Former Savannah Country Day Star Dotson "SHINES" at The University of Tennessee

Lady Vol Softball Finishes Undefeated Fall Season at Tennessee Classic


UT Posts A Perfect 8-0 Record
By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 2010 Lady Vol softball team demonstrated its promising potential during an unbeaten 8-0 fall campaign that concluded at last weekend's Tennessee Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. The Big Orange racked up 82 total runs, swiped a staggering 52 bases and registered double-figures on the scoreboard in six of the eight contests while limiting the opposition to 11 total runs and one steal.

      During its fall season, UT faced reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Champion Lipscomb and Tusculum, then battled Milligan, Lee, Middle Tennessee, Chattanooga State, Walters State and Vol State during the annual Tennessee Classic at Lee Softball Stadium.
     "I was very pleased with our efforts as a team, especially considering we played without Jessica Spigner and Tiffany Huff, a pair of experienced All-Region returnees and two of the major RBI producers in the middle of our lineup," Lady Vol co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. "Both were cleared on Tuesday to resume practice. Spigner was out because of a minor injury, and Huff is returning from summer surgery. I believe this is the fastest team we have ever fielded at Tennessee. The top of our order is extremely quick with all three players having the capability to steal bases and hit the gaps with power. Cat Hosfield and Ivy Renfroe pitched most of the innings with Spigner being out. Both pitchers showed improvement in several areas and threw extremely well."
       Lauded freshman third baseman/outfielder Raven Chavanne led all Lady Vols in hitting this past weekend with a .656 batting average, four extra base hits and 16 stolen bases. Fellow standout rookie catcher/outfielder Katherine Dotson contributed a .636 average with 14 thefts and a pair of triples. Junior centerfielder Kelly Grieve, a 2009 All-Southeast Region selection who is quickly becoming one of the top base stealers in school history, picked up right where she left off last season by hitting .590 overall with 12 steals. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Shelby Burchell recorded a .520 mark at the plate with three home runs, including her first grand slam as a Lady Vol, and totaled nine extra base hits. Two additional high-profile freshmen, infielders Lauren Gibson and Melissa Brown, each hit at a .521 clip with Gibson contributing a homer and a squad-best 12 RBIs and Brown a pair of three-baggers.
      The 2010 Tennessee Lady Vol softball team returns nine letter winners, including seven who started at least 37 games last season and a pitcher (Hosfield) who made 54 appearances in the circle. Co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly also welcome in a promising group of 10 high-profile newcomers.
Included among the returnees are Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team All-American Tiffany Huff (Senior, C/1B--.399 avg., 13 doubles, eight HR's, 67 RBIs), NFCA All-South Region selections Kelly Grieve (Junior, OF--.393 avg., 48 runs scored, 39 stolen bases) and Jessica Spigner (Sophomore, 3B/P--.322 avg., 14 doubles, 14 HR's, 48 RBIs) and SEC All-Freshman pitcher Cat Hosfield (43 games started, 28-13 record, 221 K's in 257.1 IP). Hosfield posted pitching victories last season over No. 6 Oklahoma (two wins), No. 18 LSU (two wins) and No. 23 Massachusetts as part of her 28-win campaign, while Spigner displayed her pitching promise by downing No. 8 Georgia behind five innings of one-hit work.
      The Lady Vols also welcome back seven position players to a UT defense that finished second in the nation in fielding percentage during the '09 campaign at .978.  "This has been an extremely competitive fall season with at least six of our freshmen seriously challenging to play everyday" co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "The defense (which finished No. 2 nationally last season) is even better with much needed depth. Spigner, Huff, Burchell, Gibson and Erinn Webb provide power to compliment our speed game. Hosfield remained on campus this summer and is stronger and much improved. Spigner, who also threw competitively this summer, will be a welcome addition in the circle. We need to continue to improve every day because we play in an exceptionally talented conference and have our toughest pre-conference schedule ever playing teams such as Michigan, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas, Stanford and Ohio State."
       The Orange & White will open the 2010 campaign over Feb 12-14 at the NTC Division I Elite Invitational in Orlando, Fla. UT will be put to the test immediately at the prestigious event, facing 2009 Women's College World Series participant Michigan in the Lady Vol season opener on Feb. 12th at noon ET. During the event Tennessee will also face-off against 11-time national champion UCLA, Big 12 power Oklahoma and rising programs Florida Atlantic and UCF.

