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(02/22/12 9:30pm)
On Feb. 13, Rock of Ages, a new musical set to the sounds of the hair bands of the 80’s took to the stage at Macon’s Grand Opera House. Just about everyone has heard or knows the words to “Don’t Stop Believing,” the hit song made famous by the 80’s rock band Journey. “Just a small town girl/Living in a lonely world/She took the midnight train going anywhere/Just a city boy/Born and raised in South Detroit/He took the midnight train going anywhere.” Rock of Ages is a rock/jukebox musical, with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of the decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Asia, among other well-known rock bands. It is directed by Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine with music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Ethan Popp and David Gibbs.The creative team for Rock of Ages took this song and created a compelling story line, making sure that each rock song used had a meaning and was appropriately placed. Some of the songs were taken in a direction that one would not think they would go.“Any Way You Want It,” another hit made famous by Journey, took place in a strip club. Each stripper was giving a choreographed lap dance, and singing the words to the song. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister was used during a protest scene, because the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, where most of the musical took place, was being threatened by land developers. The heart wrenching “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner took place in a bathroom stall during a one night stand. The show ends with “Don’t Stop Believing” summing up the fact that the whole storyline that the audience just watched was loosely based on the lyrics of the famous song. The cast and crew that they brought to the Grand opera House was a group of seasoned professionals. Each cast member brought something different to the performance, and it was interesting to see how the different blends of voices made an interesting sound when being sung to an extremely specific type of music. From soul singers, to hardcore rockers, all the way to voices with a pop quality were able to showcase their talent when asked to sing rock music.What was seemingly the most powerful voice in the show was in one of the subordinate role. Justice Charlier, the owner of the strip club, where Sherrie, one of the shows central characters, was played by Amma Osei. Her voice was powerful like Aretha Franklin, but had tenderness to it like Mary J. Blige’s. The lead characters of Drew and Sherrie, played by Dominique Scott and Shannon Mullen, each brought a smooth tone to the role, and were not true rockers, but able to hold their own while singing the heavy metal tunes.Rock of Ages, has recently been in the works for a feature film starring Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones and many others. The film is set to be released in June of 2012.The next show to hit the Grand Opera House stage is the official Blues Brother’s Review on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets can be purchased at the Grand Opera House website or at Mercer Ticket Sales.
(02/22/12 9:29pm)
The Mercer women’s golf team and Head Coach Gary Guyer recently pulled out a much-needed victory in the JU Classic hosted by Jacksonville University. On day one, Mercer sophomore Lacey Fears fired a score of 71, one under par, to lead the entire tournament. Junior Aurelie Wiriath was tied for second after day one shooting an impressive 74. Sophomore Mary Alice Murphy was just one stroke behind Wiriath, shooting a 75. Junior Kaitlin Marrin finished with a score of 76, while freshman Sarah Louise Brown shot an 80. Mercer’s score of 296 was good for first place on the day leading the host school by 10 strokes.“We played really well today,” Mercer head coach Gary Guyer said. “We didn’t play great today, but we were consistent. I’m proud of everyone for staying inside themselves and playing the golf course.”On day two, sophomore Lacey Fears led the team by firing a 73 in the Jacksonville University Classic and Mercer held its lead on the six-team field. Weather was not kind to any team, as the course was made more difficult by bad conditions.Fears finished the day at the top of the individual leader board for the second-straight day and started Tuesday’s final round with a three-stroke advantage over the next closest player. Her 73 on Monday tied for the second-best individual round of the day.Mary Alice Murphy and Aurelie Wiriath were tied for sixth place individually with 36-hole totals of 153. Murphy finished with a 78 on Tuesday, while Wiriath used 79 strokes on the day. Sarah Louise Brown required 81 strokes while Kaitlin Marrin shot an 83. Marrin held sole possession of 15thplace, while Brown was a part of a five-way tie for 19th.Mercer sophomore Lacey Fears put the finishing touches on a beyond impressive three-day performance with a 76 in the final round to capture the event’s individual championship. As a team, the Bears shot 301 in the final round at the Hidden Hills Country Club and finished the event 17 strokes ahead of the next closest team.Mercer’s 56-hole total of 908 gave the team its second tournament title of the year after winning its own Eat a Peach Collegiate on Sep. 19.Coach Guyer was more than happy with his squad. “We started out slow today but the girls fought back and finished strong,” Guyer said. “This team is good at closing the deal,” he added.Mercer’s team finish marked the sixth time Guyer has led the Bears to a tournament title since taking control of the program in 2007.Mercer returns competitive play on Feb. 26 at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic. That event will be contested over three days at the Cougar Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C.
(02/22/12 9:24pm)
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame will remain in Macon for at least the next three years.
Ben Sapp, the managing director who has been the museum’s temporary director for nearly two years, said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed off on the agreement, which was received Feb. 6 by the Development Authority of Bibb County.
In negotiations on Feb. 7, Bibb County commissioners accepted what they seemingly thought to be the state of Georgia’s responsibility. They informally voted to put $125,000 into the sports hall this year alone.
County commissioner Lonzy Edwards made it known that he felt that the sports hall was the state’s responsibility, with local legislators more worried about keeping the local government under control rather than finding money to pay for what they felt was the state’s responsibilities in Macon.
“I’m going to vote for this. Only reason I’m going to vote for this is it’s in downtown Macon. Downtown Macon is in part of my district. ... We’re supposed to do what’s in the best interests of the total community,” Edwards said.
Commission Chairman Sam Hart said the County Commission had obligated itself in December 2010 when it pledged to support the sports and music halls with $250,000 in the first year, $150,000 in the second year and $100,000 the third year in order to make sure that they were up and running. The Music Hall of Fame later closed its doors but the Sports Hall of Fame did not. Hart said at the moment that the Music Hall of Fame closed the obligation was then cut in half because the number of museums had been cut in half.
If Macon and Bibb County follow the ideas set forth, each will put $125,000 into the sports hall this year, $75,000 next year and $50,000 the year after that. The sports hall also receives about $120,000 in hotel-motel taxes channeled through Bibb County.
The hall is to be managed by NewTown Macon. Other funding comes from the Peyton Anderson Foundation, which promised $750,000 over three years; the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, which pledged $15,000; and the Griffith Family Foundation, which offered $200,000.
