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Standoff
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Perception of Ankle Weight Use in Youth Soccer Players
When soccer players are interested in improving their overall athletic performance they tend to turn towards use of additional training equipment. Ankle weights, also called undersock weights, are weights which people wear wrapped around their ankles, or leg shank, above the shoes. To use ankle weights during soccer training athletes can either go about their regular practice routine while wearing the weights, or they can perform ankle weight-specific exercise tasks. However, the effectiveness of ankle weights and the chance of injury from using them as a training aid make them a questionable choice, especially for younger athletes who are still developing. Since it is generally less studied in youth, finding out what advantages and disadvantages ankle weights provide would lead to safer and better youth soccer practice.
Flowing Star Trails
Writing by Daniel
A Drowning World
Patient 1568
Part 1:
Rough shingles against my back, the dark, murky sky above my head filled with glittering stars. I stared off into the distance. How far would I have to go to escape this horrible place? A blinking light off in the distance, quickly approaching, drew my attention. I turned, hoping to see anything- a shooting star, a sign from God, anything that signified it was my time to leave. Yet it was nothing more than a useless plane parading a government official to another meeting. Those were the people who controlled billions of lives. They had the power to change our world for the better, yet they did nothing, as capitalism had made them the apex predator. People like me and my family were the prey. In the past few years, politicians had wasted all the government’s money on useless things like rare pets for their personal menageries and lavish dinners when they could have prevented the more significant and more quickly advancing problem of climate change. It had gotten so bad that we had cataclysmic floods and natural disasters nearly every year. These had been caused by climate change, which we had brought upon ourselves. It had been a little over a month since our last flood, and that one was horrible, as we were still fixing the rotten wooden supports that our house stood on. We hardly ever had enough money to buy new things here in Louisiana. There also weren’t any jobs that paid enough for us to hop on a rare plane and fly out of this wasteland.
i.
Jack stood at the edge of the lake, his bare feet in the soft grass. Gentle waves lapped at the shore, a cool breeze rushed past him, tousling his hair. Somewhere behind him, a dog barked and laughter drifted over the treetops. It felt perfect, it felt warm, it felt like childhood.
Jack looked down at his hands, examining them. They held steady, not a hint of trembling or weakness. They were strong again, full of youth and clear of any liver spots. His back didn’t ache. It didn’t take any effort to take a breath. Jack inhaled, the taste of barbecue drifting through the air.
“Jack, come in! Dinner’s ready!”
Jack turned, a smile already stretching across his face. His mother waved over at him, standing on the steps of their cabin.
“Coming, Mom!”
With that, he raced over ready to embrace her again, to feel her warmth, to feel her familiar hugs filled with love.
He took a step.
Then another.
Then –