Reprinted from the UTLadyVols.com http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-softbl/tennw-w-softbl-body.html

Savannah Christian Still #2 in the The Associated PressGeorgia Prep Football Poll

Georgia Prep Football Poll

10/6/2009, 12:27 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press (AP) — The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Georgia high school football polls of the 2009 season with first-place votes in parentheses and won-loss record, total points and position last week at right:

Class A

School                Record       Pts          Prv

1. Wesleyan (10) 6-0            100           1
2. Savannah Christian Prep. 5-0 89 2
3. Johnson County 6-0 76 3
4. Lincoln County 5-1 75 3
5. Wilkinson County 4-1 51 5
6. Treutlen 6-0 47 7
7. Emanuel County Institute 4-1 31 8
8. Twiggs County 4-1 28 9
9. Greenville 5-0 26
10. Seminole County 5-1 12
Others receiving votes: Holy Innocents' 5, Marion County 4, Miller County 3, Chattahoochee County 3,

Savannah Christian Still Ranked #2

Savannah Christian still #2 in The Atlanta Journal Constitution Prep Football Rankings 9/27/09


The Red Raiders enjoyed a week off and remained #2 in the AJC High School football Class A rankings. Benedictine still has not broken the Class AA rankings, but with a win this weekend over McIntosh County we could see the Cadets ranked. What do you think? Send me ccomment.

CLASS AAAAA
1. Lowndes (5-0)
2. Grayson (5-0)
3. North Gwinnett (5-0)
4. Northside, Warner Robins (4-0)
5. Newnan (5-0)
6. McEachern (5-0)
7. Stephenson (4-0)
8. M.L. King (4-0)
9. Peachtree Ridge (4-1)
10. Camden County (2-2)

CLASS AAAA
1. Griffin (5-0)
2. Westside, Macon (5-0)
3. Southwest DeKalb (4-1)
4. Hillgrove (4-0)
5. North Clayton (5-0)
6. Sandy Creek (3-1)
7. Marist (4-1)
8. Tucker (4-1)
9. Apalachee (4-0)
10. Statesboro (4-1)

CLASS AAA
1. Gainesville (5-0)
2. Peach County (4-0)
3. St. Pius (5-0)
4. Carver-Columbus (4-1)
5. Burke County (4-0)
6. Washington County (5-0)
7. Carrollton (5-0)
8. LaGrange (4-1)
9. Flowery Branch (4-1)
10. Jackson (5-0)

CLASS AA
1. Calhoun (4-0)
2. Fitzgerald (4-0)
3. Lovett (5-0)
4. Buford (3-1)
5. Jefferson County (5-0)
6. Pepperell (4-0)
7. Charlton County (4-0-1)
8. Dublin (4-0)
9. Jefferson (5-0)
10. Thomasville (2-2)

CLASS A
1. Wesleyan (5-0)
2. Savannah Christian (4-0)
3. Johnson County (5-0)
4. Lincoln County (4-1)
5. Chattahoochee County (4-0)
6. Treutlen (5-0)
7. Twiggs County (3-1)
8. ECI (4-1)
9. Wilkinson County (3-1)
10. Greenville (4-0)

DeMarcus Dibbs is a "True Britt"

How many of you Savannah area prep football fans have followed the Calvary football program over the last five years. There is a great story all should know. Back when Defensive Coordinator Danny Britt was the head coach of the Caviliars, he had some outstainding teams and players. One just happened to be DeMarcus Dobbs. Who now is one of the starting defensive ends for the University of Georgia football team. He was a feared high school football player and he made Calvary feared. Little do we know that the Britts, Danny and Stepahnie, adopted DeMarcus. I couldn't do this story any more justice. So please click on "Bringing up a Dawg" and see how DeMarcus Dibbs is a "True Britt"! GO DAWGS!

Picture- Courtesy: Georgia Sports Communications

Are you ready for some football? Local High Schools start Tonight!

It’s that time of the year. We have waited for the referee’s first official whistle since all the pigskins were put up. That just happened to be last December. This year brings in the hope that each and every prep football team in the Savannah area will make the state championship. We had one do that last year, The Memorial Day School (Matadors) Blue Thunder as they are called ion the gridiron and they brought the “SHIP” home.

