2016 Blog Posts
- Dr Kamm
- Dec 31, 2016
- 9 min read
April 25th, 2016:
Regarding Odell Beckham Jr. and Josh Norman being in the same division now:
Neither should feel sad that this has happened. They are both arguably at their respective positions and, going against the best, should bring out the best in each. Elite athletes look forward to such opportunities, they don’t shrink from them. This is what competition is really all about – testing yourself against the best.
--Dr. Kamm
June 7th, 2016:
Not only was Muhammad Ali the greatest Heavyweight of the last 60 years, he was also a tremendous instiller of pride, strength and dignity to people of color, and those with Parkinsonism, around the world. What a long shadow. What an amazing legacy. RIP.
-Ronald L. Kamm, Past Vice-President of Fighters Initiative for Support and Training
April 22nd, 2016:
Dr. Kamm’s comment on the shocking tackle (assault?) by goalkeeper Cassie Sturtz in a women’s high school soccer game over the 04/09/16 weekend:
The tackle was horrendous – something I have never seen in youth sports, including female high-school soccer games. Nor, I must add, has anyone who I contacted – longtime girls high school soccer coaches, coaches of high school women in other sports, officials, and professional soccer players.
Inevitably, and unfortunately, the behavior of male professional athletes tends to be imitated by not only young male, but also by young female athletes as well. This imitation is occurring in all sports played by both genders, most notably basketball, where, not surprisingly, hard fouls and overly aggressive behavior in the women’s game are on the rise.
This particular high school incident, in retrospect, had all the ingredients for a violent outcome that sports psychiatrists have long written about.
According to various accounts regarding the hit:
1. The game had been clearly decided.
2. It was late in the game.
3. The defeat involved a loss of status (Sturt’z team was undefeated and this was going to be their first loss, and by a large margin).
4. The referees had ignored increased physicality. According to Sturtz’s teammates, the Pincecrest girls had “beaten them up” over the course of the game and the referees had not adequately or consistently penalized them.
5. Someone on the losing team feels “a message needs to be sent.” Sturtz apparently took it upon herself to retaliate for the unchecked aggression on her teammates.
Look for these ingredients the next time you see all-out brawls at the end of a men’s professional hockey or basketball game. (Think 1990s Knicks-Heat; Larry Johnson vs. Alonzo Mourning, etc.). As I viewed the video, I was surprised to see that, though the first referee on the scene went to Sturtz and pushed her back towards the goal, which was appropriate since no one knew what the goalie would do next, the second referee on the scene also went to Sturtz instead of to the apparent unconscious Riley Barrett, who was laid out and not moving on the field. That second referee should have immediately gone to Barrett to visually assess the extent of her injury, and then vigorously waved for her coach and trainer to rush over.
Though I have not treated Cassie Sturtz, when one sees aggressive behavior, this egregious (and this is not Sturtz’s first assault of a defenseless player), in the back of one’s mind has to be the use of performance enhancing drugs, which is on the rise of female athletes from middle school on up (again the imitation of the men) or the case of untreated ADHD; or intermittent explosive disorder (among many other diagnoses).
I personally treated a soccer goalie who was very aggressive and sometimes (sliding) tackled forwards on the opposing team. Once on the correct ADHD meds, the behavior ceased. Usually, I hate to speculate about such things, but this was such an unusual and horrific occurrence that perhaps a sports psychiatrist weighing in is appropriate. As part of her mental health evaluation, Sturtz should certainly be drug tested to rule out stimulant and/or PED abuse.
I can’t comment on the length of the goalie’s suspension. Sturtz should be suspended for as long as it takes for her to get a full mental health evaluation, the result of which would be a diagnosis or diagnoses, and a recommendation of when it would be safe for Cassie to be on the field with other student athletes. If nothing along these lines is done, beyond a suspension, I’m concerned for Cassie’s career going forward and for her future opponents.
April 25, 2017
Great thing for athletes and all sports to remember when coming back from injury; have an image in your mind of Kevin Durant in his comeback last night where the first shot he took hit nothing but net. Keep that image in your mind when you first come back no matter what sport you're playing.
--Dr. Kamm
March 30, 2017
University of North Carolina has just become my pick to win the national championship. Shea Rush’s team building, gift giving, unselfish nature is going to give the Heels the kind of cohesion that a team needs in the last minute of play- knowing they are plugged in to one another. By approaching each player and getting their hat size and making a custom fedora for them, Rush has brought the team together and given it even more of a swagger, as they all wear their hats to games. The fact that coach Roy Williams has bought in and will wear a hat himself- “even though I don’t look good in a hat”- sends a strong message to Shea and the rest of the team that they’re all in this together.
Go UNC!
--Dr. Kamm
February 6, 2017
Cohesion. Why the Pats won. It's why the Pats have four Rutgers guys on their team: Schiano has the same philosophies as Belichick - just "keep chopping wood" - just keep working and something good will happen.
How EXACTLY did the New England Patriots make their miraculous come-back?? Everything is laid out right in Dr. Kamm's own lecture: Group Dynamics and Athletic Success
I. Cohesion – The tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its goals and objectives A. Related to the concept of team “chemistry” B. Multi-dimensional in nature 1. The commitment to group goals and objectives 2. The nature of interpersonal relationships on the team
II. The ideal coach focuses on team building by: A. Setting clear goals B. Paying attention to interpersonal relationships C. Clear role assignments and expectations.
III. Greater team cohesion leads to a sense of collective efficacy: team members can respond to the demands of a difficult situation.
