UK Connections

A number of events have occurred in the past few months that have motivated me to think about my connections to the UK.  Starting with the marriage of William and Catherine, then the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland, followed by President Obama's visit to the UK, and now William and Kate's visit to Canada - all these occasions, wonderful and momentous, have made me both nostalgic and reflective about the land across the pond and how it has influenced who I am today.

Even before I was born in Hong Kong, I already had a UK connection, this one through my father, who as a young man completed a master's degree program in tropical medicine and hygiene at Edinburgh university in Scotland.  From pictures taken of him living and studying there, it looked like he had a good time while pursuing his degree. Yes, I was born in Hong Kong, then a British colony, now an autonomous city in China.  I immigrated to the USA at the tender age of one.  I guess my parents could not wait to arrive in America before coming up with the idea to conceive me. 

Years later, I would travel to the UK for the first time, joining up with my parents who had already relocated there months before.  This move certainly expanded my horizons as I lived, studied and socialized with British citizens of different backgrounds.  My school experience  afforded me the opportunity to play cricket and soccer a few times.   Despite playing, I still haven't quite figured out everything there is to know in cricket.  In gym class, we did a lot of running.   During class breaks and lunches, I was often found playing handball, which came naturally to me since I had already played it here in New York as a kid.   And it was in this London school where I learned the Lord's Prayer.  We prayed and recited the words practically every day during a set time between classes.  At first I found it awkward, because I was not raised in a religious family.  I do not recall my parents taking my sister and I to church at any time during our upbringing.  Also at this time, I learned to savor the delights of custard pudding.  Dip a piece of blueberry or strawberry pie into the custard and I was transported to dessert heaven.

From time to time, my family would visit the usual tourist spots in London.  Towards the end of the school year, on a class trip, my geography class traveled to Swanage, a small, coastal town located in the south of England.  We studied the geography and history of the area through visits to historical sites and geological and natural attractions.  This was a fun trip and for many students, myself included, it was a chance to be away from our families for the first time for an extended period and experience independent living. 

I enjoyed my year in the UK so much as an adolescent, I pledged to myself that if the opportunity arose, I would return at some point.  That opportunity emerged in college.  

In college I was a history major with a focus on American, Chinese, and British history.   With an interest in returning to the UK, and since my university had a relationship with Glasgow University in Scotland, I decided I would study there for my junior year.   It turned out to be a valuable educational experience in many ways, from the classes I took, the people I met and became friends with, to the many places I visited up and down the length of Britain, from Loch Lomond and Edinburgh in Scotland to Bath on the south coast of England.  Along the way, I visited many castles, attended a Viking festival in York, saw the glory of Stonehenge and a Roman ruin.  Of course, during my time in Edinburgh, I retraced my father's footsteps and visited parts of Edinburgh University's grounds and buildings.  The one place I did not visit was Wales, and with the popularity of Torchwood, I think I will remedy that the next time I travel to the UK.   From my travels, British history came alive.  Reith Hall, my residence hall during the year, had a football team and one time I had the honor of being the starting goalkeeper in a intercollegiate match.  We lost 1-0 (my own defender accidentally screened me off on a corner kick leading to the lone goal), but I gave it the old college try and presented myself as an American who could hold his own against very capable college UK footballers.


Here are lists of some my favorites in their respective categories.  None of the lists are exhaustive and merely reflect what I can think of off the top of my head.

