basketball Archives - GetGoing NC!

This weekend: Rental fun, hoop dreams, swamped on high

JoeMiller — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:22:23 +0000

Not crazy about being tied to a schedule? Rent an adventure according to your schedule at the coast. Wondering if you could replace LeBron in Miami? See if you’ve still got game in Charlotte. And if you’re in the mountains and think you have to travel afar for a swamp adventure, think again.

Coast

Today’s suggestion isn’t an event; rather, an opportunity.

New adventures can be had up and down the North Carolina coast for a relatively modest sum. For instance, if you find yourself in the Wrightsville Beach area, swing by the Blockade Runner and you can experience any number of water-related adventures: rent a single kayak for just $20 an hour (or a tandem for $35), take out a standup paddleboard for $25 an hour, take a two-hour guided kayak tour for $50 ($90 for a tandem).

You’ll find opportunities likes this just about everywhere you’ll find someone taking a beach vacation. (See Logistics for direction.)

Logistics: Learn more about the Blockade Runner rentals here; check out our “53 Places to Rent a Canoe, Kayak or Standup Paddleboard in North Carolina,” here.

Weekend forecast: The coast is looking at highs in the low 80s, a chance of thunderstorms.

Alley-oops

Piedmont

You haven’t played ball in longer than you care to remember. And yet, you still feel you can take it to the hole, sink a three-pointer at the buzzer, execute an alley-oop or elicit an enthusiastic “Rejected!” from Marv Albert on your stellar defensive play.

OK, maybe you’re dreaming. But aren’t dreams made to be fulfilled? Check out the current state of your game this Saturday at the 30 & Over Open Play at the Sugaw Creek Recreation Center in Charlotte. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., adults over 30 can see if they still have what it takes to achieve basketball glory, even if for just an afternoon. Or one play.

Logistics: Saturday, Aug. 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Sugaw Creek Rec Center, 943 W. Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte. $2. Need more info? Call 704.596.0107

Saturday forecast: It’s always bright and comfortable in the Sugaw Creek gym.

Boardwalk through a swampier section of Pink Beds

Mountains

One of our favorite hikes in the mountains is the Pink Beds area of the Pisgah National Forest. Pink Beds itself is a rare mountain swamp. As such, the six-mile loop trail at Pink Beds is relatively flat, also unusual for a mountain hike.

Sunday, the Carolina Mountain Club is adding a little elevation to the Pink Beds hike by adding the South Mills River Trail sections on Soapstone Ridge and Club Gap. Total distance for this hike is nine miles, total elevation gain 1,700 feet.

Logistics: Sunday, Aug. 3, 8:30 a.m. carpool meet-up at in Asheville. Space is limited, contact hike leader Dave Wetmore at 828.577.0648 or dwetmore@citcom.net to reserve a spot or for more information.

Sunday forecast: High of 79, chance of thunderstorms.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

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The post This weekend: Rental fun, hoop dreams, swamped on high appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Stretch — but not until the end of your workout

JoeMiller — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:34:26 +0000

I wrote the following article for the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh; it appeared in both papers on May 15. It appears here in expanded form, with links.

OK, time for your daily workout. Put on the sweats, lace up the sneakers and now to get limbered up with some long, deep stretches … .

Not so fast there, Jane Fonda.

It wasn’t long ago that most people began their workouts – be it an aerobics class at the gym or a 5-mile run – with a series of stretches. Toe touches, lacing your fingers behind your head to stretch your upper back muscles, and other so-called “static stretches” were once considered the proper way to prepare your body for a workout.

Now, growing evidence suggests the opposite may be true, that stressing muscles before they’ve warmed up not only doesn’t help prevent injury, it can cause them.

“That puts a lot of stress on body,” says Laurie Pace, group exercise coordinator for the Morrison Family YMCA in Charlotte who began teaching 17 years ago. “You’re asking it to make immediate changes, to go from cold to hot over a few seconds.”

Pace says that thinking began to change 10 years ago when the American College of Sports Medicine advised their 45,000 certified instructors to change the way they ease into exercise programs.

Today, the experts advise, warm up first, work out and then stretch at the end.

“Now,” says Steven Wheelock, a wellness instructor with Rex Wellness Center in Knightdale, “we try to simulate what it is you’ll be doing in a workout. With the warm-up, we want to elevate your heart rate, your breathing and sweating in preparation for” rigor to come.

The new warm-up

Ten years ago before a 5K race it was common to see runners employing all sorts of glute, hamstring and calf stretches right before the gun went off. A recent study of about 3,000 runners conducted by USA Track & Field found that prerace stretching did not reduce the risk of injury.

A better approach to warming up before a run, says Pace, is to “walk in an exaggerated motion, swinging arms, bringing your knees toward your chest. This will prepare the body – your glutes, your hamstrings – for forward movement. It’s an unnatural position for running, but it starts movement process.”

In the Total Strength class Pace teaches, she says they spend the first 3 to 5 minutes simulating the exercises they’ll be doing, minus the weights. “We’ll start with a smaller range of motion, gradually building up.”

That 3- to 5-minute warm-up window, notes Wheelock, is what it takes to get your heart rate properly elevated.

Stretching still has its place as part of a workout, only at the end. After cooling down – in much the same way you warm up, by replicating the motions of your workout but with decreased exertion. And Pace says stretching help keeps your blood from pooling and creating a buildup of lactic acid.

That’s significant, she says, because it will lessen the soreness you might feel later on.

Taking the time

Getting the word out about the proper way to get into a workout is one thing. Getting people to stand still long enough to do it is another.

Shelly Tkach teaches beginner 5K and 8K running programs for Fleet Feet in Raleigh. The programs take new runners and train them to run a 5K or an 8K within 12 weeks. Before every 25- to 30-minute run she devotes 5 minutes to dynamic stretches, such as walking while bringing the knees up to the chest.

Are the newcomers embracing this aspect of the workout?

Tkach smiles. “They do it because they’re told to. Usually, they’re so hyper they just want to get out and start running.”

* * *

Guidelines for stretching

Stretching to improve flexibility is good, but not necessarily right before a workout. Here are some stretching guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine:

Do flexibility exercises at least two or three days a week to improve range of motion.
Hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds, “to the point of tightness or slight discomfort.”
Repeat each stretch two to four times. You want to total 60 seconds of stretching.
Static, dynamic, ballistic and PNF — proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation — stretches are all effective.
Stretching exercises are most effective when the muscle is warm, following light aerobic activity, for example, or a hot bath.

* * *

Warming up for key activities

Golf

Katherine Roberts, certified golf performance coach and author of “Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes,” recommends six dynamic moves, each held for two to five deep breaths, prior to going 18.

1. Standing pelvic tilts
2. Speed trunk rotation
3. Standing hip stretch
4. Shoulder stretch with club behind back
5. Neck stretch
6. Standing rhomboid, upper back and neck stretch

Specifics on how to do each activity here.

Basketball

From the Web site Growtall.com:

1. Low intensity aerobic activity such as jogging a few laps around the court or even jump rope. The key is low intensity.
2. Leg swings/pendulum swings.

3. Agility exercises, such as skipping, crossovers, shuffling, backpedaling.

Walking and hiking

From Prevention Minnesota:

1. Ankle circles
2, Leg swings
3. Pelvic loops
4. Arm circles

5. Hula hoop jumps.

Running

From Runner’s World magazine:

1. Walk for two minutes, then jog at a conversational pace for 15 to 20 minutes to raise your heart rate.
2. Loosen and activate your muscles with five to 10 minutes of dynamic stretches and form drills such as lunges, skipping, and high-knees running.

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Vote (if you’re eligible) for better courts

JoeMiller — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:56:42 +0000

Before ...

A dream when I was younger was to have a house with a basketball court in the basement. A full-size court, with a knee-friendly synthetic surface. With backboards that dropped to dunk-friendly heights for an Earth-bound 5’9” guard. Throw in my vintage red, white and blue ABA ball, my knee-high tube socks and my Converse All-Stars … . Heaven, I’m in heaven …

At present, we have a portable rim in the cul-de-sac, my beloved Dr. J ball is MIA and my compression socks must suffice for my knee-highs.

All of which helps explain why I’m sympathetic to the plight of Durham’s Elvira Park and Charlotte’s Frazier Park, both of which are in the running for the Sprite Spark Parks Project. Nationwide, Sprite has identified 25 public basketball courts in need of repair. And these are courts desperately in need of repair. (You ever try to dribble on chipped chip & seal or experienced the frustration of arching a perfect buzzer-beating three-pointer to have it

... after.

clang off a broken rim?)

All of the courts will get some help. Sprite is donating $275,000 to repair all 25; how much each court gets depends upon how many votes they get from folks like you (but apparently not like me). They could get $5,000, they could get $15,000. New rims, resurfacing, benches, lights — all hang in the balance.