Who will do it this year? Who are the best football players in the coastal empire? Who will win under the “Friday Night Lights”? I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait. That’s why I will make my weekly predictions every Thursday night. Last year I finished 69-13 after week 6. My picks are in bold. Hopefully I will be just as good starting in Week 1. We shall see.

Just like last season I will not pick the Effingham County (**), because I coach there and the Calvary (*) game, because my son plays for Calvary. My picks are the schools in bold. So you make the picks and let me know how good you do.

Once again the “Friday Night Lights” are about to be turned on and “You Gotta’ Love It”. Good luck to the entire Savannah Area Prep football teams tonight! No matter what, you are all winners because of the commitment you make everyday in practice to succeed on Friday nights.

WEEK #1

Thursday August 27, 2009
Windsor Forest at Benedictine

Friday August 28, 2009
Bethesda vs. Memorial Day School (at Calvary 5:45pm)
**Hardeeville at Calvary (8 PM)
Bible Baptist at St. Andrew’s
**Burke Co. at Effingham Co.
Jenkins at Valdosta
Long Co. at Johnson
Bryan Co. at Richmond Hill
Savannah Christian at Montgomery Co.
Emanuel Co. Institute at Savannah Country Day
West Laurens at South Effingham

Saturday August 29, 2009
Groves at Houston Co.

Last Years Record: 69-13

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

Here is this weeks Prep Sports Report Prep Baseball Poll. Tomorrow wraps up the end of the regular season and next Friday state playoffs begin. I will post the pairings as soon as I know.

1. HV Jenkins 22-2/11-0
2. Savannah Christian 18-4/14-0
3. Effingham County 18-6/7-4

4. Calvary Day 18-6/12-2
5. South Effingham 15-7/7-4

6. Groves 14-8/7-4

7. Richmond Hill 17-9/7-5

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

Here is this weeks Prep Sports Report Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll. The Warriors of Jenkins improved their winning streak to 16 straight. The first record is the team's overall record followed by their region record. Let me know what you think who should be #1.

1. HV Jenkins 20-1/9-0 16 GAME WINNING STREAK
2. Savannah Christian 16-4/12-0
3. Effingham County 16-5/6-3
4. South Effingham 15-6/7-3
5. Calvary Day 15-5/10-2
6. Richmond Hill 14-8/6-4
7. Groves 11-6/4-4

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

Here is this weeks Prep Sports Report Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll. The Warriors of Jenkins are on a 13 game winning streak. The first record is the team's overall record followed by their region record. Let me know what you think who should be #1.

1. HV Jenkins 17-1/6-0 13 GAME WINNING STREAK
2. Savannah Christian 13-4/10-0
3. Effingham County 13-4/4-2
4. South Effingham 14-5/6-2
5. Calvary Day 14-5/9-2
6. Groves 11-5/4-3
7. Richmond Hill 12-8/5-4

Two More Savannah Prep Athlete Sign Scholarships

Two more Savannah Prep Athletes signed scholarships. First over on Wilmington Island, St. Andrew's senior Elizabeth Whitaker has signed a letter of intent to swim for the "Green Wave" of Tulane University. While at St. Andrew's, Elizabeth has been part of back to back GISA State Swimming Championship teams. After Hurricane Katrina, Tulane was forced to eliminate their swimming program, but this fall the sport storms back and Whitaker will be making waves for the Green Wave.

Randell Black of Windsor Forest signed a letter of intent to play basketball for University of South Carolina at Salkehatchie. University of South Carolina at Salkehatchie is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Indians won the NJCAA Region X Championship this year. The school is located in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Georgia Sportswriters Association All-State Team

The Georgia Sportswriters Association All-State Team was announced at the end of March. I guess it is better late then never to acknowledge the local Savannah Area Prep basketball players that earned this honor.

From the boys all state team. We only had two honorable mentions from Class "A". They are senior Cody Padgett from Calvary Day and senior Josh Sparks from Savannah Christian. It’s hard to believe nobody from Savannah High and Groves got mentioned.

The girls faired a little better. From Class "AAAAA” Monique Willis a senior from Beach was named to the second team. In Class "A" senior Katie Covington from Calvary Day was on the first team and two Savannah Country Day seniors were named to the second team, Katherine Dotson and Melissa Burkhamer. It’s great to be recognized for their hard work and outstanding play on the hardwood all year and in their careers.

