TAC - Sports, Aquatics and Education

Stories

• Lebron James Is a Superstar and Game Changer, Even When He Isn't Playing Basketball

   

  A quick way to have nobody take your basketball knowledge seriously is trying to criticize Lebron James’s basketball legacy and greatness. Any shadow of doubt has been completely erased, as this year at the age of 36, Lebron James is still dominating the NBA and just came off his 4th NBA Championship. Lebron James is a household name even to people who are unfamiliar with the world of basketball. A lot of that is due to the continued discussions that puts him in the same conversation as what is noted by many as the most famous athlete of all time, Michael Jordan. All of this aside, Lebron James is more than just a famous athlete, his vision for the community is arguably even better than the vision he has on the court. 

   

  
  

   

  Education is Key. We've all heard this common but very true phrase said worldwide, and while Lebron James could have done just about anything else other than basketball during his off-season, the Akron native decided he would start giving a new generation an educational opportunity that Lebron James could have only dreamed of growing up. 8 million dollars annually is being funded into the Lebron James “ I Promise” school in Akron where free bikes, meals, and college tuition is being offered within a state of the art facility. This is only one of many charitable endeavours that Lebron James has taken on to help facilitate community opportunity and growth. On top of that, Lebron is also not one to remain silent during times where his community needs him the most. Lebron is always actively fighting as a human rights activist within his community. Lebron’s greatness on and off the court is why he will likely continue to be a community icon and hero even after he concludes his hall of fame career.     

   

  Key Takeaways! 

  • At the age of 36 Lebron James is still dominating in the NBA and upon winning his 4th NBA championship. He’s displayed to the world why he is regarded as the best in the league, and in the conversation of one of the best to ever play !

  • Being a successful athlete is wonderful! But oftentimes true greatness stems from being accomplished as a well rounded individual and focusing on leaving a positive impact behind ! 

  • Growing up, Lebron James could have only dreamed of growing up with a great education. So now 8 million dollars annually is being funded into the Lebron James “ I Promise” school in Akron where free bikes, meals, and college tuition is being offered within a state of the art facility. 

  • Lebron’s greatness on and off the court is why he will likely continue to be a community icon and hero even after he concludes his hall of fame career that is still to be continued.   

• Stamkos Is Back This Season, and You Probably Don't Want To Miss It

   

  Steven Stamkos is currently making a monster return from countless injuries and has kickstarted the season playing like what he is, one of the best hockey players in the world. Steven Stamkos is a Canadian hockey superstar born in Markham on February 7, 1990 who has played his entire professional hockey career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL who drafted him first overall in 2008. For any athlete the fear of underperforming or entering a performance slump within sports can be devastating, but the true nightmare that exists within Sport is injuries. It might be single handedly the only negative result of sport and unfortunately during high intensity play it is a monster that can strike any player without warning. An athlete will tell you, there is no greater sadness within team sports than being injured, and supporting your team from the sidelines. Knowing you have no ability to help your team and leave your impact on the game is a very tough pill to swallow.

   

  

   

  On Nov. 11, 2013, In a game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, Stamkos will have a heartbreaking injury while crashing the net and colliding into the goal post and breaking his right tibia. This injury meant Stamkos would have to sit out for 4 months and miss a chance to play for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. His phenomenal attitude off the ice was noticed by the team coaching staff and management and In 2014 on his first game day returning from the broken leg, Steven Stamkos became the 10th Captain in franchise history. In march of 2016 Stamkos will go into surgery for a developed blood clot that was forming near his right collarbone. The next season he will tear his lateral meniscus in his right knee and go on to miss an additional 65 games that season. In 2020 during the Stanley cup finals against the Dallas Stars, Steven Stamkos again, was returning from injury and just in time to join his team at the most critical time. Stamkos set an unusual NHL record that night, with the fewest number of minutes played in a Stanley cup finals in which a player scored in. Stamkos scored on his first appearance on the ice, however after scoring would be visually uneasy after returning to the bench. Stamkos did not go back on the ice after that and would later disclose a further injury to his core that required surgery. Regardless of his inability to return, Tampa Bay will win the 2020 Stanley Cup and Stamkos will win his first title. In spite of all of the injuries that have faced Stamkos including a broken leg, torn meniscus, blood clot, busted nose, and core surgery he has recorded 424 goals and 414 assists for 838 points in only 806 games played. Stamkos has returned this season healthy and he has already scored 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in only the first 3 games of the season. Stamkos is an athlete to watch very closely. His superstar performances are impressive, but his display of adversity and mental toughness is even more remarkable. Stamkos is a concrete example of how athletes don't just stumble upon greatness without mental toughness, and determination.     

   

  Key Takeaways ! 

   

  • Even when you take all of the precautions, Sports played at a high intensity can bring upon unwanted injury to any athlete ! How we deal with them is what counts ! 

  • Stamkos’s exceptional attitude towards his injuries and his ability to fight through that diversity and overachieve convinced management to name him the Tampa Bay Lighting Team Captain.

  • In spite of all of the injuries that have faced Stamkos including a broken leg, torn meniscus, blood clot, busted nose, and core surgery he has recorded 424 goals and 414 assists for 838 points in only 806 games played.

  • His superstar performance is impressive, but his display of adversity and true mental toughness is even more remarkable, leading him to the ultimate achievement in hockey, becoming a Stanley Cup champion !

