hydrated and I went to bed immediately following the ceremonies.  Opening Ceremonies was a phenomenal experience and I have no regrets in my decision, and in case your wondering, I had a personal best two days later.  I was so pumped up from the Ceremonies that it helped motivate and focus me.

  • Your child is there to compete, and win, and that should be his main priority, but despite what some people say, sometimes there is a lot more to a competition than just winning!

These five tips will help your child stay focused on the ultimate goal.  .

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Posted in Focus, Peak Performance, Uncategorized, competition, motivation | 1 Comment »

Sacrificing To Accomplish A Goal

Monday, April 12th, 2010

 Thanks for checking back this week.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter; I enjoyed my time with my family.

Try This At Home

Tie one end of a long rope to something and place a basket or box near where it is tied.  Stretch the rope out and lay it on the ground.  Alongside the rope, set up distractions: your child’s favorite treat, a game she likes to play, a cell phone, etc.  Have her hold the lose end of the rope and a ball.  Her objective is, in less than a minute, to make her way to the basket by moving along the rope, hand over hand, and then drop the ball into the basket.  She must keep at least one hand on the rope at all times and can not drop the ball.  She may have to tuck the ball under her arm.  As she works her way along the rope point out the distractions you’ve set out.  Explain that she doesn’t have time to stop and enjoy them if she wants to reach her objective and accomplish her goal; sometimes she will need to make sacrifices in order to get the job done.

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Making sacrifices is part of life.  We all make choices about what is most important to us and set priorities.  There is only so much time in a day and our resources are limited.  My posts on setting goals and priorities are important building blocks for one. As I say in those posts, it’s important for you to help your child set goals and prioritize the activities in her life. Once your child has a goal, she will most likely need to make sacrifices in order to accomplish it.  She may have to sacrifice certain foods, her time with friends or her participation in other activities.  Explain to her that sacrifices usually aren’t easy, pleasant or comfortable, but are worthwhile if she values the goal enough.

I started training quite seriously for cycling at a pretty young age and quickly learned about the need to make sacrifices.  I chose to quit swim team in order to have more time for cycling, not to take a month long summer school trip to different historic locations around the United States, and ultimately chose to graduate a year early so I could focus more on my cycling.  Throughout my career I sacrificed physically, emotionally and financially in order to accomplish my goal of making an Olympic team.  What is worth sacrificing is a very personal decision, and sometimes it changes as you go.  Sit down with your child and ask her what sacrifices she thinks she needs to make in order to accomplish her goals.  Next, ask her if she is willing to make them.

For more information about me or my children’s books, please visit www.erinmirabella.com.

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Posted in Goal Setting, Prioritization, Sacrifices | 2 Comments »

Someone Is Always Watching

Monday, March 1st, 2010

This At Home……….

Without asking for specifics, as your child to think about a time when they did something that they regretted doing in public.  Have them imagine how much worse it would have been, if it were broadcast for the whole world to see.  If he wants to share the details that’s fine, but respect his privacy. Ask him how his actions affected him and how he thinks they may have affected others. (Family, friends, coach, etc.)

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Even if you’re not famous, someone is always watching.  You never know how your actions, good or bad, will affect those around you.  It could be as simple as your child watching how you react to a driver who cuts you off in traffic, or a stranger watching you help another stranger.  Help your child understand that their actions have consequences and that one moment of carelessness, in some cases, can have huge repercussions. 

With today’s technology, even for the “unknown,’ there really aren’t any private moments in public places.  Help your child understand the these days everyone has a camera, because everyone has a cell phone. His behavior, good or bad, is literally just a keystroke away from being in cyber space for everyone to see. If you are famous, or at least temporarily in the spotlight, it is even more crucial for you to think before you act. 

I was planning to write about seizing the moment, but I just saw a story on Geraldo At Large, on Fox, about all of the athletes gone wild at the Olympic Village, and felt compelled to blog about it.

Every Olympics there is a news story about all of the condoms shipped to the Olympic Village and a story about some athlete who gets a little too out of control. 

