Over the past four weeks the social media channels have been flooded with people dumping buckets of ice water over their heads for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. At last count the wave of support has helped the ALS Association bring in more money in the last four weeks than all of last year. ALS is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The other evening as my sons and I talked about the Ice Bucket Challenge, I realized they did not even know who Lou Gehrig was.

Often in today's society we are moved by what is popular or trendy. When a disease strikes down someone famous such as we saw with Robin Williams last week, the illness becomes relevant in the national spotlight again. The reality is there are millions of people who are fighting daily battles with ALS, Cancer, Parkinsons, and many more debilitating diseases. They do it without fan fare or a spotlight on them. They cling to hope and struggle to survive with the love and support of those closest to them.

So whether or not you agree with dumping ice water on your head, I am certain we all can agree that the money raised will be a blessing to those who suffer from ALS. However, I would encourage everyone to look closely around them for those who are hurting right in their community. There are opportunities all around us to make a difference in the lives of others who might be struggling or afflicted. Make a conscious effort to live each day looking for an opportunity to help and serve those who need it. Not because it's trendy and can be a cool video online, but because it will make a huge impact on the quality of someone's life!

Lou "The Iron Horse" Gehrig was a major league baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS which forced him to retire from the Yankees at the age of 36 and took his life two years later. He finished with a career batting average of .340, an on-base percentage of .447, and a slugging percentage of .632, and he tallied 493 home runs and 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs). A seven-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion, Gehrig won the Triple Crown in 1934 and was twice named the American League's (AL) Most Valuable Player. Gehrig was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Gehrig's speech on July 4, 1939 is one of the most famous sports speeches of all-time. No all of the speech was filmed so the video below only has some parts but the full transcript of the speech is below the video. Well worth your time to watch and read!

Looking back through my notes and found these great principles for self affirmation. Can't remember where I got them but they are awesome and hit home for me today!

10 PRINCIPLES FOR SELF AFFIRMATION

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." - Genesis 1:31

God knew the specific purpose you were born to fulfill, so He provided all the gifts you'd need, including the environment required to put it all together. Then He looked at you and said, "Very good." Can you say that too? It's important that you can. Why? Because others will treat you according to how you treat yourself! This is not pride, it's just healthy self-esteem based on God's opinion of you as revealed in His Word. When you have it, it affects every area of your life. Truth be told, it determines how far you'll go in life.

Stop and ask yourself today, "How do I really feel about myself?" Before you answer read these ten principles. Better yet, keep them before you daily.

• Never think or speak negatively about yourself; that puts you in disagreement with God.
• Meditate on your God-given strengths and learn to encourage yourself, for much of the time nobody else will.
• Don't compare yourself to anybody else. You're unique, one of a kind, an original. So don't settle for being a copy.
• Focus on your potential, not your limitations. Remember, God lives in you!
• Find what you like to do, do well, and strive to do it with excellence.
• Have the courage to be different. Be a God pleaser, not a people pleaser.
• Learn to handle criticism. Let it develop you instead of discourage you.
• Determine your own worth instead of letting others do it for you. They'll short-change you!
• Keep your shortcomings in perspective - you're still a work in progress.
• Focus daily on your greatest source of confidence - the God Who lives in you!

There have been many articles done over the past ten years about the decline of the multi-sport athlete in the United States. In my opinion that falls directly on parents and coaches. As a parent and former multi-sport athlete myself, I am just as guilty as the next parent or coach. In our quest to have kids who excel and possibly even earn a scholarship, we narrow their focus at very early ages. When we find a sport where they have some success, we tend to steer them in that direction. The growth of organized youth sports has allowed a child who wants to specialize the chance to compete almost every weekend. For example, I could register my sons for some sort of basketball camp, showcase, or clinic practically every weekend of the year without driving more than 3-4 hours from my house. On top of that, there are numerous basketball trainers eagerly awaiting to train them daily or weekly. This abundance of opportunity is not necessarily a bad thing, but in my opinion is not the healthiest way for athletes to develop.

