why mssu should have a indoor practice facility

November 5, 2010

Jared Bruggeman

Athletic Director

3950 East Newman Road

Joplin, MO 64801

Dear Mr. Bruggeman:

When a future student or recruit steps onto campus they notice the new 17 million dollar recreation facility.  Then they stroll over to Leggit and Platte to look at their football facilities.    The big draw to every college campus is the football team. I am a football player at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) and I believe it’s the time for the university to consider a new indoor football practice facility.

First, the number one goal every year for a coach besides winning is to his keep players healthy.  To keep the players healthy we have to have great strength and condition staff and facilities.  The problem at MSSU is we have the staff, but not the facilities.  Our facilities are outdated compared to other Mid America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) teams.  With better facilities our team could be bigger, faster, and stronger.  This would help us compete better in the MIAA.

Second, peace of mind is one thing players should always have when they go out to practice.  They shouldn’t be worried about their locker getting broken into.  This is happening right now. A new facility would have a new security system to help secure of the locker room.  Also, with this new system we could put some outside the new coach’s offices.

 Third, if you were a football player how would you like to be able to control the weather? I know I would.  Weather is something that distracts a player during the practice.  If you had a new indoor practice facility you could control the weather. For example,  D1 Schools, who get a facility like this double their wins the next year.

There are many reasons why MSSU should invest in an indoor football practice facility.  First look at the increase in recruiting that a new facility brings. Next you should look at the increase in production of the players that leads to more wins for the team. Another reason is the player’s peace of mind that they would get with have a secure facility. Next is preventing sickness among the team, which would help practices run more smoothly because they won’t have to replace players that are sick.  Lastly it will improve MSSU overall look.

Sincerely,

Jason Davis

http://www.bcinterruption.com/2011/6/15/2224881/boston-college-football-only-indoor-practice-facility-maryland-football
http://thehawktalk.com/2011/08/03/iowa-hawkeyes-indoor-practice-facilities-put-elite-company-big-ten/

summury of my first semester at mssu

                                                            First Semester Summary

            Missouri Southern State University (mssu) in Joplin Missouri is where I spent my first semester of college at. It was a very interesting semester. The city of Joplin and my classes is what I will be sharing about in this summary.

            Joplin Missouri a town of 45,000 people. This is a big change for a farm boy who grew up in a town of 10,000 just four hours north.  Joplin is a very interesting city there is a mall and lots of food places, bowling, clubs, bars, golf, and tennis. With all those places to go you think Joplin would be a fun exciting town to spend your first year of college at. Well if you answered yes to that you are wrong. Even with all those places to go it gets old and it just boring old Joplin. This may just be my option but for most of the students that I talk to here say the same thing.  But in all things considered it’s still more fun the little hick town Maryville Missouri which is where I grew up.

            This semester at mssu I was in five classes for twelve hours. My first class of the week is a wellness class. This is one of my favorite classes because it is in my field and it’s interesting..  My next class is English 80. At first I was not very excited about being in that class but now I am glad I took it. It taught me more in one semester then all the high school English classes combined. My next class is UE. This was interesting class at time but yet also boring. The teacher was really good it was more just that some of the units were boring. I did learn a lot in this class but a lot of it I already knew.  I think it should be tough only for like the first month of school and you just learn about campus life. My next class is speech. This class is one of my least favorites. I don’t mind giving speeches I do well at them it’s just I didn’t like the teacher. He gave way to much homework. I only say this because he is the only speech teacher that does. We didn’t start giving speeches till right before thanksgiving break. All the other classes have give six speeches when we have just given two. My last class is a computer class. For me this is the most pointless class. In high school I had to do accounting class in a computer class while the teacher was teaching them about word and excel. I learned more by just over hearing stuff in that class then I did this whole semester in his class. I already knew how to do all the stuff most the time I was just helping my friend’s do there’s. This was an hour and fifteen minutes class and I this I was only that whole time once. Most the time I was only there for twenty minutes. I am proud of myself I didn’t miss a single class the whole semester.