Jenkins 2 Savannah Christian 0 8 innings

It was a pitchers dual at Savannah Christian on Friday afternoon. It was Junior Eric Ricks for Jenkins versus sophomore Red Raider Tyler Ogelsby. Ricks prevailed pitching an 8 inning "NO-NO" and winning 2-0. Savannah Christian which is one of the best hitting teams in the area could not get on base except for two hit batters.

Jenkins now is 16-1, ranked 9th in the state in 5 AAAAA, and has won 12 straight. The Warriors take on a tough Liberty County team on Tuesday.

Jenkins 000 000 02-2 7 2
SCPS 000 000 00-0 0 1

W-Eric Ricks (8-0). L - Cooper Lemons.

Leading hitters – HVJ -Matt Browning 3-3, 2B; T.J Page 2-4, 2 RBIs.

Records- HVJ, 16-1. SCPS, 12-4.

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

Here is this weeks Prep Sports Report Prep Baseball Poll. The big showdown for Savannah Area baseball is today between #1 Jenkins High School and #2 Savannah Christian. The Warriors of Jenkins come in on a 11 game winning streak and the Red Raiders are on a 7 game tear. Who will keep their winning streak alive?

If you want to check it out, game time is at 4:30 PM at Savannah Christian. The first record is the team's overall record followed by their region record. Let me know what you think who should be #1.



1. HV Jenkins 15-1/6-0 11 game winning streak
2. Savannah Christian 12-3/9-0 7 game winning streak
3. South Effingham 11-3/4-1
4. Effingham County 12-4/4-2
5. Calvary Day 13-4/8-1
6. Groves 11-4/4-2
7. Richmond Hill 11-7/4-3

Weekend Update - A Whacky One

What a whacky weekend for prep sports in Savannah. First let’s talk about the weather. We know April showers bring May flowers, but let’s keep it at showers. It rained so hard that most if not all of the high school athletic events scheduled were cancelled. Reports stated that there was close to five inches in some parts of the coastal area. A lot of the games have been rescheduled so check your local schools for details.

What is going on at Savannah Country Day? Talk about when it rains it pours. Well it poured Friday night at the south side campus figuratively and literally. You let go one of the top coaches and if not one of the best softball coaches in our area, Teacher/Head Softball Coach Marie Dotson. On what conditions was she let go? We know she has had one of the best softball programs in the area and state. That couldn’t be the reason. Did she do something drastically unprofessional? Not to my knowledge from the people I spoke with. The cruelty of this decision is amazing. You terminate her contract 3 weeks before her daughter’s graduation. Her daughter is one of the school’s top student/athletes and in our area. One who has brought nothing but positive recognition to the school!

Senior “3” sport athlete, Katherine Dotson has been a pillar of the women’s athletic program for the past four years. No other athlete in Country Days schools history can match her accomplishments let alone her class as a competitor and person. She has brought nothing but pride to her school and community. Somebody needs to check on who is managing the "team" at the school. It just doesn’t make sense. Let me know what you think.

Warriors Baseball Fundraiser for Cora

The Jenkins baseball program is having a fundraiser raiser tomorrow for Cora Garola, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She is the daughter of Jenkins math teacher/pitching Coach Rob Garola. All proceeds will go to a fund defraying medical costs.

The fundraiser will be a doubleheader against Calvary Day Schools baseball program with the junior varsity game starting at 11 a.m. and the varsity at 1 p.m.. Besides the 2 games there will be an auction. Again all proceeds from the auction will go to the fund. Come out and show your support.

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

Here is this weeks Prep Sports Report Prep Baseball Poll. The records are the team's overall record followed by their region record. Let me know what you think.

1. HV Jenkins 12-1/5-0
2. Savannah Christian 9-3/8-0
3. South Effingham 11-2/4-0
4. Effingham County 10-3/3-1
5. Calvary Day 10-3/6-1
6. Groves 8-4/3-2
7. Richmond Hill 9-4/3-2

Jenkins Team to Beat

Region 3 AAAAA HV Jenkins High School Baseball team looks like the team to beat this year locally. Under the direction of Head Coach Seth Gaspin, the Warriors are sitting alone on top of the region at 5-0. With a big win last week against Camden County, 4-3, and a perfect game pitched yesterday by sophomore Ronnie Alt. The Warriors have a 1 game lead on the second place Wildcats. Groves is 3 games back, but a big congratulation goes out to Coach Kevin Brown on his 300th victory as the Rebels head coach. Amazing all his success has been at Groves High School.

