Studies have shown (and been proven) that if you can get a hold of your tween and teens attention and focus from that 2:30-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday bracket of time (when most parents aren’t home from work as yet, and tweens/teens are out of school), you stand less a chance of teen pregnancy and other perils getting in the way of their focus-and focus in on something habitual that serves them well later in life.
Whether it be in education, the creative arts, or even sports; considering all that they are up against the distractions, misguided focus, and other 
perils in young kid’s way today-(up to and included distorted perceptions of what success is in life), when I get my eyes on one that wants to do anything other than “turn up” on the Internet-I clutch my chest with a sign of relief.
I feel that way because in the greater scheme of things, the kids are going to be our future. It sounds cliché but it’s real.
Like hell, do I want to be an elderly senior citizen with youngsters running my country and in charge of my life who spent 20 of their 30 years of life turning up on the Internet and are merely in a position to make decisions about my life simply because bullsh/t popularity and “turning up” got them there.
Oh hell no. And in the greater scheme of that-they’ll have no idea about hard work, focus, and discipline. I sure as hell do not want somebody like that in an important position in my life when I get old. I rebuke that young and now.
I say that because, 5/6 years ago. When you would ask a youngster what they wanted to be in life, they would say: a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse, a fireman, the president, a police officer, a teacher—and we would cringe when they would say: a “ball player.”
From there, we would try and convince them how import the latter occupations were-in hopes that they would forget about wanting to play sports (over the latter/practical other list of desire occupations).
Now (in 2015), when you ask a lot of young people that question, they rarely even say: “ball player” anymore. Many just want to turn up or “be rich and famous.” And whatever needs to be done to obtain that…boom: occupation selected.
That to me is scary. Because that right there is evidence of no focus, no discipline, and nothing being done to work towards something substantial or significant in order to be “rich and famous.”
So when you can find young people who have focus, discipline and are working towards something and to be significant in life (or even rich and famous), when they actually have the willpower and discipline to pull themselves away from their “turning up” peers and chose “focus” over that, that is really big for a tween through 21 year old (in 2015). Not to mention-it’s quite impressive. And they need to be celebrated and rewarded with all the attention, accoutrements, material things and otherwise available!
In 2015, I am obsessed with a disciplined tween through twenty 21 year old DOING SOMETHING (other than just “turning up”).
That being said, there’s proof that hard work, focus, determination and focus pays off.
Taney Dragons’ pitching prodigy and basketball player Mo’ne Davis got her day.
Not only is today (Wednesday, June 24) her birthday, but yesterday, she got some pretty big news.
Exercising their “Future Discovery Clause” (to obtain rights to Davis when she graduates college), the Harlem Globetrotters selected her in their 9th annual player draft.
About his selection, the director of player personnel, Sweet Lou Dunbar expressed “When we conduct our draft, we look for outstanding athletes from different sports all over the world that exemplify the Globetrotters’ efforts to provide service, smiles and sportsmanship globally. This group of individuals embodies the skill, athleticism and showmanship it takes to be a Harlem Globetrotter.”
If you remember our write up on Davis, the pitcher captured America’s hearts and attention by breaking world record of becoming the first Little League World Series female to ever earn a pitching win. That feat landed her in 2014’s Sports Illustrated Kids’ Sport Kids of the Year.
As an eighth grader, the multi-sports athlete made her high school varsity basketball team.
The Harlem Globetrotter’s (basketball team) is making a return to the Philadelphia area, bringing four games to the Jersey Shore at the Wildwoods Convention Center from July 29 through August 1 by which Davis will be a player.
The Globetrotters indeed went globe-trotting n their choices for this years draft picks:
Women’s soccer player Alex Morgan, slam dunk champion LaQuavius Cotton, trick shot artist Dude Perfect, Hawaii Pacific point guard Kylie Huerta, and Wyoming’s Larry Nance Jr.
“When we conduct our draft, we look for outstanding athletes from different sports all over the world that exemplify the Globetrotters’ efforts to provide service, smiles and sportsmanship globally,” Dunbar.