            Over all I have had a fun semester at mssu. I can’t wait to go home for Christmas but I know I will be ready to come back. Next semester I will be taking 16 hrs and I will be able to play football for the first time since I got here. I can’t wait for 2011.

why college

The Why questions of College

            Why did I come to college?  I came to college for three reasons.  The first reason is to get an education that way I can earn more money when I get a job.  Money is not everything but yet it is very important. In my mind I want to be one of those husband and fathers that can give his wife and kids anything they need.  That way I have no sleepless nights worrying about money.  The next reason is to get the knowledge to get all of the certifications I need to get a job in the field I want.   This is really important in my field of health promotion.  The more certifications you have the better chance you have of getting a job.  The last reason I came to college is for football.  I came to Missouri Southern to play football.  I would of have gone no matter what but football is a big part of why I came to college. 

What do I hope to learn about myself from going to college?  What I hope to learn about myself is what my true self is.  I don’t really know who I am or different things like that but I know as I go through college and football and have adversity I will discover my true self and really learn the most about myself.

What advantages do I hope to gain from going to college?  The first thing I hope to gain form going to college is lifelong friends.  I don’t have any from high school so I hope to gain some here. Some people that I can count on forever.  The next thing I hope to gain is a degree and lots of certifications to go with it so I can get a job.  That last thing I hope to gain out of going to college is to find my real self and know what I want and were I’m going and how it will turn out.

With these advantages I will have a great future after I get out of college. In my last semester of college I have to do an internship. With this internship I would like to go back home to Maryville Missouri and do an internship with Joe Quinlin the Strength Coach at Northwest Missouri State University. I want to go here because I have had great times when I have participated in Joe’s Speed and agility camps and I would like to learn more about all of the bands and speed training we did in this camp.   After I get done with this internship I would like to get a grad assistant job with their strength staff this way I could get even more experience. Also with this grad assistant job they would pay for my school. With this I would get a minor in nutrition. So over all I would have a bachelor degree in health promotion and wellness and a minor in business management and nutrition.

night of laughs

Night Full of Laughs

            As I walk in the room of the party the first person I see is Peter Griffin.  His face looks like that of confusion and mystery.  As I’m getting closer I see Peter has a beer in his hand like always, probably almost drunk.  I ask Peter, “How is your family?”

“Well Louis is mad at me but I do not know why, she tried talking to me when I was watching the game but she should know by now I’m not listening to her when the game is on.”

I laughed and murmured “Yea she should know that it’s her fault!”

“YEAH!” Peter exclaimed. As he stumbled off his own drunken feet, and almost fell on a dog walking by, but I luckily I swooped in and caught him.

“Well how is Stewie?” I asked. As I see one of the other guess cut in front of Gabriel in the buffet line. This is not going to be good I hope Gabriel doesn’t get to mad, I remember what happened to the last guy that cut in front of him in line.

“I don’t know.” Peter says in confusion, “He is here somewhere.”

“Oh, really? I exclaimed. “I will have to go find him. Thanks Peter!” I look back over to see Gabriel launching the guy that cut in front of him out of the line and into the wall. Wow, he really loves his cake.  I see a small baby scamper across the floor. “Stewie!” I yelled.

“What in the heck, who said my named?”

“Hey Stewie, it’s me Jason, this is my party!”

“Kaboom!” I look around and Peter had tripped over Stewie. Well I thought to myself I guess I can’t save Peter all the time. Note to myself next time I have a party and Peter is coming make sure there is no alcohol. Well darn now I don’t get to talk to Stewie I don’t think he is feeling too well after having Peter fall on him.  I turned back around and I see this massive man. He must have been six foot, four inches tall. He was making me look small! It’s Ndamukong Suh.  “What’s up, Suh? I love watching you play!” I exclaimed.  With a gracious look on his face he said,

“Not too much, just having fun at this party!”

“Well I’m glad you are having a good time!  So what is your secret?”

“There’s not anything really man, it is just a lot of hard work and determination.”

“Well thank you, Suh! I will see you later.”

As I walked away from this giant of a man, I hear “I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there!” 