This Olympics the spot light is on the American snowboarder, Scotty Lago.  After winning the bronze medal, he went out to celebrate in Vancouver.  Someone shot a picture of him behaving questionably, and after its release on the internet, he volunteered to leave the Olympic Village, presumably with some pressure from the United States Olympic Committee.

The hot topic seems to be whether or not the Olympic Committee overreacted, but I prefer to focus on the lesson.  However, I do feel compelled to say this, when at the Olympics, athletes are representing more than themselves.  It’s natural for athletes to want to blow off steam after four years of preparation, and the huge let down that comes when all the pressure is off after competition.  However, athletes need to remember that while they are at competitions, they represent more than just themselves. They represent their families, sponsors and their country.  So, regardless of whether or not you think what Scotty did is worthy of getting booted from the Olympic Village, you have to take into account how it reflects on the other parties involved.  We know how the Olympic Committee reacted, but I can only imagine how his sponsors and family felt.   For some celebrities, even bad press is a good thing. For others, like Olympians and Tiger Woods, whose image is built on being wholesome and squeaky clean, it has the potential to be damaging.  (I say potential, because sometimes the public is surprisingly forgiving.)

Remind your child that besides having to deal with the consequences of his actions, he also potentially affects others around him, including  family, friends, team and school.  There is nothing wrong with having some fun, but there is also nothing wrong with keeping it under control and acting responsibly.

For younger children, my book, Shawn Sheep The Soccer Star, is a great way to start a discussion about how a person’s, “or sheep’s” behavior can affect those around him.  Please visit www.erinmirabella.com for more information about my children’s books.

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Posted in Role Models, Sportsmanship, values and morals | 3 Comments »

Taper- Resting Before A Competition For Peak Performance.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Try This At Home………………………

Have your child hold her hands straight out to the side at shoulder height, like an airplane, for 30 seconds.  Depending on her age and ability you may need to make some adjustments by either decreasing or increasing the time or having her hold a water bottle in each hand for extra weight.  You want her to feel a little fatigue at the end of the 30 seconds, but most importantly, be successful in completing the task.  Afterward, tell her that this exercise is meant to show her what she can accomplish when she has allowed her body to rest before a performance.   

Next, have her hold her arms out first for 15 seconds, then 20 seconds and finally 25 seconds with a minute rest in-between.  After another minute or two of rest, have her hold her arms out for 30 seconds again, like she did in the first exercise.  Have her compare how she felt during the first 30 second exercise to the second time she did it.  Explain to her that  not allowing her body to rest and recover before a big competition can cause a less than optimal performance, just as it did in the second exercise. 

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Resting before a big competition or game is generally called a taper.  It is an extremely important part of achieving peak performance.  A complete taper is only done before the most important competitions.  A mini taper can be done before other competitions, but for some competitions your child may choose not to taper at all.  Your child needs to know what her ultimate goal is and understand that in order to be as prepared as possible, she may need to sacrifice by training through less important competitions.  In order to improve, she needs to increase her work load and intensity; if she is always tapering for relatively unimportant events, she won’t maximize her gains.

I found that racing unimportant races in a tired state was a great way to raise my game.  I am extremely competitive, so I always pushed myself harder in a race than I ever could train by myself, even when I was exhausted.

A mini taper generally ranges from a few days to a week.  During my career, my main goal each year was either the World Championships or the Olympics.  Therefore, before World Cups and important National selection races I only did a mini taper.  All of the coaches I worked with during my cycling career worked backward from my competition when they developed my taper. 

  • The day before my competition I did what we called,”openers”.  Openers were about half of a normal workout and focused on the heart rate zones and intensity I’d be using most in my race.  The purpose was to wake my body up and make sure it was ready to work hard again after several days of rest. 
  • Two days before my race I would go for an easy hour ride. 
  • Three days before my competition I would generally do an easy hour ride as well, but sometimes I would take completely off. 
  • Four and five days out I’d do a normal workout, but I would control myself and wouldn’t over do it.  If I did a second workout either day, it consisted of an easy half hour to hour ride.
  • Six days out I’d generally ride for an easy hour or two. 

