Boxing Lobo Style! Fitness Strategies

More Pictures of our Boxing unit. A great time!

Fitness Lobos learn the 'Sweet Science' of Boxing

Taken From Wikipedia.

Boxing is a combat sport in which two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Although fighting with fists comes naturally to people, evidence of fist-fighting contests first appear on ancient Sumerian, Egyptian and Minoan reliefs. The ancient Greeks provide us our first historical records of boxing as a formal sport; they codified a set of rules and staged tournaments with professionals. The birth hour of boxing as a sport may be its acceptance as an Olympic game as early as 688 BC. Modern boxing evolved in Europe.

Boxing is also a tremendous source of physical fitness. The discipline involves 'road work' (running), 'ring work' (footwork/sparring), and 'bag work' (both stationary and focus mitt training), to name a few. Keeping your arms up, while moving and attempting to strike a target with both speed and power takes a high sense of purpose and focus.

For two weeks our fitness strategy class took part in learning the basics of boxing. They include:

1. Stance

2. Movement (attack/retreat)

3. Striking (jab, cross, hook, uppercut)

4. Evasion (slipping, bobbing, blocking)

5. Defense (protecting, clinching)

I have to say that I had a blast with this unit, but my hands were sore at the end of each day. However, it was great to teach the students that learning a combat sport is really a deterrent to fighting. It teaches respect for self and opponent. I look forward to another opportunity with a new set of students.

Fire Up!

Coach Rod

SoCal In-N-Out Burger comes to So Tucson!

In-N-Out Burger is a Southern California company that prides itself on outstanding customer service, quality food, and a faithful following of consumers. Their burgers are routinely judged to be the best in a highly competitive environment.

The latest store to open is at the corner of Ajo and I-10. This also happens to be right down the street from our campus and training facility. My student Eleazar earned employment with the company. We are proud to say a Lobo will be providing 'Animal Style' burgers and fries to our community. A fitting combo!

Parkour/Freerunning Lobo Style part III

Here are a few more cool shots of my students flying through the air!

More Parkour/Freerunning Block 2

Here are a few of our 'wall climbers'. Cool pictures!

Parkour/Freerunning Lobo Style Block 2

Greetings Lobos!

In block 1 we introduced the physical activity known as Parkour/Freerunning. It is a fantastic way to express the physical motions of the human body. My Fitness Strategies, Block 2 class has some very talented people.

Here is a sampling of their abilitiy to climb walls!

Fire Up!

Coach Rod

SWISH AGAIN!!!! LOBOS DEFEAT SAN MIGUEL 37-35

Congratulations to the Alta Vista Varsity Lobos Basketball team for their hard fought victory over San Miguel High School 37-35. The game was back and forth the entire game. The standing room only crowd at the Kino Center was treated to an exciting back and forth game. Thank you for all who came to support the Lobos! We are truly grateful.
The Lobos are currently 2-0 on the varsity season.
The team is:
Angel Martinez
Frankie Romero
Juan Pablo De La Rosa
Shaheed Clemens
Frank Leon
George D. Martinez
Tre Lewis
Fausto Fimbres
Miguel Maldonado
Milton Hernandez
Glenn Barkman
Team Manager Valeria Romero

GO LOBOS!!!!!

SWISH!!! LOBOS WIN SEASON OPENER!

The Alta Vista Boys Basketball team opened up their season tonight by defeating Bella Vista High School 67-54. The victory is the program's first ever in AIA competition.
The Lobos played together and played with heart.
We got great offensive play by Angel and Juan Pablo with 22 points each. Shaheed emerged as a force around the boards. Everyone contributed to the victory and we thank the capacity crowd for their support!
The Lobos return to the Kino Center December 7th against Potston Bute High School.
Congratulations and GO LOBOS!!!!

ESPN Game Day Experience at U of A

ESPN and the College Game Day experience traveled from their headquarters in Connecticut to Tucson, AZ. The program is broadcast nationally and is followed by millions of college football fans. My nephew, Alex, is a huge UA fan. He should be since his mom and dad, uncles and aunts are all proud graduates of the University. It was really fun to see Tucson on television along with people we only see on TV who were up close and personal. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Heisman trophy winner Desmond Howard are media personalities who give commentary on the day's events and are seen as experts in their field.
Unfortunately, the end result we were cheering for did not come to light. Oregon prevailed in double overtime to win 44-41. Tucson, however, was a big winner because the weather was great, the fans were pumped, and the University looked beautiful.
College football lives here.
Bear Down!

Alta Vista Students Thank Our Military Veterans

Many times, in our hyper-busy lives, we tend to take many things for granted. We forget to stop, if even for a moment, and give thanks and tribute to all of the things we have. As members of a free society we tend to take our freedoms for granted. As an American History and U.S. Governemnt teacher it is my duty to make sure that my students understand, on a daily basis, that they are a vital part of this grand experiment we call Democracy. It is crucial that the students are taught to be active in their community and society. They must be the change they want to see in the world. It is also important that they be reminded occasionally that they must give thanks to those who paid a price for their freedoms.

On this Veteran's Day, we wrote thank you letters to veterans of our military. It is important that we take a moment to thank those who entered the military in service to our country.

87 letters were written and delivered via my sister, Christine Wilson, who is a registered dietician at the VA in Tucson.

As free Lobos, we say thank you to every member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard yesterday, today, and into the future.

The Rattler High Speed Rail Conept

This is Second Period's contribution to our transportation plan.

Alta Vista Students Tackle the Tucson Traffic Grid

Planning for a city's basic needs is much harder than people imagine. A city's roads and traffic flow are usually two items that are complained about by citizens (including yours truly).
Our American History students have been learning about the westward expansion of the country circa the late 1800's and began understanding the intricate plans that go into building and planning cities such as New York and Chicago. They were presented with the opportunity to redesign Tucson's own traffic and road woes and come up with some incredible ideas.
The students were presented with options and ideas, but were required to take those options and ideas and make them into a real solution. The results were impressive.
Each class was given the issue of traffic in Tucson. It is no secret that our valley of 1 million people has outgrown the infrastructure of our transportation grid.
The students took the available modes of transportation (High Speed Rail, Monorail, and Light Rail) and redesigned how Pima County would look if they were in control.
First period named their transportation design 'The Flash'. It combined high speed rail around the perimeter of the city with a monorail system that would connect to Tucson's center. The students came up with a color scheme, pricing list, cost budget, advertising campaign, and routes. Their color scheme was based on desert colors (think of a Tucson sunset) and a commercial was acted out in class.

Second period named their transportation design 'The Rattler'. It also combined high speed rail around the perimeter of the city with a monorail system that would connect to Tucson's center. Their trains and stations were themed entirely around our native snake.

The students presented their plans to our Principal, Alicia Alvarez, and she was impressed with their hard work and planning.

Our students care about their future and have a plan on how to make it work.

I'm very proud of their ideas, work, and vision for our city.

We're Back!! Body Weight Training Lobo Style

Fire Up Lobos! My sincerest apologies for having not posted in a few weeks.
Our new fitness strategies students, however, have been working hard learning the techniques of physical fitness with limited equipment.
The photos selected are examples of body weight training. Human body weight is a fantastic way to improve aerobic fitness while obtaining anaerobic benefits. Each Lobo partnered up and used a variety of techniques (barrel races, piggy back rides, cradle carries, etc.) to gain full body resistance while competing against each other. We had a blast with this and will come back to it real soon as it is a nice change up to the routine. See you again real soon!
Coach Rod