Sleep

Sleep and How It Works

In our busy lives it is important to maintain sleep as a necessary part of our daily schedule. Sleep is a very important asset to keep healthy and there are many questions to be answered about how sleep works and what we can do to get enough sleep.

What happens to our bodies while we sleep?

            You might think that your brain and body take a well needed break while you are sleeping but that is not the truth. There’s a lot that goes on inside of us while we’re in slumber. Three main things are; digestive juices, hormone production, and kidney performance.

The amount of acid in our stomachs typically decreases, but if we were to have an ulcer then it increases. Also there are two female reproductive hormones (follicle stimulating and luteinzing) are released during sleep. Additionally, growth hormones are released in children and young adults when they sleep. Finally, the rate at which our kidneys filter waste slows while we’re asleep. This reduction in renal production is why that first morning urine is so concentrated.

Another thing is that our breathing, heart rate, and muscle movements change according to whether we are in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) or REM (rapid eye movement) stage sleep. During certain stages of NREM sleep, many of our bodily functions slow down compared to normal waking levels, including brain activity, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and body temperature. Our muscles are relaxed and, for the most part, blood flow to the brain doesn’t change and sexual arousal doesn’t occur.        

What are the causes of lack of sleep?

Sleep deprivation, as well as just a mild case of sleeplessness can be caused by nearly anything. These things can be; poor diets, depression, stress, withdrawal from drugs, frequent work shift changes, noises, uncomforting room temperatures, anxiety, and many other factors. The unfortunate thing about the causes of lack of sleep is that there are too many to nail down effectively. This could mean that even if we were to figure out the cause of our lack of sleep, it might only be one single factor of the condition.

What are the health concerns that result from a lack of sleep?

            There are many health concerns that are related to not getting enough sleep. Droopy eyelids and a low amount of energy are two of those concerns but they are the least of our worries if we’re not getting the optimal amount of sleep that our bodies need.

            If we are to get fewer than seven hours we are more likely to catch a cold, possibly because sleep helps control the body’s response to fight infections. Weight gain can also be a worry. We produce more of the hunger-promoting hormone ghrelin and less of the satiety- producing hormone leptin when we’re low on sleep.

            Getting fewer than six hours of sleep may be alright for a day or two but if we are to sleep for less than six hours for a period of two weeks or more will impair our memory, reaction time and general condition in the same way that staying awake for up to 48 hours straight would.

  What are the health benefits of sleep?

            Getting the right amount of sleep is very important and can bring many health benefits along with it. It can improve our memory, it can help us live longer, it can help stop or slow inflammation, it helps our creativity, it can even improve grades in school, getting the right amount of sleep can also sharpen our attention, it can keep us fit and at a healthy weight, stress can also be reduced by getting enough sleep, it can also help you avoid being depressed. Many more benefits come along with it as well.

How much sleep do we really need?

There are many different opinions on how much sleep is an  ideal amount, but for the most part experts are saying that between 6-8 hours is what our bodies really need. “Studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours a night, as they report, live the longest, and people who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 6.5 hours, they don’t live quite as long.” says an article in time magazine.

            Even though it might be hard to believe, there is just as much risk in getting too much sleep as there is in getting too little sleep. Actually, getting more than the recommended amount could even be more dangerous sometimes than getting less than that amount.

What are some specific sleep disorders that have impacts on people?

            There are many sleep disorders in the world that affect people all around the globe. Some life threatening and some just annoying to have to deal with.

            Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint today. It is the feeling that you have not slept well or long enough. It comes in many different forms but is most often seen as having trouble getting to sleep, waking frequently during the night, or waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep.

            Other problems that are seen are anxiety, depression, and sleep apnea. These problems are not caused by sleep but actually bring about the lack of sleep. They are not normally brought on just because we have not slept enough a couple times but if we are experiencing symptoms of insomnia it might be because of either of these other problems. Not getting enough sleep throughout our lives can also bring many other troubles down the road as we get older that can be harmful and life threatening.

            In conclusion, sleep is a really important aspect to our lives but is also one of the most sacrificed things in our lives as well. We should not be sacrificing sleep to do other things that we think are more important because really those things are not more important. If we do not get the right amount of sleep it can be very unhealthy and dangerous to our bodies. So it is very important to maintain good sleep habits.