The reality is that most kids are not fully developed and finished growing until they are 16-18 years old. In today's society, athletes are often starting to narrow their focus prior to high school. If I had chosen the sport I was best at in the 8th grade, I would have specialized in baseball. I was 5'9" and rail thin but had great hand eye coordination and a good arm. Would I have made it to the majors or even gotten a baseball scholarship? I don't know the answer but I am glad I continued to play multi-sports. Yes I probably was not as proficient at any one sport due to playing the others, but I learned valuable lessons and skills in one sport that translated to the other. The toughness and leadership skills I learned as a quarterback as well as the focus and attention to detail I learned on the baseball field were integral in my growth as a basketball player.  I certainly would not have played ACC basketball if it wasn't for a full football scholarship.

We have all heard the stories of burn out as well as the potential for over use injuries. Of course those are concerns but I want to focus on what I feel is the biggest reason why athletes should play multiple sports while developing. Growth as a person and an athlete can only come when you are challenged and pushed outside of your comfort zone. In my opinion, playing multiple sports is the best way to challenge an athlete mentally and physically. The effort and mental toughness it takes to switch your mindset from one sport to another will stretch and grow a young athlete physically and emotionally. The star in one sport might have to learn to be a role player in another. By playing more than one sport, an athlete stokes the competitive fire within them in different ways and that is a great thing.

You might argue that when competing for a college scholarship, you can't afford to not be playing year round because your competition will be. In reality you might be right that someone who focuses on one sport may have more skills at an earlier age. However, I would argue that a smart college coach will look at the fact that you played multiple sports and see the benefit in that. If I am comparing two players in high school one of which has focused exclusively on basketball year round and another who has played multiple sports, which one do you think might make the biggest advances once they go to college? I strongly feel that athletes should play more than one sport at least through their sophomore year of high school. At that point, if one sport sticks out as something they should focus on then go for it. Enough already with the 12 year old phenom who does nothing but play one sport. Push them out of their comfort zone and try something new. If it's not another sport then have them learn an instrument or pick up a hobby. I guarantee in the long run it will be a rewarding experience.

The NCAA live period for men's basketball recruiting is now officially over. Having gone through it as both a college coach and the parent of a prospect, I can attest that the system is not ideal for anyone involved (except maybe the tournament operators and hotels). Now that college coaches get eight weeks to work out their players in the summer, they are pushed to the max trying to fit in workouts and get out on the road to recruit. They work Monday and Tuesday developing their current players then travel on Wednesday to tournaments to watch recruits. Once the tournament ends on Sunday, they fly or drive back to campus and do it all over again. As for players, they travel all over the country missing class in the Spring and living out of hotels in the July period. The amount of games they play in a short time is grueling and taxing on their bodies. And as for parents of players, they almost have no choice but to send their kids on the road with the coach because they can't get enough time off work or even afford the travel costs and game entry fees.

While I do not claim to have all the answers, I do have a few ideas:

1. Make April through August a quiet period which allows coaches to communicate with recruits as well as recruits to visit college campuses. This gives juniors a chance to take some visits prior to their senior year in the summer when they are out of school.
2. Have a ten day recruiting period for coaches to go back into homes and high schools in April. Start it the Thursday before signing day and concluding it after a short three day dead period just before the signing period.
   
3. Schedule two evaluation weekends for coaches to watch NCAA certified events (travel teams) in the Spring. One on the last weekend of April and the other in early May. This avoids the situation of this past recruiting calendar where there was only one evaluation weekend. The Spring evaluation weekend would only be three days (Friday through Sunday).
4. Have a mandatory three week dead period from the end of May into the middle of June. This gives coaches a break and keeps players off college campuses when they should be studying for exams.
5. Add one four day (Thursday through Sunday) recruiting period in late June which allows coaches to go watch prospects with their high school team only. This will help keep the high school coach involved in the recruiting process in the summer.
6. Scheduled only two four day (Thursday through Sunday) evaluation periods for coaches to watch NCAA certified events in July with a week off in between them. The other option would be to leave it at the current three weekends but shorten them. Kids need to play less and coaches need to travel less.

With this format, there are only four weekend periods for coaches to watch NCAA certified events but additional dates added are added to watch players with their high school teams in June and it spreads out the Spring recruiting period. It would also remove the dead period restrictions in July so parents could take kids on visits when they are not in school.

I would love to hear what other coaches at all levels as well as parents like or dislike about the current set up for men's college basketball recruiting. Take a minute and comment now!