My travel soccer club sponsors a Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) workshop every year. It is a mandatory workshop for all soccer coaches, and I am always reluctant to attend. But after each workshop, I always walk away with one or two concepts to help me be a better youth soccer coach. Tonight, I attended the PCA workshop called Double-Goal Coach: Coaching the Mental Game. And what struck me tonight was that players should set and achieve goals. By setting and achieving goals, players will quickly improve.

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

The first step is to set goals. Players should choose S.M.A.R.T goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Goals should meet all of these criteria. For example, an individual player goal could be to score at least 10 goals in a single season. A team goal could be to win the league championship. With concrete goals in mind, players can focus on achieving them.

Achieving Goals

There are many ways to help players achieve their goals. For example, positive coaches can inspire players by filling their emotional tanks. That is certainly something I try to do. But at tonight's workshop, I learned another way to help my players achieve their goals. I learned that when NBA star Kobe Bryant was in high school, he practiced on his own at 6am every morning. I also learned that Tiger Woods still hits 1,000 golf balls every day. These professional players became great by practicing often. So I am going to provide a similar opportunity to my players. I am going to invite them to come to practice 30 minutes early to work on anything they like. It will be an optional, self-paced and open session. The extra time on the field will help them achieve their goals. And I hope this experience inspires them to set and achieve more goals.

Coaches have goals too. My goal this season is to help my players set and achieve their goals. When they learn how to achieve goals in soccer, they will set and achieve goals in life. And that is what positive coaching is all about.

More from this contributor:

Positive Soccer Coaching: Unique Ways to Fill the Emotional Tank

Positive Soccer Coaching: Five Dumb Things Coaches Do

Positive Soccer Coaching: Enjoy the Game First

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Positive Soccer Coaching: Help Players Set and Achieve Goals

By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter Latest Senior Health News

MONDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Staying physically fit in middle age makes it less likely that you'll develop chronic diseases ranging from heart disease to certain cancers in old age, new research finds.

"Not only do the people with higher fitness live a little bit longer, the onset of chronic disease occurs even later, so that the amount of time you spend in your life with chronic diseases is compressed into a smaller period of time," said senior study author Dr. Jarett Berry, an assistant professor of internal medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas.

For people who are unfit in middle age, the data suggest that even a modest increase in fitness could translate into fewer chronic conditions.

For the study, researchers examined information on nearly 19,000 men and women with a median age of 49 who were taking part in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, which has tracked the health of mostly white, healthy, well-educated participants since 1970.

Researchers matched up data from the Cooper Study with Medicare claims information starting when participants were 65. Follow-up occurred for a median of 26 years.

Participants' fitness levels were divided into five quintiles, or fifths, based on how fast and how long they could run on a treadmill.

The most fit at midlife were less likely at age 70 and up to develop a host of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, colon or lung cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes and heart disease than the least fit.

Fitter patients were also somewhat more likely to live longer, and to spend more of those years free of chronic diseases or with fewer chronic diseases, the researchers said.

An analysis of about 2,400 people who died during the study found that fitter people had fewer chronic diseases during their last five years of life. The most fit spent about 50 percent less time with four or more chronic diseases than the lowest fitness group, and 34 percent more time with only one or no chronic disease.

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Midlife Fitness May Mean Healthier Old Age, Study Finds

TAMPA, Fla. On the biggest political stage of Mitt Romney's life, his biggest task was to make a personal connection with voters, to win them over as both the businessman and the man -- to lead the nation.

If the public Romney is in his rsum, the private Romney is a biography he has seemed reticent to reveal.

So on Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee talked about his parents, his wife, his children and his faith. He cast his experience building companies as a promise to rebuild the economy. And he presented himself as someone who will succeed where he said President Barack Obama has not.

There were many balance acts for Romney to hit. But perhaps the most important was portraying himself as a family man and a job creator.

"Those werent the easiest of days too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night," he said of the early days of his family and his career. "But if you ask Ann and I what wed give to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room, well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that."