Sapp said the sports hall benefits from private fundraising that will make the hall more self-sufficient.
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Honors Court recently selected the newest inductees after intense deliberation. The inductees are Jack Bauerle, Sally Smalley Bell, Bob Boylston, Tracy Ham, Cliff Kimsey and John Smoltz.
The ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 25th at the Macon City Auditorium.
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9-5. The museum is located at 301 Cherry Street.
(02/22/12 9:24pm)
In 2009, the NCAA Division I Legislative Council added sand volleyball to the list of emerging sports for women, clearing the way for schools to use the sport toward minimum sponsorship requirements and minimum financial aid awards.
“The opportunity to play sand volleyball in the spring will spur growth in the sport. I wish I had that opportunity when I was at Stanford,” said 2008 Olympic Beach Gold Medalist, Kerri Walsh. “Additionally, this development will give more women an opportunity for a professional volleyball career in the United States,” she added.
In 2011, Mercer University, under the leadership of the newly appointed Head Coach Damian Elder, will officially add sand volleyball as a sport, and many members of the indoor team will take to the beach for some heated competition.
Elder has a wide array of experience in coaching on the sand. During his time at the University of South Carolina, the school fielded its first competitive sand volleyball team. Elder assumed responsibility of the sand program, instituting the first sand training program and first SEC sand camp before leading the team to the SEC Beach Championship title in 2009.
Junior Jenn Katona couldn’t withhold her excitement for sand volleyball. “I am excited to have the sand volleyball courts available to us. We are humbled with the opportunity to make history at Mercer. We haven’t been able to stay away from the sand since the courts opened.”
Sand volleyball is not the only addition to Mercer, as there has been addition to the coaching staff of the program as well. Elder made the first step in putting his stamp on the program, announcing the hiring of Scott Schweihofer as an assistant coach. Schweihofer joins the Bears after most recently serving as assistant coach at the College of Charleston with Elder.
Schweihofer brings six years of collegiate coaching experience to the program after holding various coaching positions at the College of Charleston, Limestone College, Presbyterian College and Michigan State.
In his most recent position at Charleston, Schweihofer coordinated opponent film breakdown, video editing, film exchange, practice planning and game day operations.
“I am fortunate to have someone of Scott’s character willing to tackle this exciting challenge with me,” Elder said. “His willingness to work, learn and create have already helped push Mercer Volleyball towards a new frontier in just the two weeks we have been here. With Scott, Dan and our manager Jeffery, I’m positive I can design an engaging and positive experience for the student-athletes at Mercer now and the student-athletes to come.”
Elder, Schweihofer and the Bears will begin its inaugural sand volleyball season on Mar. 21, hosting the University of Alabama-Birmingham at the new sand volleyball courts on the Macon campus. Match time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
(02/22/12 9:02pm)
Rumor Has It Someone Like You has been wondering who decided to Take It All at the Grammys. Not only did British sensation Adele Set Fire to the stage with her first performance since her recent vocal cord surgery singing “Rolling in the Deep,” but she was the One and Only person who took every award that they were nominated for.
Adele absolutely dominated the Grammys last week, deservedly so. The pop singer from London racked up six awards in all, including Record and Song of the Year.
More controversially, Chris Brown made a couple appearances in addition to winning R&B Album of the Year, a fact that angered many.
But the jaw-dropping moment of the entire show came from up and coming Hip Hop star Nicki Minaj, who decided that a video skit coupled with an absolutely bizarre sacrilegious stage show was a good move. It was not.
Nicki Minaj sang her new single from her forthcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. “Roman Holiday” took form of the movie The Excorcist as Nicki Minaj portrayed herself as Roman, a human being possessed by a demon. An exorcist came to relieve Minaj of the demon in full Pope’s regalia, but was unsuccessful as she levitated towards the ceiling.
After seeing that, the Catholic League issued a statement inquiring as to whether Minaj is actually possessed.
To the Catholic League’s president, Bill Donohue, “perhaps the most vulgar part” of Minaj’s show was “the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer.”
Donohue asserts in his statement that “none of this was by accident, and all of it was approved by the Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys. Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question, but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of the Recording Academy. Never would they allow an artist to insult Judaism or Islam.”
With Whitney Houston passing just the day prior to the Grammys, many were wondering how they would honor such a musical legend. Tastefully, LL Cool J, the Grammys host, led what was seemingly the entire musical community in a prayer. Later in the show, former American Idol contestant and Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson took to the stage in order to not try to imitate, but instead to honor Whitney Houston with a touching rendition of Whitney’s biggest hit, “I Will Always Love You.”
Other notable Grammy moments were: a duet in honor of Etta James with Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt, the Foo Fighters winning five Grammys putting them second only to Adele, Taylor Swift performing her hit “Mean” in what seemed to look like a potato sack, and Lady Gaga not winning a single award.
On the fan’s side of the awards, indie act Bon Iver’s win for best new artist caused a ton of confusion for music listeners that don’t follow Pitchfork Media. In the wake of their win, Twitter was flooded with comments along the lines of “Who the hell is Bonny Bear?” Maybe mainstream America just isn’t ready for Justin Vernon and his mountain-man beard yet.
Awards season continues this Sunday, as the focus shifts to movies when the Academy Awards take place. Tune in to the Academy Awards at 7 p.m. on ABC to see who takes home the most coveted prizes in film making.
(02/08/12 11:17pm)
Since the end of November, the Mercer Women’s Volleyball team has been looking for a replacement for former Head Coach Noelle Rooke who resigned on Nov. 29. The search was a long and tedious one, but all prayers were answered on Jan. 17 when the Mercer Athletic Department announced the hiring of Damian Elder.
Director of Athletics Jim Cole was very pleased with the choice of Elder to assume the role of Head Volleyball Coach. “We are extremely pleased to add Coach Elder to the Mercer family,” said Cole. “He brings over a decade of top-level hardwood coaching experience and has proven the ability to build a successful sand volleyball program. I’m confident we have found the right man to lead our program going forward,” added Cole.
This will be Elder’s first head coaching job ever. Most recently, Elder was the assistant at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. At Charleston, he helped guide the Cougars to a 25-10 (14-2 SoCon) record and a runner-up finish in the 2011 SoCon Championship.