A big taper can begin anywhere from a week to two weeks out from the competition. It follows the same structure as a mini taper, but is less dramatic further  from the competition.  In my regular training I generally trained three to four days in a row before taking an easy day.  Often I did two workouts a day.  For a big taper, two weeks out I’d decrease to one intense workout a day, and if there was a second workout it would just be an easy ride.  I’d also decrease the number of intense days between rest days, so instead of going three days before a rest day, I’d do two days or sometimes even one.

It is easy to think that more is better and that last minute cramming will pay off, but in general you child is better off going into her competition rested. That is a true statement for sports as well as other activities and academics.

Every athlete and every sport is different, but the principle is the same; peak performances come from rested athletes.  Decreasing her work load is the most import part of a taper, but making sure she is getting proper sleep and nutrition is also important.  She should know, that just because she has a rest day doesn’t mean she can go play Ultimate Frisbee with her friends, or spend hours on her feet shopping.  She truly needs to rest if she wants to perform at her best.  

For more information on myself or my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com

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Posted in Peak Performance, Pre-competition routine | 1 Comment »

Curing cockiness

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Try This At Home……………..

Cut decent size holes in the top of two identical, empty boxes.  (Tissue boxes would work well.) Leave the first box as is, and on the second, tape plastic wrap over the hole from the inside.  Have your child sit with the first box about an arms length in front of him.  Have him close his eyes.  When you say go, he should open his eyes and drop a ball into the box as fast as he can.  Make sure it’s something he can easily do.  Each time he gets a ball into the box he gets a skittle, or some other kind of treat. (Don’t let him eat it yet.) After he’s done it successfully 3 times, raise the stakes. Tell him that you are going to make it more exciting.  This time he has a choice.  Before he drops the ball again, he can chose to receive one skittle as before or go for all or nothing.  Make sure that if he chooses the later, he understands that if he misses getting the ball into the hole he loses all of his skittles, and if he makes it you’ll double his total number of skittles.  Most kids will chose to take the gamble, but if not that is ok.  You can still finish the game. After he closes his eyes, switch the boxes out.  When you say go, he will open his eyes and drop the ball in as before, but the plastic wrap will prevent the ball from falling in.  If he took the gamble take all of his skittles away and tell him that this exercise showed the potential danger of being over confident.  Explain that there is a fine line between having a healthy self-confidence and being cocky, and that the game was designed to show him what can happen if he’s too confident in his abilities.  If he took the gamble, ask him what he was thinking when he decided to go for all or nothing.  Address his answer and if he needs help articulating it, suggest the following as the reason. Maybe he was having a lot of success dropping the ball into the box and thought that the gamble was a sure thing.  Explain that at some point in life he will find that he is really good at something and he may start to feel that he can’t lose, just like he felt after successfully dropping the ball in the hole three times. Explain that failure often happens when one starts to be too confident in his own abilities. Oftentimes cockiness leads to carelessness or causes him to underestimate a task or opponent.  Explain that the last time he played the game, when the ball didn’t fall in the hole, was a simulation of that failure.  Then, since you tricked him, let him enjoy his skittles.

If he didn’t take the gamble, then he only missed out on one skittle, but you can still explain the games lesson to him as above.

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Take the opportunity to discuss the following definitions with your child

Dictionary.com defines the following:

Humble:  not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

Self confident: realistic confidence in one’s own judgment, ability, power, etc.

Cocky: arrogant; pertly self-assertive; conceited: He walked in with a cocky air.

Having a realistic expectation and positive outlook of your abilities is a good thing.  Being confident in your abilities can make you very successful.  Everyone loves the successful, yet humble victor.  No one, on the other hand, is very fond of the cocky, obnoxious one. 
 
As I said, there is a very fine and sometimes gray line between a healthy self-confidence and over-confidence.

I like to think of it like this.  Self-confidence is just that, for self.  Understanding and being confident in your abilities will allow you to perform at your very best and accomplish peak performances in whatever you are doing.  To me, self-confidence has nothing to do with anyone else.  It shouldn’t mean you think your better than others, it should just be a realistic measure of what you are capable of. 