PSYCHOLOGY OF A SERIAL KILLER

by Mattia Laudi

For some species of animals it’s perfectly normal to attack and kill each other in order to provide food for 

themselves or their babies, or even in the mating season. For the human being it isn’t, we are a social 

animal, born to live in society,  meant to create a family.

Sometimes it happens that a mother or a father abuses of their son and his mind grows and forms in a 

completely different way than normal, and in the end it turns against his own species.

Crime scene

People with violent tendencies, those that have 

committed three or more homicidies are called 

“serial killers.”

The typical trait of the serial killer is leaving a 

certain amount of time between one murder

and another. This period is called emotional 

“cooling-off,” when the criminal plans another 

murder.

The crucial question when we are having to do with a serial killer is “why is he killing?”. In the last 

years with the work of profilers, psychiatrists, psychologists and detectives we discovered what are the 

most common characteristics of this killers. For the most part of these people had serious cerebral 

damages during childhood, but this trait seems not to be enough to define a murderer. Another typical 

aspect that causes their behavior is the hate towards one’s mother, particularly in the case of a son. The 

hate for the mother may evolve and turns into hate towards the women in general and mysoginism. The 

grudge is too strong to bear and can lead to killer fantasies.

What lately seems to be confirmed is that every serial killer seems to be subjected to violence during 

youth. This usually causes mental shock, with a resulting a distorted view of the emotions and life in 

general and usually they lose the ability of proving empathy towards other human beings.

The thing that is really surprising is that during the act of the murder, the serial killer is exactly conscious 

of what he is doing, and he is able to distinguish between good and bad, but simply he doesn’t care.

Police car parked

The killer can find the motivation of his acts in 

really different aspects of his life:  if he enjoys

abusing the victim because of sexual reasons, and 

he will be called a lust killer, or for the simple fun 

in daring the authorities and the law, in this case he 

will be a thrill-killer.

Another typical classification of a serial killer is the “missionary,” who is motivated by an ethical-moral 

mission, and usually his victims are a precise category of people such as prostitutes, gays, drug addicted 

and drunkards. Very often this kind of person had a negative impact in the killer’s life, like one of the 

parents or a very close relative.

Another kind is the visionary, with really strong mental disorders, who suffers from serious 

hallucinations that show him superior entities (usually God or Satan), that tell him to commit crimes in  

order to obey to a divine plan.

The “dominator” has particular issues with people and usually he is socially inadequate. He wants to 

dominate his victim, have the full control to take his revenge against the society.

He often uses drugs or alcohol to neutralize the resistance. All these classifications are then divided in  

two bigger branches: organized and disorganized.

Organized ones are usually smarter then the avarage, first-born and live with a partner. He abuses of 

alcohol or drugs and during the act he keeps a full control of his emotions. After the murder he hides the 

corpse and usually doesn’t leave any tracks of the event and follows the police investigation.

The disorganized is sexually inadequate and generally not as smart as other serial killers. He usually is at the

Policemen in action

margins of the society. He knows the victim and doesn’t hide the body. He leaves tracks of the

event and often lives near the crime scene.

A serial killer falls into the category that better 

reflects the past of the person. The actions of

the killer will, in a certain way, reflect all the 

greatest suffering in his life. For instance, a killer

named Donato Bilancia suffered from the loss of 

his brother that committed suicide after his wife left him, by jumping off a train; Donato killed three 

women that were travelling on trains as revenge against all the women, because in his mind that was the 

problem that caused him a great pain.

Basically in the mind of the serial killer, that once was a normal person, great pains or abuses and 

violence change the perception of empathy, and all the emotions that allow us to coexist with other 

human beings. The person looks for revenge and a way to exorcize his fears and suffering. Selecting the 

“category” of people that caused his troubles and starts actions aimed to reveal the society blamed what 

pains he suffered.

The Legacy Of A Legend

The Legacy Of A Legend

By: Kelsey Lynch

Arbour in 2007 

When I was a little I had this perfect idea in my head that I was going to be a famous singer, then a week later a ballerina, then a vet, and the list goes on. I, just like all of you, lived in a fantasy world and envisioned my life to be absolutely perfect in the future.