Before College of Charleston, Elder was also an assistant at the University of South Carolina as well as Stanford University. In his first season at Stanford, with his help, the team captured the 2004 NCAA Division I National Championship.
The Cluster most recently had a question and answer session with Coach Elder and he had a very positive outlook on where he plans to take the team in both indoor and sand volleyball.
Cluster: Why did you choose Mercer?
Elder: I chose Mercer for two reasons: The athletic department is committed to enhancing student athlete’s experience and creating a sand volleyball program from scratch combined with turning around an indoor seemed like a challenge I couldn’t pass up.
Cluster: What do you look to improve upon moving forward with the girls from last year?
Elder: I’m moving toward team chemistry being a fundamental skill and standard for this group of athletes, as opposed to an intangible.
Cluster: How are your first team practices shaping up?
Elder: Practices have been great because the team has been great. I’ve told the girls that the day to day grind of “running” a program is completely overshadowed by how much I have enjoyed being in the gym with them.
Cluster: What is your coaching philosophy and how do you look to instill it upon your players?
Elder: I have a coaching philosophy that is constantly in flux, but can be captured currently by NFL analyst Ron Jaworski, a few weeks ago he said of a school looking for a new football coach, “they need pioneers not historians.” And that sums me up at the moment, I’m trying to be a pioneer for this team and I project that with consistency in my message and vigilance in watching for the good they do.
Cluster: Finally,with sand volleyball being added as an NCAA sport, how do you look to work on improving the skill set of your players so that they can play competitively?
Elder: Building the skill set for sand volleyball isn’t a project from the ground up. Many of the athletes on the team are experienced sand players and the other athletes possess the indoor skills just waiting to be translated onto the sand.
Coach Elder should be able to take the program into the right direction. Team practices have begun and the hard work is already being put in to push for a conference championship in the 2012 indoor season, not to mention the sand volleyball season. Things are looking up for the women’s volleyball squad.
(02/08/12 11:14pm)
In the last four games, Head Coach Susie Gardner and the Mercer Women’s Basketball team have brought their record to 4-20 (2-11 in conference). Although some important games were dropped there were still some bright spots for the Bears.
First, the team traveled to Florida Gulf Coast University to take on a talented Eagles team. The Bears ended up losing 92-55. Freshman Precious Bridges and junior Alex Phillips each scored 12 points in the loss. FGCU remains unbeaten in A-Sun play. Freshman Alesha Smith was having one of her best collegiate games thus far with a season-high six points and three rebounds before leaving the game with an injury in the second half. Freshman Teanna Robinson also had an impressive outing, booking four points, five rebounds, an assist and a block in 17 minutes.
The next stop for Gardner’s squad was Stetson University. Unfortunately, the Bears could not pull this one out losing 68-46. Sophomore Brianna Williams led all scorers with an impressive 20 points. Sophomore Jasmine Blakemore finished just short of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards before fouling out with 3:31 to go. Her 12-point effort was one point short of tying a season-best effort. Freshman Tabitha Bradshaw was able to dish out four assists in the losing effort.
The Bears then came home to face a tough East Tennessee State University team. Again, Gardner’s bunch could not prevail falling 75-59. Three players scored in double figures. Sophomore Briana Williams scored a team-high 16 points in the loss. Williams’ 16 points came with five assists, four rebounds and a steal. Freshmen Precious Bridges and Alicia Williams scored 11 and 10, respectively.
In their last game of the week against USC Upstate, Mercer snapped its 13-game losing streak winning 87-71, but the name on everyone’s lips was “Brianna Williams.” Last year’s “Freshman of the Year” proved why she should be in the running for “Player of the Year” this season by amassing a record-setting 54 points in one game. With a tie for the program record at 51 points, 30 seconds were left on the clock. Gardner gave the control to Williams to call her own play.
“My assistants told me not to tell her how close she was to the record,” Gardner said. “As it got towards the end I could see she was fatigued, so I told her. I felt like if I let her know she could turn it on. On the final possession we had to shoot because of the shot clock, so I let her call her own play and she came up with a huge shot.”
“I heard it over the speakers that I tied the record,” Williams said. “I really wasn’t looking to score on the final possession, but when I came down the defender gave me some space so I let it fly.”
Williams’ performance broke the 20-year-old mark set by Andrea Congreaves, who held the record with a pair of 51-point games. Williams’ effort on Saturday also bested the all-time Atlantic Sun record. Her 54 points were just six shy of the all-time NCAA Division I record.
Head Coach Susie Gardner, Brianna Williams and the rest of the Bears shift their focus to instate rivals Kennesaw State in a match-up this coming Sat
(02/08/12 9:49pm)
It’s the New Year, which means one thing: hella awards being given out. Award season has gone into full effect with the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards already being finished but in movies we still await the Academy Awards, the most coveted prize in cinema, as well as in music The Grammys.
The biggest start off to awards season was the Critics Choice Awards. The top honor of the night for Best Picture went to the black and white ode to silent cinema “The Artist.” The movie’s director Michel Hazanavicius took home the award for Best Director. The film also took home the awards for Costume Design and Original Score.
“The Help,” the movie about African American maids and their treatment in Mississippi during the 60’s took home some of the top awards in the acting categories. Viola Davis took home the Best Actress honors while Octavia Spencer took home the Best Supporting Actress award. The entire cast won the award for Best Acting Ensemble for their portrayal of a racially tense time period.
Best Actor went to George Clooney for his role in “The Descendants, ” while Best Supporting Actor went to Christopher Plummer for his role in “Beginners.”
Less than a week after the Critics Choice Awards the Golden Globes were in full effect, and the Golden Globes are what many look towards to make their Oscar Predictions.
The big movie of the night was “The Artist,” yet again, winning three awards on the night in the comedy or musical category including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Score. “The Descendants” was the leader of the drama category, winning two awards for Best Picture and Best Actor- George Clooney, who played a befuddled father trying to connect with his daughters after his wife’s boating accident.
The cinema veteran, Meryl Streep, took home the award for Best Actress- Drama for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” while Michelle Williams took home the award for Best Actress- Comedy or Musical for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.” Martin Scorsese won the award for Best Director. Once again, Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer took home awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively.
The biggest winner in the television categories was once again Modern Family and Homeland taking home the Best Television Series awards.
