| Welcome to week four hundred and thirty-seven of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include: 1. A 40-year-old just became the oldest woman to win a World Figure Skating Championship. What she wants non-athletes to know (Yahoo/CNN) 2. Caitlin Clark and Iowa find peace in the process (ESPN) 3. Award-Winning Female Groundskeeper Makes Baseball History (Forbes) 4. How Yael Averbuch West came home, realized what mattered and kicked off the remaking of Gotham FC (NY Post) 5. The Mind Behind OWIFA: How a Western PhD student made a place for women in football (Western Gazette) 6. People Are Finding Love in Running Clubs (Pop Sugar) 7. How Baylor Scheierman Went From Small-Town Nebraska To Creighton Star (Forbes) 8. Inside Kaylee Rodriguez’s cancer experience, potential return to softball (ESPN) 9. Kansas City Chiefs sign Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit (The Athletic) 10. Shohei Ohtani’s Arrival Brings Hope and Nostalgia Home to Little Tokyo (NY Times) 10+ How Coaches Can Be a Source of Mental Health Support for Student-Athletes (Education Week) https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-coaches-can-be-an-source-of-mental-health-support-for-student-athletes/2024/03 Football Beyond the Pitch (Medium) https://medium.com/change-maker/football-beyond-the-pitch-c9e550624159 Promoting physical activity and youth development in schools: the case for near-peer coaches (Frontiers in Public Health) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1345282/full Right to Play and Partners Secure a New U.N.-Designated International Day of Play (Right to Play) https://righttoplay.com/en/news/right-to-play-and-partners-win-a-new-un-designated-international-day-of-play/ Inspiring Inclusion: Celebrating International Women’s Day in Rural Andhra Pradesh Through Sports (Sport and Dev) https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/inspiring-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-rural-andhra-pradesh-through We present our “Featured Video” offering(s). With the explosion of video content out there highlighting the good in sport, we want to showcase such content for your enjoyment and learning. This will be an ongoing effort. And now we add podcasts! ‘Clemente’ Documentary Chronicles Life and Death of Roberto Clemente (Variety.com) https://variety.com/2024/film/news/roberto-clemente-documentary-sxsw-1235935022/ VOICES OF DIGNITY: Sports champion human rights with Mary Harvey (UN Human Rights) https://universaldeclarationhumanrights75.podbean.com/e/voices-of-dignity-sports-champion-human-rights-with-mary-harvey/ Basketball ref reunited with player who saved his life (CBS Evening News) https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/aKE45Z4R8WZQAs0wKgYqbvf8VWJYPYe4/ |
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| www.loveequals.net Introduction: I had occasion in the past two weeks to think about life, pursuing goals, and the importance of living in the moment. Part of that reflection was driven by the first article featured this week, “A 40-year-old just became the oldest woman to win a World Figure Skating Championship. What she wants non-athletes to know,” by Holly Yan at CNN. Deanna Stellato-Dudek is that 40-year-old who returned from a 16-year break from elite skating. Not 16 days or 16 months, but rather 16 years. With her 32-year old partner Maxime Deschamps, Stellato-Dudek won the recent World Figure Skating Championship in the pairs category. According to the article, “Stellato-Dudek said she hopes the historic victory inspires everyone, even non-skaters, who might think it’s too late to pursue and achieve their goals.” She said, ““I hope it encourages people to not stop before they reach their potential.” “And I hope it transcends into other areas, not just in sports, but also in other areas of life, like work and professional careers.” Her sentiments resonated with me as I am approaching another birthday that firmly places in the middle-aged category. I feel that I have a few more chapters in the story of my life but there is certainly some fear in the face of future uncertainty. Stellato-Dudek’s courage to take on such a monumental task in the face of doubts – hers and those of others – is instructive, as she said, not just in sports but in life as well. Don’t let anyone put an expiration date on your goals. Stellato-Dudek’s story resonated with me also because I learned of the tragic passing of a friend of mine. Monodeep “Morgan” Mitra died last weekend at the age of 53 in a freak accident. I have known Morgan since 1995 and despite being the same age, often looked up to him in how he approached his life. He is someone who truly “lived.” Not one to put things off for “another time,” he regularly met up with friends for great food and drink, attended dozens and dozens of sporting events and concerts, traveled around the U.S. and around the world, and regaled in the exciting and not-so-exciting parts of life. I attended a standing-room-only memorial ceremony yesterday for Morgan in Atlanta, where he remained after business school, becoming a terrific husband and dad. (He was always a terrific friend.) Multiple friends and family spoke of their relationship with Morgan and how it was defined by activities, as mentioned before. But it did not have to be something big. Grabbing a beer and enjoying great weather sitting and having conversation in the driveway of the house was not uncommon. I am grateful for the friendship I have with Morgan. We were not in regular contact, but we had the type of friendship where long gaps in communication were populated with outreach online and meet ups in Atlanta. I know we cannot live life regretting things, but I do regret not being in touch more and not being more active in our friendship. As we listened to the speakers yesterday, you could not help but think, “I want that guy as a friend,” and “It would be great to hang out with him.” Well, I had that guy as a friend and while grateful for our times together, know I could have done more. So, as we all move on with our lives, I make a promise to Morgan and myself to live more in the present, not be deterred by the inevitable fear that confronts us all, and to cherish the relationships we have now and still may develop. Morgan will be missed. He already is. Please continue to send along your stories. You’re both our audience and best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/sportsdoinggood and on Instagram. Finally, if you think others would like to receive the newsletter, please feel free to forward it on or have them contact us directly at sab@sportsdoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the email) So enjoy. And have a good week. |
| Join our Mailing List! Top Stories of the Week A 40-year-old just became the oldest woman to win a World Figure Skating Championship. What she wants non-athletes to know (Yahoo/CNN) For full story, please click here. Caitlin Clark and Iowa find peace in the process (ESPN) For full story, please click here. Award-Winning Female Groundskeeper Makes Baseball History (Forbes) For full story, please click here. How Yael Averbuch West came home, realized what mattered and kicked off the remaking of Gotham FC (NY Post) For full story, please click here. The Mind Behind OWIFA: How a Western PhD student made a place for women in football (Western Gazette) For full story, please click here. People Are Finding Love in Running Clubs (Pop Sugar) For full story, please click here. How Baylor Scheierman Went From Small-Town Nebraska To Creighton Star (Forbes) For full story, please click here. Inside Kaylee Rodriguez’s cancer experience, potential return to softball (ESPN) For full story, please click here. Kansas City Chiefs sign Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit (The Athletic) For full story, please click here. Shohei Ohtani’s Arrival Brings Hope and Nostalgia Home to Little Tokyo (New York Times) For full story, please click here. ? www.loveequals.net |
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| Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sarbjit “Sab” Singh sab@sportsdoinggood.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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