Surfboard Shred Show

In this post I wanted to write about a YouTube channel that I watch called Surfboard Shred Show.Shred Show is a YouTube channel where creator Chris Grow reviews various types of surfboards and provides helpful insight on the surfboards design and capabilities. One of my favorite parts about Shred Show is Grow's personality during the show. As Grow puts it, "it is a web series about surfboards, half educational, half diary of a madman".  Grow was recently featured in Surfer magazine's "week in review" section for his  reviews. You can watch all of the episodes of Surfboard Shred Show here , or on his website here, and check in every Saturday for a new episode in surfboard review. Chris is an example of the many interesting personalities in surfing and the reason why surfing is such a great sport.

A New Direction

Now that we are done talking about concussions and other related topics we are going to move towards talking about the sport that interests us most and how our blog topics impact it. My sport is surfing. Surfing is an interesting sport to cover in that although it is well known to people, most people have either never tried it or don't know what surfing is all about. In the surfing world there are things that people don't realize that reach far beyond the water. This includes the industry powerhouses surrounding surfing, the surfing cultures of different geographical areas, and the always changing controversies surrounding current competitors on different professional levels. Locally, in New Jersey many people grab a sponge board in July while visiting the Shore and say that they "surf", but most never don't know about the surfing that takes place in the winter. Most of these people have never surfed on a day in January when it is snowing with 30 mile an hour wind and ice cold water. But for those who endure the elements find great waves on select days that make the challenge worth it.

    Financially the surf world is changing, apparel companies like Billabong are loosing money. Beaverton based mega brand Nike dropped its sponsored athletes while other companies like Hurley are trying to build dominate teams. While many people enjoy surfing it is still relatively close knit when compared with sports like football. While surf competitions, most importantly the ASP World Tour can be watched online live, In the Continental U.S., minus California,it is hard to watch a competition, with limit coverage of events on television. However, the ASP has recently announced major changes in 2014 for the viewing of contests. Continuously athletes do new tricks, pushing physical possibilities and showing just how progressive surfing is. While the future for Surfing is unknown, me and other surfers alike hope it is in a positive direction. Below is a picture of professional surfer Jordy Smith, Jordy being one of the most progressive surfers around, landed this maneuver called a rodeo flip, landing him a spot on the cover of Yahoo. The second picture is from Bay Head, New Jersey last December showing the winter surfing in New Jersey.

Final Concussion Post

For my final blog post about concussions i wanted to write about Terry Bradshaw and Tony Dorsett. Starting with Bradshaw, he is a former quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and led his team to win four super bowls in the 1970's. Bradshaw recently publicly admitted to having memory loss and other mental problems due to years of playing football. Now, almost 40 years since he last stepped on a football field, Bradshaw struggles with sports related injuries. It is amazing to hear that someone who we see on TV commentating football games has such a serious problem. It shows how serious these underlying effects can be and that only the player knows about it.
My second article, about Tony Dorsett, is also about the struggles that former players face with memory loss and other mental related illnesses. Dorsett was also a player in the NFL who after a career of big hits has suffered from long term effects of memory loss. Dorsett is a strong man and says that he will beat and overcome the illness, however the all to real fact is that these mental illnesses are something that people rarely come back from.

Coach Labrum

After reading the article about Coach Labrum and his suspension of his entire football team I am surprised. Coach Labrum suspended his entire team as a result of their poor academic records and irresponsible actions both in school and in the community. This modern day Coach Carter has come under some criticism for his actions however I believe that all student athletes should be responsible and represent the fundamentals that student athletes should. So I say good for you Coach Labrum/Carter for teaching your students the right way to act.

Will my child play football

If I had a child, I would not let him play football until he is age 14. The reason why I would do this is because at age 14 the body is maturing and has a better chance of sustaining a hit. Although I wouldn't personally play football I would allow my child to play if he wanted to dedicate himself to the sport.

Hugo Lloris

Yesterday Hugo Lloris, goalie for the Spurs, collided with another soccer(or futbol/football if your not an american ) player. Our buddy Hugo was knocked unconscious cold as ice as a result. Unlike the usual soccer injuries, a concussion is very serious causing brain swelling and can lead to long term brain damage. After being rendered unconscious the logical thing to do would be to pull him from the game, however, the coaching staff allowed him to return to play shortly after sleeping beauty awoke. This has put the Spurs coaching staff in hot water for their carelessness and irresponsibility for the safety of players. Below is a depiction of what the coaching staff said to Hugo.

Reaction to Skype Chat

Last Wednesday we Skyped with Dustin Fink, author of the Concussion Blog, and discussed concussions and the USFL. This was a great opportunity to get first hand knowledge on concussions and the topics surrounding them. It was very informative to hear first hand how concussions have impacted so many athletes in all levels of sports and the biggest impact of all in the NFL. I will continue to read Dustin's blog and use his wealth of information to help with future concussion related topics.