Myers Park Hoofprint

The Myers Park High School Newspaper

Sports

Charlotte: A Great Venue for Professional Golf Tournaments

By

The city of Charlotte along with Quail Hollow Golf Club has made a name for itself as a notable venue for the PGA Tour. In 2003, the PGA Tour brought the Wachovia Championship to Quail Hollow Golf Club in South Charlotte, and as time moved on and the name changed to the Wells Fargo Championship, the tournament continues to return to charlotte except for two occasions. In 2017, The PGA Association of America brought the PGA Championship to Quail Hollow, making Quail Hollow Golf Club a part of an exclusive list of major championship host sites. The second occasion was this past September, when Quail Hollow hosted the 14th Presidents cup. The question is, what makes the city of Charlotte such a good venue for golf tournaments? 

The first answer is the golf course. Quail Hollow Golf Club was designed by George Cobb and reconstructed by Tom Fazio. The golf course opened on June 3rd, 1961, and was reconstructed in 1997. The property spans across 237 acres, allowing room for fans to roam and shops to be built, but also room for a long, challenging and rigorous golf course. The course plays at 7,445 yards from the back tees, making it one of the longest courses the tour visits. Quail Hollow Golf Club also features three of the best finishing holes in golf, which has been nicknamed “the green mile”. In a interview with Hoofprint staff Taylor Zarzour, the voice of golf’s major championships and the first tee starter at this years presidents cup, he spoke about the the finishing stretch, saying,“It’s a beautiful finish with a lot of risk reward shots, especially in the last three holes which is referred to as the green mile.”

However, The Green Mile is not the only part of the course that makes Quail Hollow Special. Throughout the 18 holes designed by George Cobb and Tom Fazio, Quail Hollow has every characteristic of a great golf course. Quail Hollow Golf Club is one of the reasons the Tour continues to return to Charlotte.

The next reason is all the city of Charlotte has to offer. Charlotte is now the 17th largest city in the country, and is growing at a very fast rate. North Carolina has over 500 golf courses and Charlotte itself has over 20 golf courses. With Charlotte now being identified as a golf city, the citizens are passionate about the game.  This passion was on full display at the Presidents Cup, with Crowds reaching up to 40,000 for each day of the event. Zarzour spoke on his experience as the starter at the presidents cup saying, “It was one of the neatest experiences I’ve ever had, And to have all that noise around us on the first tee in the stands was just incredible. I thought the event came off incredibly well for Charlotte.” Zarzour added later in the interview, “It felt bigger than any Presidents Cup that i’ve attended in the past.”

Charlotte brought a significant amount of passion, and energy to this year’s Presidents Cup. Only further proving the point why the city of Charlotte is a major reason the PGA Tour and other golf tournaments return to charlotte.

The PGA Tour recently gave the city of Charlotte and Quail Hollow Golf Club another affirmation by making the Wells Fargo Championship one of eight new elevated PGA tour events. The Wells Fargo Championship will be worth more FedEx Cup points and will feature a larger purse than ever before, bringing the best players and best competition you could find in a PGA Tour Event to Charlotte. In addition to this, the PGA Championship will also be returning to Quail Hollow Golf Club in May 2025. The combination of a great golf course, along with a city that is very passionate about the game of golf is what keeps big tournaments coming back to the Queen City.  

Overtraining in Sports

By

High school athletes are working harder than ever, with new standards for what defines a star athlete, the bar of excellence is a moving target. Across all sports, student athletes face inordinate pressure and challenges both in and out of their sport. Balancing intense training with the other responsibilities of being a high schooler can be overwhelming, and the training itself can put too much of a physical or mental strain on student-athletes. A term commonly mentioned in high school sports is “burn out”, when an athlete trains so intensely and so frequently, that they get to a point where they physically and mentally cannot train anymore. It is a struggle that is often overlooked, as student-athletes are expected to persevere through road blocks in their training to achieve the high standards expected of them. Athletes often face the idea of “peaking” or reaching the peak of their athletic career. The question is how much can you really improve within the limitations of your unique physical and mental capacity?

In an interview with 2021 Olympic Swimmer Claire Curzan, Claire talked about how she approaches training in and out of the pool. After discussing her experience as a young student athlete at the Olympics and the rigorous training leading up to it, she talks about the return to normalcy. “I definitely found it a little hard to get back up and go through those hard sets, but I’ve been talking to a lot of people and I think the mindset I’ve taken is to take one 25 at a time and one stroke at a time and trying to enjoy that.” Although Claire’s advice is swimming specific, it can be applied to athletes and training in any sport. Take each practice one step at a time, take training one step at a time, avoid focusing on the bigger, stressful, picture and focus on what is right in front of you today. Taking something one step at a time is common advice, but sometimes it is not the first answer an athlete uses when it comes to intense training. Oftentimes when an athlete is in a rigorous training cycle, it is hard to break the rhythm and the mindset, but this change can warrant protection against fatigue and can continue the passion and enjoyment of the sport. 

Curzan also mentions the importance of communication in the interview when she says, “Don’t be afraid to ask your coaches to switch things up, you’re definitely entitled to it, it’s your sport, you’re career, so if you need to talk to your coach to spice things up and get you excited about it.” It truly is crucial, especially in young athletes who are still maturing and understanding their bodies and their mental health, that communication is sustained between the coach and the athlete. It is vital to make sure the coach understands the athletes’ specific needs and uniquities in their mental and physical approach to the sport. The coach or team leader is always there as a support system. It is their job to be there for their athletes; not only to train them and help them achieve their goals on the field, court, or in the pool, but also outside those facilities.  Coaches should encourage and celebrate athletes’ personal growth through participating in the sport. 

