AAI 2010 High School "Life of an Athlete" Summer Session Click here for more details
Only 100 Spaces Are Available. For The Summer Session Application Click Here. _________________________________ AAI Starts To Help Canada Face Substance Abuse and Use With Their Athletes
Social drug use among athletes is prevalent and the problem is complex. Athletes may be more likely to abuse alcohol than their non-athlete counterparts and are more likely to suffer behavioral and
_________________________________ AAI Speaks to Olympians
John Underwood spent 3 days in residence at the Chula Vista Olympic Training center, where he spoke to national teams, Olympic teams, coaches, medalists and athletes. John also made a presentation to a packed crowd at the Olympian High School. Training Center Director Tracey Lamb said the feedback was immediate and very positive. Today’s athletes have to face the issues of lifestyle which prevent them from reaching their full potential. _________________________________ AAI's Upcoming Speaking Engagements February 2010: -9th Holly Michigan -11th Marquette Michigan -12th Houghton Michigan -22nd Illinois State University -24th University of Reno Nevada -26th-28th Canadian Winter Olympics Symposium _________________________________ See why organizations of all kinds are using to improve production. _________________________________
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AAI's 1st Annual College "Pure Performance" Summer Session Click here for more details
Only 100 Spaces Are Available. For The Summer Session Application Click Here ______________________ 8th International Seminar for Physical Education August 1-6, 2010 Sport Institute of Finland Vierumäki, Finland
AAI Director, John Underwood has been asked to speak at the 8th International Seminar for Physical Education. The seminar has been organized every second year since 1996 and it is held at the Sport Institute of Finland which is one of the leading sports institutes in Europe. Underwood studied there in the 1980's and later became one of the most successful coaches in North America. Last seminar had more than 250 participants from 21 countries. Lecturers and experts provide top knowledge and new practical ideas to be used by physical education teachers. The goals of the seminar are to offer a possibility to exchange ideas and energy among the participants, the personal growth and development as a teacher in the stimulating atmosphere of international communication. _____________________________ Hardwired For Doom: Brain, Mind And Fate
By Adam Frank "Get down from there!" My 15-year-old son and I had just come out of the movie theater. After two hours of the usual explosions and mayhem (I can't really remember what movie we had seen) I made the mistake of telling him to wait outside while I chatted with a friend. Five minutes later I find him on the theater roof jumping from one large air conditioning unit to the other. "What are you crazy?" I yelled hoping to get him down, and us away, from there before the blue siren's arrived. Well, yes. Of course he's crazy. He's 15. Ever since we made the mistake of watching District B13 my son has become a fan of Parkour, which is like freestyle skiing without skis or snow or mountains. Practitioners of Parkour (or its variant Free-running) believe that a good time equals climbing straight up the face of impossibly high walls or leaping from the roof of one 10 story building to another (even if there happens to be a city street in between them). It is a mix of gymnastics, rock climbing and insanity. It's beautiful, graceful and terrifying (if you are a parent). So of course my son loves it and yearns to be an adept. I am trying to guide him to something safer. READ MORE _________________________________ Lost Sleep Can't Be Made Up, Study Suggests
AAI Ahead of the research Curve: AAI has been driving this sleep agenda with top athletes for two years and our reaction timing studies that we have done on top athletes, conclude that sleep is clearly a predictor of performance in any skill based sport. Cheri Mah from Stanford University did the pilot studies with athletes and we simply did the same with the elite population. Same impact and results. A rested CNS and brain can function... a highly fatigued one cannot. If you think staying in bed on the weekends will make up for a weeks' worth of sleep deprivation, think again. A new study finds that going long periods without sleep can lead to a sort of "sleep debt" that cannot simply be undone with a little extra snoozing from time to time. Such chronic sleep loss may eventually interfere with a person's performance on tasks that require focus, becoming particularly noticeable at nighttime when the body's natural sleep-wake cycle isn't giving you an extra boost. Anyone who's ever pulled an all-nighter knows how debilitating sleep loss can be in the short term. Indeed, studies show that after 24 hours without sleep, a person's performance can drop to the level of someone who is legally drunk. READ MORE --------------------------------------------------
Team Sports Participation Increases Binge Drinking Nov 12, 2009 Contradicting what most parents might think, participation in team sports doesn’t necessarily encourage healthier behaviors in teenage boys. Instead, new research finds that it is actually associated with increased fighting and drinking. The study, which was presented at the American Public Health Association’s 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia, surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 13,000 high school students across the United States to examine the association between sports team participation and risky behaviors. READ MORE __________________________________
High Honors For The American Athletic Institute The American Athletic Institute within the last year wrote an article on the position of underage drinking and it has been published by the World Health Organization. AAI was the only sports organization to make a contribution to the stand on underage drinking. "Athletes and sport are one population and venue that have a pivotal role in societal/global alcohol dynamics. The athlete world is the alcohol industry’s centerpiece. Policy and position statements need to address this pivotal area of concern, in order to impact the magnitude of youth alcohol related problems and abuse rates in the athlete population at all levels of sport." To read the entire document |