However, we all grow up at one point and come to realize that our idea of the future is not exactly what we expected. Making it to the big leagues or to the big screen for many only occurs when our eyes are shut, but while were dreaming, people are living that dream.

About 58 years ago, at the age of 22, Al Arbour entered the world of professional hockey and never looked back. Little did he know, that his strong defensive game and impressive shot blocking would increase his team's chance of success. Also, years later his knowledge, dedication, and technique would recreate organizations and build teams from the ground up.

You may have remembered Arbour as the guy who wore his glasses while playing. Radar was his nickname and he was the last NHL player to wear them while competing.

His 19-year playing career began with the Detroit Red Wings in 1954. However, the Red Wings had a solid group of guys holding the blue line, so Arbour spent some time playing for the Edmonton Flyers. His WHL career was short and sweet, as he was named to one of the WHL's All-Star teams.

In 1957, Arbour was a full-time Red Wing until the Chicago Blackhawks were interested, forcing Arbour to switch. He spent three short years with the Blackhawks and had a total of twenty-three points. Although, his effort did not necessarily show in stats, he made up for it on the ice. In the 1960-61 season, the Blackhawks took home the Stanley Cup after defeating Abour's former team, the Detroit Red Wings.

As he finished out the season with a victory, Arbour was going to hit the road yet again. This time he was headed back to Canada to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto was successful during the 1961-62 season, which made Arbour one of few to win consecutive Stanley Cups with two different teams.

I got the opportunity to ask Arbour a few questions about his career and the difficulties of being an NHL player. He commented about the time period saying, "Back then nobody said anything, there were no agents, and no one was there to help improve our game."

Arbour with the Stanley Cup

That being said, Arbour was a part of a successful team, which, did not work out in his favor. He spent most of his time playing for the Rochester Americans in the AHL then playing for Toronto. Even though he struggled in the NHL, his sacrificing defense ability in the AHL was recognized. He was named to the First AHL all-star team four times and was named AHLs best defenseman in 1965.

As the NHL expansion was set in place in 1967, Arbour was able to return to the NHL once again.  Arbour became a member of a new team, the St. Louis Blues. Arbour was well known in St. Louis because he was given a leadership role that greatly impacted the team. As the first captain in St. Louis history, Arbour did not disappoint. He led his team to the Stanley Cup finals three times but failed to ever obtain victory.

Arbour’s playing career came to an end in 1970 and at the age of 38 he was introduced to coaching through Scotty Bowman. After coaching two seasons with his former team, he was approached with a new offer. The offer was to take on a coaching job with the New York Islanders.

“ I loved being a player because of the team spirit. When you play a game you just play your heart out and give it your very best every time but as a coach all you can do is rely on the players to make it happen”, Arbour mentioned.

Arbour hesitated at first but was confident with the right attitude he could be successful. The Islanders record from the previous season was not one to remember considering they only won twelve games. Arbour was determined to make the best of the situation and "make the best of the players he had."

It didn't take long for Arbour's unique coaching technique to take affect. As a player, Arbour wasn't  a standout but he studied the game which increased his ability. Obtaining that knowledge as a player came in handy during his coaching years as well.

Arbour and his players had a unique relationship. He studied each of them and was aware of their personalities as players. "If you were the type of player that needed to be screamed at or if you needed compliments to increase your game, Arbour would do it," said Arbour’s son, Jay.  He would cater to their needs because he knew how to get the best out of each player.

Arbour had the ability to completely turn a team around and that's what he did. He coached the Islanders to four consecutive Stanley Cup victories in the years of 1978-82.

Arbour continued to coach the Islanders until the season of 1985-86. Arbour retired from the game taking an office job for the Islanders organization.

Two years later, Arbour was right back doing what he did best. He was behind the bench again, coaching the Islanders from 1988-1994. 

When Arbour official retired after the 1994 season with the Islanders, he walked away with 1,499 games under his belt, 15 Playoff Appearances, and won four Stanley Cups.