These tips, ideas, questions, and concerns can be applied to any high-performing student-athletes who face stress or fatigue from their sport. Take a step back and think about another way to approach practice, or competition, along with ways that you can find support systems that are there to help you achieve your goals.

Kobe Bryant

By

The death of Kobe Bryant on January 26th shocked not only the basketball community but the world at large. Bryant was on a helicopter along with eight others including his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna; there were no survivors. Bryant played twenty seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2008. His death immediately sent players and fans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) into mourning and caused tremors in the sports world.

Bryant was a huge supporter of soccer and his death was felt heavily by players and organizations. When Neymar scored a goal for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) shortly after reports of Bryant’s death were confirmed, he used the opportunity to honor the legacy of a player who transcended more than just basketball. Neymar held up the number twenty-four in front of the camera, Kobe’s old number, and held his hands in prayer to wish him farewell. Bryant’s favorite team while growing up in Italy was AC Milan and the team was heartbroken by the death of one of their lifelong supporters. To remember him, all the players wore a black armband and had a moment of silence before kickoff. Soccer legends Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo also expressed their sadness about the death of a legend and an icon of the sports world. 

Bryant’s death caused shockwaves in the National Football League (NFL) as well. The Pro Bowl is a time for fun and enjoyment for the select players chosen to represent their conferences, but the startling news made the final day of the event much more somber. Just before the Pro Bowl kicked off, the players found out the news and were collectively devastated. Quarterback Russell Wilson got his teammates together and led a prayer in the locker room while other members of the team tried to console those who were in tears. Fans at the stadium also began to chant Bryant’s name after a moment of silence before the game. Many players also used celebrations to honor Bryant during the game as well. 

The Super Bowl featured even more tributes to the Lakers legend. Before the game, all players on both teams lined up on the twenty-four-yard line to honor him and stood in silence, still shellshocked a week after his tragic passing. Emmanuel Sanders, a wide receiver, wore cleats featuring both of Bryant’s numbers, eight and twenty-four due to the influence that he had on Sanders. Players also auctioned off helmets to donate to Bryant’s charity, The Mamba Sports Foundation. Finally, Richard Sherman, a star cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, wore a Bryant jersey into the stadium to show how important he was to the entire world of sports. Kobe Bryant had a massive influence on football and players everywhere honored his greatness.

Of course, no sport was more affected by Kobe’s death than basketball. In the days after his death, teams traded twenty-four-second violations to further honor the legacy of one of the greatest players of all time. Players also began changing their numbers away from twenty-four, a request that usually is only allowed months before the season starts, but in this extreme situation, the NBA allowed the mass number change. The NBA also changed the name of the All-Star MVP award to the “All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award” due to his massive importance on the sport. 

Kobe Bryant’s death was a shock to the sporting world and, as such, caused mass mournings across various leagues and even countries. Kobe’s legacy is not untainted, but that does not change or detract from his massive influence on an entire generation of athletes spanning multiple continents. The death of Bryant was felt by everyone who watches or plays any sport and was honored in the way that reflects how his play transcended barriers and made him not just a basketball legend, but an international sports icon.

College Versus NFL Football

By

College football and the National Football League (NFL) are essentially the same sport– but with a few major differences. Players are playing the same game, but lead vastly different lives.

 NFL players earn millions of dollars to win football games for their team. Playing in the NFL is a full time job. The season runs from the start of training camp in July to potentially all the way to the Super Bowl in February. In contrast, college athletes aren’t paid millions of dollars like NFL players are. Some receive scholarships, while some pay the tuition in full. College athletes have to juggle watching film of their next opponent with turning in a research paper on time. NFL players have the ability to live luxurious lives, while most college players live in dorm rooms. The game is the same but the sports themselves are vastly different. 

The number of college football teams largely outweigh the number of NFL teams. The NFL has just one division with 32 teams. In contrast, according to National College Student Athlete (NCSA), there are nearly 900 college football teams. 130 teams participate in the NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which is the top division in the sport. This is one of the many eye opening contrasts between college and NFL football.

There are a variety of differences between the two sports within the rule book as well. One of the most well-known being the requirement for a successful catch. In the NFL, the receiver is required to secure the ball and get two feet down in bounds to warrant a catch. In college, the receiver only has to get one foot down in bounds. Time is also a major difference: if watching NFL and college games, football fans may have noticed that college contests normally take longer to complete. This is because of the difference in operation of the game clock. In college, the game clock stops after every first down. In the NFL, the clock only stops when a player runs out of bounds, a timeout is called, or in the case of a penalty. Even though the games are the same length in both sports (four, fifteen minute quarters for a total of 60 minutes), college games typically take longer because the clock stops more frequently.

No matter how different the rules are, the factors needed for success in the two sports are the same. In order to win titles in any sport, teams need to be equipped with talented players who work well together as a team. In college, coaches travel all across the country on the recruiting trail to find talented players that fit the program’s needs. Over the past 10 seasons, Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide has won four national championships, according to Sports Reference. In those years (2011, 2012, 2015, and 2017), Alabama had the number 1 recruiting class according to 247 Sports. Nick Saban brought the best of the best to Tuscaloosa, and those players delivered for the Tide when it mattered most. This shows that in order to win football games, teams have to be well-coached. Similarly, the New England Patriots’ dynasty is the most successful in the 21st century. In the history of the franchise, the Patriots have claimed six Super Bowl titles all of which have come in the past 20 years. The roster has fluctuated for the Patriots over these 20 years but two men have been there through it all: Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Belichick and Brady are thought to be among the greatest at what they do. The Patriots have the most Super Bowls in the past 20 years because of the coach and their quarterback leading them out onto the field.

The two sports are similar and different in more ways than one can count. However, football is football and nothing can change that. Another thing that won’t change is the fact that week in week out, these two sports have fans across the country who are in love with the game.