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  • Fall is Here

    Fall is here and it’s finally that time of year when the leaves change into those beautiful, warm colors of red, orange, and yellow. It’s the time when the days get colder and the air gets crispy. Don’t forget the pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving and football!

    All of those wonderful things that autumn brings reminded me of a poem I wrote not too long ago about fall. Enjoy!

     

    Leaves are falling to the ground,

    Making colors all around,

    The wind is light and cool and crisp

    The sky is foggy with chilled mist.

     

    The plants have begun to go to sleep

    To hide away from winter’s creep,

    The smell of baking pumpkin pie

    As the geese take off and freely fly.

     

    This time of year brings warmth and joy,

    The leaves crunch beneath me like a broken toy,

    Summers memories shall now be survived,

    And welcome fall, it has arrived.

    All material protected by © Copyright 2015 by anahorvath.com

    Fall is Here

     

     

  • Having the Right Attitude in Sports

    “I can’t do it.” “That team’s too good. We’ll never beat them!” Does this kind of talk sound familiar? It could be in your head or actually coming out of your mouth or a fellow teammate’s. Those two quotes sounded pretty negative, huh? Saying those kinds of things might not seem like a big deal but in the long run they could be. It could mess up your attitude in not just sports, but life. Here are five thoughts about having the right attitude in sports.

    • First off, what is the right attitude? Well, being optimistic in low times or moments when your team is down and having that competitive, classy, and fiery personality is the right attitude. Thinking smart about your options and the future is also having a good attitude in sports. Respecting your opponents, teammates, coaches, refs, parents, fans, even yourself, and so on contributes to this as well.
    • Losing is something that a lot of athletes take harshly. Some take it seriously, calmly, and some don’t even care. When you lose, you shouldn’t take it as the end of the world or the end of your athletic career. You also shouldn’t just brush it off of your shoulders like you could care less as to what just happened. When you lose, you need to take it as a learning experience, forget about it for that day, and then briefly reflect on it the next day at practice or whenever you can. Use losing to make you stronger, not bring you down.
    • Some sports like volleyball, for instance, require a team. Team is a part of the word teamwork.  Now when girls on a team start up drama and turn their backs on each other, that’s not teamwork or a team at all is it?! This goes back to respecting everyone and everything around you. You might have issues with a girl on your team and you might not have very nice things to say to her but the second you step in that gym or step on the court, you are friends. You guys are teammates. You love each other and work together as if you are best friends. You win and lose and work together as a team. Your attitudes towards each other are caring and respectful and you are willing to help them. And then the second practice is over and you are out of the gym, you don’t have to be friends. You don’t have to hang out or even talk to each other. You still have to respect that teammate as person and you can go your separate ways. Your attitude can go back to whatever it was before you stepped on the court but you still have to respect them.
    • Believe! When you believe in your training and your skills, you can almost do anything! I had some friends that went to a sand tournament to qualify for a bigger tournament and they were playing two girls from one of the top clubs in the state. They put their minds to it, believed in their skills, and went out and beat that team, getting third in the tournament, and qualified to go to the bigger tournament. They believed in what they could do and got pretty far!
    • Lastly, before you go out to compete. Prepare yourself mentally, and physically. Let yourself visualize yourself having a good game or time or shot. Warm up by stretching or jumping or getting some last minutes reps in so you can get yourself into a positive, confident, ready-to-go mindset.

    I really hope that all of you athletes can use some of these ideas to better yourselves and teammates so that you all can have a good or better attitude in sports.

    Having the Right Attitude in Sports

  • One Delicious Cupcake Recipe Review

    Three words, cupcakes are amazing. There are so many wonderful and delicious recipes out in the world to make mouth-watering cupcakes. On the show “Cupcake Wars” on the Food Network, my sister and I found an amazing recipe called “Toodee Fruity-Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes”. Now this is one delicious cupcake recipe. This is my review for the cupcake:

