Looking Back..

Photo Credit of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zennie62/6538843321/sizes/z/

Now for my final post I will be writing a reflection, sharing what I learned about Hope Solo, what was most challenging to me about my topic/person, and what was most rewarding  to me about my topic/person.

What I learned..

First I will share with you two different aspects that I learned that I found most important.  I found the history of soccer to be most important because it describes how it originated and what the sport is. I found it interesting that, in medieval times, young noblemen who played the game of soccer would chop of a prisoners head and use that as their ball. But the fact that in ancient Chinese times soccer was a form of exercise, there is something I did not expect. One thing that really surprised me though was how far back soccer dated.

I also found that exercising is an equal  asset in what I learned because being in shape and exercising is something that everyone should do. I found it surprising that there were so many things that could go wrong if you exercise to much. I found it interesting that if you didn't exercise enough you could be very unhealthy but if you exercised to much you could be very unhealthy as well. One thing was different than what I'd expected was how in the end I believed that the benefits and risks of exercising pretty much evened out.

What I found most difficult/challenging..

One thing I found really challenging was finding what to do for each topic. One thing that surprised me was how challenging this project was as a whole, finding a good topic to do for each post was very hard too.  What was most interesting was how laid t
back the project was and in the beginning it was really hard to get things in on time. Also I really didn't expect the amount of freedom we had to do this project.

Finding credible sources was also a very challenging aspect. What surprised me the most was not being able to find a credible source to do my research on which was very frustrating as well. I expected Hope Solo to be an easily researchable person when in reality it was kind of difficult. It was interesting though that once I found a credible source I could pull a lot of information about Hope out of it.

What I found most rewarding..

The amount of work I put in was very rewarding and it surprised me that, when looking back, I realized how much work I have put into this project and I've done a lot of research. I did not expect to feel like I know Hope as a person which is strange and awesome that I feel that way now. My grades have been showing how much work I have put in, and in the beginning I was dreading having to do this project and now at the end I think I had a lot of fun with it.

I also feel very successful and accomplished now that I'm done which has surprised me.  I really didn't think I'd like the project when we first began but I got the opposite of what I expected. I also found it very interesting that I could actually put so much work into something and still enjoy it.. I really actually like my blog and I might still post on it after we are done using it for school. :)

This was my reflection on all my thoughts of this project.. what I learned, what I found most challenging and what I found most rewarding. I really hope you enjoyed reading my research and always have Hope in Solo :)

Prosperity!

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Hope Solo is not just another pretty face, nor is she just another athlete.  Hope Solo is a very important asset to the soccer world which is why I found it necessary to list her five greatest accomplishments. Enjoy!

Accomplishment # 1: Throwback to High School

Solo's childhood may nit have been smiley faces, rainbows and butterflies, especially with daddy never in the picture, but one things for sure.. him introducing young Hope to the game of soccer was probably one of the best things that could have happened to her considering by the time she was in high school, she'd scored 109 goals as a forward. I think this is pretty legendary considering women's soccer wasn't very popular at that time and she was crazy good.

http://www.biography.com/people/hope-solo-20883135

Accomplishment # 2: Did you say All-American?

Yep. That's right folks, Hope Solo got nominated for All-American High School Soccer Player not only once but twice! I think this is pretty cool considering she was only introduced to playing forward, and she got the awards for that position. When today, she is a world renowned goalie that we all know and love!

http://www.biography.com/people/hope-solo-20883135

Accomplishment # 3: College at last!

Hope always wanted to go to the University of Washington but it had seemed like a far off dream. Yet, she managed to get accepted and completed 4 years earning a degree in speech communications, that's kind of cool! I was this university that started Solo's career as a goalie when she was picked 4th overall in WUSA. "..four year letter winner.. finished her career as Washington's all-time leader in shout outs (18), saves (325) and goals against average (1.02.) She owns schools record with 18 career shout outs." This is a major accomplishment of Solo's early career in my opinion.

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/solo_hope00.html

Accomplishment # 4: Body Issue, say what?

"Growing up I felt insecure about my build. I didn't feel very feminine. But as time went on, I learned to completely embrace my body" states Solo. Which is why she was on the cover of Body Issue Magazine. Getting on the cover was really when solo started to connect her body to her accomplishments and I find this is what made Solo. And this is what made people Hopeful of Solo.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/body-issue/6974155/hope-solo

Accomplishment # 5: Takin' Home the Gold

The U.S. take home the win and the gold against Japan  in the 2012 summer olympics. Noted.. "U.S. team has won 4 of the 5 olympic titles since women's soccer was first introduced in the 1996 Atlanta games." This marks a huge accomplishment in Hopes career. It is all she has been working for which is a major deal.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33747_162-57490380/u-s-wins-womens-soccer-gold-medal-avenging-world-cup-defeat-with-victory-over-japan/

Now, this is not all of Hope Solos accomplishments but they are the ones I believed to be most important. Hope you enjoyed. :)

Is exercising what we think it is?