   

• Swimming Progressions: Tips for the Beginning Swimmer

  Swimming is no easy task. The average student takes a minimum of 100 hours to master a basic understanding of all the unique strokes. This amount varies with each student according to their physical fitness and their ability to understand and learn. Through my own experience working with children at TAC Sports, I have come to understand some basic principles that can be applied to all swimmers to enhance learning and the swimmer’s comfort in the water.

  1. Progressions are Important

  The basics of swimming are divided into a series of progressions; starting with basic floats, then moving to glides, glides with kicks, and eventually full stroke development. These progressions are a necessity for beginning swimmers. They are the foundation for each and every stroke the child will learn. Swimming like many other sports is an accumulation of skills that build upon each other. These skills introduce the foundation of swimming: the importance of good body position.

  A common error I see when teaching my students is a bending at the hips causing the child’s feet to sink well below the surface. This creates a “v” shaped body position, and makes for a very inefficient stroke. Although normally this is a common problem with developing swimmers (those learning back glide for the first time), I have often encountered this when teaching back crawl as well. This is often why Level 6 can be so difficult for some swimmers.

  A simple fix to ensure that the body stays close to the surface of the water is to have the swimmer focus on straightening out and pushing their body up. This may need to be supplemented with vigorous kicking below the surface of the water and a slower take off. This adjustment usually only takes a few proper tries before the swimmer understands the principle on their own.

  2. Kicks are Key

  One of the single most important tips I have for the beginning swimmer is to execute proper kicking techniques from the start. Developing good swimming habits is key to developing strong efficient swimmers. Poor swimming habits can develop through inconsistent teaching. Once developed, these poor habits can be hard to break and often follow the swimmer well into advanced levels. This is why the development of proper swimming technique is so important.

  Kicks are key! Swimmers should use the entire force of the leg, generating power from the hips. A common error is to see flexed feet and bent knees, often causing the swimmer to make little to no progress, or in some cases appear to be moving backwards. The simple fix is pointed toes and straight legs to ensure that body position remains close to the surface of the water.

  3. The Importance of Water Orientation

  Do not underestimate the importance of deep and shallow water orientation. Orienting each child with the water can be one of the most challenging and yet rewarding aspects of swimming. It’s where each child’s love and passion for the sport starts. This can look like fun games of collecting sinking rings, performing underwater handstands, or exploring different ways of entering the water. These skills seem like fun games and a way for the instructor to reward their class for a job well done. These skills teach students how to coordinate their breathing, and how to explore movement through the water resulting in an integral aquatics foundation.  

  A common problem that swimmers encounter throughout these activities is a lack of exhalation through their nose when moving around underwater. This allows water to enter the nose causing pain, and often stops the child from completing the task. The simple solution is to have the child exhale through their nose in situations where they are upside down.

  These principles are consistently developed throughout your child’s swimming lessons, and they remain important factors towards success in each lesson. The beginning swimmer must focus on developing a strong foundation, strong kicks, good body position, and coordinating breathing. This foundation will help the swimmer become successful in the next stages of technical development.

• Youtube Channel for TAC Sports

  TAC Sports is excited to announce its Youtube channel, with many videos corresponding to the different progress reports we have and many fun videos for the children to watch. You can see our overview videos here! 

  Overview Video: https://youtu.be/y_MXJAH5UY8

  Parents Perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpA1AlzYwos

  Children's View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeINsLwAA_Y

• Happy Halloween

  Happy Halloween! We have had a scary good year with all of our students thus far at TAC Sports. We have seen confidence soar, memories made, students making friends and crafting superstar self-images. We appreciate every single student who has taken the steps to make themselves better and discover their passion and potential! 
  As we approach All Hallows Eve, we are reminded of one thing that has bound all of our training throughout the year…FUN!

  It is extremely important to incorporate fun in all that you do. It is a huge part of our positive reinforcement that helps our students to become attached and enamoured with their own skill-building experiences.

  Fun is why we incorporate all sports and training into our 5 Star Development Program and our Achievements into every session..to give that element of fun in all of our training. That is why we only have the most fun, passionate coaches that lead all of our session and camps. Fun is why we are so close as a TAC Sports team.

  I say…those who have FUN together, STAY together.

  We want to bring the fun and the appreciation in a big way to you, by inviting you to our Client Appreciation Day on December 5th at Crescent School Fieldhouse from 1:00PM-4:00PM! 

  Please RSVP your ticket to the FUN. There will be tournaments, pizza and face-painting! 

  The first 10 families to RSVP to the Client Appreciation Day will get a package full of TAC Sports Swag!

  We will see you there! Have a Happy Halloween and have FUN!

  From the directors at TAC Sports, 
  Alexander Arthur and Adib Razavi

  CLIENT APPRECIATION DAY RSVP

  RSVP HERE!

   

   

• The Compound Effect

  Little decisions, little actions. They shape our destiny. As sport players and as sport coaches, every little play, every little action we take to get better can end up being a huge difference at the end of the day.

  “The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, every day decisions will take you either to the life you desire or to disaster by default.”

  -Darren Hardy (Publisher of Success Magazine)

  This is a new principle we are enacting in our training, to get our students to focus on each play, to get that much better each day, and to stay motivated.

  As coaches we can also benefit, from continuing to design lesson plans to giving it 100% each and every coaching session. Every little action adds up!

  It is important to continue to be consistent in our practicing, and make sure that nothing breaks the momentum! 

  Our homework to both our students and the students of our parents – read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, it will make a huge difference in your development!