Literature 
Geoffrey Chaucer
Jane Austen
Charles Dickens
William Shakespeare
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
J. R.R. Tolkien


Music
Human League
Swing Out Sister
Flock of Seagulls
Led Zeppellin
Genesis
Police

Film
James Bond movies
Chariots of Fire
The King's Speech
Pride and Prejudice
Highlander
Four Weddings and a Funeral


Television
BBC news
Doctor Who
Benny Hill
Masterpiece Theatre
Torchwood

Science
Lord Kelvin
Sir Isaac Newton
Francis Bacon
Stephen Hawking
Watson and Crick
Charles Darwin

Philosophy and Social Science 
John Locke
Adam Smith
Thomas Hobbes


These days I even have followers from the UK on Twitter.  Don't get me wrong.  I am not a complete Anglophile.  I'm not crazy about fish and chips and I have not read any of the Harry Potter books.  However, I do acknowledge the power of J.K. Rowling's books to encourage young people to read, fantasize, create and write.  For that, she deserves all the recognition in the world.

The UK has given me some wonderful memories and continues to be a source of knowledge and pleasure.  To continue my connections with that land,  I look forward to returning to the UK at some point. 

Will Jeremy Lin be the Chosen One?

The buzz and fanfare surrounding the entrance of Jeremy Lin into the NBA has reached a deafening silence.  In certain circles in the Asian-American community, it was hoped that Lin could become a true, bona fide superstar in the NBA, the first for a person of his background.  Already well into the basketball season, Lin has not been heard from at all.  Not a peep out of him.  Embraced warmly by residents in the San Francisco Bay area where he grew up,  the Harvard University graduate and men's basketball team star, has certainly not made the type of splash that Kevin Durant made in his rookie season or even Yao Ming for that matter.  It goes without saying that he will not be voted the 2010-2011 NBA Rookie of the Year.  (I don't think they give out awards for the league's best benchwarmer.)

Lin certainly has excellent athleticism, great basketball skills and intelligence.  In his senior year at Harvard, I had the pleasure of heading up to Cambridge and seeing Lin play a home game against George Washington and show off his basketball skills.  During the course of the game, Lin played great including one possession when he stole the ball and proceeded down court to make a nice dunk.  As captain and leader of that team, he gave a fine example of himself.  But then I had to remind myself of the level at which he was playing and the quality of the opposition.  Good basketball at any level is fun to watch, but the general quality of Ivy League basketball pales in comparison to, say, the leagues represented in the final eight of the NCAA basketball finals.

From preliminary views, Lin had a solid and productive time in the basketball summer leagues prior to joining the Warriors for the current NBA season.  No doubt it is a big leap to go from Ivy League basketball to the NBA all in the span of less than one year. 

At this moment, plain and simple, Lin is not getting enough playing time. His points and minutes per game are typical of a back up player:  1.9 ppg/0.9 rpg/1.1 apg/8.7 mpg.  Whatever grand plans Warriors management have in mind, it seems that Lin is to play as little as possible and simply observe and soak in as much as possible in his initial season in the NBA.  Nevertheless, if Lin cannot play, how is he going to prove his worth and ability to the team?  The Warriors already possess two quality starting guards in Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis, so earning a starting role represents a difficult challenge.  Questions hang over his head.  Can Lin show his worth and earn a starting role?  Is Lin going to get more of a chance to play next year?  Will Lin be content being a back up player?


The search for the first true Asian-American basketball superstar continues.  Whether such an individual emerges in the next decade or two is anybody's guess.  Apart from Kelvin Kim, a starting guard at UCSD, right now I am not aware of any Asian-American basketball stars in the college ranks, nor in the high school ranks.  Even a Google search does not turn up anyone remarkable.  (Any worthwhile comments in this regard will be appreciated.)  Maybe some 10 year old kid somewhere playing in a neighborhood playground in obscurity will be able to step up and step out in due time.  Time itself will tell if Jeremy Lin enjoys a successful and satisfying NBA career.  As for Lin, worse comes to worse, he can fall back on his Harvard degree and pursue a new career off the basketball court.  If he wishes to stay on the court, he has the intelligence to make a fine coach at some point down the road.  The author hopes Jeremy Lin becomes a starter, if not with the Warriors, then with some other team.  We will be watching and we will revisit this topic again in the future.