Democrats have spent millions of dollars on TV trying to define Romney on their terms: an out-of-touch corporate raider in cahoots with the rich at the expense of the middle class.

It was Romneys turn Thursday to shake off the stiff veneer of his public persona and personalize himself as a principled businessman who understands the problems of cash-strapped Americans worried about keeping their jobs and paying the bills.

"When I was 37, I helped start a small company," he said of Bain Capital, the firm that has become a symbol to many voters of closing factories and outsourcing jobs. But Romney used the experience to illustrate success and to poke his Democratic opponent.

"That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know," Romney said. "An office supply company called Staples where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping."

For all the debates, position papers, speeches and political wonkery, picking a president is a gut decision for voters more heart than head, less about ideology than emotion.

Continued here:
Analysis: Mitt Romney aims to balance personal, business appeal

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its entry into the cloud storage space with the Toshiba Canvio Personal Cloud. This easy-to-use storage hub allows users to save their extensive media libraries securely in their own homes, with the added benefit of being able to access and stream files remotely via the cloud. With the Canvio Personal Cloud, users will be able to access digital data at home or on the go with their tablets, smartphones or computers via an Internet connection.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120830/SF66051)

"Given Toshiba's extensive experience within the storage space and comprehensive ecosystem of devices offered, we've come up with a simple, intuitive solution that perfectly ties everything together," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of product marketing and development, Branded Storage Products, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "We've designed the Canvio Personal Cloud with the consumer in mind, truly enabling the digital home by using storage to bridge the gap between an array of electronic devices. What's even more impressive is that Canvio Personal Cloud will allow users to access their personal data from anywhere in the world."

Canvio Personal Cloud Toshiba's Canvio Personal Cloud is a centralized file sharing and storage hub for the connected home, that enables users to bring all their content together in one place, including music, photos, video and documents stored on PCs, Android-based tablets and smartphones and iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Using the Canvio Link software for Windows or Canvio Link apps for Android and iOS, users can easily access and stream content stored on the Canvio Personal Cloud to their Internet-connected devices, whether on the home network or away. Smart TVs can also access Canvio Personal Cloud, allowing users to share music, photos and videos on the big screen.

Available with either 2TB or 3TB of storage[1], Canvio Personal Cloud empowers consumers to simply and securely store, access, share and stream their ever-expanding digital content within their connected home, or anywhere in the world. It enables the availability of content on a contextual basis flowing from device to device, screen to screen and location to location and unlike public and private cloud applications, the Canvio Personal Cloud is completely self-managed, so the content and accessibility is always under users' own personal control and there are no usage fees or subscription charges.

Straight out of the box, Canvio Personal Cloud includes an extremely easy three step set-up process and simple, intuitive interface. The device features broad compatibility between desktop computers, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles and smartphones. It works seamlessly with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs, Android-based tablets and smartphones, iOS tablets and smartphones as well as DLNA-compatible devices.

Pricing and Availability The Canvio Personal Cloud will be available for purchase on ToshibaDirect.com and select retailers in September 2012 for of $219.99 MSRP[2] for the 2TB version and $249.99 MSRP for the 3TB version.

Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/CanvioPersonalCloud

Connect with Toshiba on Facebook at facebook.com/ToshibaUSA, on Twitter at twitter.com/ToshibaUSA and on YouTube at youtube.com/ToshibaUS.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS) Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of three business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together,these divisions provide digital products, services and solutions, including industry-leading portable computers; televisions, TV/DVD Combination products, Blu-ray Disc and DVD products, and portable devices; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for computers; and IP business telephone systems with unified communications, collaboration and mobility applications. TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. For more information on TAIS visit us.toshiba.com.

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Toshiba Launches First Personal Cloud Storage Device For The Digital Home

By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley | August 30, 2012

Professor Armando Fox has been appointed to serve as academic director of the Berkeley Resource Center for Online Education, a new unit dedicated to supporting online-education initiatives and research.

