Humanities Information

The Automatic Champion


"Babe" Didrickson Zaharias was a phenomenal athlete. This Texan ran, jumped, rode horses, and played basketball and baseball-with tremendous flair.

In the Olympic tryouts in 1932, she won five first places in track and field events. In the games of that year in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal in the women's 80 meter hurdles, a gold medal in the javelin throw, and a silver medal in the high jump.

After the Olympics, Zaharias turned to golf. Although she started from scratch, she won the National Women's Amateur and the British Women's Amateur.

The press hailed her as a "natural athlete." They often referred to as an "automatic champion."

But the real story behind Zaharias fairy-tale success was her painstaking diligence. Her success came from studied repetition. In every sport she undertook, she was methodical, deliberate, and persistent. She was neither "natural" nor "automatic."

When, for example, she played golf for the first time, she did not automatically master the game. Instead she studied the game carefully, covering all its complex skill sets, under the tutelage of the finest golf teacher she could find. She looked at all the elements of the golf swing, broke it down into parts, then put it all together in a fluid movement.

Besides using an analytical approach to understand the game, Zaharias also locked the information into her motor nervous system through exhaustive practice. She would spend as many as 12 hours a day on the golf course, hitting as many as a thousand balls. Her hands would often becomes so sore that she could hardly grip her club. She stopped only long enough to tape up her hands before picking up the club again.

Zaharias learned to play golf the right way. She started out by hiring an exceptional teacher. She analyzed each part of the golf swing then put them all together in a fluid motion. She practiced for about 12 hours a day. She exercised self-discipline and self-sacrifice. And she didn't doubt herself. Her previous successes had created an enduring self-confidence. She believed that if she applied herself she would be a golf champion. She proved this belief true.

Zaharias took a risk. She risked her reputation as an athlete by trying something new. She also risked the time and money it cost her to perfect her new sport.

Above all, she was methodical in the way she went about inventing herself as a champion golfer. She chose a gifted teacher, studied all aspects of the game, and put her new knowledge into practice, converting theory into motor learning, coordination, and stamina.

Resource Box

Saleem Rana got his Masters degree in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life

Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

  


MORE RESOURCES:

The Cord

Government of Canada to Announce Investment in Research Partnerships
MarketWatch (press release)
The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, will make an announcement related to funding for new research partnerships in the social sciences and humanities among the academic, private, public, and not-for-profit sectors ...
Waterloo Region hosts massive academic gatheringWaterloo Record
Waterloo community hopes to boost reputation with Congress 2012The Cord
Canada's Largest Academic Conference to Infuse $7 million into Waterloo Region ...Exchange Morning Post (press release)

all 10 news articles »


Noozhawk

Michael Douglas Donates $500000 to UCSB to Endow Dean's Chair
Noozhawk
By UCSB | Published on 05.24.2012 A matching amount from UC Presidential Funds completes a $1 million commitment to support the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. The chair will support teaching, research, and programs in the humanities ...

and more »


Media Advisory: Governor General of Canada to Deliver Keynote Address at ...
MarketWatch (press release)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, May 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will deliver a keynote address on the opening day of the 2012 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, ...
Humanities, social sciences, creative arts more relevant than everGuelph Mercury
Media Advisory: Panel at Congress 2012 Conference Examines University ...Marketwire (press release)
Local academics join those sharing their researchWaterloo Record

all 4 news articles »


Michael Douglas donates $500000 to UC Santa Barbara to endow Dean's Chair
EurekAlert (press release)
Academy Award-winning actor and producer and UC Santa Barbara alumnus Michael Douglas ('68) has contributed $500000 to establish an endowed chair for the Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts in the College of Letters and Science. A matching amount from UC ...



Media Advisory: Governor General of Canada to Deliver Keynote Address at ...
Marketwire (press release)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 23, 2012) - His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will deliver a keynote address on the opening day of the 2012 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, on Saturday, ...

and more »


Ferndale Museum receives documentary grant
Times-Standard
Cal Humanities recently announced the 2012 Community Stories grant awardees, and the Ferndale Museum has been awarded $10000 for its documentary project titled “The Span of the Century.” Community Stories is a competitive grant program of Cal ...



Vermont Humanities Council seeks nominations for tenth annual Victor R ...
vtdigger.org
For ten years, the Vermont Humanities Council has honored such teachers with the Victor R. Swenson Humanities Educator Award, which recognizes a Vermont educator in grades 6 through 12 who exemplifies excellence in the teaching of the humanities.
Humanities Council seeks teacher nomineesRutland Herald

all 2 news articles »


U. of U. adds environmental center in Montana
Salt Lake Tribune
By Dana Ferguson The University of Utah will extend its campus beyond Salt Lake City as it adds the Environmental Humanities Education Center on the southern border of Montana. The site in Montana's Centennial Valley will offer a place for students and ...
U of U Offers Environmental Education in MontanaKCPW (blog)

all 2 news articles »


Annual Senator Pell Lecture on Arts & Humanities to be held in Providence
The Republic
AP PROVIDENCE, RI — Providence Mayor Angel Taveras (tuh-VEHR'-us) is hosting the annual Senator Pell Lecture on Arts & Humanities. The presentation is scheduled for Thursday evening at the Pell Chafee (CHAY'-fee) Performance Center and is entitled ...

and more »


Solomon's Choice: Valuing Biblical Studies and Humanities Education
The Bible and Interpretation
This attitude attacks all the humanities and arts, but it is especially true for Biblical Studies, sometimes seen as irrelevant even by other humanities scholars. Those of us who are engaged in researching and teaching in Biblical Studies need to be ...


Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.