The final warm-up round before the Oscars was the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Many familiar names and faces were once again on the stage making their contention for an Oscar more likely. Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jean Dujardin and Christopher Plummer all took home the awards in each of their categories. “The Help” took home the award for Best Cast Performance in a Motion Picture.
This leaves many people wondering what will happen at the Oscars. Will Meryl Streep add yet another award to her mantle (or closet for how many she’s won), or will Viola Davis surprise everyone and take home the award Meryl seems to take home year after year? Will familiar face George Clooney win Best Actor or will newcomer Jean Dujardin take home the coveted prize? And most importantly, who will take home Best Film? “The Help” and “The Artist” seem to be the frontrunner, but will there be surprises similar to last year’s Academy Awards celebrations? So many questions about movies left unanswered, but tune in on February 26th to find out all of the answers.
We’ve spent so much time on films, but The Grammys are just as big of a date when it comes to music. Each year, there are surprises at The Grammys that leave people taken aback. Will this year’s celebrations be the same?
Kanye West leads the pack at the Grammys with seven nominations, including two for Best Rap Album for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and his joint album with rap mogul Jay-Z Watch the Throne. The star who is causing the largest buzz preceding this year’s awards though is Adele, whose album 21 is an international best seller and has topped the Billboard Charts for weeks. Adele’s album has spent 49 weeks on the Billboard charts, constantly maintaining a position within the top five. It is no question that Adele should walk home with more than a few awards. But Adele is up against many previous Grammy winners for Album of the Year. Her competition includes the Foo Fighters, pop princesses Lady Gaga and Rihanna, and the up and coming soul artist Bruno Mars.
Song of the Year is another competitive category. Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” is one of the biggest songs of the year, but Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” is no lightweight either. Bruno Mars’ heart wrenching love song “Grenade” is also nominated along with Mumford and Sons’ “The Cave” and Bon Iver’s “Holocene.”
There is no doubt that the end to this awards season is to be a competitive one, because it already has been. Will there be surprises? Will your favorites win? Tune into the Grammys on February 12 and the Academy Awards on February 26to find out if your favorites took home the top prize.
(02/08/12 9:22pm)
As many already know, February is Black History Month. This means that several events all throughout Macon will be going on in order to commemorate the memories of those that helped advance black history. With several people of African American descent from Macon, the celebrations this year should be no short of those in years past.
On Friday, February 3, the Tubman Museum kicked off its celebration of Black History Month with a reception to mark the opening of a special exhibition of works by one of Georgia’s highly respected contemporary artists.
Entitled “Freddie Styles: Roots, Pine Needles and Faxes,” the exhibit is the first one-person show by the artist at the Tubman Museum.
Freddie Styles is a native of Georgia. He is an abstract artist committed to a form of abstraction informed by a passion for the inherent beauty of life. This exhibition features a selection of works completed mostly in the past 15 years, works in which the artist used items such as tree roots, pine needles and vintage coated fax paper to create paintings and collages that interpret a natural world pared down to natural shapes and vibrant color. In these recent works, Styles has achieved a unique method of reflecting nature’s forms, textures, patterns and colors, revealing a window to a more spiritual world.
The museum is located at 340 Walnut Street, in downtown Macon. “Roots, Pine Needles and Faxes” will remain on view at the Tubman Museum through March 31, 2012. For more information about this event, and other African American history month programs, contact the museum at (478) 743 – 8544.
Macon State College is also hosting a pair of events in honor of Black History Month.
On February 16 at 12:30 p.m., a presentation by the Atlanta Chapter of Buffalo Soldiers will present “A History of Buffalo Soldiers.”
“Buffalo Soldier” was the nickname given by the Native Americans to members of African American cavalry regiments of the U.S. Army who served in the western United States from 1867 to 1896. Many of the soldiers had fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. An 1866 law authorized the U.S. Army to form cavalry and infantry regiments of black men. The resulting units were the ninth and tenth cavalries, who became known as the Buffalo Soldiers, noted for their courage and discipline.
Also at Macon State, Poet Roger Bonair-Agard will have a reading and lecture on Wednesday, February 22 at 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Bonair-Agard, a professional performance poet since 1997, is a two-time National Poetry Slam champion. A native of the island country of Trinidad and Tobago, he has lived in New York for nearly 20 years and currently is writer-in-residence with Vision Into Art, a music and interdisciplinary arts production company in New York City, New York. He has appeared three times on Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on HBO, and he is co-author of Burning Down the House (2000), Tarnish and Masquerade (2006) and Gully (2010).
This Black History Month should be one to remember and Macon is doing its part to remember all of the important African Americans who have helped contribute to society.
(02/08/12 9:09pm)
“So turn up the stage lights/ We’re takin’ a flight/ To a couple of days/ In the life of what it’s like/ In Washington Heights!”This is exactly what everyone experienced if they went to go see the production of In the Heights at Mercer’s own Grand Opera House. The Broadway touring company took the Macon stage by storm on the evening of Jan. 25.In the Heights tells a universal story of a colorful community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, “a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music.”The music ranges from Hip-Hop to R&B all the way to Salsa. The Hispanic roots of the musical stay true to the story as well as the music. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who originally wrote the musical while in college at Wesleyan University, used stories from his own bodega to visualize and bring the musical to life.After a long Off-Broadway run, the show finally moved to Broadway in 2008. It was here where the concept was completely brought together garnering it the highest prestige in theatre, a Tony Award for Best Musical. The show was headlined by its writer and concept creator Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. The Broadway show played to sold out crowds and received fantastic reviews and feedback.The troupe at the Grand Opera House was received no differently than the exceptional reviews that the Broadway Company obtained. The show had its mixture of upbeat songs like “96,000” and “Carnival del Barrio” to the heart-wrenching performances like “Alabanza” and “Everything I Know.”Each cast member had their own specific niche, and they each brought something different to the table theatrically. Whether their specific talent was singing or dancing, each individual cast member helped bring the show to life in front of the eyes of hundreds of audience members. One voice that stood out in particular was that of Presilah NuÑez who played the role of Vanessa, the out of luck girl that was trying to make it out of her neighborhood. Her voice was spectacular in her first song “It Won’t Be Long Now” as well as when she was featured in “96,000.” Another performance that stood out among others was that of Christina Aranda, who played the loving and affectionate Abuela Claudia. Abuela Claudia is the matriarch of the neighborhood, truly being a parental figure to all of the children who live on the block. Her heart-wrenching rendition of “Paciencia y Fe” was one that was a pleasure to behold. Overall, the performance was one that brought people to tears as well as one that made people keel over with laughter, but most importantly it was a show with a message. Abuela Claudia said it best, “Paciencia y Fe” which translates to “Patience and Faith.” With these two things one can overcome any trying time.The next show to play at the Grand Opera House is “Rock of Ages,” a story of a small town girl moving to Los Angeles. “Rock of Ages” a hilarious, feel-good, rock-n-roll love story told through the mind blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Night Ranger, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. So, all of you Rock and Roll fans can buy your tickets at the Mercer Box Office or at thegrandmacon.com.