Diana Wu and Armando Fox, executive director and academic director respectively of BRCOE (Noah Berger photo)

Working under the guidance of the Online Education Steering Committee, Fox will collaborate with BRCOEs executive director, Diana Wu, to build an infrastructure to support the campuss numerous and varied online-education initiatives from offerings for the public good to professional certificate programs.

Fox is a professor-in-residence in the College of Engineerings Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department, a researcher in the campuss Parallel Computing Laboratory (Par Lab), and a co-founder of the Berkeley Reliable Adaptive Distributed Systems (RAD) lab. His 2003 collaboration with Professor David Patterson on recovery-oriented computing earned him the distinction of being named a top-50 researcher by Scientific American and led to formation of the RAD Lab. Prior to that, he taught computer science at Stanford, where he received teaching and mentoring awards from the Associated Students of Stanford University, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.

Provost George Breslauer and John Wilton, vice chancellor for administration and finance, announced Foxs appointment in an Aug. 30 CalMessage. Wus role, providing administrative leadership to Berkeleys online education efforts, was outlined in an April 27 CalMessage.

Information about the office, Foxs and Wus roles and online initiatives will be shared through the BRCOE website. Questions may be directed to online@berkeley.edu.

Categories: Campus news, Education, Faculty/Staff, News, Technology & engineering Tags: online education

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Fox named academic director of online-education center

CHICAGO, Aug. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the world recently cheered on athletes who most embody the Olympic spirit, we reflect on how greatly sports have evolved throughout the years. The methods for coaching athletes have changed drastically as well. These days, coaches have to be versatile enough to grow beyond teamwork and motivational techniques in order to truly inspire their athletes.

That's why the GH School of Healthy Living is forging ahead and embracing a distinctive approach to personal training, which has resulted in creating world class trainers and inspirational healthy living leaders. It all starts with the right team, and GH is hiring.

GH School of Healthy Living recognizes that former college coaches are the best suited candidates to transition from their day jobs into the GH programs. Channeling their passion and skill set from a career served shaping the lives of athletes, these former college coaches create a positive environment of highly effective techniques for motivating all types of people towards sustainable, healthy living.

When Kelly Lindsey joined GH School of Healthy Living in 2011, she knew she was joining a movement that transforms traditional 'exercise and healthy living' practices for her clients. After completing a successful professional soccer career with the US Women's National Soccer Team, Lindsey refocused her drive and athletic prowess to coaching; serving as an NCAA Division 1 women's soccer coach at the University of California, Berkeley. Lindsey later left her job at Berkeley to pursue her dream of working closer with her players to propel them towards their peak potential.

Lindsey eventually realized the more successful she became as a coach, the less time she had to train and inspire the best from her players towards reaching their champion goals - as well as motivate them in school and their daily lives. She wanted the opportunity to go beyond merely winning and losing with her players by encouraging them to reach their true life potential. At GH School for Healthy Living, Lindsey finally found herself in an environment that allowed her to combine her skills as a former player and coach to positively transform the lives of others.

"Helping real people win in the game of life -- where winning really matters -- allows me to be more of a coach than I could ever have been in the world of collegiate and professional sports," said Lindsey. "GH School for Healthy Living allows me the opportunity to really focus on improving the lives and health of others."

Through the vision of Greg Hahaj, the CEO and founder of the popular Chicago-based GH's life coaching centers, GH School for Healthy Living has incurred tremendous success transforming clients' lives through changing behaviors inside and outside the gym. At GH, clients are instilled with a complete education about healthy nutrition and exercise, as well as scientific assessments to create and monitor personalized health plans for each client.

"I want to dedicate my career to improve their performance in the game of life and I wanted to surround myself with a team that shares that same mission," commented Hahaj.

GH School for Healthy Living has attracted other top-tier athletes and coaches who have made the switch from traditional coaching to sustainable living. Doug Penno, a former Division 1 basketball player and Assistant Coach at Pace University in New York, has also channeled his years of experience to educate and empower people who want to live a healthier lifestyle.

"Through my experience in basketball as a player and a coach, I realized the incredibly positive impact a coach can have on the lives of others," said Penno, "I enjoyed coaching basketball, because it gave me the opportunity to help my players be better people and that's my passion."