"Radar" with the Toronto Maple Leafs

Arbour’s hard work and dedication was recognized when he was awarded coach of the year 1n 1979, won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1992, and he was inducted into the builders category of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

His proper technique and different approach is often used today. Many coaches that remain in the game depend on Arbour’s system and frequently call him looking for advice.

As Arbour reflects on his career he states, “ My greatest accomplishment was winning the Stanley Cup both as a player and a coach. I don’t have any regrets and I wouldn’t change a thing. I worked hard and we succeeded and got where we wanted to go.”

Today, Arbour is remembered for the creation of the New York Islanders Dynasty. His love and passion for the game was clear and his legacy will live on. 

So in order to turn that impossible dream into something real, you must believe that anything is possible. We all have dreams, just like Arbour and whether or not you make those dreams come true is up to you.

Sarah Burke

Risk Takers

By: Martha Smith

Freestyle skier Sarah Burke dies from crash

In the X-Games and Olympics some of the most exciting events to watch are the freestyle snowboarding and skiing.  On January 10, Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died after sustaining injuries during a training run in Park City, Utah.  This was the same half-pipe, and same side, that snowboarder Kevin Pearce crashed in December 2009, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.

So then some questions arise; what is it that makes these thrill seekers continue to take to the slopes?  Is this thrill worth the potential life ending and changing accidents?  What kinds of precautions are being made in order to reduce accidents?

Before I answer these questions a broader knowledge of the events surrounding Burke’s and Pearce’s accidents is necessary.

Less than a week before the Olympic Qualifiers Kevin Pearce flew to Park City, Utah to practice.  On December 31, 2009 Pearce was snowboarding, and after several simpler warm-up tricks he decided to attempt a double cork, similar to a front-side 1080 where the rider rotates his body three times on a single plane.  The double cork takes those twists and inverts them.  This move is especially dangerous due to the fact that the rider does not see his landing until the last second.  As he flew up into the air something started to go wrong, he was flipping too hard and over rotating, yet he continued with the twists.  Pearce struck the ice right above his eye and slid down the half pipe wall.

Snowboarder Kevin Pearce in action

Pearce had suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, breaking his left eye socket, and leaking blood within his brain.  The doctors were not sure if he would even wake up, and if he did the expectations were low.  Traumatic Brain Injuries are often associated with loss of speech and mobility. 

Sarah Burke was also training for her upcoming event, the X-Games when her fatal accident took place.  Burke was going through the routine motions of any practice run when she started to execute a 540 flat spin, this was no special trick, it was a stunt that she had performed many times, yet something went wrong.  Burke “flipped over – awkwardly, but seemingly innocuously – hitting her head on the ground” this fall ruptured her vertebral artery.  Because the artery was torn this led to an intracranial hemorrhage, she then entered cardiac arrest.  She then lost her pulse and stopped breathing.

Burke’s official cause of death was hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.  This condition occurred because Burke’s brain was deprived of oxygen.  She was taken to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City and placed on life support and the next day surgery was done to repair the ruptured artery.  The operation was successful but “subsequent tests revealed Burke had sustained irreversible damage to her brain as a result of the cardiac arrest.”

So why do these thrill seekers continue to take to the slopes after accidents such as Burke’s and Pearce’s, and is that risk worth it? The answer, I believe is a combination of things.

These devastating accidents are impossible to predict, yet those involved in these extreme sports continue to push the limits.  Both Burke and Pearce were striving to push themselves into the number one position in competition.

Half pipe skiing accident

Kevin Pearce was focused on training to win the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver after a frustrating loss to snowboarding legend Shawn White at the X-Games in January of 2009.  With the loss Pearce knew he needed to push the limits, saying, “the thing about snowboarding is that no one really knows where the limits are.”  It was after this loss that Pearce made the decision to work towards nailing the double cork.  This complicated trick was a major factor in his accident.

Burke was projected to be one of the favorite gold metal contenders in the free-style skiing at the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi, Russia.  The event was making its debut appearance in 2014.  