Here’s something that may help your child put things in perspective. In the end, no one really cares besides him and the people who love him. Ask him who won their specific event last year? Ask him who won it in the Olympics 8 years ago, or equivalent event? There is a good chance that he doesn’t know. People may remember successes for a short time, but in the end they forget, and the only one who still remembers is the actual winner.
 
Being over confident means you have lost sight of reality and have an inflated opinion of yourself.  It’s when you have started to think you are better than other’s because of your success.  One thing I’ve learned is that no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better.  You just may not have met them yet.  You will get beat; it’s just a matter of time.  From my experience, the cockier someone is, the harder they fall. 

If your child is struggling with too much confidence/cockiness, the best medicine is losing.  If your child is in a league that is way below his level and his success is starting to go to his head, then maybe it’s time to move him up to the next level.  Winning is a good thing and a great self-confidence booster, but as I’ve said in previous blogs, no one learns nearly as much from winning as they do from losing.  Ironically, the way to make your child better, is for them to occasionally lose.  It keeps their ego in check and helps them raise their game.

Here are some other things to think about.

Do you want your child to receive a trophy regardless of whether on not they win or lose?

Do you gush over everything your child does, even if it isn’t worthy of it?

Are you setting a good example when it comes to being humble?  Are the coaches?

Is your child’s assessment of his ability realistic?  Is yours?

In an attempt to be humble, do you forget to praise your child for his accomplishments?

Having a humble spirit and heart is not an easy thing, especially following success.  While I am far from perfect at it, it is something I strive for. You will hopefully find your own solution; I find mine in my faith.  I believe that all of my talents are God given.  Therefore all of my success is God given and all I’m doing is attempting to maximize what God gave me.  I’ve found that for me, there is nothing more humbling than thinking about the sacrifice Jesus made for me on the cross and God’s grace for me when I fall on my face. 

My children’s book, Shawn Sheep The Soccer Star, is great for starting a conversation with your child about cockiness.  For more information or to purchase a book, please visit www.erinmirabella.com.

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Posted in Confidence | 3 Comments »

Teaching Honesty & Integrity vs. Winning At All Cost

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Try This At Home……

(I know the description of the game below is long, but the actual game is short, so just stay with me. It’s worth it, I promise. Your kids will really get it.)

You will need: a timer, plate, small bowl, teaspoon, 15 Cheerios, square of baker’s chocolate, three squares of baker’s chocolate and one piece of regular chocolate.

Hide the regular chocolate out of sight, and don’t let on that the baker’s chocolate doesn’t taste good.

Put fifteen Cheerios into the small bowl. Place the bowl and an empty plate in front of your child. Tell them that this is a new game and you want to play it with them. Make sure when you are explaining what to do, that you tell them, “these are the rules.” Using their fingers, they have to pick the Cheerios up out of the bowl one at a time and place them on the plate. They may hold the bowl if they like. If they can move all fifteen Cheerios in ten seconds, then they get a piece of chocolate. Show them the one square of baker’s chocolate. Have them go ahead and play. Don’t tell them this, but they will lose; it’s impossible. Afterward, tell them they did a good job and that they can do it again, but that this time, you’ll make it a little easier. Tell them, “These are the new rules.” They can now use a teaspoon to scoop the fifteen Cheerios out of the bowl and onto the plate. If they can do it in less than ten seconds, then they can have the square of chocolate. (The baker’s chocolate.) If they move the Cheerios really, really fast, in less than three seconds, then they can have the three squares of chocolate. (The baker’s chocolate.) Set the timer and just as you’re about the start say, “You know what? It’s against the rules, but if you want to just dump the bowl of Cheerios out onto the plate, I won’t tell anyone. It will definitely take less than three seconds if you do it that way.” Then set the timer and say go.

If they use the spoon and do it in less than ten seconds, swap out the one square of baker’s chocolate with the real chocolate and then go on to explain the game to them. (See below.) * If they don’t do it in ten seconds, have them try again. With a little practice they should be able too. If they are very young and still not good with a spoon allow them fifteen seconds.