It was Larry the cable guy!  Larry looked like he was so relaxed and having lots of fun!  The whole time that I talked with Larry. I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.   I turn around to walk away and I hear “Boom! Boom! Boom!” I stumble and almost fall over and when I regain my balance I looked up “BAM!”  It was Gabriel Iglesias the biggest funny guy I know. Just remember don’t cut in front of him in the buffet line.  I wonder how big this guy is. Well next time I might have to get more food these 4 huge guys almost ate all of it and it’s only been 10 mins into the party.

over night change

Over Night Change

            The massive grandfather clock strikes Midnight and finally it is a new year. Josh an eighteen year old boy who is home alone on New Years, quickly knew what his new year’s resolution is. Josh’s resolution is to lose fifty pounds and get fit and try to play some intramural sports in college and succeed.  He thought how is he was going to do this and he thought supplements, would help him.  Josh went and got a fitness magazine and started to look though it for supplements he could take.  Americans should not take magazine supplement advertisement seriously.

            The first thing American’s and Josh as well see when they pick up a fitness magazine and look inside is the before and after pictures.  The thing the public and Josh don’t know is that these pictures are not real.  Well they are real but in most cases they are taken in the same day but the after picture is taken and edited.  With this happening the pictures look so much different and you think the product really works, but it doesn’t. In reality there just tricking all of us.

            The second thing Americans and Josh see is all the ripped guys and half naked women in the magazine. They have these huge guys that are just jacked and men and boys think dang he is huge or he is cut I want to look like that.  Then the women look at the same picture and they think man he is so hot.  Next they turn the page and the men see this half naked women and they can’t keep their eyes off of her and wanted to get what’s in her hand so they can get a girl like that.  As the women look at this page all they can think is that they want to look like this so they can get guys that look like the guy on the other page.  With this part we see how sex sells in advertising.

            The third thing American’s and Josh see are the headings next to these ads.  These ads tell us everything we want to hear.  It could tell us this product will give us ten pounds of muscle in ten days. Maybe it could tell us that we could gain twenty pounds in ten days. Last it could tell us lose ten pounds in ten days.  The things they don’t tell us is that it’s only healthy for men to lose one to two pounds a week and for women to lose a pound to a pound and a half per week. They try to get us to believe and buy their product to do things that are unnatural things that are not healthy for our bodies.

            Finally it’s time to shed light on the things people and Josh failed to read or don’t know about supplements.  The thing people fail to look at or read is the warning label.  They think   this doesn’t apply to them I don’t need to read it or it’s to dang small to even read.  It could say may cause bloody stool, acne, increase in testosterone levels, and even may cause shrinking of the testicals.   Also people don’t realize that most models who get their picture taken for those products were buying don’t even take it.  Most likely they took steroids and that’s how they got that body.

            Before Josh goes to order the supplements he wants he talks to a friend and sees what they think.  Luckily Josh’s friend set him straight and told him all the things I have told us today.  Today Josh’s New Year’s goal has come true but it wasn’t because of supplements it was because of hard work and getting his diet and workout to fit what he wanted to do.  American’s I would recommend us to be like Josh and don’t take supplement ads seriously and just use hard work and the right diet to reach our goals.

sound of fitness

The Sound of Fitness

            I can hear my feet hitting the rapid moving belt as it hits my feet with a rhythm.  I can hear my heart beating in my chest. It feels like it is going to explode.  As I listen to “ESPN” give me all the latest sporting news updates, I canter off and move on to my favorite piece of equipment: the bicycle.  My legs start to move faster and faster trying to beat my best time.  The sweat is now dripping off me as it free falls to the ground.

            Bam, the sound of the weights hitting the floor is heard. The disappointment and anger of missing a rep is sensed.  The loud grunt of the large man as he tries to push the weight off his chest shows extreme effort.  The roar of the man lifting the weight and the exciting encouragement from his spotter fills the air.  The feel of the muscle in the body growing bigger and bigger keeps him going.

