Kids and Police in Hazelwood get together to play chess

Bravo!

High school and birthday athlete with Implant for hearing and without vision gets interview with Ellen

Perhaps his story can be worked into the new book we're updating, Time Out! I Didn't Hear You.

Pittsburgh and North Allegheny Water Polo Squads meet up on Sunday afternoon

City middle school water polo confab with North Allegheny Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Let's fund Water Polo as a sport at Obama

See my expanded comments to the school board and superintendent asking for help to expand water polo at Obama. Talks of one possible next step for sport reform.

http://cloh.org/wp/archives/596

First Water Polo Game scheduled: Sunday October 23, 2016

Are you ready for some water polo? We'll go to North Allegheny on October 23, 2016.

Our teams of middle school water polo players are getting ready for the first real games. We've called our team, "Pittsburgh Combined" in the past. In 2016-17 we've got players from Manchester Academic Charter School, where we play two days a week for boys and another two days a week for girls. Plus, we have been playing at Pittsburgh Obama, co-ed, on Mondays and Fridays; Arsenal, co-ed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our Saturday Swim School can help with water polo practices. Kids from The Pittsburgh Project can join in too. Plus, we've got our 2016 Summer Dreamers who had 27 days of water polo in July and August as well.

If you want your kid to attend, email to Mark@Rauterkus.com, or call, 412-298-3432.

We want to car-pool from Pittsburgh with departing times at noon and arrival to North Allegheny Senior High School, on Rt. 19, at 12:45 pm on October 23, 2016.

Not baseball as we like

Swimming and Time

Years ago, I nearly published a book, Swimming: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. It featured a lot of content from 50-years prior by a great coach in his book, Swimming, by Kiputh from Yale. That whole perspective is important. And, kids can embark on setting their own world recrods -- and learn history -- be just turning back the decades. Perhaps we should make it an app instead of a book.

Time to apply for Learn & Earn, City & County's Youth Summer Job Program

Learn-and-Earn sign-up page: https://summerjobs.force.com/CommunitiesSelfReg

Log in page, for those who have already created an account and signed in the past. https://summerjobs.force.com/login

Video hype:


Workforce Investment Board web site. http://www.trwib.org/learnandearn/

The second part of this video shows kids in a tech role, helping to make video games about "professional soft skills."



I'd love to see those outcomes. Where are the games? Can they be shared? Are they valuable?

This is the type of support some in PPS give to PPS Summer Dreamers

In spring 2016, I put in a pool permit to get ready for Summer Dreamers so that our summer staff can work with the existing kids at Obama at the pool -- and work with a renewal of swim skills with the kids I coached in past years as part of PPS Summer Dreamers. 

The permit was denied. The denial says, "NO SUMMER DREAMER STUFF."

I wanted to have ONE practice on Wednesdays from April to June. 

Go figure.

Futhermore, in future years this permit would be considered a blessing -- because there is an ANSWER. MOST of the time, interactions with PPS administrators have no replies. Silence. 

Starting our day at the crack of dawn. I.B. kids can handle the tough "why questions."

Enjoy this little film:



Share it and let me know what you think.

Show Up: The AM Swim Video

Highly competitive swimming helps with school attendance. Don't punish nor eliminate the positive aspects of sports. Rather, promote, facilitate and replicate.

Our swim team t-shirt slogan: “Winning Formula: Show up + Score more points.” Showing up matters. This United Way funded PR blitz with PPS stresses school attendance. Swimmers understand that message and live it.

On many mornings in the past years, 25+ students arrived at the school for 6 AM swim practices. In recent years, the Obama Swim Team has held 6 AM practices every school day (if no 2-hour delay). The 6 am practices often span into the fall and spring too.

At 7:15 am, as swim practice ends, swimmers are at the school. They are present, clean and ready to fuel their bodies and brains. Kids attending AM practice are not tardy for school.

Kids in quality, competitive programs understand that 6 am practices are essential. Champions understand the sacrifices and hard work are worthy. AM swim practices don't happen every where, as not all the teams are doing all they can.