As far as the other top seven teams go in the Prep Sports Report Baseball Poll. South Effingham takes the top spot in Region 2 AAAA over Effingham. The big show down between these 2 county rivals is slated for next Tuesday April 7th in the “Corral” at South Effingham. Richmond Hill out of Region 3 AAA has hit a bump in the road. They have dropped their last 4 games putting their record at 9-6 overall and 3-2 in region play. In Region 3A-A, the Red Raiders of Savannah Christian have a one game lead over Calvary Day School. After last weeks thumping over the second place Cavaliers, 17-2, the Red Raiders went on and then beat Portal 15-3 and Savannah Country Day 13-1. This week’s baseball poll will be posted Friday morning. Let me know what you think.

Fun in Practice – No Way

I recently heard a fellow coach state, “Fun in practice is not allowed.” Man is that wrong. As a coach for almost 30 years I have seen a lot of athletes participate in sports. Every athlete comes to practice to learn skills, participate, compete, develop fitness, and I think most all to have fun. What can we do as coaches to make our athletes have fun and of course win?

It all starts within your practice. Just like our bodies get accustom to our workouts, the athletes get accustom to our practices. As coaches we need to make change in our practice sessions. Why because doing the same drill every day becomes boring. This in turn makes playing a team sport boring and dreadful. Yes, a repetition is the key to getting better, but we can do this by changing the drills.

How do we accomplish this? First, we all should be planning out our practices. That means get a variety of drills. There are different drills that teach the same skill. These drills are out there. You don’t have to recreate the wheel. Search and you shall find them. That means we have to prepare to make it fun for our athletes.

By doing this we might just be motivating our athletes to come to practice. This makes the players come to practice not knowing what to expect and motivates them to come to practice eager to practice. If they are eager they will work hard. When they work hard they practice at game time intensity.

Yes expect mistakes in practice. That is what practice is for. Create a positive atmosphere. I can tell you if the player knows that they will not be punished for every little mistake they then will work harder and be more aggressive. Your players should not be afraid to make mistakes.

Help them to understand that we all make mistakes and these types of people are trying very hard and who care about becoming a better athlete. The greatest athletes in every sport make mistakes. If your team is having fun and are getting better in the process, chances are good that you will be having fun too. Do your coaching in practice.As the great Coach John Wooden said, “The way you practice is the way you play.” Let them have fun in practice and they will have fun in the game!

Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll 2009

I thought it might be time to come up with a Savannah Area Prep Baseball Poll for the 2009 season after yesterday's game between Savannah Christian and Calvary. These two teams have common opponents and have had success against them. So, I wanted to see how others felt about who is the top team in the area. Here is my ranking. The records are the team's overall record followed by their region record.

1. Effingham County 9-0 2-0
2. South Effingham 10-1 3-0
3. HV Jenkins 10-1 3-0
4. Savannah Christian 9-3 6-0
5. Calvary Day 10-3 5-1
6. Richmond Hill 9-4 3-1
7. Groves 6-4 2-2

Let me know what you think.

What’s the difference between a Strain and Sprain?

We hear these terms, strain and sprain, but many parents and athletes don’t quite know what they mean. These terms should not scare you. Both terms mean an injury, specifically a tear, to a part of the body. If there is pain, its means get treatment.
A strain refers to an injury to a muscle or tendon, where a sprain refers to an injury to a ligament. Other terms you are likely to hear are: pulled (a muscle), tore, rolled (an ankle), and "tweaked". All these terms mean the same thing-an injury has occurred.
Strains and sprains are classified into three categories, Level 1 is mild, Level 2 is moderate, and Level 3 is severe. Most strains and sprains are mild injuries that can be treated at home and by an athletic trainer. Moderate strains/sprains should be referred to a physician with severe injuries definitely requiring immediate treatment by a physician as soon as possible. All levels will require some type of rehabilitation and treatment before returning to activity. Most of this can be done by the athletic trainer at the school or institution.
The best way to treat these injuries is to apply ice for the first two days with rest or decreased activity. Slow progression back to activity is best with ice applied after every work out. Remember if there is pain there is an injury. How serve the injury needs to be diagnosed by a professional.

