Could Tourette's syndrome make a goalkeeper better?

Tim Howard's World Cup goalkeeping in 2014 was universally acclaimed. Might his Tourette's syndrome explain some element of his superb reactions?

It was a remarkable display - 15 saves in a single World Cup match. Although it wasn't enough to prevent his team losing to Belgium, USA keeper Tim Howard's fine performance has been one of the highlights of the tournament.

Previously, the Everton player has suggested that the fact he lives with Tourette's syndrome - a condition characterised by multiple motor tics, and at least one vocal tic - has made him a better athlete. At the age of 18 or 19 "I realised I was faster than others when it came to certain movements, and that these reflexes were linked to my disorder", he told the German newspaper Spiegel in 2013. Is he correct?

He might be. Studies have shown that individuals with Tourette's are "super-good at controlling their voluntary movements", says Georgina Jackson, professor of cognitive neuropsychology at the University of Nottingham. A hypothesis is that people with the condition become highly conscious of their physical actions as they learn to control their tics.

People with Tourette's commonly say that activities requiring concentration - such as playing sport or a musical instrument - can help to alleviate their symptoms. A recent study in which Jackson participated suggested that physical exercise significantly reduced tic rates among people with Tourette's. "This control mechanism kicks in that allows them to perform," she says. "That has benefits for your voluntary movements, whether it's goalkeeping or at laboratory level." As Howard himself told Der Speigel: "As soon as things get serious in front of the goal, I don't have any twitches; my muscles obey me then."

Taken from HERE.

From Wiki...

Tourette syndrome (also called Tourette's syndrome, Tourette's disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, GTS or, more commonly, simply Tourette's or TS) is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. These tics characteristically wax and wane, can be suppressed temporarily, and are preceded by a premonitory urge. Tourette's is defined as part of a spectrum of tic disorders, which includes provisional, transient and persistent (chronic) tics.

Tourette's was once considered a rare and bizarre syndrome, most often associated with the exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks (coprolalia), but this symptom is present in only a small minority of people with Tourette's. Tourette's is no longer considered a rare condition, but it is not always correctly identified because most cases are mild and the severity of tics decreases for most children as they pass through adolescence. Between 0.4% and 3.8% of children ages 5 to 18 may have Tourette's; the prevalence of other tic disorders in school-age children is higher, with the more common tics of eye blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. Extreme Tourette's in adulthood is a rarity, and Tourette's does not adversely affect intelligence or life expectancy.

Reducing tics at certain points in time should not be confused with a cure, says Jess Thom, co-founder of the website Touretteshero. Nonetheless, she hopes Howard's extraordinary performance in Brazil will have a positive impact beyond football. "Having role models is very important - especially with a condition like Tourette's that is subject to so much myth." HERE.

Why Do Asian Women Dominate the LPGA?

After Inbee Park won her third consecutive major at the U.S. Open last week, I began thinking about a trend that doesn’t get talked about that much in certain circles but is painstakingly obvious–that being the overwhelming dominance of Asian women players on the LPGA tour.

Asked a question about that very trend after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship, three-time consecutive major championship winner Inbee Park responded “It’s in our blood.” Given Asian women players’ collective success, Inbee’s point is hard to argue; however,  I find it hard to believe that Asian women have any sort of genetic advantage over other other female players. As ubiquitously dominant as Asian female golfers are (60+ in the top 100 of LPGA ranking) their male counterparts pale by comparison as they have failed to distinguish themselves in US events and major championships. So let’s just go ahead and throw genetics out of the equation (one interesting caveat is that Tiger Woods’ mother is Asian, even though pop culture predominately identifies Tiger as black).

I’ve watched a decent amount of women’s golf over the years, and I’m always amazed at how low women score at LPGA tournaments. Of course women play significantly shorter courses than men do (1000 yards less than a men’s PGA tour event is rough way to think about it), and the pins at LPGA events are generally not set up in comparatively severe locations as one would experience on the PGA tour. Where Asian women differentiate themselves–in my humble opinion–is by putting in more effort in PERFECTING their swing and games and having incredibly reliable swings that hold up under pressure. But that still doesn’t suffice for an answer as to why Asian women dominate, because hypothetically Asian men would or should do the same, and their lack of success on the PGA Tour suggest otherwise.

So here it is – LPGA courses are shorter and favor less of a power-game than PGA courses, and Asian women are the most “precise” golfers in the world. Because length is comparatively less important on the women’s tour than men’s, Asian LPGA players thrive with their consistent swings and pressure-tested games.

Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at Michelle Wie who at age 14 was trying her hand on the PGA Tour and shot several rounds at even and under par, a phenomenal accomplishment for any 14 year old, not to mention that fact that Michelle was a teenage girl competing against seasoned PGA Tour vets. So one would naturally think that if Michelle could hover around the cut line as she did in several PGA Tour events as a youngster, that she would go on to DOMINATE the LPGA tour right? Nope, wrong again. Fast forward 9 years and at age 23 Michelle has won an unimpressive two times on the LPGA Tour. One must factor in some injuries and her decision to attend Stanford, but to drive home my point precision matters more in women’s golf than raw power, and that is where Asian women differentiate themselves.

But don’t take my word for it, below you’ll notice that ONLY ONE PLAYER IN THE TOP 10 IN SCORING AVERAGE IS IN THE TOP 10 IN DRIVING DISTANCE.

SCORING AVERAGE

Inbee Park 69.672

Stacy Lewis 70.093

Na Yeon Choi 70.434

Suzann Pettersen 70.465

Jiyai Shin 70.586

I.K.Kim 70.637

So Yeon Ryu 70.668

Jessica Korda 70.709

Lizette Salas 70.7110

Karrie Webb 70.72

DRIVING DISTANCE

Nicole Smith 274.92 

Brittany Lincicome 271.54 

Lexi Thompson 270.05 

Marina Stuetz 269.26 

Gerina Piller 268.87 

Daniela Iacobelli 267.68 

Jessica Korda 267.49 

Yani Tseng 265.710 

Karin Sjodin 264.5

Lee Trevino once said “There is no such thing as a natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls.”  Asians are known for having intense work ethics, and because golf may requires a phenomenal amount of practice to achieve relative perfection (nobody is perfect in golf), their culture promotes an certain level of excellence within women’s golf. Furthermore, many Asian families make significant monetary investments in their daughters with a specific ROI in mind. This may be the case for some American girl golfers, but by and large, golf is far more of a luxury sport than a means to a livelihood (second caveat–Title 9 has increased the amount of women’s golf teams relative to men’s–so significant opportunities currently exist for girls to earn collegiate scholarship, a wonderful opportunity that more girls should seek out).

I hope nothing I’ve written offends anyone (doubtful given the gross generalizations I’ve been making), but these are my thoughts on a trend I’ve seen developing for so long. The true answer as to why Asian women golfers succeed lies in cultural norms that have developed over time, thanks in large part to the pioneer for all Asian women golfers–the iconic Se-Ri Pak who won 25 times on the LPGA tour before Asian dominance was the norm. Pak has a relentless work ethic which has become the standard for so many talented and driven Asian women players.

Taken from HERE.


Korean golfers: The magic formula

On January 29th (2012), Lydia Ko (pictured) became the youngest woman ever to win a professional golf tournament. At 14 years old, she's not yet old enough to drive a car. But she can drive (and putt) a golf ball well enough to beat a pack of adult pros. This staggering achievement provokes a question: Why are Korean women so good at golf?

South Korea is a small, crowded country. It has only 0.7% of the world's population, and hardly any room for golf courses. Yet four of the top 10 female golfers in the world are Korean, as are 38 of the top 100 and 144 of the top 500. And these extraordinary numbers do not include women of Korean ancestry, such as Ms Ko herself, whose parents moved to New Zealand when she was six.

One theory is that modern Korean society is so competitive—think of the effort Korean kids put into passing exams—that it breeds champions. There may be something in this. I once played with a Korean friend on a course near Seoul. A few holes from the end, lightning started stabbing the hillsides around us. I suggested abandoning the match—who wants to walk around in an electric storm waving a long piece of metal in the air? But my Korean opponent would have none of it. He'd fought in Vietnam, and wasn't scared by the mere threat of electrocution. He insisted on finishing. Naturally, he won.

Another theory is that Korean fathers push their daughters harder than dads elsewhere. The father of Se-Ri Pak, who has won five major tournaments and 25 LPGA tournaments overall, made her get up at 5.30 every morning and run up and down the 15 flights of stairs in their apartment block to build up her strength. He made her practise in the cold until icicles formed in her hair. And to overcome her nerves, he made her sleep all night in a cemetery. Small wonder Ms Pak has been so successful—and was hospitalised for exhaustion in 1998. (Biographies of Ms Pak and other Korean women golfers can be found at Seoul Sisters, a fan website.)

My theory, for what it's worth, is that three forces are at work. First, Korea's lack of space means that golfers start off hitting balls at a driving range instead of playing a proper course. This means they hit a heck of a lot of balls. (A proper round of golf consists mostly of walking between shots, which is not good practice for anything.)

Second, Korean culture stresses constant repetition in pursuit of perfection. That's how calligraphers and taekwondo masters train. It's also a good way to develop a reliable golf swing.