Peter Judge, the CEO of Canada’s freestyle team described Burke as “pioneering Canadian Freestyler[s she] helped get skiing super pipe accepted into the Olympics.” Judge went on to describe Burke as a dedicated skier who strived “to define her sport but not define herself by winning.  She had been about making herself the best she can be rather than comparing herself to people” 

Not only do thrill seekers continue to ride for the thrill of a win, these riders who dedicate so much time to the sport have a true passion for it, and love like that for a sport is not something that one gives up easily.  This makes the risk worth it.  

As Burke once said in an interview, “because we love it and want to be the best.”  

Jake Burton also also commented that these sports are “self-policed by athletes who knew where to draw the line,” and that, “’if the sport got to the point where half pipe riding became really dangerous, I think riders would do something about it. It wouldn’t be cool anymore.’”

Because those involved in the sport are not likely to stop there must be precautions for the safety of all involved.  The sport’s leaders defend the record, saying mandatory helmets and air bags used on the sides of pipes during practice and better pipe building technology has made this a safer sport, even though the walls of the pipes have risen significantly over the past decade.  They now stand 22 feel high.  Riders also will often fine tune new maneuvers in foam pits.

Skier Sarah Burke during competition

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said, “thorough research has shown that freestyle skiing is no more dangerous than many of the other winter sports.”  

Snowboarder Kelly Clark explained that experienced athletes don’t break their wrists as much as novices because they are “well-trained at falling, you know how to fall well, [or] fall safely,” adding that, “there are actually more tools, and it is safer than it has ever been to learn tricks and progress your riding.”

It is obvious that the sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboarding are not likely to go anywhere anytime soon.  Although there are devastating accidents and they are heartbreaking to hear about the truth is, accidents happen, and those involved in the sport believe the risk is worth is for the thrill.

Joe Paterno

How will he be remembered?

By: Emily Laurenzi

How will Joe Paterno be remembered, as one of the most successful college football coaches in history, or a man with a tarnished legacy?

After he had graduated from Brown University in 1950, he went to assist Rip Engle, who had previously been his coach at Brown and was now the new head coach of Penn State. He worked with Engle for fifteen years as the assistant coach, and together they led the Nittany Lions to win three out of four bowl games and had an overall record of 132-68-8.

Paterno running on the field with his team

Rip Engle decided to retire and Paterno was named head coach in 1966. His first season as head coach didn’t go as well as he had hoped. The team had a record of five wins and five losses, and he knew that he had to work harder for next season. The following season the Lions had eight wins, two losses, and advanced to the Gator Bowl where they ended up tying Florida State.

Throughout his 61 years as a coach at Penn Sate, Paterno led the team to five undefeated seasons. Said in an online report, “ he had more bowl wins than any coach in college football (including three national championships), and had risen to earn the title "the winningest active coach in college football." Paterno has also been voted coach of the year an amazing four times by the American Football Coaches Association.

While at Penn State he had been offered head coaching jobs for multiple NFL teams in which he chose to deny. He coached 78 first-team All-Americans, and "produced more than 350 players who went on to play in the NFL, 33 of whom were selected in the first round of the draft," said another online report.

Although he was an outstanding football coach, he stood for much more than that. “He [was] a tenured professor, too, and to his players he [was] like a father, more so than most coaches could even dream of being,” said one former player

Spanier and Paterno

On November 5, 2011, former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, was charged with forty counts of sexual abuse on boys in a fifteen-year period. He had been arrested and released on $100,000 bail. It wasn’t long after, that on November 9^th, head coach Paterno had announced he would be retiring at the end of the season. Later in that same day the board of trustees decided to fire him with three games left in his 46^th season as a head coach.

"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case," Paterno said in a statement released hours before he was fired. "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."

Almost three months after he was dismissed from the campus and the school that he loved, he passed away from lung cancer. After he had passed away many people began to question what really killed Paterno. Was it the lung cancer or his broken heart?

Shortly after Paterno had been fired he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and about two months after being diagnosed he had passed away. However, in many minds, it was the sexual abuse scandal that led him to his death.

Toby Christie said in an online report that “stress and sadness can do a lot of mysterious things – and there was no shortage of either in the final months of the life of Joe Paterno. His life was turned upside down. His job was stripped from him, the media who had loved him for so long had crucified him, and people were unjustly turning him into a monster.”