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It's no secret, to anyone who knows Hope Solo, how much she works out. Exercise does the body good, right? Maybe some people around the world beg to differ. What I found in the two articles "The Risks of Exercise Training" and "Health Benefits of Exercise" was actually pretty surprising to me.

Many say exercise is beneficial in many ways. in my first article I found that exercising is beneficial because it reduces the risk of dying prematurely and dying prematurely from heart disease. It also helps reduce the risk of obtaining diabetes which is really big, mostly because many people today suffer from diabetes and it is known as one of the biggest killers in the United States alone.  Diabetes can be cause by obesity as well, this is another benefit of exercising.  Exercising can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and for those who already have high blood pressure exercise will help reduce it. Other risks of not exercising enough include increasing your risk of getting colon cancer, depression and anxiety. Lastly, exercise increases the likelihood of building and maintaining healthy bones, joints and muscles long with helping middle-aged/older adults become stronger, have a better ability to move without falling and exercise promotes a healthier psychological well-being.

http://www.nutristrategy.com/health.htm

In contrast, many argue that exercising to much can be bad for your body and Professor Carl Foster is one to vogue for this side of the argument in his article "The Risks of Exercise Training." Some of these risks can even be fatal, to the young it is primarily related to the undiagnosed congenital abnormalities, drug use or even trauma.  Also he states that in older adults "a number of individuals either die or or have myocardial infarction [a destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the large muscle] this can occur during exercise."

Risks of exercise training

Now, knowing there are risks and benefits of exercising it stated in both articles that without exercise, obesity could become a major issue which in turn could be a life threatening factor as well as diabetes and high blood pressure.  Both articles also said that being aware of your health is very important especially if your are going to exercise on a daily basis. If you are unaware of your health and unaware of how much exercise your body can handle, death could be a possibility at any time.  Professor Foster stated "understanding the risks of life threatening emergencies during exercise training is complicated by the way in which the risk is computed." The Risks of Exercise Training

Some differences I found in both articles was that of the heart and what it can handle. In the first article it stated "exercise reduces the risk of prematurely dying from heart disease."  But thats all it stated, it never said anything about warning signs or anything of that nature. In the second article I found that exercising to much and not knowing your condition to exercise can lead to far more injuries, problems or even deaths due to the state at which the heart is.  Therefore saying that if your heart is in bad shape or your body is unable to handle what you are trying to do it is a lot more dangerous to exercise in a bad condition than ti not exercise at all.

To conclude, understanding the risks and benefits of exercising has only brought me ti decide that given there are more benefits to exercising than there are risks - you have to take in consideration, there are less risks, but the risks are far more dangerous and life threatening.  Stating that, in my opinion I believe that the benefits and the risks even out. Yet either way there is going to be some kind of danger.  If you like to exercise maybe just take it a little easier on yourself, by exercising some but not to much. This connects back to Hope Solo because she is a hardcore exercising fanatic which is both healthy and unhealthy if not moderated. I chose to do the risks and benefits because I believe it is beneficial for everyone to know.  

Throwback: Soccer Style

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Soccer has not always been as popular as it is today.  In fact, Europeans were the first ones to play it as an actual sport which is surprising to me because of how popular the game of soccer is today.  Another thing that may be surprising to some is the fact that soccer use to be played only by men, and today it is one of the most popular sports in Europe and the Americas played both by men and women.

Soccer has been played for many years, from anywhere between two thousand to three thousand years, but has always been for fun it never actually counted.  There is evidence of soccer being played in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China. I also knew that soccer was popular in England and Great Britain, in order to build on that I had to do some research and I discovered that in England, there are facts that the first soccer ball was that of a Danish mans head.  How weird? Also durning Medieval times kicking, punching, biting and gouging were permitted in the old form of soccer.  The game became so violent that King Edward lll banned soccer in 1365.  In Scotland, King James l also banned soccer 59 years later in 1424.

http://www.historyofsoccer.info/

I do know quite a few little facts about soccer such as the fact that pushing is aloud but you are not able to shove with your hands, your elbow must stay against your body, you must not jab your opponent with you elbows. I also know that the idea of a penalty kick was introduced in 1891.  What I did not know is that during the Han Dynasty (2nd century, China) part of military training was the game of tsu chu, translated means "kicking a ball."

http://www.sportsknowhow.com/soccer/history/soccer-history.shtml

Soccer today is. very traditional sport for men and women around the world.  For example, the summer olympics has men and women's soccer.  Not only do we have olympic soccer but we also have FIFA which stands for Féderation Internationale de Football Association (French).  We also have soccer played at College levels, high school levels, middle school levels and at a recreational level.

