Youngman,+Derek


 * Winter/Spring 2011 Mr. Dunne **

** A Pre-Game Warm-up **

What do sports mean to you as an athlete and as a fan?

Sports have been pretty much my life since as long as I can remember. I have had a ball in my hands since the age of one and I haven’t stopped since. My sports memories have ranged from kicking a soccer ball around with my mom and dad to playing club lacrosse for one of the best teams in the country. Sports have allowed me to travel to places that I never thought I would visit and those are the true memories that I will never forget. As a sports enthusiast, I have been watching SportsCenter my entire life and being a fan is equally important to actually playing the sport. I have grown to love every New England sporting team and I could watch the Celtics every night and not get bored. Plain and simple, without sports, I don’t think I could have survived these past eighteen years.

What has been your with youth sports? Describe your best and worst experiences.

My best experience in youth sports had to have been middle school basketball. From sixth grade to eighth grade, my team went 57-8 and was the number one seed all three times in the playoffs. We won in the championship my seventh and eighth grade years and I felt like I was on top of the world. The entire week I would look forward to the games on weekends, and the rides home with our coaches were always fun filled. Also, my worst experience was in seventh grade basketball when I dove for a loose ball and hit my tooth on the floor. My tooth got knocked back and I had an emergency dental appointment. I had a wire put in on my top teeth and I was out for 6 weeks. I hated not being able to get out on the court and help my teammates and that was the longest 6 weeks of my life.

Do athletes make good role models? Identify one or two professional athletes to make your case.

In my opinion, I believe athletes make good role models. Although some athletes may make some bad decisions, it is hard to argue against someone who has chased their dream of becoming a pro athlete. Every athlete has had to work extremely hard to reach their goal, and their determination and courage are attributes that make athletes such good role models. Danny Woodhead is the perfect example. You would never think a five foot seven inch white kid from division two would start for the best team in the NFL. Everyone said he couldn’t make it in the NFL but with his work ethic he made it happen. The athletes that share these types of characterisitics should be admired and definitely fit the description of a role model.

What sports/teams do you pay attention to the most? How much time do sports occupy in your life? How do you spend that time (attending, watching, reading, talking, participating)?

I have been a basketball guy for my whole life so the Celtics are my favorite sports team. I could watch their games every night of the week and I probably spend around five hours watching them per week. I have not attented a Celtics game for a couple years so as of late I have been watching the game on my TV or at a friend’s house. I always watch their highlights in the morning and the Rondo-to-Garnett pass never gets old. There accolades over the years always make the front page of __Sports Illustrated__ and my friends and I always talk about the game the following day at school.

What sports-related issues would you be disappointed //not// to cover in this class? Why? If we did not cover the whole pay-to-play ideal in the NCAA I would be disappointed. I feel like it is such a reoccuring topic in sports today and you hear something about it in the news every week. Many believe that top college athletes should be getting paid and the whole debate on whether they should get paid would be very interesting. I would also like to cover something on the Boston sports teams because they have had such a profound affect on me thorughout my life. 