Blog 10 Senior Project Update

(1) Currently I am doing the only thing I can do for my independent component and that is continuing my mentorship and coaching a team. I have been looking up courses I can take along with my mentorship to become safety certified and they are very expensive. The one I need is $110 and it it only 3 and a half hours long. I found another course that is 45 dollars and it is a certification through the National Federation of State High School Associations. It too is online and only requires a couple hours. I need some consulting, I'll set up a meeting with Pittman this week.

(2) (Sticks and Stones Will Break That Bone! - Activity - www.TeachEngineering.org) I found this project and it interested me quite a bit, I might add this to my science fair to test bones. I'll go to a butcher's shop and ask for some pig bones since their physiology is closest to a human's. I will apply pressure and test the bones to their breaking points and record the amount of force it took. This lesson as given me new ideas of how to use the force plate to get even more data. I am very excited to begin my procedures.

(3) This is my team, Starz Pink. I coach them nearly every Friday and Saturday for about 2-3 hours. This team has improved so much since they started and we got two boys! I'm very excited for the rest of the season and I already love every one of them. I have learned ways to connect with the team and communicate with them properly. Through my research I have become a better coach and I have actually helped some of them!

Senior Project Update.

MENTORSHIP
I have been looking into the way my coaches have been coaching and seeing the different ways to deal with athletes. I missed about three weeks of practice due to illness and various other things that took precedence. However, I was with the team before and on their first competition day November 17th. I was with the girls and two boys who are knew for the whole day. The competition lasted 8 hours. When it was time to warm up Anthony(teammate and fellow coach) took the team to go stretch and warm up before going on stage. The athletes were really nervous so we had numerous huddles with them to calm them down and pep them up. It was exciting to be a coach waiting for my team to go out there and leave everything on the mat. They got third place which the coaching staff knew would happen since we didn't push them to learn harder skills. After that day we decided they were ready for harder stunts and tougher handling.

INDEPENDENT COMPONENT

After talking with one of my mentors, I have found out that the number of hours required before you can apply for USASF certification is well over 250 and I won't be able to complete that during this year. I will continue my mentorship which will help me work towards it and do whatever I can to get closer to being certified like first aid certification and possibly going through other companies to get certified to coach a highschool team by chance.

SCIENCE FAIR

I am going to begin conducting my experiment soon to start retrieving data and begin writing out my lab report. I will receive the Vernier force plate and all requirements from Pittman this week.

Science Fair Proposal

1. All-Star Cheerleading

2. Most athletes do not demonstrate proper technique or strength, usually resulting in injury.
"Some days in tumbling, we do not even do the skill they are working on. For instance, a back handspring requires strength in plyometrics, core, shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes, and the athlete also must know how to engage her head, core, and power bases. I have seen many people spend thousands of dollars on a back handspring when all they needed to do was strengthen their body appropriately and the skill would have been easy.
Athletes must follow progressions from A to Z to learn well and completely. Plus, it will keep them injury-free and psychologically relaxed. Conditioning is extremely important, so do not neglect it."
Love, Debbie. "Help! I'm A Cheer Parent!" Fortheloveoftumbling.com. N.p., 4 July 2010. Web. <http://fortheloveoftumbling.com/2010/07/help-i%E2%80%99m-a-cheer-parent/#>.

3. My Hypothesis:
If a spring floor is used, a cheerleader falling from 10 ft would not break their bones, contrary to on other surfaces.

4. I plan on testing the critical heights of surfaces used by cheerleaders in order to find the potential of bone breakage that would occur at or above those critical heights. I plan to use the vernier force plate to measure the force exerted by the collision of a weight and the surface I'm testing. I will take into account the height at which the weight is dropped, the velocity of the object before it hits the surface, the work done on the object, and the impulse, deformity or energy lost in the resulting impact. The tools I will use will be a meter stick for height, scale for weight, equations to find work done and impulse.By finding this data I can compare it to data found in different studies that give numbers for the force required to break bone and critical heights of certain surfaces.

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:
Pharmacology
Physics

Blog 9

(1) What is the best way to prevent injury in an All-Star Cheerleading team?
(2) I am not going to revise my EQ at this time
(3) Possible answers are stretching, strengthening, proper technique, safe environment, and certified coaches with experience.

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

Rough Draft

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

(1) For my first independent component I plan on getting certified as a cheer-leading coach by either USASF or AACCA, this will allow me to be a coach different teams whether it be all-star or high school. The certification will show that I am capable of protecting my students and providing medical response for the athlete upon injury until the paramedics arrive(If needed).  If I cannot be certified by these organizations then I plan on getting First Aid and CPR certified through the Red Cross for the same reason.
(2) This feat will definitely meet the 30 hours if not more. It will require countless hours studying rules and different safety protocols as well as actually going to take a written test, getting different forms signed by my gym owner and taking a hands on test. I might not be able to receive the accreditation because the companies can only do it so often. The next USASF one that is close is October 28th and I won't be able to come up with the money. It is $15 per type per level. So for levels 1-4 in stunting, tumbling and tosses would be about $180. Not only will I be able to meet the time by preparing for the test, I will exceed it when I apply this certification into the team I coach.
(3) This plan relates to my EQ because it will help me understand injury and how to intervene if it does occur. Knowing the possible injuries that can occur will help me train the athletes to use a technique that reduces the chances of injury. If I am unable to get the USASF certification, when I do it will only improve my ability to teach.

Hopefully I will find a way to afford the process and find out the best way to do so. I will talk to my mentor about the best way to go about it, since he is certified and will be for 3 years.

Second Interview Questions

1) How long have you been involved in All-Star Cheerleading?

2) Describe your title and what that entails. 

3)What experiences can show that you have an expertise in this field?

4) Describe what an expert in All-Star Cheer is.

5) What brought you to Starlite Allstar?

6) How long have you been coaching?

7) What would make you the most proud of your team?

8) Describe the one thing you've done in your time as an athlete that you can't forget.

9) Do you believe this sport changes lives? How?