Third, Koreans have a tendency to follow trends. Before 1998, when Ms Pak won the US Women's Open and became a national heroine, not many Korean women played golf. Immediately afterwards, legions of Korean girls took up the game. Within a decade, they were dominating it.

Taken from HERE.


More articles:

Dominant Asian women golfers credit 'pushy' parents

Why Shouldn't Asian Women Dominate Golf?

Why are the Asians especially South Koreans dominating the LPGA?

Strong work ethic key to rise of Asian golfers

Is computer gaming really sport?

1. New kids on the block

At the 2015 Winter X Games in Aspen, there will be much that is radical – snowboarders, monoskiers, slopestylers and snowmobilers, all performing remarkable feats of athleticism, strength and dexterity. Usually in mid air.

But most radical of all, there will also be men and women hunched over computers, blowing away imaginary baddies (and goodies) with imaginary machine guns, while thousands of real people watch and cheer.

What’s more, they will be handing out medals for all this imaginary carnage – just like all the other sports. Which begs the question: is computer gaming really sport at all?

2. What is esports?

esports – or electronic sports – is the umbrella term for organised, competitive computer gaming, usually between professionals. Competitive computer gaming has been around since the days of Pong in the 1970s. But that gang of youths gathered around an Atari console in some lucky bleeder’s bedroom has become 40,000 fans in a football stadium, some of them in fancy dress (image 1), all of them glued to the action on giant screens (image 2). Imagine the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, times it by six, take away most of the booze and you get some idea of what major esports events are like.

As with traditional sports, esports consists of many different games. But those games don’t necessarily mimic traditional sports. For example, in Aspen the game of choice is Counter-Strike, a first-person shooter in which you choose to be either a terrorist or a counter-terrorist. No, you can’t be Lionel Messi. But the most popular is League of Legends, a multi-player strategy game whose Wikipedia description sounds like it was written by the lovechild of JRR Tolkien and C-3PO. To the uninitiated, it sounds as impenetrable as cricket.

Big business - online & in arenas

But there are plenty of people who get esports, in all its forms. In 2014 there were 205m viewers, according to Newzoo, which conducts market research for the computer games industry. The 2013 League of Legends world championship attracted 32m online viewers, more than double baseball’s World Series and even trumping game seven of basketball’s NBA finals. The 2014 League of Legends world championship attracted 40,000 fans to Sangam Stadium in Seoul (image 3), which hosted a football World Cup semi-final in 2002.

But while South Korea is considered by many to be the cradle of esports, it is now doing enormous business in Europe and North America. In July 2014, 11,000 fans watched an esports event in a Seattle basketball arena. The event offered the highest esports prize pool so far – $10.9m, more than golf’s USPGA Championship – and was streamed by US broadcasting giant ESPN.

£1m salaries for top players

But esports is more normally broadcast by specialist streaming platforms such as Twitch (image 4), which was recently purchased by Amazon for almost $1bn. In 2013, Twitch had 55m visitors a month and 600,000 users generating content. Not surprisingly, many of the world’s biggest corporations have got involved. esports revenue is expected to grow from $130m in 2012 to $465m in 2017, according to Newzoo.

Top esports players (like Carlos 'Ocelote' Rodriguez - image 5) are feted all over the globe, and can earn upwards of £1m a year. But they are like traditional sportspeople in lots of other ways. They compete as part of slickly-operated teams (image 6), which in turn compete in regional leagues. They might train for 14 hours a day. They study strategy, technique, the opposition. They demonstrate remarkable reflexes and mental agility. They deal with enormous pressure, experience euphoric highs (image 7) and shattering lows.

Let's meet those involved. See HERE. 

3. So how does it compare? See HERE.




4. The case FOR

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"Why is it not a sport?" says Blicharz. "Why should a horse be forced to prove it is indeed a horse?"

Michal Blicharz, originally from Poland, is a former judoka who has fulfilled many roles in esports, from competitor to referee to coach. He now organises esports events around the world.

Despite cheerfully referring to himself and his fellow esports enthusiasts as “nerds”, Blicharz passionately believes esports is indeed sport. “I’ve sweated on the judo mat enough times to have a good opinion about it,” he says.

“Judo and esports are not that dissimilar,” he adds. “There are tournaments, you have to climb up a ladder to eventually compete with the best. In terms of training you have to put in the same amount of hours, perhaps even more in esports. You study strategy, technique and opponents. All the elements are there – the excitement, the adrenalin, players crying tears of sorrow and joy.”