Ken Dail and Andrea Tyler named AAI Players of the Year
Ken Dail Executive Director of the Prevention Network in Michigan and Andrea Tyler who developed the highly successful “Not B4 21” Campaign in Eastern Oregon, have been named the AAI Prevention Players of the Year for 2010. AAI Director John Underwood said “there are few individuals anywhere in America who deserve this honor more. Their knowledge and expertise in the prevention field and their total commitment to their communities has set them apart from many. Both Dail and Tyler have promoted and supported the Life of an Athlete program in their states and are master trainers for the program. The cooperation that AAI has received from these individuals has helped communities, school districts, parents, student athletes and coaches across the country, impact the problems of social drug use by athletes. It is our honor at AAI to thank both Ken and Andrea for their contributions to our youth. Dail and Tyler will receive awards at the AAI Summer Session at the United States Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY June 6, 2010. _________________________________________
Teen Drinking May Cause Irreversible Brain Damage January 25, 2010 For teenagers, the effects of a drunken night out may linger long after the hangover wears off. A recent study led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego compared the brain scans of teens who drink heavily with the scans of teens who don't. Tapert's team found damaged nerve tissue in the brains of the teens who drank. The researchers believe this damage negatively affects attention span in boys, and girls' ability to comprehend and interpret visual information. READ MORE Click Here to hear neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego radio interview. _________________________________________ Liars and Lack of Leadership Ruined the Game By John Underwood
One by one the heroes fall... The facade that filled the stands and the legacy of pathetic leaders, that let our national game be ruined for all future generations is now looked at as news. Bud Selig, what a guy! The problem is in all of us. We all know and we knew. We all did nothing. These criminals are not even prosecuted. They face no legal ramifications. Possesion of a prescription drug without legitimate medical authorization is a Felony! Not if you are an icon. What if it were one of us? Would we just say sorry and go on with life? Our system fails time after time to hold individuals accountable for their actions. That is why it happens and that is why it happened. Consequence beliefs will always be outdone by greed, false fame, and a special game reduced to a spectacle for fans who could care less about character honor or how it is done. They simply want to see something amazing. This is not the end of the steroid era in any of sport. Some professional sports have not even begun to take the cap off the syringe. When you watch todays MLB players play, think about the greats of the past who loved the game for more than money or what they could take out of it. They just loved baseball. That is a history lesson that should be required of all young children who will ever play the game.My guess is that perhaps the future steroid wing in Cooperstown will be a much more popular attraction. _________________________________________ AAI VISITS SHATTUCK ST MARY’S “MAGICAL”
John Underwood Director AAI: I just returned from Minnesota where I spoke at Shattuck St. Mary’s School. It was for me an absolutely positive experience. Having visited many prep venues in the past decade I found one that absolutely shines. The overall environment echoed one tone “EXCELLENCE”… The coaches, teachers, administrators and staff, were among the most caring and in tune with the young people that I have seen in the past decade. They support excellence at SSMS through concern for what is in the best interest of children. They had no reservations about serious discussions of social drug use and the ramifications for those who partake. They realize that our youth are influenced by the same cultural issues on all fronts. They cared enough to support proactive educational efforts while many other similar venues are in fantasy land. I saw young adults at SSMS with great character. I saw incredible facilities, caring mentors and a model for all who deal with young people. That model is that if you offer incredible opportunity, there is only one way to take advantage of the opportunity and that is to do it the best way possible. I saw young people that were inspired, enthusiastic and full of life. When you raise the bar for youth they will jump over it. Excellence is what makes it happen. Programs of Excellence are successful for a reason. They understand success comes at a price, determined not only by what you are willing to give… but also what you are willing to give up. The example of what education and youth development can be is alive in Minnesota. It should be that way everywhere… _________________________________________ Chronic Drinking Increases Stress Hormone
From ACER News Release, for About.com Created March 23, 2009 Cortisol, known as a "stress hormone," plays an important role in the regulation of emotion, cognition, reward, immune functioning, and energy utilization. A study published in the September 2003 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that long-term chronic drinking produces an increase in cortisol both during intoxication and withdrawal. READ MORE ----------------------------------------------------------- Sobering Facts About Alcohol Use and Athletes By Glen Rosales CoachesAid.com New Mexico Content Coordinator ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The message John Underwood presented was a sobering one. And perhaps even more sobering was the size of his audience. Just a handful of athletes and coaches were on hand Tuesday evening to hear Underwood of the American Athletic Institute in Lake Placid, N.Y. His afternoon session was somewhat better attended, but still represented a tiny portion of the athletes and coaches in the Albuquerque metro area. READ MORE |
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