(01/25/12 11:23pm)
On Monday, January 16, hundreds of citizens adorned with flags and portraits took to the streets in order to commemorate and remember the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
People from all over the region came to Macon for the chance to march as Dr. King did in his important struggle with discrimination, racism and bigotry.
The crowd was one of the largest seen in recent years, reaching around 1,000.
It was beyond apparent that Dr. King’s message remained in the hearts of people today. From miles away you could hear the different crowds all singing the same freedom songs that were sung by Dr. King and his followers. “Ain’t gonna let no hatred turn me around/ Turn me around, turn me around/ Ain’t gonna let no hatred turn me around/ I’m gonna keep on a-walkin’, keep on a-talkin’ /Marchin’ up to freedom land.” The groups started at four different points, east, west, north and south Macon, and later converged at Macon’s city hall joining together in unison to sing “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody.” The moment was somber.
As the final words were sung, everyone quieted down and gathered closer in order to hear the message that was to come. “We come here to make a statement: Freedom is not free,” Rev. Richard Gammage, head pastor of New Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, expressed to the crowd. “Many have died. Blood has been shed. It’s time now to re-evaluate voter registration, voter education, voter orchestration and ultimately voter demonstration. That means you go to the polls and vote,” urged Gammage. Rev. Gammage urged people to vote as did Dr. King, expressing that if you want your voice to be heard you must make it so that it is heard, by exercising your right to vote.
After Rev. Gammage spoke, Macon’s Mayor Robert Reichert took to the stage and thanked everyone in attendance on such a monumental day. Reichert said the marching is a fitting way to “realize how far we have come and look and see how far we have to go to build a more just community and build a community of love and brotherhood.”
When the final prayer was said, many were in tears, others were joyful but most importantly everyone was together. It was truly a sight to see, just as Dr. King would have wished for. Old and young, white and black, all gathered together as one in order to help further express his message of equality to the entire community.
When the crowd dispersed, the message dispersed with them. Each person walked away with the idea, of equality and above all, an unconditional love for your fellow man. Dr. King once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Today this message still reigns true. Dr. King will forever be remembered and never forgotten as these hundreds of people demonstrated.
(01/25/12 11:05pm)
One of the hottest topics in the NCAA right now is concussions. According to a study done by the University of Pittsburgh, over 300,000 sports-related concussions occur annually, and the likelihood of suffering a concussion while playing a contact sport is estimated to be as high as 19 percent per year of play. More than 62,000 concussions are sustained each year in high-school contact sports, and among college football players, 34 percent have had one concussion and 20 percent, multiple concussions.
Concussions often cause noteworthy and continuous neuropsychological impairment in information-processing speed, problem solving, planning and memory. These impairments are worse with a rise in number of concussions obtained. Studies have shown that the chance of getting a second concussion is higher once the first one happens. Suffering a second concussion while still having symptoms from a previous concussion can be lethal. In 1973, R.C. Schneider was the first to describe the deaths of two athletes who died after suffering a relatively minor head injury during recovery from a previous concussion. In 1984, the term second-impact syndrome was coined referring to having a second concussion while still recovering from the first. By 2003, 21 cases of SIS had been reported in medical literature.
The impact of concussions doesn’t stray far from Mercer University’s campus. Sophomore women’s soccer team member Kristen Hagaman has suffered from multiple concussions starting from her childhood and continuing in her college athletic career.
“I’ve only had one reported concussion, but now that I understand the symptoms I’ve probably had close to four. My concussion happened in March of 2011. Immediately after the concussion, school was extremely hard. I couldn’t comprehend what my professors were saying in class and I couldn’t focus at all on my homework,” said Hagaman.
Not only did she have problems with academics, but struggles came from elsewhere.
“I had terrible insomnia, so I was tired all the time. The headaches that I got were also awful. It was really difficult to study when I felt bad all the time and just about everything caused me to have a headache. The lights in my classes drove me crazy and having to focus harder in class gave me horrible headaches. Sunlight really affected my head and therefore I wasn’t able to go out to practice with my team, “she added.
With a serious concussion, and the possibility of long term affects looming, Kristen has some very important decisions to make when it comes to her life and her health.
“I have to decide if three more years of soccer is worth having problems later on in life, which most students don’t have to think about. Even if I don’t develop a serious problem like those, if I get another concussion it’s likely that I’ll have symptoms for the rest of my life. My trainers keep telling me that I should consider not playing anymore because when I go to play with my kids when I’m older I don’t have to get a headache every time I run around,” she said.
Concussions are serious despite what some may think. Kristen Hagaman is a prime example. She may never play the sport she loves again, but if it’s to prolong her life, it’s a decision that might need to be made. Millions of people are affected by concussions. It can lead to poor brain function and in some cases, even death. If you think you may have a concussion, take the necessary precautions to take care of yourself.
(01/25/12 9:56pm)
While other students were resting at home anxiously awaiting their final grades to be posted, or rejoicing another semester of college completed, the Mercer women’s basketball team was not resting on their laurels as they had many important games to prepare for and play. Playing eight games while everyone else was away was a difficult task to overcome. Although crowds would be small, and it would be tough for the team to be away from family for most of the holidays, they knew they had a job to do and knew that this is what they signed up for.
First up for the Lady Bears was the Troy State University Trojans. In a highly contested match that ventured into overtime, the Lady bears came out on top, victorious in a well-deserved 69-59 win. In this game, the name on everyone’s lips was Briana Williams! The sophomore sensation finished with a team-leading 27 points and an impressive seven rebounds. Also coming up big in the victory were Alicia Williams and Ry’van Buchanan who finished the game with 13 and 10 points respectively. Junior Sharmesia Smith came just short of a double-double effort with 10 rebounds and nine points.