Blicharz concedes physical exertion in esports is minimal, although some players do get struck down with repetitive strain injuries. But the fact that most dictionary definitions of ‘sport’ include the words ‘physical’ or ‘athletic’ hasn’t prevented darts or snooker from shielding under the sporting umbrella.

However, and in common with most people you speak to in the esports community, Blicharz doesn’t really care if people think esports is sport or not. esports is doing things its own way – and traditional sports should take note.

5. The case AGAINST

The US Government recognises esports players as professional athletes, at least where the granting of visas is concerned. But not everyone agrees. Despite ESPN dipping its toe into esports, its president John Skipper is distinctly lukewarm. “[esports] is not a sport,” he said, “it’s a competition. Mostly I’m interested in doing real sports.”

Tim Warwood is a former UK snowboarding champion who now commentates for the BBC. He agrees with Skipper that computer gaming is not a sport and believes esports should not have been included in the Winter X Games, which take place from 21-25 January.

“To have kids sitting there looking at computer screens indoors, alongside snowboarding and freestyle skiing and all the rest, it just doesn’t seem right,” he says. “When I was a kid, sport was all about getting outside, getting wet, muddy, out of breath – you’re not going to get out of breath smashing your thumbs on a controller. I just think it’s a bit weird really – but maybe I’m just getting old.”

However, Warwood remembers a time – not so long ago – when snowboarding wasn’t considered a real sport either and snowboarders were “outcasts and outsiders”. “When I started snowboarding,” he says, “my gran thought I was a professional snowballer – as in, I was throwing snowballs for a living.”

So while Warwood believes that some athletes will be irritated by the inclusion of esports in the X Games, he speculates that some snowboarders and freestyle skiers might actually view computer gamers as kindred spirits.

So, is computer gaming really sport?

VOTING... See HERE.

Salah, Pogba, Özil … the Muslim heroes of English football

Liverpool fans’ love for the ‘Egyptian king’ shows how much the sport has changed since the days of NF chanting on terraces

by Nabila Ramdani taken from HERE

Cut through the bigotry of a vocal minority, and there are some pretty uplifting football chants to be heard in England nowadays. Particularly popular at Liverpool is one dedicated to an Arab striker.

It contains the lines: “If he’s good enough for you/He’s good enough for me/If he scores another few/Then I’ll be Muslim too,” and ends with the words: “He’s sitting in the mosque/That’s where I want to be.”

Those who revere “Egyptian King” Mohamed Salah – the subject of the song – are not just paying tribute to arguably the best player in the Premier League at the moment. They’re also adhering to a distinctly British tradition of tolerance and respect. This should be cause for immense national pride.

Before hatred of Islam became an obsession among high-profile rabble-rousers and their followers, it was black players who had to put up with racism. Febrile stadium atmospheres turned poisonous, with groups such as the National Front recruiting at games. Xenophobic ditties belted out in the 1970s and 1980s infamously included: “There ain’t no black in the Union Jack/Send the bastards back.”

What changed was the emergence of men such as Cyrille Regis, the former West Bromwich Albion and England forward born in French Guiana. He was part of a generation of non-white players who revolutionised not only the game, but attitudes across the country. Regis, who died in January, aged 59, would never have claimed that prejudice had been wiped out, but with so many charismatic stars just like him, hatred based on skin colour was rendered evil, and embarrassing.

Nowadays the hate-mongers who seek to warp majority opinion tend to focus on religion. And they are by no means found only at football grounds; politicians and authors, mainstream media commentators and online trolls all get involved.

They particularly despise Muslims, doing what they can to link 1.8 billion people worldwide with every crime they can think of, and especially terrorism. There have been calls for anyone associated with Islam to be interned or deported and – in at least one case – for them to become the victims of a “final solution”, just as Jews were during the Holocaust. In the case of young Muslim men, they are caricatured as potential killers, ready to take up arms for barbaric groups that corrupt one of the world’s three great monotheistic faiths to their own ends.

In fact, Salah is a fairly typical Muslim. Beyond being hard-working, community-minded and committed to peace in his home country and abroad – he prays devoutly with team-mates Sadio Mané and Emre Can, celebrating every goal by prostrating himself on the ground.

Muslims at Manchester United include Paul Pogba, signed in 2016 for a then record transfer fee of almost £90m. Like his fellow Muslims, he is well-known for donating much of his huge salary to charity. It is the same for Riyad Mahrez – who helped Leicester to win the League in 2016 – and N’Golo Kanté, his old team-mate, who is now at current champions Chelsea. At Arsenal there’s Mesut Özil, at Manchester City Yaya Touré, Mamadou Sakho at Crystal Palace, Islam Slimani at Newcastle … the list goes on and on.