If they dump the bowl onto the plate, give them the three squares of bitter chocolate, let them take a bite, and then explain the game to them. (See below.) They will obviously not like the chocolate.

Here’s what the game is about.

If they used the spoon and won the real chocolate, tell them the following: The first time they played the game using only their fingers, they didn’t accomplish their goal. Sometimes that happens in life. Instead of giving up, they had found another tool, allowed by the rules, which helped them to do the task better. Using that tool, the spoon, they were able to get the cheerios onto the plate in ten seconds and win the chocolate. In real life, as they hone their talents and practice, they will gain tools that help them reach their goals too. Since they didn’t dump the bowl, congratulate them on following the rules and not being tempted to cheat. If they haven’t already, have them eat the yummy, regular chocolate. Tell them that the chocolate is sweet, like their success when they win with honesty and integrity. (If you need to, explain what those two things are.) Next, let them taste the square of bitter chocolate. Explain that if they had chosen to bend the rules and cheat, they would still have reached their goal and won the prize, but that because they cheated to win, the victory wouldn’t have been sweet. It would have been a bitter victory, just like the baker’s chocolate. Even if they had gotten away with it, they would still know, deep down, that they hadn’t earned their prize with integrity and honesty. Tell them, that just like you did, sometimes people will encourage them to bend the rules or compromise their morals, and they need to stand their ground. It’s better to lose and play fair, than to cheat and win. After cheating, the win is always bitter.

If they dumped the bowl onto the plate, tell them the following: Let them take a bite of the baker’s chocolate. Explain that by not following the rules and dumping the bowl instead of using the spoon, they had cheated. They had reached the goal and won the prize, but because they cheated, the victory wasn’t sweet, it was bitter. Just like the baker’s chocolate. It was nothing to be proud of. Even if they had gotten away with it, they would still know, deep down, that they hadn’t earned their prize with integrity and honesty. (If you need to, explain what those two things are.) Tell them, that just like you did, sometimes people will encourage them to bend the rules or compromise their morals, and they need to stand their ground. It’s better to lose and play fair, than to cheat and win. After cheating, the win is always bitter. Then explain that the first time they played the game, with just their fingers, they hadn’t accomplished their goal. Sometimes that happens in life. Instead of giving up, they had found another tool, allowed by the rules, which helped them do the task better. Had they used that tool, the spoon, they would have been able to get the cheerios onto the plate in ten seconds and would have won the real chocolate. In real life, as they hone their talents and practice, they will gain tools that help them reach their goals too. Remind them next time, to choose to play with honesty and integrity, so that they can have a victory to be proud of; a victory as sweet as the real chocolate.

According to dictionary.com

Honesty is: noun, plural -ties.

1. the quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.

2. truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.

3. freedom from deceit or fraud.

Integrity is: noun

1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

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Back while I was still racing, I remember chatting to the guy next to me on an airplane. The topic of doping in sports came up. A few minutes into the conversation, he told me that he didn’t see what was wrong with using drugs in sport, if that is what it took to win. I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. I couldn’t believe, that even if he felt that way, he was willing to say it out loud.

He’s the first person I remember telling me that, but he certainly wasn’t the last. Over and over, I’ve heard all sorts of celebrities and regular folks talk about winning at all cost, doing whatever it takes and that the end justifies the means. I just don’t get it. Could they really hold a gold medal in their hands, acquire a new asset in business or accept a higher position and feel proud if they had cheated and compromised their morals to get it? Sadly, for some, the answer is probably yes. They obviously have justified it to themselves. For other’s, the answer is no, they wouldn’t feel proud, but that still doesn’t always stop them from accepting the prize. I just don’t get how they can look at themselves in the mirror and not blush with embarrassment.

I don’t want my children to learn that winning at all cost, is winning. I want my children to know that how they win, is just as important as winning. Winning isn’t about a medal, money, new job, or fame. Our worldly obsession with the end result has made us lose sight of what winning really represents: hard work, sweat equity, integrity, honesty, respect for ourselves and others and the amazing high and sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach the goal that you’ve worked so hard for. The rest is just a bonus.

At the 2004 Olympic Games, I raced the best points race of my life and I crossed the finish line in fourth place. I was ecstatic, and then I realized I’d just taken fourth at the Olympics. GRRRRRRRR. Some say that fourth is the worst place to take at the Olympics, but I can tell them from experience, that 13th feels much worse. I’d gone to the Olympics wanting to, win or lose, be able to say that I’d raced my best. I had accomplished that. Several days later, I found out that the bronze medallist had tested positive for a banned substance and that the bronze medal was going to be awarded to me. I was elated, but I have to admit I felt a little cheated that I hadn’t been able to participate in the awards ceremony. I ended up having a very special ceremony back in the states and had a great time being the bronze medallist. Then, fourteen months later, I got some devastating news. There had been several appeals and the Court of Arbitration of Sport had decided to overturn their decision. I had no previous knowledge of any appeal and had no clue that this was coming. The United States Olympic Committee didn’t even know about it. We were completely blindsided. I went through every range of emotion: denial, anger, embarrassment, depression, bewilderment, etc. Everyone wanted to know what I thought and what I wanted to do. The United States Olympic Committee hired an attorney for me to speak with. At first, I was praying that it was just a bad dream and that I’d wake up and it would all be over. After a day or so, I found myself paying that God would just let what ever was right happen. I decided to send the medal back and this is why. If she hadn’t cheated, then she had earned the medal and it belonged to her. I had always been proud of my fourth place performance and being awarded the bronze medal hadn’t changed that. I didn’t really see the point of fighting it anyway. Even if I got to keep the medal, it would never feel the same; it would always be tainted. I’d always wonder if it were supposed to be hanging around someone else’s neck. Mailing back that medal was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I am completely at peace with it. I know I did the right thing. There are more important things than a medal, even an Olympic one. Now as a mom, I understand that even more.

Ask your child what they would have done in my situation?

Thanks for tuning in to my blog again this week. Please keep spreading the word. For more information about me, or my children’s books, please visit my website, www.erinmirabella.com. You can now follow me on twitter and receive a reminder email every Monday about my new blog post.

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Posted in values and morals, winning and losing | 3 Comments »

Raising Patriots

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Try this at home……..

Let your child experience the feeling of representing their country through sport. Set up your own podium. You can make a podium out of the steps in your house, different size chairs, boxes or what ever is handy.  Have your child stand on the top step.  Place the American flag in front of them and play the national anthem. 

We live in a great country.  Start teaching your kids to take pride in their country and how blessed they are to live in a country that grants them the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Next visit the website below and check out some flags from other countries. http://flagspot.net/flags/country.html

You can listen to different countries national anthems on this site. http://www.nationalanthems.info/index.html

Taking it a step further……

Have your child pick out a flag they like.  Have them research the country online or at the library and find it on a map.  They can draw the flag on a sheet of paper and on the backside write down three things that they found interesting about the country.

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At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, I was walking to the stadium with the rest of the U.S. delegation, to participate in Opening Ceremonies.  It was a bit of a walk from our “holding area” to the stadium where the Ceremonies were being held. We could see the stadium up ahead and with each step I got more and more excited.   As we approached the stadium, someone started chanting U.S.A.  Soon everyone was chanting it.  We entered the stadium through a tunnel lit with fluorescent lights.  Above the entrance it read faster, higher, stronger.  (In Greek of course.)  I knew what was on the other side of the tunnel and my whole body buzzed with excitement.  The chanting got louder and louder, USA…USA…USA…USA, it echoed off the walls of the tunnel.  Suddenly the tunnel opened up into the stadium and 100,000 flash bulbs started going off.  There was so much noise.  Up in front, over the mass of heads in front of me, I could see the American Flag.  The sight of it took my breath away.   The flood of emotions in that few seconds was so strong and overwhelming that I don’t think words could do them justice.  For a fraction of a second there seemed to be silence, and I know I wasn’t the only one whose eyes welled up with tears.  In that moment, we went from being the U.S. Cycling team, U.S. Soccer Team, U.S basketball team, etc.….to being the United States Olympic Team.  For the first time, I fully understood what it meant to represent my country and the true spirit of the Olympics.  The Olympics may be one of the only place that truly brings the world together and makes the world, even if just for a moment, set everything else aside.