How to vote. Democracy is never simple and is often messy. First, you need to go to SpriteSparkParks.com, where you can cast your ballot. But not, alas, before registering. Which I tried to do, but was told, “We’re sorry … you’re not eligible to join My Coke Rewards.” Interesting, because the only two questions asked are about age and whether you’re a U.S. resident. Very interesting … .

Anyway, if you can get through the registration process, enter the code SPRITEPARKSVOTE and vote for your park of choice. You can vote daily through May 31.

May the best park win.

The post Vote (if you’re eligible) for better courts appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coach! My ankle hurts!

JoeMiller — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:19:22 +0000

Today, I have a story appearing in both the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer offering tips for parents of student athletes as the busy falls sports season gets underway. The story focuses primarily on the emotional issues that often arise. Below is a look at the physical side of high school athletics, with information and tips on injuries and injury prevention.

If you have a high school athlete, there’s a 1 in 5 chance he or she will suffer a physical injury.

In the 2009-2010 school year, the latest year for which stats are available, 1.35 million of the nation’s 7 million high school athletes got injured, according to the Center for Injury Research & Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. To be a certified injury, the incident had to require medical attention (doctor, athletic trainer, emergency personnel) and result in the athlete missing at least one lost day of practice or a game.

Some highlights from that study:

Injuries by sport

Injuries per 1,000 players.

Football: 3.81 injuries
Girls soccer: 2.0
Wrestling (boys): 1.98
Boys soccer: 1.75
Girls basketball: 1.58
Boys basketball: 1.45
Girls volleyball: 0.99
Softball (girls): 1.12
Baseball (boys): 0.82

Mostly commonly injured body part

Reflects percent of total injuries.

Ankle: 17.5
Head/face: 17.2
Knee: 15.7
Hand/wrist: 10.3
Hip/thigh/upper leg: 9.2
Shoulder: 8.4
Trunk: 5.8
Lower leg: 4.7
Foot: 4.1
Arm/elbow: 4.0
Neck: 1.9
Other: 1.0

Bench time

Number of days (practices and games) missed due to injury.

1-2 days: 14.7 percent
3-6 days: 27.3 percent
7-9 days: 16.1 percent
10-21 days: 16.9 percent
22 or more days: 25.0 percent

Injuries by class

Percentages of injuries by year in school, broken down by male and female athletes.

Freshman: 20.8 percent | 27.9 percent
Sophomore: 23.5 percent | 26.7 percent
Junior: 25.8 percent | 24.1 percent
Senior: 29.9 percent | 21.3 percent

Check out the entire report here. For comparison sake, check out this study of the 2005-06 school year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

* * *

Hydration

Hydration is a particularly important issue for so-called “fall” sports — practice for some of which began over a month ago, in the dead of summer. If your student athlete is fatigued, irritable, unproductive and is suffering headaches and muscle cramps, he or she might be dehydrated.

Here’s a good overview of dehydration that ran in the New York Times last year: “In Summer’s Heat, Watch What You Drink.”

For a succinct take on recognizing dehydration and getting rehydrated, here’s what the Mayo Clinic has to say.

Playing hurt

“If you get hurt,” advises the National Institutes of Health, “stop playing. Continuing to play or exercise can cause more harm.”

Schools and coaches have gotten better about sidelining injured players until they’re ready to return. Still, there’s often subtle suggestion that an athlete “gut it out” that puts injured players on the field before they’re ready.

For most non-serious injuries, follow the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) approach to recovery. That will help relieve pain, reduce swelling and speed healing.

For more on sports injuries, check out the Sports Injuries section of MedlinePlus, a service of the NIH and U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Cheerleading

60 percent of cheerleading injuries are the result of stunts, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. By stunts, they mean: cradles, elevators, extensions, pyramids, single-based stunts, single-leg stunts, stunt-cradle combinations, transitions and miscellaneous-partner-and-group stunts.

The most common injuries were strains and sprains (53 percent). Injuries occurred most frequently during practice (83 percent). The top five body parts injured were the ankle (16 percent), knee (9 percent), neck (9 percent), lower back (7 percent) and head (7 percent).

Photo: The famous “my-achin’-everything” photo of NFL quarterback Y.A. Tittle after a loss in 1964, his last season. In addition to his bloodied face, Tittle was thought to have a concussion and possible broken ribs.

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