    One Delicious Cupcake Recipe Review
    The cupcakes that my family and I made. Yummy!
    • This cupcake was so much fun to bake! Even though these cupcakes took a little over an hour to prepare, they were really fun to make. Creating the eyes with the fondant and the batters for the cupcakes was just very entertaining and it created a pretty light, happy mood for everyone helping out.
    • It had a unique and yummy taste. With the combination of blueberry cheesecake and pound cake, the cupcake had a very unique taste. It tasted unlike any other cupcake. It was mouth-watering, light, and just delicious!
    • It became pretty popular. My friends and I had a cupcake baking contest at school. This cupcake was rated most favorably. Most of the teachers really enjoyed it and so did many other kids.
    • It was moist. When a cupcake is moist, it is more easy and enjoyable to eat. A dry or heavy/thick cupcake is usually not as good, but these Toodee Fruity cupcakes were just right.
    • The cupcakes looked pretty cute. In the end, after the cupcakes were done baking and they were fully decorated, they looked adorable! Their eyes were silly but fun to look at. The cupcakes also looked like a pretty happy bunch of cupcakes.

    • One Delicious Cupcake Recipe
      VanDeraa, Kevin. Toodee Fruity-Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes. 2011. Food Network. Web. 31 Aug. 2014. <http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/toodee-fruity-blueberry-cheesecake-cupcakes-recipe.html>.

    To sum it up, this “Toodee Fruity-Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes” recipe was wonderful. I highly recommend it. This recipe can be found on the Food Network website and it’s a great cupcake to make. Why don’t you give it a try?

     

  • Top Ten Tips for Going Back to School

    School just started for most kids, including my sister and I. Going back to school is a big change from the relaxing days of summer. It can be a bit stressful, nerve racking, and even exciting. There are many good things that can be learned or used as tips to comfortably move back into school. Here are my top ten tips for going back to school.

    10. About a week before school starts, start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. This way, when the first day of school rolls around, you won’t wake up extremely tired. Going to bed at about 9 to 9:30 PM and then waking up at 6:30 AM allows for plenty of rest and then time to get ready for your first day. This is what works best for my sister and I, but go with what works best for you.

    9. Get all of your school supplies before school starts or get them as soon as your teachers tell you what you need. Doing this helps you come prepared and makes you feel more comfortable, knowing that you have all of the stuff you need.

    8. Don’t be afraid. This applies mostly when going to a new school. I moved to a big, new high school and going in, it was a little overwhelming. I just had to pull myself together and after that everything was okay.

    7. Wear something nice on the first day. When I say this, I don’t mean that you should wear a fancy dress or a suit and tie. This just means that you should dress in something that looks cute and is comfortable to wear.

    6. Make a new friend or two. Making a few friends can help ease your troubles about school. They might be able to help you around and keep you company. If you’re new to a school this can be super important because making friends can help you feel less lonely.

    5. Get to know your teachers. Getting to know your teachers is important so that you aren’t strangers. This will also help you be more comfortable in their classes.

    4. Get involved in your school. This could be drama club, sports, NJHS or NHS, student council, and so on. By getting involved, you can stay busy and show your school spirit.

    3. Know where your classes all are. This is especially important for the first day. Knowing where your classes are eliminates time where you frantically searching for each class.

    2. Create a schedule and calendar for the year. By doing this, you are preparing you and your family for days that you don’t have school, breaks, and school activities. You can plan your days, weeks, months, etc.

    1. Be organized! Staying organized can mean a lot of things. It could mean creating a system for your locker, using folders, using your planner, turning your homework/projects in on time, and keeping your backpack clean. You’ll always know where you belongings are and you’ll do better in school by staying organized.

    I really hope this tips help you have a good first day of school and also a great school year! You can also find your own ways to be successful in school. Do your best, stay organized, and have fun!

    Top Ten Tips for Going Back to School

  • Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!

    There are some things that you never forget in life, like long road trips, time with family in the mountains, and eating brunch at a restaurant where the pancakes are very big. This past weekend, my family traveled about four hundred miles to Farmington, New Mexico. We spent time with our aunt and uncle and grandpa. From our trip, I learned many things about family and traveling.