--Dr. Kamm
2016
March 25th, 2016:
Regarding the Martavis Bryant issue:
This support psychiatrist is concerned that the player has had depression, perhaps of clinical, all along and was self-medicating with marijuana.
Looking back on it, perhaps when his use of marijuana was discovered in 2014, he should have not just been suspended but a thorough psychiatric evaluation might have unmasked the depression and he could have been treated for it, thus preventing what has recently happened. It’s clear from reports that I’ve read that Bryant now has been diagnosed with depression. This may explain his missing multiple drug tests, as people with significant depression “just don’t care,” procrastinate, and “let things slide” in their life. If such is the case, and I have never examined Bryant and have no connection with the Steelers, it should be as a mitigating factor when considering his punishment in that missing the multiple drug tests was attributable to the depression, not the player’s evasive tactic to avoid coming up positive. Hopefully the Steelers have a sports psychiatrist who is involved with the team and can diagnose problems before they mushroom into bigger ones. As Bryant’s agent, Bryan Fettner told USA Today Sports, “we clearly miscalculated the issue.” It is also of interest that, reportedly, Ben Rosenberger criticized Bryant in 2014 for being “soft.” For a quarterback to come out and publicly say such a thing may point to the fact that the player is not “soft,” but depressed.
--Dr. Kamm
April 5th, 2016:
'Nova victory exemplifies importance of toughness, tenacity and trust. Congratulations,'Cats
--Dr. Kamm
March 21, 2017
Interesting thing to keep in mind after a tough loss; even Duke, a team with arguably the best coach and the best players can lose in the second round of the NCAAs to a lesser team. They will learn from it and be back.
--Dr. Kamm
April 25th, 2016:
Regarding Steph Curry:
Steph Curry’s injury yesterday against Houston in the NBA Playoffs, and a subsequent absence from the second half of the game highlights how important the bench is to a championship team. It also should highlight for any young athletes who are spending time on the bench the importance of being ready when your time is called, and how important you are to the team.
Golden State won easily because they are “an organism.” They are an amoeba and if one part breaks off the amoeba closes the cell wall and continues. There is no other team in the NBA like them, and therefore there is no other team in the NBA that can defeat them.
We do not know at this point, if Curry is not playing, whether “the organism” can beat San Antonio or Cleveland, but just the fact that they have a good chance at doing so speaks to what an amazing team they are.
--Dr. Kamm
May 2nd, 2016:
Regarding Laremy Tunsil’s use of pot and his elaborate contraption:
This was several years ago and we’re talking about a college kid. If there was no recent evidence of marijuana use, I’m not sure that he should’ve slipped to number 13 in the draft. The NFL is becoming more tolerant of marijuana use, so this whole thing is puzzling. Obviously, someone who “had it in” for Tunsil posted the video when he or she did.
Sad state of affairs when someone can ruin your draft prospects so dramatically.
--Dr. Kamm
April 26, 2017
Whether Dale Earnhardt tends toward depression following retirement depends on whether he feels he's going out 'on his own terms' or whether he is being 'forced out' by concussions. BTW, I give Chris Coghlan a 10.0 for his dive.
--Dr. Kamm
April 26th, 2016:
Good article by Tom Kuyper that I read recently for parents for trying to cope with their child’s limited playing time:
Just because they’re a child, doesn’t mean we can read their mind.
Often, we subconsciously insert ourselves into our son or daughter’s minds, and assume they are thinking or feeling the same way we are – “honey put on a sweater you must be cold” (they’re not cold, we are).
--Dr. Kamm
February 29th, 2016:
Check out this Boston Globe article:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/…/QZyUqXhiEI6779W9pS…/story.html
And my take on it:
This was the custom of the early 70s. In 2016, it would better be handled this way: after the game, coaches would meet, decompress, & discuss how to address the team & get them to be supportive of Steve. They would then meet with the team & let the team decompress & make it clear that it was not just Steve's error. We win as a team & we lose as a team. We are a family & though we are all dealing with a horrible sense of loss, Steve is feeling it exponentially worse, therefore we need to support him. The team would have Steve & other people be as supportive of him as they could be. In addition, there would be a clear message of the team to be supportive of Steve in school in the days following the game, protecting him from negative comments by other students. The coach would email the parents & ask to have a parent meeting, where parents could be encouraged to be supportive rather than critical of Steve. The coach would meet with Steve & encourage him to come out with renewed vigor next season, turn this defeat into a great comeback story & redeem himself. He would, at all times, remind everyone that the game going into overtime in no way guaranteed Groton High School a victory. Perhaps nothing was lost that wouldn't have been lost anyway. What happened with Steve is not all that unusual.
--Dr. Kamm
March 11th, 2016:
In response to Maria Sharapova:
Maria Sharapova’s recent revelation that she had been using performance enhancing drugs, not realizing it was on the banned substance list, scores the need for all athletes, parents, coaches and support teams to monitor the USADA/WADA websites every month for new additions. It is also important to contact them VIA email with any concerns so that you have a response in writing. Caroline Wozniacki said it best in a quote from the New York Times: "Anytime we take any medication, we double-and triple-check. Sometimes even a thing like cough drops and nasal spray can be on the list."
To learn more about athletes and medication, check out my article on ADHD medicine from the Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting.
Additionally, one of my articles regarding medication and the young athlete can be found here: http://nebula.wsimg.com/a2b2baaed4054b7dee1b857d8def9b79?AccessKeyId=7C07773DF57EA5F41414&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
--Dr. Kamm
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