Next up for Mercer was an away match-up with a competitive UNC Asheville opponent. The game ended with the victor prevailing by only a one-point margin. Unfortunately for the away team, this margin was not on their side. The Lady Bears ended up losing 76-75. Both Briana Williams and Alicia Williams had stellar performances for their team combining for 44 points between the two. Briana Williams led the team with 23 points, followed by teammate Alicia Williams’ astounding 21 points. Sharmesia Smith was able to pull down nine rebounds in the losing effort. Coach Susie Gardner weighed in on the match. “The game shouldn’t have come to a last second play,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said. “We were up early but after we got down, we fought back. This was another learning experience. We continue to learn the hard way,” she added.
Coach Gardner’s squad hit the court twice more before the big conference stretch started, losing to both Winthrop and a highly touted Notre Dame squad 88-74 and 128-42 respectively. The team looked to take their current losing streak and turn it into fuel for the fire as they headed towards their most important stretch of the season, conference play.
The first pair of games for Gardner and the Lady Bears was against Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson at home. Unfortunately, the Lady Bears dropped both contests losing to Florida Gulf Coast 98-50 and Stetson by a close margin of 89-84.
In their final two matches before the break for the holidays was over as students ventured back to Mercer’s campus for the second semester, Coach Gardner looked to lead her team to victory. Unfortunately, the Lady Bears dropped the two contests, losing to ETSU 72-46 and USC Upstate 77-56.
With conference tournament dreams on the line, Coach Gardner looks to fine tune some of the problem areas and make a run late for the season for a chance for our Lady Bears to hoist the trophy high over their heads.
Coming out of a tough stretch of winter break games, the Lady Bears fell to 3-14. After winning the overtime game against Troy, Gardner’s squad dropped seven in-a-row.
(01/25/12 9:46pm)
The Mercer women’s golf team is looking to set a standard of excellence going into the 2012 competitive season. Led by Head Coach Gary Guyer the team looks to take the precedent set in the fall of 2011 and take that momentum into the spring of 2012 to finish well in conference play.
The lady golfers had some impressive finishes this fall. Namely, winning their own EAT-A-PEACH Collegiate Tournament, hosted in Macon. They also finished fourth at the Chris Bannister Golf Classic in Huntsville, Ala., fifth at the LPGA Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. and tied for seventh at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Oahu, Hawaii.
The team had strong finishes in each tournament by Sarah Louise Brown, Lacy Fears, Mary Alice Murphy and Aurelie Wiriath. All these women have been consistent finishers for the bears and have led them to be in the top 10 in all of the four tournaments the team has participated in this calendar school year.
Losing one of their top performers, Kimberly Graff to transfer, Coach Guyer is looking to replace her as she has been a consistent top five competitor. Vying for her position in the top five are Kaitlin Marrin, Keri Lynn Carson, Jessica Arthur and Alicia Poole. Each of the aforementioned golfers should have a chance to compete for a top five spot within the squad.
Sophomore Mary Alice Murphy thinks that the team is in a good place right now. With the hard work they put in, they should be able to finish well in conference.
“The team is really putting in the time and working together for conference. Personally, I have been working on putting and my scoring shots right now to help lower my scores. I’m excited to compete this semester, as is the rest of the team,” said Murphy.
The women’s golf team has a competitive schedule set for this spring, in order to work towards their ultimate goal, a conference championship. The team will travel to Jacksonville for the JU Classic, hosted by Jacksonville University, then to Charleston for the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic hosted by the College of Charleston. They will then make their way to Southport, NC for the Spider Bring Break Invitational hosted by Richmond University. Their last stop before the conference tournament is the Cincinnati Spring Invitational hosted by the University of Cincinnati.
(01/25/12 9:15pm)
Going into only their second season as a team, the Mercer men’s lacrosse team looks to improve upon an inaugural 1-12 season. In their first season, the young squad comprised of mostly freshman at the time played teams that have won national championships in lacrosse in the past. This year, the Bears look to take their Division I playing experience from last year into their season this year and hopefully achieve the program’s first winning season.
Although the inaugural season was not what the Lacrosse team had hoped, there were some bright spots. Now sophomore Cole Branch, scored a tremendous 27 goals and accumulated four assists during the season, leading his team as well as ranking nationally in multiple goal scoring and shooting categories. Another significant goal scorer for the Bears was John Avent who amassed 12 goals.
Avent and Branch look forward to helping their team once more this season, and with the addition of some new talent he thinks the team will be a successful one. “We have had a lot of new talent come in this year, and every one of our returners has improved since last season. Our chemistry is getting better every day and I cannot wait to see how we match up to our opponents this year. Last year, I was our leading scorer, but I only had four assists all season. My personal goal for this year is to become more of a playmaker than a finisher,” said Branch. Branch is looking to spread the wealth this year and one of the teammates he is looking to help out is a newcomer.
One of the most highly touted recruits joining the Bears this year is Zack Ward. Ward transferred to Mercer in the fall from Salisbury University, the Division III National Champions. The sophomore looks to add another option in the attack, and the combination of him and Cole Branch should prove to be a deadly one. Ward looks to use his experience to better his new squad.
“I believe that coming from a successful program is definitely a benefit to our program’s future success. I look to use my experience to adjust to my new team and help in any way I can,” said Ward. Zack Ward should be an instant boost to the success of the lacrosse program.
Another interesting statistic from a year ago states: goalkeeper Justin Bateman started and played 12 of the 13 matches for the lacrosse team amassing 138 saves with a 44.1% save rate.
Maturity and age was an issue for the Bears last year, but Head Coach Jason Childs is looking to take his team’s youth and make it something positive going into his second season at the helm of the team. “I think one of the things that hurt us last year was our youth,” said Coach Childs. “I want that to be something to help us this year.”
Sophomore captain Sam Grayson was an integral part of the team’s midfield last year, and he’s looking to take that experience into this next season in order to help better the team and lead his squad towards success. Grayson pointed out some of the problems from last year’s squad and what they need to fix going into this next season.