U.S. cyclists and I pose for a picture with the Iraqi team at the 2004 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

U.S. cyclists and I pose for a picture with the Iraqi team at the 2004 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

I feel so honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics.  I run that moment at the Opening Ceremonies over and over again in my mind, because I don’t ever want to forget it. During my ten years as a professional cyclist, I had an opportunity to travel all over the world: Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Malaysia, Germany, France, England, Denmark, Greece, Australia, etc.  No matter how amazing a country was, or even how similar it was to the United States, I found there just wasn’t any place like home. 

I know that very few people will have the opportunity to represent their country on the field of play, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a teaching opportunity at every sports event.  While our children are still very young, we as parents can start using sporting events to teach them history, geography, our national heritage, the principles our country was founded on, national pride, and the importance of being educated and involved in our political system. 

If you are from a country other than the United States, I hope you feel the same pride for your country as I do for mine.  Please use the activities mentioned in this post to teach your children about your country and everything that makes it great. 

Here are some other activities you can do:

*Look up the story behind our national anthem and our flag.

*Watch a national sport on television or live.  Find three interesting facts about the state that each team comes from and find that state on a map.

*The U.S soccer team just qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  Follow the competition and look up all of the countries that the United States competes against.  

*Watch the Olympics with your kids.  Talk about, and do some research, on the different countries competing.

*Share our constitution with your kids and discuss its significance and how it makes our country different from other countries.

*Pick out a current event related to politics or international relations and discuss it with your kids. (Keep it age appropriate and don’t scare them.)

Sports at any level teach so many important lessons about life.  Use sports to teach your kids about their great country too.  I believe that God gifted us each with very unique talents.  We are blessed to live in a country that allows us the opportunity to maximize them.  What ever your child’s talents may be, give them the tools to succeed, so they can live the American Dream!

Got other activity ideas?  Share them with other parents by posting a comment.

You can now follow me on twitter and receive a reminder every week about my new post.  Next Monday’s post is about our culture’s desire to win at all cost.

Personalized and autographed copies of Gracie Goat’s Big Bike Race or Shawn Sheep The Soccer Star are now available for purchase through PayPal at www.erinmirabella.com.  Christmas is coming; keep them in mind as a gift for the little ones in your life.

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Erin Mirabella

Thursday, September 10th, 2009
  • Two Time Olympic track cyclist.
  • Author of two children’s books in the Barnsville Sports Squad Series: Gracie Goat’s Big Bike Race and Shawn Sheep The Soccer Star.
  • Mother of two.
  • Recipient of The 2006 Jack Kelly Fair Play Award for sportsmanship.
  • 4th place in the 2004 Olympic Points Race.

This weekly blog is all about the fundamentals kids learn through sports that then help them in all aspects of their lives.  You’ve heard Robert Fulghum’s saying that All I Ever Need To Know About Life, I learned In Kindergarten.  I contend that everything you need to succeed in life you can learn through sports.  Each week I explore a new sports topic that matters to parents and kids.  Each post starts off with a TRY THIS AT HOME section that suggests an activity for parents to do at home with their kiddos.
 
During my Olympic cycling career, I watched myself and other Olympians struggle with different basic sports issues: teamwork, fear of failure, self confidence, sportsmanship, temptation to cheat, etc.  I always thought that if we had all learned the basics as kids, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time with the sports psychologist.  Give your kids a head start by discussing the blog topics with them each week.

When I created the Barnsville Sports Squad children’s book series, my goal was to create books that parents and teachers could use to entertain, inspire and teach their kids about sports, sportmanship, making healthy choices and life’s lessons.   This gives me another venue to reach out and do just that.

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