Blog 10: Senior Project Update

Content:

1. I am currently playing league and tournament soccer games and training with my team for independent component.

2. The most significant piece of research that I found was from my WB Article # 24 "Qualities of a Soccer Player. I learned about the different qualities of a soccer player such as, intentiveness, endurance and the importance of being able to perform under pressure. It also explains why each quality is essential in its own way. An example is an experienced soccer player will be able to maintain technical efficiency under pressure no matter what the conditions are like being down in the scoreboard, who the opponents are or the weather conditions. This article briefly discussed the 3 possible answers I had in mind for my EQ which are, exercising and being fit, having good skill/technique and being a confident soccer player. Because of this, I will try to apply these 3 different qualities as best as I can to my soccer games and practices to help me see or give me an idea of which quality is more effective.

3. Some pictures of me playing league games for my independent component.

 

                                     

Blog 5b: Science Fair Proposal

1.       Soccer player injuries in the leg area

 

2.       Driving Problem: Soccer Players getting injured during a game in the leg area with either bone fractures or torn ligaments.

Quote: “In order for athletes to remain in top physical condition, they need to train properly and also know how to manage and treat the various injuries that are bound to occur while playing in highly demanding games and over long seasons that often become year round regimens.”

 

Citation: Deegan, Michael. “Common Soccer Injuries.” Fcportland.org. Therapeutic Associates Hillsboro Physical Therapy. Web. 26 Sept. 2012

 

3.       Hypothesis: If you do not stretch and warm up properly, then you will be more susceptible to injuries in the leg area.

 

4.       I will gather around 12 people in order to participate in my experiment. I will have a control group of 6 and an experimental group of the same number. There will be training sessions in which the control group will do certain exercises for a set time in a certain order while the other group will do the exercises in a random order each time we meet for the same amount of time. I will be recording the data on a table. I will then watch them play actual games and I will use my eyes as a tool and observe what players get injured and try and see how they get injured.

 

5.       Engineering Research & Applications

Lazers vs. Monarcas USA 11/4

 

Sad loss of 2-1, but we keep our heads up. (I'm #11)

Blog 9: Working EQ and Possible Answers

1. EQ: What is the most important factor in becoming a successful soccer player?

2. No, I am not going to revise at this time.

3. Having confidence in yourself
    Having skills/technique such as making good passes and shots
    Being committed/dedicated to the game
    Not getting injured

Blog 8: Rough Draft of Presentation 1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fBAcBWqm002MU_aTDntr_XZXw3G7SUr4wL_Vu_msV2U/edit

Blog 7: Independant Component 1 Plan Approval

Content:

1.       Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.

·         For my independent component I plan to play soccer games and go to practice sessions with my current soccer team.

 

2.       Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work required.

·         I plan on completing my 30 hours of Independent component by attending all of soccer games and keeping track of how long I play, and same goes for practices. There will also be cups that the team will be attending that don’t include the league games. I practice twice a week for about 4 hours and usually have 2 – 3 games a week, each game lasting about an hour and 20 min.

3.       How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?

·         My independent component relates to my working EQ because All the things I plan on doing include soccer performance which is participating not only in games but also in practices. The experiences will show me how to become a sucessful soccer player.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

Questions:

1.       How long have you been playing soccer competitively for?

2.       Do you follow soccer in other ways besides playing on a team?

3.       Do you have a good understanding about the rules of soccer?

4.       How did you learn the rules of soccer?

5.       What different ranks of soccer competition can you name?  

6.       In what ways are the various ranks of soccer competition different?

7.       What experience do you have as a college soccer player?

8.       What is the most important moment you remember when playing soccer competitively before playing for Cal Poly?

9.       What made you decide to play soccer at a competitive level?

10.   What level of competition were you playing in right before you began to play for the Cal Poly Pomona soccer team?

11.   How did you get the opportunity to play for Cal Poly’s soccer team?

12.   How would you compare playing for Cal Poly compared to your team before that from an athletic perspective?

                                                                                                                                           

Blog 4: Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon:

1.       Positive Statement: A positive thing that happened as a result of what I have completed so far is that I got to join a more competitive team than the one I was currently playing with and I got to work with many different unique players inside and outside the field, which included me finding a mentor.

2.       EQ Content: (A piece of my research) An article about ways to stand out in a crowd at tryouts that I read about helped me understand how making good passes, being athletic, being a fast runner and making most of your shots on goal, isn’t always good enough to be recognized by scouts and coaches and having the opportunity to play professionally. You also have to do things that don’t involve kicking the ball or training hard.

3.       Something that has worked out for me in the senior project is that I get to study more about soccer, which is something I am really passionate about. I also like the fact that there is a research check every Friday, so that way there was no way I could procrastinate on finding information about my topic, making it less difficult for me to accomplish this project. I also enjoy being able to interview different people besides doing research because I get to hear about people’s different points of view and opinions based through experience or knowledge about soccer performance.  

4.       Something that hasn’t worked so far is being able to find information on statistics about different soccer players, which is a big part of soccer performance, in an article that meets the 750 word requirement.  

5.       Finding Value:

a.        

·         Will I get enough information on the different factors about soccer and performance to complete this project?