I have spoken to many young Muslims at major grounds in London, Leicester and Manchester who are not only watching their heroes, but increasingly playing the game, too. Inevitably, British Muslim footballers will start breaking into England’s top flight, joining the legions of foreign players.

In turn, those who might have seen Muslims as inward-looking and awkwardly conservative are changing their opinion. “Cool” is an overused word, but indisputably stylish sportsmen are having a profound effect on mass perceptions. Just as the British started to drop racist stereotypes in every walk of life – from advertising to situation comedies – from the late 1970s onwards, so Muslims are coming to be portrayed more positively.

They are certainly considered trendsetters who can thrill and inspire by shining in a multibillion-pound industry that has huge influence. Some show off earrings, tattoos, imaginative hairstyles and all the other accoutrements that appeal to their millions of social media devotees, but they also post images of themselves reading the Qur’an on the team coach, or posing in Mecca on their Hajj pilgrimage.

This naturally infuriates the Football Lads Alliance (FLA), a Muslim-hate organisation which imagines that supporters have not moved on from the days when players with dark skins had bananas, monkey chants and the N-word hurled at them from crumbling terraces.

The FLA frequently joins forces with equally repugnant mobs such as the English Defence League, which was originally modelled on the football hooligan “firms”. It affects a perverse loyalty to the British armed forces, yet its members rack up criminal convictions and jail time for various offences, many linked to extreme violence. Meanwhile, all propagate the myth that only one religion can produce antisocial extremists. They completely ignore terrorist murders carried out by radicalised white men just like themselves, for example, preferring to spread collective guilt against Muslims at every opportunity.

Such behaviour is as divisive as it is dangerous, but now more and more of these racists are being called out – not least by some of the most progressive football fans in the world.

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VIDEO: Do you know who the Muslim players are in the Premier League?

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The Muslim Premier League Top 10

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PODCAST: The Liverpool and Egypt footballer Mo Salah became a phenomenon last season; breaking records and winning almost every award going in the English Premier League. In his adopted city of Liverpool, football fans of different faith, nationality and club allegiance describe how Salah has broken down the boundaries that divide them. Reporter Nick Garnett travels from the back-streets surrounding Liverpool’s stadium at Anfield to the Pyramids of Egypt to uncover how Salah’s exploits off the pitch may even eclipse his achievements on it. [BBC]

New Sports for Tokyo 2020

Surfing and skateboarding set for Tokyo Olympics as squash is snubbed again

• Baseball/softball, karate and sports climbing also included 
• Final decision for 2020 Olympics will be made next year

Surfing and skateboarding look set to be Olympic events at the Tokyo 2020 Games after they were included on a list of five extra sports put forward by organisers.

The other three sports proposed by Tokyo were baseball/softball, karate, and sports climbing. If the IOC gives the go-ahead it will mean an extra 18 events involving an additional 474 athletes.

The IOC has changed its rules to allow Games hosts to propose sports which are popular in their country. Squash also had hopes of being included but those have now been dashed.

International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said: “Tokyo 2020’s announcement is an extraordinary moment for our sport and for the global surfing community.

“Surfing has incredible and growing global appeal, particularly amongst young people, and we believe that the dynamic energy of the sport and its fan base around the world would bring many benefits for Tokyo 2020 and the Games.

“Surfing embodies a cool, playful lifestyle that would add a completely new element to the programme, helping the Games reach new fans through live action and stunning broadcast opportunities.”

Squash was one of three sports initially in the running to make it to 2020 but lost out when wrestling was reinstated. Professional Squash Association (PSA) Chief Executive Alex Gough says the sport should remain positive despite the latest blow to any Olympic aspirations.

He said: “To know that dream is once again out of reach is naturally a difficult proposition for the sport. But I feel we can take a lot of positives from the huge ground we have made as a sport over the last decade - transitioning into a burgeoning global sport that is now broadcast in almost 100 countries worldwide and which has witnessed increases in player earnings by over 20% so far in 2015 alone.”

World squash president Narayana Ramachandran has been left ‘devastated’ by the setback.

“I don’t believe we could have done more to get our message across to both the Tokyo 2020 Games hosts and the IOC,” he said.

“Squash could bring something special as an addition to the program. After our 12-year journey to join the Olympic Games program, and the opportunity of a ‘second chance’ after the heart-break of missing out in our first 2020 bid in Buenos Aires two years ago, I am utterly devastated on behalf of our great sport that our dream of taking part in the Tokyo Games cannot now be realised.

“I know I speak on behalf of the millions of squash players around the world for whom the opportunity of seeing their sport participate in the Olympics has been an absolute priority - and, like me, they will be heartbroken.”

Taken from HERE.