    • When you have something as big as a pair of crutches, DON’T FORGET THEM! On Sunday, about ten minutes out of Farmington, my mom got ten texts and several calls from my aunt saying that we forgot my crutches. Haha. That was an exciting beginning of our road trip home. So we found a place to turn around and met my uncle at a Dairy Queen in Aztec (which is a town very close to the state border). I got my crutches back and life was good again. Moral of the story is, before you get ready to go back home, double-check and even triple check to make sure you have everything you brought.Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!
    • When visiting family, it’s always good to go and do something fun together. All seven of us (me, my sister, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandpa) went to Hesperus, Colorado to eat breakfast at the Kennebec Café. Yummy! Later on, we drove up the bumpy La Plata Mountains trail. We all did some exploring and there was a lot of picture-taking. Doing this kind of stuff is really good bonding time and you can get some really great pictures.Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!
    • I’m sick of pancakes. When we went to the Kennebec Café for breakfast, the pancakes were HUGE! They tasted amazing but I think I’m going to take a break from pancakes for a while.

      Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!
      So done with pancakes…
    • When traveling by car over a long distance, keep yourself entertained. It’s truly not that fun to just stare out the window for eight straight hours and you can only take naps so many times. My sister and I learned that staying entertained helps the ride seem shorter most of the time. You can do this by watching movies, playing on an iPad, listening to music, talking, and so on.Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!
    • Any family time is good family time. Getting the chance to make memories and have fun with your family is worth it. Even if you aren’t doing the most exciting thing ever, you are still bonding with your family.

    Family, Mountains, Pancakes, Oh My!

    To wrap things up, we all had so much fun this past weekend and the ride home was safe. As a family we made a bunch of great memories. Happy Birthday Dad and Jan! (Today is their birthday.) I can’t wait to go and visit again! And did I mention the pancakes were huge?!

  • How to Become a More Competitive Volleyball Player

    This past week I attended a competitive camp for volleyball. There were so many great things I learned about being a good competitor. Here are a few of the things I learned:

    • The Four Intangibles of a Good Competitor: Confidence, Competitiveness, Commitment, and Character. Confidence means you believe in your skills and know you are a good athlete. Competitiveness is the ability to fight (with character) and want to win and succeed. Commitment is being dedicated to the sport and taking the time to play. Character is your integrity, kindness, respect, self-control, etc. on the court. These are really important and I know I need to work on my competitiveness and when I become stronger with that I will become a better competitor.
    • Play smart and aggressive. Schwarzinstein! (Albert Einstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger). You have to be able to play smart and have a purpose with each decision and shot, like Albert Einstein. You also have to be able to play aggressive and want the ball and hit it hard, like the terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you play just smart or just aggressive you won’t be as successful, you have to be smart and aggressive.
    • Competitiveness Like a Missile Strike: Purposeful, Powerful, Planned, Precise, and Persistent. When you compete you have to have a plan for each player and team you play. You need to have everyone on the team in with the plan and you have to execute it and finish it. Last club season, if I had used this strategy, my team could have beat teams that we didn’t. If we had focused on a mission or a battle plan, and had scouted the other teams, we could have done better. I really hope I can use this, this season and become more competitive.
    • The Eleven Obstacles that Inhibit Competitiveness were also really interesting to learn about. These include: lack of confidence, lack of commitment/interest, lack of focus/purpose, lack of pride, lack of competitive role models, accepting losing, haven’t fully recovered from an injury, seniority rules, being threatened by the alpha on the team, passive personality, and not being socially accepted to compete. When I ranked them for myself I realized what I could work on to make me a stronger competitor. I plan to correct my weaknesses quickly so they become less of a problem.

    Overall, it was a very interesting camp and a great learning experience. Even though I couldn’t play, I took in a lot mentally. A lot of this information was taken from How to Develop Relentless Competitors by Jeff Janssen. It’s a great book and it has a lot of great tips and ideas that you can take with you and use in your game. How to Become a More Competitive Volleyball Player

  • Setters Have to Have Many Abilities and Qualities

    Setters are the coaches on the floor. They lead the team and they touch every second ball on their side. Someone with a position that important has to be a person and player with many abilities and qualities. Here are a few of the abilities and qualities setters should have.