One school day distinction between swimmers and other athletes are AM practices. Many college teams in other sports hold AM practices for their athletes. It would be great to have open gym and weight lifting times at 6 am for students, before school, more often at PPS. Perhaps with the Olympic Sports Division and efforts of PPS H2O, the early bird practices can be with more students, not only swimmers.

Safe Sport

Phone message script

This is Coach Mark with Summer Dreamers water polo.

I'm calling to the homes of the students who are with us at Camp Langley with Summer Dreamers.

Housekeeping first: Thanks for taking this call. If nobody at this phone number has any kids in our water polo program – I appoligize for the call and if you PRESS #1 on your phone, I'll kindly remove this phone # from this summer's call list.

Good news: At camp, we are making progress. Most have made great strides in fitness, running and swimming.

Bad news: Some of the behaviors with some of the students at the pool, in the locker areas and especially at transition times have been making un-necessary burdens to other students, the staff and even the lifeguards. I'm heartbroken to see some of the kids fighting. Camp behaviors need to improve or else we run the risk of getting expelled from taking our squads to the pools.

Guardians, please take a moment to talk about good behaviors within the activities and throughout the school day. We are stressing LISTENING, playing well with others and good sportsmanship.

Extra news: The Liberty Mile is approaching. Plus, we have EVENING swim sessions and will be holding extra practices AFTER Summer Dreamers ends. Come for a swim on the Northside on Mondays and Wednesdays, or Mt. Washington on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the Hill District YMCA on Fridays. We need all the paperwork for the race entry right away. A new handout is expected to be sent home tomorrow.

Thank You card from American Water Polo for work on Summer Dreamers

Appreciation helps.

Working on the Masters Level for the Digital Badges for Goals

With the Digital Badges for Goals, there are six levels, #1 to #5 and then the Masters level. Goal setting is an important skill and those that take on these challenges get to learn about themselves. 

Kay Atman, Ph.D., retired professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education has helped construct these badges. She has plenty of experiences working with kids, to say the least.



If the link above is broken, sorry. The video was just uploaded and the file is being processed by the YouTube server.

Goals. Let's talk about them at my home office on Wednesday

Hi Staff and Friends,


All are invited for a friends and staff overview and video shoot to cover the pending Digital Badges that focus upon Goals at 10 am on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.

Our special guest is Kay Atman, Ph.D., retired professor from Pitt's School of Education.

We'll ask her questions and get her insights into why goals are so freaking important to youngsters. She's devoted much of her career to this area of study and how it all ties together in a person's mind, personality, and general being.

We have made six goal specific badges. Steps for each of those will be put under examination and discussion.

Your presence and feedback is welcome.

Athletes and coaches are great goal setting individuals, usually. Sadly, these skills are not universal and there are few tools to lead people along the process, until now.

If you have a camera and video camera and tripod, please charge it, make some room for the data and bring it along. Come casual. You might want to read up on Kay and the GOI. Use Google and hit the wiki pages.

http://CLOH.wikia.com/Digital_Badges/Goals

No need to RSVP, but it would be nice. I'm at 108 South 12th Street, South Side, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.

Doping

Video for 19 minutes.

Doping to Win by JovaniJory

Help with the Digital Badges covering Water Polo Knowledge. You can submit a test question using this form.

Staff members for our Summer Dreamers, past and present, should submit a question or three.

Be sure to scroll down on the right side to see and click on the blue submit button below the digital badge when completed. Then you'll be able to input another question as well.

Tiny link to above form: http://tinyurl.com/okg33j9. Feel free to copy-and-paste that URL and send it to your friends.

Bucknell Bison, 6 over CMU Tartans, 3

Nothing happens until 16:33 into the feed. Grab the button at the bottom slider and position it around that timer.

Got a vigor?

PIAA Boys 100 Fly, class AA, 2015

Sead Niksic of Pittsburgh Obama Academy swims a new school record in the prelims. Then goes faster in the consol finals. And, a new PA State Record is broken in the Championship Finals heat too. 

Three races:

Prelims for Sead, 54.03:

Finals for Sead, 53.+

Championship Finals of 100 yard fly with a new state record: