Why Marva Collins Will Make A Great Sports Coach

In my previous post on Marva Collins, I mentioned that she will make an outstanding sports coach. The reason is because I believe the same education principles apply in coaching sports.

Barriers to sporting achievements are predominantly self-imposed. Who thinks that Mark Spitz’s haul of seven Olympic Gold medals will never be broken? Certainly not Michael Phelps. Read more

Marva Collins - The Outstanding Educator

“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Marva Collins is an outstanding educator who started Westside Preparatory School in Garfield Park, Chicago, in 1975. You might have heard of her through 60 minutes or the movie The Marva Collins Story (1981).

During the first year of Westside Preparatory School, Marva took in learning disabled, problem children and even one child who had been labeled by Chicago public school authorities as borderline retarded. Read more

Oscar Pistorius - The Fastest Man On No Legs

Oscar Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22nd November 1986. This would have been a fairly ordinary affair except that Oscar Pistorius was born with a rare deformity of the legs - his feet contains only two toes, the heel bone and a bone to connect the toes and the heel together.

Henke and Sheila Pistorius made the heartwrenching decision to amputate Oscar’s legs below the knee. Read more

I Bet You Can’t Swim Faster Than Natalie Du Toit!

BORN IN CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Natalie Du Toit was already a rising star in swimming when she was young.

At the tender age of 14, Natalie Du Toit set multiple national age group records in both medley events and she competed in the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998.

Two years later, at 16, she nearly qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics in three events.

With her strong determined character, many believed she would go on to bring glory for the home nation in future years.

In February 2001, a then 17 year old Natalie, went about school in the usual manner - riding her scooter. Unknown to her, what would soon happen would change her life forever. Read more

Olympic Spirit Burns Strongly With Luz Long

JESSE OWENS is probably the most celebrated black American athlete prior to 1950. In the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, he captured international attention by winning four gold medals - the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and the 4×100 meter relay team.

In 1935, a year preceding the Olympics, Owens’ astounded the world in a Big Ten meet. In a remarkable span of 45minutes, he set three world records in the long jump, 220 yard sprint (equivalent to the 200m sprint), 220 yard low hurdles, and equaled the record for 100 yard sprint (91m).

Yet Owens’ unprecedented Golds in the sprint and long jump events in the 1936 Olympics would not have materialized if not for amazing Olympic Spirit displayed by Luz Long.

Luz Long and Jesse Owens were considered the favorites in the 1936 Long Jump event. In the preliminary rounds, Luz Long found himself clearing the distance required easily. Owens, his strongest competitor in the event, had fouled on his first two jumps and was on the brink of elimination from the finals. Read more

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