·         Does me training and playing with a soccer team count for mentorship hours?

b.      My end goal for this year and my senior project is to be more disciplined as a soccer player by listening to feedback my coach gives me and not start problems with my teammates or opponents and improve on my skills. I also plan on being a more responsible person with not only soccer but also with school and things that go on in my personal life.

c.       The next person I would like to talk to next is Coach Rodrigo Jativa, who is also Vice President of the team I am currently playing with, which are the Lazers Soccer Club U-19. I want to see how different his opinions and statements are from those of a soccer player, since Coach Rod experiences the game from a different perspective and also watches and analyzes the game and players in order to try and help them improve as individuals and as a team. Something else that also makes me want to talk to him is that he is not only a soccer coach, but he had also played professionally at one point in his life which also gives him the experience that can help me learn more about my topic.

Blog 5a: Science Fair Problem Statement

1. Senior Topic: Soccer & Performance

2. Problem in my topic: Soccer players getting injured during a game in the leg area with either bone fractures or torn ligaments. I am going to observe 2 different groups of players and see what they do to prepare themselves for the game. one group will do things in a certain order while the other group will do them in a random order. At the end I will calculate how many injuries each group had.

3. Problem in my topic: There are very many people who play this sport at a high competitive level worldwide without playing professionally, making it harder to stand out amongst other players by just being "good" from an athletic point of view and make it to the highest levels of competitive soccer, which are college soccer and playing on a professional team. To solve this problem I would need to look up some professional soccer players' stories of how they made it the the highest of all competitive levels, or interview some players and compare and contrast the different factors among them to see which were the most consistent that lead them to play at the highest ranks of soccer competition.

Blog 3: Title Interview Preparation

1.     I plan on interviewing Leonel Espinoza because he has experience in competing at the highest competitive level there is for soccer before playing for a college or becoming a professional. He is also currently playing for the Cal Poly Pomona soccer team which goes well with my topic.

2.        Additional questions:

·       How long have you been playing soccer for and how would you to reach the next level of competition once you have started?

·         What different things did you do to accomplish being on the Cal Poly soccer team?

·         Why would you consider soccer being one of the most popular sports worldwide?

 

 

 

 

Blog 2: Topic Choice

Content:

a.       My topic is about soccer but to be more specific it is about soccer players and performance. I chose this topic because I am very passionate about the sport. I have been following and playing it since I was a little kid. It also runs in my family to either watch or be involved in the sport. I also couldn’t imagine picking a better topic than this.

b.       

 

·         iPoly Citizen: I plan to complete my required service learning hours and assume responsibility for my own actions. I also plan to be involved and be able to show people why this sport is known worldwide. This relates to me improving as an iPoly citizen because I will try to be responsible so it can help me later in life and I will do whatever is necessary to get good grades and graduate with a good GPA. The coach even told me that playing for that team is not just for fun but also helps you be responsible if you’re committed.

 

·         Effective Communicator: I plan to send clear and appropriate verbal and non-verbal messages, listen effectively and communicate appropriately. I plan to get through to people that this sport isn’t just about kicking a ball around, up and down the field. This will make me more effective as a learner because I will understand more about this topic and communication is very important in soccer.

 

·         Effective Learner: I plan to Learn as much as I can and be as engaged and involved as possible every time I am doing my senior project. Even if I am not working with a mentor, I will get as much information as I can and try to do some things on my own. This will make me more effective as a learner because I can use what I am taught and what I m learning on my own, to try and become a good soccer player.

 

·         Effective User of Technology: I plan to read as many articles as I can about different soccer players and their soccer career experiences. I also plan to use what I already know and try to be with a group of people so I can teach them what I already know and will be open minded about my statements.

Literal (Know):

• 10 Hour Mentorship Log (With Contact Info.) 

 

Literal (Need to Know)

1.       Why do club soccer teams have to travel to many different places for a league game?

2.       What does it take to make it from a club team to playing for a university or professionally?

3.       Does being a physically bigger player give you an advantage in playing soccer?

4.       Around what age(s) are soccer players usually considered to have "matured" or are at the peak of their game?

5.       Do you have to be good at everything, such as shooting, passing and speed, to be considered a good soccer player?

 

Interpretive:

                The most important things I gained from this experience is how good it feels to help someone else that enjoys the same thing that you do, in my case, helping the coach with his soccer team, and being a responsible person taking care of getting my hours finished and doing whatever it is I had to do at the locations of my service learning. These things were most important because it reassured me that this is topic I was meant to do and I believe being responsible won’t only help me during school, but it will also help me the rest of my life. There were also drills that were done at these practices that I have never even seen before and now I know what drills are good for what and I can do them on my own time.

 

Applied:

                I would try 100 percent in all the activities I was asked to be involved in or participate in the way that the players can perform the drills and getting everything set up for the soccer players to train. I was never bored and I enjoyed helping the team. This helped me realize this is the topic I want to do. Also, every time I would have a talk with the coach, I would always pay attention and want to learn more and more. I also have to say that, me following and being involved with this sport since I was a child had something to do with me choosing this topic.

 

 

 

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Assignment