            Thud, thud, thud is the sound the basketball makes as it is dribbled down the court.  Boys loop down the court as they pass the ball back and forth.  The first boy shoots and you hear a swish. The other team scurries back the other way. On their way back squeak, squeak, squeak is the sound their shoes makes as they move around on the court.  Clank as the basketball hits the rim and the other team snatches it up.  One boy dribbles down and dunks as all the players roar in excitement. 

            The sight of girls and boys plunging across the court as they try to get a little white ball over the net is heard.  The look of pain as the skin falls on ones knees from diving.  Slap as the ball sores over the net and thuds as it hits the ground on the other side.  The look of pain as the ball hits one girl in the face.  The sight of tears running down her face is saddening.  The sharp pain of spiking the ball over the net is brutal. 

            There are the muscle bound meat heads who just want to get massive.  There are the ripped that are in there for hours every day just to get perfect to walk across the stage.  There are the gifted that are running and lifting trying to get bigger, faster and stronger for their sport.  There are the gossip girls who talk more then they work.  Lastly there are the Creepers. These are the guys well, sometimes girls who just go there to maybe look like there lifting but really just to stare at all the body’s.  They know they are seen, but they just keep looking and looking. 

            The awful odor coming from those who need to shower or should have showered before they came.  The smell of the gossip girl who is there just to look pretty and talk and maybe do some work as they spray on their perfume.  The foul smell of the equipment that needs to be cleaned and the wood smell from the basketball court that burns the nose.  The lingering smell of throw up in the trash can from the kid who isn’t in shape yet is truly disgusting.

            Boom, boom, boom goes the sound of the base of the loud hip hop music.  The screaming of the loud rocker, the sweet melody of the pop songs and the twang from the country music fills the air.  The sounds they try to compete with, the feet from the treadmill, the weights hitting the ground, the roars from the court.

law to end road rage

The law to end all Road Rage

            Most people who get frustrated on the highway are frustrated at the elderly or young drivers.  Any where you go you can see people honking their horns and getting mad because of the elderly and young drivers.  Not only do those people who are mad cause accidents the elderly and young drivers, also cause a lot of accidents as well.  There should be a law for all elderly and young drivers to say in the new slow lane on all highways. 

            First off there needs to be specific laws for this new highway lane, but first drivers who are 70 years or older must drive in this lane, and also drivers who have only a permit and or are on their first year of driving by themselves must drive in this lane.  On the other side of this as well drivers who do not fit these qualifications and are in this lane will be ticketed.

            In addition the elderly should have their own lane to help prevent accidents. The elderly should have their own lane so they don’t have to worry about people speeding around them and causing them to get nervous and cause an accident.  The elderly get startled very easy, so if a person come flying by them in might scare them into losing control and crashing and causing others to get hurt at the same time. With this new lane you would not have to worry about that at all.

            Secondly teenage drivers should have their own lane to make sure they learn the open road without it being so scary. Young drivers should have their own lane because this way they would not have to worry about keeping up with all those speedy drivers.  They can slow down and learn the roads and how to drive.  With this lane young drivers will be ready for when they get older and they will be ready for the real highway.  Also young driver get intimidated when cars fly by them and then they think they’re going to slow so they speed up and then they end up crashing because they don’t know how to handle a car that is going that fast, but this would not happen with this new lane young drives will learn the roads and get confidence. 

Finally the elderly and young drivers should have their own lane to make the roads safer for everyone else.  The elderly and young drivers should have their own lane to help with the reaction time. Studies have shown that the elderly reaction time is so much slower than the averages persons. Then the teen driver does not have experience so there reaction time in crunch time is slower then regular drivers. Both of these cause accidents; however that will not happen with this lane because the elderly will have more time to react.  The speeds are slower and then the young drivers can learn reaction time without causing a wreck at this slower speed.

            This law will save millions of lives plain and simple. Through the three reasons you can see that with this new lane there will be fewer accidents caused by elderly and young drivers.  In addition taking these drivers off the highway will cause the normal driver less problems and cause less road rage and accidents from them as well.  With this law the highway will be safer and a better place to take your family without having to worry about the elderly and young drivers.