“I think the main thing we need to improve on this season is coming together as a team. Last year, we were mostly all individuals playing our own game on the field. It was more of an “I” sort of thing as opposed to a “we.” This year, we’ve become a family and we are focusing on putting our talents together to take us to the next level. The whole attitude of the team has changed to a very positive outlook and I believe that is going to help us grow as a team,” Grayson said.
The lacrosse team has all the right parts in order to push the team to the next level. It’s just a matter of them fitting the pieces together, and proving themselves on the playing field versus top level opponents. Their season begins at home against a tough Ohio State squad on Feb. 11.
(12/08/11 12:22am)
The Mercer women’s basketball team recently had four very pivotal non-conference matchups. The team was looking to get some valuable playing experience playing against some very tough opponents before going into conference play.
First up for the Lady Bears was Davidson. Last year’s Atlantic Sun “Freshman of the Year” Briana Williams led all Mercer scoring with 18 points. Unfortunately, the effort for Williams and the rest of her team just was not enough as they lost 75-60. Even though they lost, there were some signs of brilliance on the court for Mercer. After a lackluster first half effort from the bears, they came out of the locker room looking to vastly improve and that’s what they did. Mercer outscored the Davidson Wildcats in the second half 39-36. Freshman guard Precious Bridges scored 12 points while freshman Alicia Williams and Alex Phillips had seven points each. Junior Sharmesia Smith pulled down seven rebounds off the boards. Despite the loss, Head Coach Susie Gardner was pleased with the effort. “We fought the entire game,” e said Gardner. “We’re going to be fine; we just have some fine-tuning to do. It will take some of these bumps for us to find our way,” she added.
The next match for the bears was against Georgia Southern at home. This proved to be an exciting contest, with both teams constantly battling with each other. Each team had the lead at different points in the game and it came down to a last minute buzzer-beater to decide the winner. Sadly, the Bears were not on the winning end. Georgia Southern won the game 57-55. Precious Bridges led all scoring for the Bears with 14 points. Sharmesia Smith pulled down an impressive 11 rebounds.
Next up for the Bears was the highly talented squad from UCF. From very early on it was UCF’s game. The UCF Knight’s offense was too much to handle. The Bears’ effort came up short as they lost 72-43. Mercer was lead once again by Briana Williams with 14 points in the losing effort. Ry’Van Buchanan was second on the team in points with eight.
The Bears were once again on the road this time traveling to play another talented squad in Wake Forest. Mercer had to play without star player Briana Williams who went down with a knee injury in the first minute of play. Williams’ absence was surely missed as the Bears were blown out in the match by a score of 90-44. Coach Gardner was far from happy with the effort. “Right now, we’re not just coaching basketball,” Gardner said. “We’re having to correct the same errors over and over. I’m a little concerned about our shooting, but some things that go on behind the scenes – the things that will take this program to a championship level - aren’t there quite yet,” Gardner added.
Coach Gardner and the Bears look to improve upon a not-so-great start as they head into conference play.
(12/08/11 12:21am)
The men’s and women’s cross country teams had record-breaking seasons. Individuals set personal bests while others also set school records.
Leading the way for the women’s cross country team was Kacie Niemann. Niemann consistently finished first for the Bears in every race she competed in. Not only did she have an outstanding season for her team, but individually she also set many school records. After stellar performances from Niemann, when she wants to set records, she has one person to beat: herself. She owns the top times for all of the women’s cross country team. Her performances this year proved she will only get better with time.
The highest finish for the women’s team was second place at their own Mercer Runfit Invitational. The women’s cross country team was not only led to success by individuals though. Consistent performances had to come from many different members of the team in order to progress throughout the season. Sammy Woller, Lena Hamvas, Christina Kivi and Kylen Hughes all gave consistent efforts throughout the season in order to help the team achieve its goals.
When men’s cross country was brought up, only two words should have come to mind. Sony Prosper. Prosper had an amazing season for the Bears. It was obvious that Prosper did not rest on his laurels over the summer break, because he came out firing on all cylinders. The sophomore sensation consistently came in first in every race he competed in as well.
The highest finish for the men’s team was first at the Mercer Runfit Invitational. Once again this was not an effort of one, but of an entire team. Jacob Law, Marc Kushinka, Chris Svidesskis Geremy Skeen, Kasib Abdullah and Andrew Weems all earned points for the team at some point to help the team to get where they were.
Overall, the season was successful for both men’s and women’s cross country. Almost every individual on both teams set a personal record, and they will be looking to take that momentum into next season in order to further build upon what is an already established foundation.
Unfortunately for the women’s team, they are losing several key runners and point earners going into next season. With this happening, there are obviously key roles that need to be filled when the team comes back next fall to compete. Junior captain Kacie Niemann has positive hopes for next year. “We are very strongly recruiting several girls that already have ties to other athletes on the team and seem very attracted to the school and our cross country program. The team will hopefully be much bigger next year, which will motivate everyone to work harder since we will all have to compete for a traveling spot.”
(11/16/11 11:30pm)
The men’s and women’s cross country teams saw their last action of the season on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the 2011 NCAA South Regionals Meet in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Both men and women’s teams wanted to end the season on a high note.
In the men’s race, sophomore phenomenon Sony Prosper led the men’s team once again pacing the Bears. Prosper has led the Bears across the finish line in every race this season, proving to be a dominant force on every course he has stepped on. Crossing the finish line in a time of 32:42.50, Prosper was able to finish 44th overall in a race that featured 159 runners. Junior Chris Svidesskis was 69th overall as Mercer’s second finisher with a time of 33:20.70. Juniors Andrew Weems and Jacob Law were Mercer’s third and fourth finishers, crossing the finish line almost simultaneously. Weems finished with a time of 33:46.70, while Law crossed at 33:51.60, putting them at 96th and 97th respectively. Senior Marc Kushinka finished out his final race in a Mercer uniform as Mercer’s fifth and final scoring runner with a time of 34:14.90 which was good for a 111th place finish. The Bears placed 18th out of the 24 racing teams.