Soccer has been around for many centuries and many people enjoy the sport, I know I do :)    

Shape Up

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One of the most important things about sports aside from eating healthy is.. being fit!  Hope Solo is very fit and she has the muscles to prove it! Which led me to wonder "what are some of the exercises that Hope Solo practices?"  What I found was not surprising at all!

Solo's life has changed a lot throughout the years but one thing remains the same, she loves soccer! She started playing soccer with her older brother when she was around 4 years old and continued to play throughout the years!  It was in high school, when she started to be noticed, when she began to really work out to achieve the body she wanted and the fitness she needed if she wanted to move higher up in the soccer world!

When doing the workout Insane Asylum, your body and mind tell you you cannot move you, that you cannot push through the work out but, you can find a way to push through it and over come these obstacles, tell yourself "I can move on!"  Hope Solo, a US olympian says,  “But you can, your body can do much more than you think it can. I was drenched in sweat from this workout. It’s not a pretty sight but who’s trying to be pretty? Just trying to get through the workout and become a better athlete.”

http://fitorflab.com/hope-solo-does-insanity-asylum/

Now, to help you become better fit I have found a few exercises (with steps) that you should follow:

Abdominal Hold:

Grab a chair (any chair will work as long as it's sturdy) and sit tall on the end
pointing your fingers down put your hand on the edge of the chair
then tighten your abs up, lift your feet 2-4 inches of the ground and lift your butt off the chair.
hold this for 5-10 seconds, or as long as you can, try to have breaks for 5 seconds in between
repeat for one minute total with 5-10 second intervals

The Side Crunch:

Kneel on your left or right side
place your left palm on the floor if you kneel left, place your right if you kneel right
extend your opposite leg, slowly, with pointed toes while keeping your balance
place your opposite hand behind your head pointing your elbow toward the ceiling
bring your extended leg up so that it is shoulder over hip over foot
then bring foot back down to the ground slowly
repeat 6 to 8 times (two sets)
then switch sides

These are only a few of many exercises to try, maybe you could join Hope Solo in her exercise.

Redemption

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And the US takes home the gold as redemption from the 2011 World Cup, defeating Japan 2-1.  The 2011 World Cup was a devastating loss for the US team when they put so much work into everything that led up to that game.  In finding an article which explained almost exactly how things went down in the defeat of the 2011 World Cup by the Huffington Post stated:

When these two teams tangled in the final of the 2011 World Cup, the outcome was heartbreaking for the U.S. team. After the two teams completed extra time deadlocked at two goals apiece, the match was decided from the penalty spot after. In that taut affair, the Japanese found the late equalizer(s) that evaded them in the gold medal final, with Aya Miyama scoring late in regulation to force extra time and Homare Sawa pulling the Nadeshiko level again late in extra time. Ever since Japan emerged victorious from the penalty shootout, 3-1, the U.S. women have been counting down the days to London.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/us-womens-soccer-gold-olympics-japan_n_1761814.html

We all knew the US team came fired up for the win and we all knew that the US team had confidence that all their hard work and determination would soon pay off! With in the first 8 minutes Carli Lloyd bursts the ball past Japans goalkeeper which put the US leading 1-0. But with in 54 minutes Japan doubled the score, 2-1, which really got the US team determined to win!  In the Huffington Post Carli Lloyd stated and I quote:

"I think I just come up big in big moments. That's what I've trained for," Lloyd said after game, via The Associated Press. "I worked my butt off day-in and day-out. I don't think there's anybody that works harder than I do. I was on a mission this Olympics to prove everybody wrong, and that's what I did. To show everybody that I belong on the field."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/us-womens-soccer-gold-olympics-japan_n_1761814.html

Perfectly Unperfect

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Life as a child for young Solo was not perfect, it was not the ideal 'perfect childhood' nor was it fitting, it was rough, not something you'd want to get use to. "On the outside of the fence, for everyone passing by to see, was a giant yellow smiley face. On the other side was a yard with a sandbox and a jungle gym. An English sheepdog named Charlotte. Rabbits and turtles and kittens." (Hope Solo and Ann Killion)

When Solo was around five or six her parents got into an argument with her moms father over Gerry (Solos father) writing himself a $1,800 check out of Judy's (Solos mom) fathers checking account which soon after resulted in Gerry leaving within the following days.  Solo was suppose to see her father within the next couple days to say goodbye but her mom told Gerry that Solo was going to a friends house so Solo missed her chance at her fathers goodbye.

Later in life Solo found out that her father was not who he said he was.  In fact police reports shown that "Gerry Solo" had multiple last names such as DeMatteo or was it Beyers, only he knows.  He also had 2 Social Security numbers, he said he was from New York, and that he was born sometime after World War ll. How much of this is true?  Only Gerry Solo? Or was it Gerry Dematteo? Maybe Gerry Beyers? Whatever the case, only Gerry knows the real truth behind who he really was. Information from: A memior of Hope