...and other contributions to campus life
Coaching Ultimate
"When a ball dreams, it dreams of being a Frisbee". Ultimate has been a passion of mine that I have shared with my students. I have been the sponsor of the Ultimate club at our school for many years and an advocate for youth Ultimate city-wide and globally. While we primarily play for fun at our school we have also competed in State tournaments.
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As Ultimate is one of the most popular sports played on University campuses, I believe we would be remiss as educators if we did not fully prepare our students for success in the future.(That's also a sales pitch I use to get students to come out and play)!
The most valuable educational aspect of Ultimate is called the "Spirit of the Game." Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors or the joy of play. The spirit of the game is valuable as there are no referees and players make their own calls. It is this conflict negotiation technique that also makes Ultimate an ideal sport to share with our friends in other countries.
I have long been an active advocate for Youth Ultimate in our city
Spirit of the Game
Workshops with the National Champion, University of Florida men's Ultimate team.
Students having a little fun at my expense on Halloween.
Sharing Ultimate Globally:
S. Korea, Palestine, & China.
Other Activities
Cricket
While teaching about India's History and Culture, I introduce the game Cricket to my students.
The National Champion University of Florida Cricket team and several of our student's Indian or Pakistani fathers have helped us learn the finer points of the game.
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It is a lot of fun!
Footbag Diplomacy
(Hacky Sack)
As long as I have been teaching, I have tried to get students to kick. Footbag has been a long life's hobby of mine and one I try to share wherever I find myself around the globe. Be it at a school in Israel, a Houtong in China, an ally in Palestine, the streets of Havana, or right here on campus. I can usually find someone who will kick!
Suzhou, China
Kfar Saba, Israel
Beijing, China
Changzhou, China
Havana, Cuba
Qalqilya, Palestine
Nablus, Palestine
Prague, Czech Republic
Changzhou, China
Beijing, China
Gainesville, FL USA
Beijing, China
Seoul, South Korea
Beijing, China
Shanghai, China
Beijing, China
Video: Kicking on the Glass Floor at
Pearl Tower, Shanghai. So Scary!