How to Become a Better Hitter in Slow Pitch Softball

The following are my opinions and thoughts on becoming a better softball hitter.  It is not meant to be all inclusive or comprehensive.  It is also meant to be appropriate for all ability levels from beginner to advance player.  If you are already satisfied with the way you hit and how you hit, then the following instruction and guidance may just prove repetitive for you and you can stop reading right here.  Obviously, there are many, many opinions on how to become a good hitter, whether you are playing baseball or softball, fastpitch or slowpitch.  To illustrate, baseball has at least thirty batting coaches and each coach would probably emphasize different aspects of being a good hitter.  Add in all the little league coaches, minor league batting coaches and college coaches, high school, college and professional softball teams, and the number of opinions multiply.  Why, even people who don't even play baseball or softball, but who follow the sports as fans have opinions on batting.  Like all worthwhile goals, to become a good softball hitter requires commitment and practice, even for individuals with natural athletic ability.

Some people consider me to be a fairly decent hitter.  Growing up, I had neither official instruction from coaches nor did I participate in little league or any other leagues.  Instead, I learned how to hit by simply playing.  My neighborhood friends and I were constantly playing, whether it was baseball, stick ball, punch ball or wiffle ball.  The group of us would even challenge older, bigger kids to play ball and we would often beat them too!  It was always fun to hold my own against big guys and even more fun to outhit them.  Almost from the very beginning, I complemented my playing by reading books at the library about baseball, listening intently to baseball announcers on television and radio when they talked about hitting, reading baseball articles in newspapers and magazines, attending baseball games and even discussing hitting with friends I was always playing with.    In high school, I had the opportunity to play on the baseball team, but instead I played on the tennis team during the spring season.  I could have been known as the best baseball player at my high school who did not play baseball.  In my freshman year in college, I played on the junior varsity baseball team, but I left after the initial season because of a lack of playing time. These days when I get a chance, I play for a recreational softball group and my college alumni team.  I have also played for corporate teams and time permitting, I am always enthusiastic to play with any teams or groups who invite me to play.

That was a little bit about my background.  Now let's talk hitting.  To begin with, getting into good physical shape with a focus on core and leg strength is an ideal place to start.  Then comes the stage of picking up a bat and setting a good batting stance.  Perfecting the swing is the culmination of this goal.  Once you have a good swing in place, you will become a better softball hitter.  I define a good hitter as someone who gets a lot of base hits, is constantly on base, and drives in a lot of runs.   If statistics are recorded, I would look at his on base percentage and runs batted in figures.  I also define a good hitter as someone who knows how to hit depending on the situation.   I do not define a good hitter as someone who only hits home runs, is only looking to hit home runs and nothing else.  No one, not even someone with tremendous ability, is a perfect softball hitter and we all have our down days when we get no hits.

For beginners and veterans alike, it is often good to break down the components of hitting.

Weight of bat - Find a bat you can swing comfortably. If you use a bat that is too light or too heavy, you will not realize your hitting potential.  If you are a beginner, do not go out and buy a $400 bat and suddenly think you have been transformed into a hitting machine.  It just will not happen.

Bat speed - The faster you can swing the bat, the better.  And this is why you should not use a bat that is too heavy for you.  Take time to develop your bat speed, but don't kill yourself.

Seeing the pitch - Even in slow pitch softball, a pitch may take only one to two seconds to reach home plate.  You have to be able to see the ball coming in such a short time.  If you cannot do this, you will not be able to hit the ball.  Make sure to have your vision checked regularly. 

Knowing the strike zone -  The strike zone is usually the width of home plate and between the batter's knees up to midway between the belt and shoulders, no higher than chest level.  If a pitched ball is outside this zone, do not swing. Once you know the strike zone, you increase the odds of getting a good pitch to hit.  You also put pressure on the pitcher to throw a pitch into the strike zone; otherwise he will walk you.  Even if you play in games with no balls and strikes called, but you are given, say, three swings to put the ball in play, it still benefits you to know the strike zone.