Paterno celebrating with his team

I recently spoke with Kyle Rossi, a blogger for Penn State. I asked him what the general feeling at Penn State was about Joe Paterno. Whether they found him guilty, irresponsible, or completely set up. “This is the type of thing I'll still be arguing with people 20 years from now,” said Rossi. “I think most people in the public now feel like he was human. A human who was one of the best coaches ever, who graduated his players and won at the same time, who literally helped build the university from a small school to what it is today.”

Rossi personally doesn’t “have any issue whatsoever with how Paterno handled the situation when he was first notified in 2002.” Paterno did what he was supposed to do, he notified people in higher positions. “I've talked to several teachers about this whole thing, and every one of them has told me the same thing, that if they suspected sexual abuse involving a student and went straight to the police, they could be fired,” said Rossi. “They only had the ability to go to their boss, the school president, who would then call the police.” Which, according to Rossi, is exactly what Paterno did. 

Teachers with Different Styles

National Sports Academy Teachers

  By: Samantha Puckhaber

----When going into college as a freshman not many no what to do when in a brand new higher level education. Some Professors have a specific structure he/she may want for their students to follow, such as behavior in class, how many projects the professor may want, essay structure, speeches etc. As a high school senior moves onto higher academics professors have higher standards. But high school seniors might be hazy on exactly what those standards are.

But the teachers at National Sports Academy feel they have prepared students very well for everything that a professor may throw there way. Each teacher at NSA (National Sports Academy) have different views on teaching, teachers such as Luke Hudak, Peter Fish, and Rob Broadfoot have all given time in telling me what they feel is their best way to teach their students.

After speaking to Luke Hudak he tells his standards for a high school level coarse. Hudak says “I look for how much understanding a student has on the subject we're studying,” and continues in saying “I also look to see how advanced their writing becomes to see how prepared they are for college grading.”

Hudak tells me he doesn't lecture as much during the winter term of National Sports Academy, “Everyone at the school is gone pretty much during the winter,” he continues saying “since all the kids are gone I prefer letting them do work.” Hudak tells me that high school is very different from the college level, but just because college classes are so much longer. The typical high school class is around 42 minutes, and the typical college class is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

“College courses a teacher can lecture and have students do work in the same time frame,” Hudak says, “as a high school teacher we don't have enough time for that.” When being asked what the hardest thing is about being a teacher in general Hudak said that he has to be able to engage his students, and has to keep his best students occupied, and have his weaker students be able to understand the material.

Hudak also believes that college is about the same level of difficulty as high school is, but in college the student just has more work that he/she must be able to finish, “College seems a lot more difficult but it's not.” Also saying that college might be more difficult to students because the professors aren't holding your hand through the whole process. “They expect you to know all the material as soon as you're there, unlike high school they aren't there to teach you the fundamentals, they expect you to know them.”

I had decided to venture out in National Sports Academy and ask other teachers their perspective on how they run their class, and how they feel college is similar or different from their ways of teaching. After talking to Rob Broadfoot he tells me “Three components that I use for my classes, core lectures, a lot of reading in and out of class, but I like to lecture I feel it helps more.”


Unlike Luke Hudak, Rob Broadfoot decides his lectures are the way to go, he feels giving to much work without explaining doesn't help the student. Having experienced two classes of Rob Broadfoots' I am able to conclude that he enjoys telling his classes about the material before they read about it.

In Broadfoots essay he says he doesn't look for the structure that an english teacher may look for, instead he tells me “I'm looking for three basic parts: a solid introduction, a main body that demonstrates strong research of the topic, and it honestly doesn't matter how many paragraphs the student may have,” but he does continue to say, “the student does have to make sure they make their point and also demonstrate they know what they're talking about, and of course they must have a strong conclusion that has their own thoughts,” he fires, “I'm different from an english teachers but that's just me.”

When asking if Broadfoot had prepared his students for college well enough he says “Yes, I think I taught my kids to think for ones self, and prepared opinions and I think I widened their horizons with different beliefs and such.” Broadfoot tells me he believes in his students, and thinks each student is capable of greatness, and believes his students are well prepared for college.