“This group of individuals embodies the skill, athleticism and showmanship it takes to be a Harlem Globetrotter.”
On February 13, 2015 at the celebrity All Star Games, Mo’ne impressed Globetrotters scouts.
The New York Daily News reported:
NED DISHMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Actor Kevin Hart (l.) of East has hands full with Philadelphia Little League star Mo’ne Davis of West in NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday at Garden, where 13-year-old shows off nifty spin move.
Little League World Series star Mo’ne Davis didn’t disappoint on her latest big stage.
The 13-year-old, who wowed the nation on the mound last summer, stole the show at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Friday night at the Garden. She was being guarded by comedian/actor Kevin Hart, who’s about the same size as the diminutive Davis, early in the game outside the three-point line when she used a crossover dribble, attacked the paint and spun Hart out of his shoes for an easy layup.
“That was pretty cool,” Davis said. “I work on it, but usually don’t do it. It was the right time to do it.”
Hart, who like Davis is from Philadelphia, said, “No excuses,” as he returned to the huddle shortly after her basket.
The Garden was abuzz with stars from the NBA, WNBA and Hollywood two nights before the NBA All-Star Game is played Sunday. But much of the attention was on the teenager, who got one of the loudest ovations from the crowd when she was introduced before the game.
Davis shot to fame as the first girl to win a Little League World Series game. Only in eighth grade, Davis already plays basketball for the high school varsity team. “It was a lot of fun, a lot of people never saw me play basketball,” she said. “To play in the celebrity All-Star game was pretty cool.”
BRIAN BABINEAU/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Hart sit on the bench during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year finished the All-Star Game with four points, helping the West team beat the East 59-51. Hart had 15 points, won the MVP and announced he was retiring from the Celebrity Game. “She was really impressive out there,” said WNBA star Skylar Diggins. “She definitely held her own.” Davis was a little starstruck, too. She made sure to take a photo with Diggins after the game before she left.
Meet 14 tween and teen soccer playing athletes from Portland, Oregon-ages 5 to 14 putting on their “game faces” for a photo shoot for the clothing brand Wildfang via its CEO Emma McIlroy and photographer Andrea Corradini
McIlroy told Huffington Post:
“We wanted to look forward to the next generation of female footballers and, as you can see, the future of the sport is in good hands.”
The creators reached out to local soccer coaches in Portland, Oregon and invited their young female players to show off their “game faces,” which they define on the Wildfang website as “their most authentic moment, right before they stepped out onto the pitch.”
Unsure if anyone would show up to the photo shoot, McIlroy and Corradini were pleasantly surprised when over a dozen bold, young athletes stopped by — most coming right before or immediately after practice. With “zero styling,” each girl proudly displayed her purest game face.
“They showed up with such innocent and fierce pride,” Corradini told The Huffington Post. “They were confident, yet giggly. Independent, yet bonded with their teammates. They had no reservations about just being themselves and letting me photograph them in their most natural and authentic way.”
“We wanted to show young females as they truly are — raw, powerful, beautiful,” McIlroy added, noting that she hoped the photo series would provide a refreshing alternative to the images of “young women in pink and wearing princess dresses” that seem so pervasive in today’s society.
The Wildfang CEO also said she hopes other women can “see a little of themselves” in the hardworking female athletes depicted in #GameFace. “We hope they remind them to be a little bolder and tougher and ultimately be really proud of being who they are,” she continued. “Our hope is these images leave you feeling inspired to go kick ass in your day.”
I love it when young kids can still see the “cool” in things that require discipline and focus and still know that it too, can lead to being “rich and famous”—but with a better benefit to personal character that lasts much longer than being plucked and pushed into being “rich and famous” for nothing.
To be focused and disciplined opens more doors and options, and whether “rich and famous” is made from focus and discipline, the fact of the matter is: those are skills that will always afford you options that not having it never will.
Shine light on youngsters who beat the odds and do the un norms of their time right now. They are phenoms. They are superstars and they deserve it.