Successful On an Off the Field Of Play

I am a firm believer that sports promote positive growth in our students. When students are active in sports they learn some of life's valuable lessons. Some of these lessons are commitment, dedication, hard work, communication skills, social skills, and, sportsmanship. Doing research on growth and sports on the internet I came across this segment of an article. I feel that this only gives us more reason to get our youth involved more in extra curricular activities. The following is reprinted from the article on excite.com.
Research indicates that the participation in sports can promote healthy development in young children. Being active in youth sports can help build a foundation for cooperative play, teamwork, and good sportsmanship while helping to refine gross motor skills in children’s rapidly developing bodies. According to an article published by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), “sports help children develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn to play as a member of a team, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem.”
Studies have also examined how sports contribute to the development of social competence—the ability to get along with and be accepted by peers, family members, teachers, and coaches; and, self-esteem—the extent to which an individual believes him/herself to be capable, significant, successful, and worthy (Ewing, 1997).
According to the findings, children learn to assess their social competence in sports through the feedback received from parents and coaches (Ewing, 1997). Self-esteem, however, is developed through the evaluation of one’s own abilities as well as an assessment of the responses received from others.
Since our children watch our responses, and those of their coaches, for signs of approval or disproval of their behavior, it is critical that we offer as much positive feedback as possible. So keep your students involved, make the experience a positive situation and it could just make them more successful on and off the field of play.

WARM-UP AND STRETCHING

Whether you are a weekend warrior or a highly skilled athlete warm-up and stretching should be a part of your workout routine. A good warm-up and stretching routine can have several benefits for the athletes that include:

Reduced chance of injuries to muscles, joints, and tendons
Reduce muscle soreness
Reduce muscle tension
Enhance physical fitness

The warm-up is done to increase the body core temperature prior to stretching. It is not a good idea to stretch without raising your body temperature. Doing some light jogging, jumping rope, etc. for about five minutes can do this. Once you have done your warm-up it is time to stretch.
The best way to stretch is stretch all the major muscle groups. Some sports and activities don’t require use of all the major muscle groups but it is a good idea to get in the habit of stretching all the major muscle groups. Start with the neck and work your down to the shoulders and upper body.
After stretching the upper body work on the lower body, which should include the hamstrings, quadriceps, groins, and calves. After doing all of these stretches you should be ready to into your sport or activity, whether a weekend warrior or a highly skilled athlete.

Virtual World

Virtual World

By Joe Winburn, MEd, ATC/L

St. Joseph’s/Candler Manager of Sports Medicine

The virtual world is upon us, but the question is how does it affect the children of the today’s society? It is expanded to cover everything from chat rooms to games to exercise. Is this the way we finally get the kids who send hours a day or week on the computer off the couch and exercising by designing a interactive game that is also a form of exercise? One of the big games out there is Dance Dance Revolution where you follow the steps on the screen; supposedly it is a lot of fun and gives you quite the workout. Others are: tennis, bowling and boxing (MoCap Boxing) interactive games. Play Station and Xbox also have their own version of exercise interactive games. Researchers at the University of Southern California have been studying the effects of the virtual world on today’s generation and states that virtual games like Club Penguin and Webkinz have become more popular with 6- to -14 year olds in the last two years then many other games. They state that the memberships to these sites are in the ten of millions.

How far will the world of virtual reality go? So far in a positive light it is being used in a children’s hospital in Ohio to distract burn victims while they receive treatments. Educational arena uses role playing and interactive scenarios to teach kids about difficult subjects such as ethics. Other aspects the virtual world has expanded to is opening kids gyms for ages 13-18 such as Overtime, these new futurist gyms offer virtual reality games to improve teens fitness levels. The gym is playing on the teen’s love of technology and video games. They offer workouts such as the Dance Dance Revolution to virtual reality bikes that makes you feel as if you are a rider that is racing around an apple orchard.

Is this the wave of the future? Gone are the days of running outside as soon as you get up to play with your friends, going out for a bike ride or playing sports with others as a team or one on one basis. Let’s get back to old schooling of being with others and having fun while exercising and playing sports with your best friend. Here is a thought: man verses man or man verses the computer, which one is in your future?