In the women’s race, it was no surprise that Kacie Niemann would put in yet another stellar performance for the Bears. Pacing the Bears with a time of 22:42.70, Niemann was able to accomplish the second fastest 6k time in school history which is second only to her record that she set last year at the very same meet. This finish was good for an 84th finish in a meet that featured 191 runners. Coming in second for the Bears was sophomore Lena Hamvas, who finished with a time of 23:01 .80, which was good for a 101st place finish. Sophomore Samantha Woller and senior Christina Kivi finished back-to-back in 136th and 137th place, respectively. Woller finished with a time of 23:47.00, while Kivi finalized her Mercer University career with a time of 23:48.80. The Bears final scoring runner was freshman Iliana Garcia who finished with a time of 25:39.30, good for 180th place. The Bears finished 21st out of the 27 competing teams.
Niemann had a positive outlook on the women’s season and where they will be headed come next year. “Even though we lost one of our key runners from last season, we were still able to have a strong season overall. Conference didn’t go as well as we hoped and regionals was on a very tough course, but nearly everyone set a personal record this season so everyone improved to make up for the loss of our number two runner. We are going to lose two more of our scoring runners for next season, but I think those that will be staying are motivated to use the track season to jumpstart into training hard for next year and to come back even stronger than ever,” Niemann said.
The men and women’s teams say goodbye to five seniors. Christina Kivi, Geremy Skeen, Marc Kushinka, Andrew Jones, and Daniel Larson will all hang up their Mercer uniforms and move towards whatever obstacles come next in life.
(11/16/11 11:28pm)
After an impressive first round win over the third seeded Jacksonville Dolphins, the Mercer Women’s Soccer Team set their sights on the second seeded ETSU Buccaneers. Just 12 days earlier, the Bears battled to a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Bucs in the regular season conference finale. Needless to say, the Bears wanted revenge. This time around, it was a completely different story. The Bears dictated much of the play throughout regular time, amassing an impressive 16 shots as opposed to ETSU’s four. Unfortunately, the Bears could not capitalize on any of those chances and regular time ended in a scoreless draw. Overtime was nothing the Bears have not faced before as they had played five overtime games before this point. All it would take was one goal and their dreams of defending their conference title would stay alive. In the 96th minute of play, Senior Ali Meek tracked down a loose ball off of the ETSU defense and hit a perfectly placed shot that hit off the right post and into the goal. Meek’s wonder strike single handedly pushed her team into the Championship Match for the second year in a row.
“I couldn’t be happier for Ali,” head coach Grant Serafy said. “She is such a great kid. She missed one earlier and then for her to come back and power that ball home; it was a perfect shot. So it was a great way to end the game and hopefully we can come out and play well on Sunday.”
The Bears’ focus was now on the regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast. The FGCU Eagles had accumulated an astounding record of 14-4-2 during the season, with a 7-1-1 record in conference play. The Eagles were dominant in conference play, but the Bears had one thing the Eagles did not; experience. This was FGCU’s first year being eligible for postseason play and the Bears had played in many postseason matches prior to this one. They hoped that this experience would be enough to push them through to victory. In a very defensive 90 minutes of play the Bears and the Eagles remained scoreless, sending the Bears into their third straight overtime match. This time the Bears would not prevail, as their NCAA tournament dreams were thwarted by an FGCU goal with 3:50 left to play in the second overtime period. Despite the loss, Coach Grant Serafy was proud of the effort that his girls gave.
“That was the third overtime game in a row and it was a difficult challenge to overcome. But there wasn’t a lack of heart or effort. In the end, we are pleased with the season we had and I want to congratulate the seniors on a wonderful four-year career,” said Serafy.
The Bears say goodbye to a stellar senior class who has acquired two championships in their four year career, one regular season and one postseason. The senior class of Cristina Guilarte, Cagney Valloch, Jessie Kupstas, Kate Alderman, Emerald Phillips, Olivia Tucker, Vanessa Breslin, Emily Milone and Ali Meek will go down as one of the most accomplished in Mercer history.
(11/03/11 12:57am)
Anxiety and stress are two of the most common used words when asking a student-athlete about their everyday lives. One of the most common ways to combat these negative aspects of being a student-athlete is the use of a Sports Psychology Department. Many colleges and universities nationwide have adopted a Sports Psychology program that is readily available to student-athletes and coaches alike. When the stress of life and school combined with athletics gets to be too much for a person to handle, having someone to talk to can make a world of difference.
Sports Psychologists today focus on four major techniques or skills in order to improve the performance of a student-athlete on and off the playing field. These skills and techniques are arousal regulation, goal setting, imagery and self-talk. Arousal Regulation refers to entering into and maintaining the optimal level of cognitive and physiological activation in order to maximize performance. Common techniques used in this particular category are meditation and breathing exercises. Goal setting is systematically planning ways to achieve or accomplish a specific task in an allotted amount of time. Research suggests that goals should be specific, measurable, difficult but attainable, time-based, written down, and a combination of short-term and long-term goals. Self-talk refers to words and thoughts that athletes commonly repeat to themselves. Self-talk phrases are used to direct attention towards a particular thing in order to improve focus or are used alongside other techniques to assist their effectiveness. For example, a baseball player may say release point to themselves when the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand to better time their swing. The final skill is imagery. Imagery can be defined as the ability to create or recreate a scenario in someone’s mind. The more lucid the images, the more likely the brain will remember that particular aspect in order to perform it in real life.
Along with the four techniques are four common areas of study. These areas are personality, youth sport, coaching and team dynamics. The relationship between personality and performance is one of interest. Mental toughness, a personality trait that not everyone has, is a psychological edge that helps one constantly perform at a high level even in the toughest of situations. Youth sport studies children before the age of 18 who play a sport competitively. The most studied part of youth sport is the effect of burnout. Burnout is when a player gets tired of playing a sport at a young age. Sports psychologists are constantly working to avoid burnout so that players are more likely to want to continue playing at a collegiate level. While sports psychologists mostly focus on athletes, coaching is also an area where interventions are likely to take place. Sports psychologists stress positive reinforcement as well as a positive motivational climate in order to optimize performance by giving players more to play for than winning alone. Finally, sports psychologists focus on team dynamics in order to get everyone onto the same page. If everyone’s individual goals work towards achieving the team’s ultimate goals, then team cohesion reaches its highest level and winning is more likely to happen.
With this information, the question is posed: Should Mercer add a staff of sports psychologists in order to optimize athletic performance? It is obvious that a sports psychology staff can do nothing but help athletes. They would help coaches and players alike see things that they might not be able to see and evaluate them. With this outside source encouraging more thought than normal, optimal performance is more than likely to be achieved.