Excerpt from:
Chicago's GH School for Health Living Launches National Hiring Search for Coaches and Athletes

Mark Robinson analyses Brett Ratten's remarkable media conference after the heart-breaking disappointment of being axed as Carlton coach.

Mick Malthouse and Eddie McGuire after Collingwood's defeat in last year's Grand Final. Picture: Colleen Petch Source: Herald Sun

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD feared it could "kill'' Mick Malthouse if it had not enacted a coaching transition three years ago.

Magpie president Eddie McGuire revealed today the club feared the stress of coaching an AFL club, along with other issues going on in Malthouse's life at the time, were the only reasons for the deal that saw Nathan Buckley appointed senior coach this year.

McGuire's heartfelt comments come as Malthouse is expected to be appointed Carlton coach for 2013 after Brett Ratten's sacking.

"I heard on Neil Mitchell's program this morning, Mick was at pains to point out the agonising decision of whether to put himself through the mental and physical anguish of coaching the game and the emotional toll that it could put on his family,'' McGuire said.

"I think that give you an insight into the dilemma we faced three years ago at Collingwood.

"Mick is a mighty person and an amazing coach. But his closest confidant and his manager Peter Sidwell and I met and we were a little worried at that stage that we might kill him because he put so much into it, all the stress and the things we were going on in his life at that stage.

"The stress was so much on him and you could hear it in his voice on radio this morning.

Link:
Eddie feared for Mick's life

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Wholesome Career Living Inc. has launched a new TV site to provide multimedia resources on the topics of career planning, life transition management, executive coaching and purposeful living.

"We are tapping into the ever increasing trends in video watching on the web, and using it as a leverage for enhanced customer engagement," says Company President and CEO Tolu Adeleye, Ph.D.

The website features video content from experts and practitioners in the mentioned subject areas as well as those of individuals who speak from an experiential point of view. Movie clips, podcasts, videos are sourced from YouTube, vimeo, and other video-sharing sites as well as iTunes and other podcast directories sharing sites.

The various video and podcasts are organized in easy-to-access categories on the site.Furthermore, video magazine episodes featuring view points of multiple experts on a chosen topic will be presented on regular basis at http://www.wholesomecareerliving.tv

The website also serves as a forum for interaction between practitioners in the career management and life coaching fields and visitors to the site.

In line with the company's service offerings as a 'provider of services that cover the whole career continuum', the website features topics such as:

The provision of these key issues and others in visual and audio forms through this site and the interaction that ensues will better position the company's customers for greater successes in their goals.

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Wholesome Career Living Inc. Presents - Wholesomecareerliving.tv - Videos, Podcasts and Sound Clips to Empower You ...

Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez says he chose to be a Wildcat largely because of former coach Frank Martin.

Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

Angel Rodriguez had spent his entire life living in the tropics. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a city on the northern coast of the island. While San Juan is significant historically and economically in the Caribbean, these days most people associate the city with a potential vacation destination. That's what happens when beautiful beaches are combined with an average temperature in the 80's 12 months out of the year.

Think about it like this: Rodriguez was born in a place where he had to travel 1,000 miles northeast just to get to Miami, where he went to high school. Even if you listen to Rick Ross and judge the city based solely on a 30-year-old Al Pacino movie, it's impossible to deny the fact that Miami is one of our nation's premiere party destinations.

Before heading off to college, Rodriguez had spent his youth living where the rest of the country goes on Spring Break. So when the time came for the point guard who had twice been named to the Class 6A All-State First Team and was one of the top five prospects in Florida to decide where he would spend four years as, in all likelihood, a star basketball player, he chose ... Manhattan, Ka. Home of the Kansas State Wildcats.

Manhattan is a city of 52,000 that freezes during the winter, deals with droughts and triple-digit temperatures during the summer, sits smack in the middle of tornado alley and has an airport with flights to and from Chicago and Dallas. Only Chicago and Dallas. What motivated Rodriguez to make that move? To go from southern Florida to northeastern Kansas?