Broadfoot has a different opinion on how much more difficult college is then high school then Hudak does. Broadfoot has this to say “Expectations are much higher in college, a lot more reading at the collegiate level, and I feel college is going to be much more difficult,” and fires this “The professors aren't going to be concerned if you do the homework or not, they'll just flunk you, high school the teachers pretty much hold your hand the whole time.”

Peter Fish has the combined teaching style as Luke Hudak and Rob Broadfoot, Fish believes in speaking to his class a little more then Hudak, but less then Broadfoot. From being in his class twice I'm able to size up that he likes to speak about his material, and he loves to use metaphors.

Fish also thinks that his students will be very well prepared for college he told me “Yes my students will be well prepared, I teach them to write with structure and take responsibility for the for their own work,” and he continues to say “I give them feed back, and they get feed back from their peers.”

Fish also feels that he is an “on task person, and lectures more,” but also believes the hardest part of his job is “meeting a wide breath of students needs, some students going to Harvard and then the kids that are weaker.” From what I gather from Fish, he feels his style of teaching is more verbal, yet gives students more time to work in class as well.

Each teacher has a different style of teaching, and feels they need to prepare a student for college, because in college professors don't hold your hand. Each teacher I spoke to has said the same, and each teacher feels they prepare well for college. Luke Hudak feels that lecturing is not as important as a student doing the work and reading a bit more, but still lectures to an extent. Rob Broadfoot lectures more, and has his students do much less homework, and Peter Fish combines the two teaching skills.

Every teacher is different, and when a high school senior finally moves up to a higher education such as a freshman in college, the student will need to learn the teaching style of each professor just as they did in high school.

Jr. Luge team heads to Konigssee

Jr. Luge team heads to Konigssee for World Championships

By Aidan Kelly

After a week and 8 runs down the track in Oberhof the USA Junior National Luge team is leaving with their hopes high for World Championships. The races in Oberhof proved to be quite rewarding for former NSA student, Emily Sweeney (18) who took second in the junior women’s category (female sliders up to age 20). Tucker West(16) and Aidan Kelly(17) of NSA took 19^th and 22^nd  in the junior men’s race.

In every world  cup race there is usually a team race or challenge cup. A team race would consist of one Junior male from each country slider taking a run from their start, one Junior Woman slider taking a run from her start and a doubles team taking a run from their start. All their times would then be added together and the team with the fastest combined time would be the winner. Challenge cup, however is a race between ten athletes in the Junior Men’s Junior Women’s and Junior Doubles disciplines. The race (for money) is a single elimination race where athletes are paired up and race off in order to attempt to make it to the second round. When two athletes are paired up they race off and the one with the slower time is eliminated. However, with 10 sleds starting out that would leave and uneven amount of matchups for the second run. So the slider who beat, his/her/their matchup but, had the slowest time of all the sliders who beat their matchups, will also be eliminated.

. Ty Andersen and Aidan Kelly of USA were paired to race one another in the first round of the Oberhof  “challenge cup.”  Although Ty layed down a time faster than Aidan or himself had ever gotten, Kelly managed to best him by just two hundredths of a second to hopefully move himself into the second round. Alas, the second round was no place for Kelly, who ended up 5^th in the race. “The unlucky winner” as many referred to him as, is a term used by Luge athletes to describe sliders who beat their matchup in a challenge cup but were too slow to move on to the second round. Emily Sweeney, managed to take first in this race with teammate Kate Hansen not too far behind taking second

At the end of every Junior World Cup season overall points leaders are awarded a trophy and while our Junior men and Junior doubles teams were nowhere to be seen on the podium Emily Sweeney,(although seen standing on the 3^rd place podium due to a points counting error) earned herself enough points to be ranked 2^nd place in the world amongst all Junior Womens sliders. This ranking may have given her the confidence she needs going into Junior World Championships.

Konigssee, Germany will be the site of this years Junior world championships in the sport of luge. Although luge is little know by folks in the United States, Luge is a huge sport here in Germany and the race should draw a large crowd. The team has a training week in Konigssee the week prior to world championsips weekend in order to learn the track better and give them a better shot a medals going into this years race.