Batting stance -  Stand in the batter's box with your feet spaced a little wider than your shoulders.  Put your hands together one on top of the other while you grip the bat.  Hold your bat up with one arm across the body.  Keep your weight mainly on your back foot.  Flex your knees.  Your own batting stance should be comfortable, so find one that works for you.

Swing and follow through -  Take a compact swing at the ball and follow through even after you have made contact with the ball.  Rock your body by transferring your weight from your back foot toward your front foot.  Do not stride too far with your front foot.  Instead, raise it slightly as you shift your body weight.  Keep the shoulder tucked in.  When you swing, rotate your hips and torso.  Keep your head steady, even slightly looking downward.  Extend your arms as you follow through.  Your swing doesn't stop once you make contact with the ball.  Continue the swing around your body and then let go of the bat.  Watch how experienced players do it, and you will get a good idea as to what is involved in hitting a ball.

Hit the ball where it is pitched - A good hitter hits to all fields.  Let's assume you are a right handed batter.  If the pitched ball is on the outside of the strike zone, hit it to the opposite field.  If the ball is down the middle, you can either hit it toward center field or left field.  If the ball is inside, hit it toward left field or pull it down the line.  You may take an inside out swing on an inside pitch, but then the swing is awkward and you will wind up hitting the ball to the opposite side.  Pulling outside pitches usually leads to ground balls hit to the left side of the infield.

If you can master the above basics, you are well on your way to becoming a good softball hitter.   
 

So you want to be the next Albert Pujols of softball?

In slowpitch softball, the batter must provide the power, not the pitcher.  Hitters cannot benefit from the energy imparted from a fastball or fastpitch to generate power to hit a ball further.  From time to time, someone will ask me about how they can become not just a good hitter, but a consistent home run hitter.  There is no denying that hitting home runs is fun.   But not everyone who plays softball will be a power hitter and that includes a lot of big, heavier guys. 

Being a slugger is not a function of height, but more a function of weight and being able to swing a bat comfortably at a quick speed.  Heavier guys can theoretically generate more force.  In physics, we learn that force is equal to mass times acceleration or

f = ma

Well, this scientific fact applies to hitting.  In this case, the mass is the weight of your bat plus your body weight and the acceleration is your bat speed.  Multiplying the two equals your force.  The greater the force, the more likely you will hit the ball further because your force imparts greater speed to the ball as it leaves the bat.  In softball, use the force!  However, this alone is not sufficient to hit home runs.  Other factors affecting the distance the ball travels  include where a batter makes contact with the ball - was it on the the so-called sweet spot on the bat? - wind speeds, game temperatures, and even elevation above sea level.
 
Focusing on weight for a moment, it is obvious that bigger guys theoretically have a better chance of being a consistent home run hitter, whether they play on a field with or without a fence.  In this day and age, all sluggers in major league baseball weigh over 200 lbs.  (I define slugger as someone who has at least three years with more than 20 home runs (preferably 25) or at least three or more years with a slugging percentage greater than .500.)  What is interesting to note is that in their time, Henry Aaron and Willie Mays both weighed around 180 lbs and yet both became two of the greatest home run hitters of all time.  And they played at a time when ballpark dimensions were slightly larger than they are today.  They are unique exceptions to the rule.   Both were athletically gifted and their accomplishments speak for themselves.  Today, no one who weighs 180 lbs is a bona fide slugger in professional baseball.  I don't follow professional softball leagues so I can't speak to that, but from experience, most sluggers in softball weigh over 200 lbs.