"Everybody knows that the reason I came to K-State was because of Frank," Rodriguez said.

The 'Frank' that he is referring to is Frank Martin, the former head coach at Kansas State. Martin, whose parents immigrated from Cuba before he was born, cut his teeth as a high school coach in Miami and still has strong recruiting ties in an area where his name carries quite a bit of weight and garners even more respect. Rodriguez referred to his relationship with Martin as a 'friendship' on more than one occasion during a phone conversation Tuesday evening. Throw in the fact that Martin had turned another Puerto Rican point guard -- former Wildcat Denis Clemente -- into an all-Big 12 performer during a season that ended with Kansas State in the Elite 8, and Rodriguez's decision to play his college ball in the Little Apple was an easy one to foresee.

What wasn't so easy to foresee, however, was Rodriguez's reaction when Martin left to take over the basketball program at South Carolina. Just four days later, Kansas State filled their head coaching vacancy with Bruce Weber, who had been fired after nine seasons at Illinois less than a month earlier. Rodriguez was at a crossroads: follow his coach -- his friend, his mentor -- to South Carolina, where he would have to sit out a season before being forced to compete with Bruce Ellington for playing time, or stay at Kansas State to play for a different coach but with a roster talented enough to compete for a league title in a wide-open Big 12?

"It was a decision I had to make not only based on me, but with my parents and my people and what they thought was best for me," Rodriguez said. It wasn't a decision he made quickly. Rodriguez met with his new coach and heard him out, giving Weber, who was criticized for his recruiting during his tenure at Illinois, a chance to re-recruit him and convince him to remain at Kansas State. And luckily for Weber, Rodriguez bought into the sales pitch. "He was a great guy and a great coach. Based on that and the fact that I didn't want to sit out, why go transfer ... when I could stay and play right away in the Big 12 as a starter?" he said.

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Rob Dauster: Despite K-State coaching swap, Angel Rodriguez still looks to break out

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance) has named Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) senior vice president and chief financial officer Daniel T. Yunker to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Yunker will join current ASH board members George DeVries, Paul Peterson, Monte Dube and several senior American Specialty Health chief executives.

"We are delighted to welcome Dan to our team," said ASH Insurance chairman and CEO George DeVries. "His financial, regulatory and technology experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow and expand the product offerings that we offer health plans and employer groups."

Yunker has been on the executive team of MCHC since June 2005, with responsibility for internal finance and accounting; regulatory programs, including the Wage Index and associated appeals; Human Capital Services, including the MCHC Employee Benefit Plan Trust, information technology, including the Healthcare Information Exchange (MetroChicago HIE); business development; and business performance programs and services. He also has been entrenched in the health care reform debate, sizing up the impact that reform legislation will have on the delivery of health care and working closely with health care leaders and members to address the challenges of a rapidly changing system.

Prior to joining the Council, Yunker was a vice president at Aon Corporation and spent five years at the national Healthcare Financial Management Association, where he was responsible for designing and implementing programs and strategies to contribute to the success of members and their organizations.

Earlier in his career, Yunker worked in various leadership roles at Delnor-Community Health System, and is a founder of both IPS, a Chicago-based physician-practice management company, and Air Angels, Inc., an aero medical flight company. Yunker holds a master's degree in business administration from DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering/psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

About American Specialty Health Insurance Company and American Specialty Health

ASH Insurance is a health insurance company domiciled in Illinois and admitted in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Through this company, employers in various states are able to directly purchase supplemental group riders for specialty health care from a specialty benefits health insurance company. This makes options such as chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, nutrition services, and naturopathy more readily accessible to local workforces. ASH Insurance products are currently approved in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Available benefit options vary by state.

American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH) is a national health services organization that provides a total population health management program, specialty health care management programs, and fitness programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds. Based in San Diego, ASH has over 900 employees and serves nearly 31 million members. For more information, visit ASHCompanies.com or call 1-800-848-3555. Follow us on Twitter @ASHCompanies!

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American Specialty Health Insurance Company Names Daniel Yunker of Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council to Board of ...