Therefore, if hitting home runs depends on how much you weigh, everybody should go out to the gym and bulk up, right?  It has been suggested that I go weight train and bulk up to 200 lbs, just so I can hit a softball 50 or 100 feet or more further.  I refuse to.  Not only am I not interested in changing my physique to that of a football linebacker, I'm not interested in footing the bill for a new wardrobe.  A good softball hitter knows the limits of his power.  No amount of bulking up to add muscle weight will compensate for a poor or mediocre swing.  A good softball hitter also knows to set aside vanity and ego, especially in situations where there are opportunities to drive in runs.  For example, with runners on second and third, all a hitter has to do is hit a single and most likely, he or she will be able to drive in two runs.  In this situation, a softball hitter fixated on hitting home runs, will try to slug it out of the ballpark or hit the ball over the outfielders' heads despite the fact that they are playing deep for him.  The end result is usually a lazy fly ball hit to an outfielder for an out with no runners scoring. 

So what can a good, power hitter do in this situation?  If the outfielders respect your power, they will play back on you.  Use this to your advantage for it is almost a gift.  Yes, you will probably not hit the ball over their heads.  However, in moving back, they have opened up the outfield for you.  There is now more space between them and the infielders.  In addition, there is now more space between the outfielders or between an outfielder and the foul line.  So by all means use the widened angles and gaps to your advantage by hitting line drives in the direction of those openings.

Regardless of gender, players of all ability levels should understand that becoming a bona fide home run hitter requires effort.  To become a better hitter, most of us should work on our bat speed and perfect a level swing to make good contact with the ball.  Nobody should carry unrealistic expectations.  True, if people are unfamiliar with your ability, you may surprise them by hitting the ball over their head in one of your first games, particularly if outfielders are drawn in too far.  Nonetheless, once people get a feel for your abilities, outfielders will play back and the likelihood of this happening again drops to zero.  The possible exception to this view is if you play on a field with an outfield fence.  In this situation, perhaps you can be a consistent home run hitter depending on the field dimensions and how far back the fence is built.  On softball fields with no fences, such as the ones in Central Park and most parks here in New York City, becoming a consistent home run hitter is a challenge.  As I mention above, on softball fields with no fences, outfielders can position themselves at the limits of your power to prevent you from hitting the ball over their heads.

I am not the final authority on how to become a good softball hitter.  To get further pointers on becoming a good hitter, watch baseball or softball games and observe what good hitters do. Watch videos on YouTube of good softball hitters, both male and female.  Ask an experienced player to critique your swing.  Videotape yourself swinging and see what you are doing right and what needs improvement.  Take batting practice and perform hitting drills.  The tips here can apply to players of all ages.  Yes, you can become a better softball hitter even if you are over the age of 50. 

Whether you are looking to become a better softball hitter or just looking to maintain your level, reading this blog has hopefully given you some good pointers on softball hitting.  Becoming a better softball hitter essentially requires you to stay in shape, develop a good swing and play the game on a regular basis.  It takes effort and time, so if you are genuinely interested in becoming a better hitter, there are no shortcuts.  In the beginning, take batting practice whenever you can.  Softball is a fun game.  See you on the field and regardless of your current ability level,  I hope you become a better softball hitter. 

 

Super Bowl Sunday 2011

This year I decided to run the Gridiron Classic in Central Park.  It would be a good opportunity to run outside and get some physical exercise on a day when many Americans just sit around and overeat while waiting for and watching the Super Bowl.  In keeping with the occasion, the event also had a interesting twist in that there was a competition before the race to see who could throw a football the furthest.  All the elements of the day made for an attractive event.

The longest football throw event started first.  Two lines were created, one for the guys and one for the gals.  Standing in the men's line, it took almost fifteen minutes before it was my turn to throw.  Orange cones were set up as distance markers.  There were cheerleaders cheering, a small brass band playing football fight songs, and individuals dressed as "zebra" referees to lend the event an authentic football game atmosphere.  These referees were also responsible for spotting the location where the football throws landed.   You would think such an ideal environment on a bright, sunny morning would produce an abundance of record breaking throws.  Wrong.

I have played sports, including touch football, regularly since I was a child.  Some people may even describe me as an athletic person.  Even though I am rarely the biggest person on the field, I have been known to uncork a long throw from the outfield to throw out a baserunner at home plate or a long touchdown pass to a receiver.   My background and experience would suggest a good, long throw.  However, when it was my turn, I only threw the football approximately 30 yards!  Friends would naturally ask, "What happened?  You have the ability to throw a football at least 50 yards."

No excuses, but as it turned out, the officials gave me and all later participants slippery footballs.  Not intentionally of course, but after scores of sweaty hands had used (thrown) the footballs,  alot of moisture and dampness would have formed on the them.  After touching the football provided, I tried not once, but twice to dry away the moisture from my right throwing hand by wiping it against my pant leg.  Getting a good grip was impossible.  Maybe I should have asked someone for a towel to dry off the football as much as possible.  Anyway, once I placed my hand back on the football for a third time, I knew it would be hopeless and at that point, I just gave it the old college try.  It was all in good fun.  Contestants, including big guys, before and after me had the same problems with the football.  Slip, slip, slip away!  Maybe they'll let us bring our own footballs the next time.

Well, it was on to the main event.  Slowly, walking over slick and slippery ice, other runners and I made our way to our respective waiting areas, organized by bib color.  This was my first race in more than a few years and the Road Runners club had deployed new racing technology in the interim.   All runners must now tie an electronic tag to their shoelaces prior to participating in the event.  These tags allow the electronic timers positioned at the start and finish lines to precisely measure the amount of time it takes for runners to complete the race.  So your time does not start until you actually cross the starting line, and you are not penalized for the time it takes you to travel from your waiting area to the starting line (as in the past).

The race turned out to be a challenge. I have not been running outdoors consistently for many years, and I had not run a race in more than a few years.  Although I am running better and stronger than ever before on a treadmill at the gym, a treadmill cannot duplicate the winding and hilly road conditions present outdoors.  I averaged only an 8:25 mpm.  Nevertheless, it felt good just to finish the race, like an accomplishment long overdue.

Apples and bagels waited for runners at the end of the race.  No lie, but NYRRC events carry some of the best tasting bagels in the city. 

All in all, it was fun to be running outdoors again.  And it was nice to have a few cheerleaders around too.

Starting the 2011 new year running out of the gate

To start off the new year, a few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of joining up with my running team and doing a speed workout outdoors.  What was unique about this occasion was that it was the first time I had ever done a track workout in freezing, subzero temperatures.  (When I ran track in high school, whenever the temperature outside was too cold, we would move our speed workouts indoors.  A fun workout at the time was doing sprints up the school staircase, always careful not to trip.)  It was also the first time I had trained on a track in many, many years.  The workout took place at McCarran park, a park that straddles the Brooklyn-Queens border not far from the East River and the Brooklyn-Queens expressway.  Although I have passed literally thousands of times over the expressway, I had never been to that part of the city.  Despite having grown up here in the city, there are still places I have never visited.  Now I can cross one more place off that list.

The workout was challenging, consisting of several timed quarters around the track and finishing with a half mile time trial; the weather certainly did not help.  The track was icy in most lanes and I had to slow down slightly in some sections of the inner most lane in order to avoid slipping and falling.  Many other team members are already in marathon shape so the workout was probably not strenuous for them.  I admire their conditioning.  For me however, running outdoors in training mode seemed like a long time ago.  In recent times, I have done most of my running on the treadmill at my gym.  Nothing to report to the Guiness Book of World Records, but the one glimmer of hope during the evening was that I did run one quarter in around 90 seconds.   We all have to start (or restart) from somewhere, but meanwhile I hope to build on that time.  I can't wait for warmer weather to return so that I can run outdoors on a more regular basis.  I'm not a penguin and training in subzero temperatures is not recommended for us warm blooded folks. In the face of the cold weather, I still concluded the evening with a sense of accomplishment and look forward to future runs and races with the team.