    • Servant Leadership: Setters have to lead the team by serving them. They are not selfish, but selfless. Everything they do is for the team and not just themselves.
    • Work Ethic: Setters have to be the hardest workers on their team. Getting every second ball requires a lot of work so they have to be willing to work hard.
    • Deception: As a setter, the job is to set up your hitters with a chance to score and win. By being deceptive, a setter can hold the block and create holes in the defense. This creates a better chance for the hitters to score.
    • Creativity: Setters have to be creative with their sets and all that they do so that the defense is always on their toes, guessing where the next set will go. Setters have to have different moves to get to different balls. Like a setter might do a spin move to get to a close, low ball and might use an outside foot stop move to get to a really low ball that might put them off-balance.
    • A Positive Attitude: As the team leader, a setter has to be encouraging and positive with fellow teammates. They have to have an optimistic attitude. This creates a lighter, happier mood on the court and it can keep the team strong and prevent players from getting down.
    • Communication/Vocal Leadership: Setters have to communicate with their teammates. They have to be able to tell their teammates what play they plan to run and what your opponents are doing with the block and such. This could be in a form of hand signals or actual words.
    • Confidence: Confidence is something a setter MUST have. At the higher levels of volleyball, have you ever seen a setter afraid to make a set or a setter who just isn’t proud of their skills? Of course not! Setters have to believe in their skills and know they are great players.

    There are many things that make setters the great players. Setters have to be servant leaders, hard-working players, deceptive, creative, positive and encouraging, communicative, and confident. These abilities and qualities are some of the things that make setters stand out. Without these few things, what would a setter be?

    Setters Have to Have Many Abilities and Qualities

  • In the Boot…

    About a week ago, I finally went to a sports/foot specializing doctor for my foot. It had been hurting since last fall after I hurt it in dance class. Anyway, the doctor checked out my foot and took some x-rays. After all of the examining, he looked at the x-rays and found a thin fracture on one of my sesamoid bones. (The sesamoid bone is imbedded in the tendons under your big toe.) So the first step in healing the bone was to put my foot in the boot. Dun…dun…dun… Being the athletic, active person I am, it’s been painful and hard to have to sit on the sidelines. But, it has also been a wonderful learning experience. Here are a few things I’ve learned so far from being in a boot.

    • You see a whole new side of the activities/sports you participate in. I’m a dancer and I also play volleyball and tennis so I’ve watched a lot of sports over this past week so far. You learn to see the strategy from off the court and you can see how other players play and how they hit certain shots.
    • Appreciate being healthy. Be as active as possible when you aren’t sick or injured and take advantage of all of your energy and abilities. When you’re healthy there is so much you can do to improve your health and your game!
    • Follow the doctor’s orders. This one is something I already knew when I first had to start wearing my boot but this really emphasized this point. Following what the doctor says will make it more possible for the fracture to heal correctly and fully.
    • Be patient. I’m in this boot for a whole month (which feels like a decade) and I could possibly be out of sports for two-four months but I’ve learned that it’s going to take time and I’ll just have to wait. It’s better to be out for four months than forever.

    This experience in the boot has been very different and challenging. It has also really taught me to appreciate being healthy and understand patience. Now I’ll have to wait for my full recovery and I’ll be back out on the courts soon! 🙂

    In the Boot...

    In the Boot...
    My boot 🙂

     

  • Meeting Governor Hickenlooper

    Wednesday, June 25th, I had the opportunity to go to a press conference set up by the Office of Economic Development and International Trade at Ravenbrick, which is a growing smart window company in Denver. The governor was present and announced six new grantees for the advanced industries program, for the state of Colorado. This included aWhere Inc., DH2i, MBio Diagnostics Inc., Prima-Temp, Inc., Ravenbrick LLC, and Reference Technologies, Inc.

    After the six companies were presented their grants, Ravenbrick gave a demonstration of how their smart windows work and gave a tour of the factory. The windows are smart because they are created with two panes of glass with a piece of film in between the two. When the temperature gets higher, the windows darken, reducing heat and glare and when the temperature drops, the windows remain clear, letting in heat and light.

    After the excitement with the conference and the tour, my sister and I had the chance go and meet Governor Hickenlooper. We talked to him and he was very intelligent, funny, and kind. He asked my sister and I if we were going to be entrepreneurs and we both responded with a yes. He also told a few cute stories about his son Teddy.

    It was an exciting day to go to my first press conference, tour a high-tech manufacturer, and meet Governor Hickenlooper. Definitely a day to remember.

    Meeting Governor Hickenlooper

     

  • Setting Goals – Does it Help?

    On the way to my past tennis tournament this Sunday, the topic of coaching tips came up. John Dunning, the volleyball coach at Stanford, has his girls from the team write at least three goals that they want to accomplish by the end of practice. They can be physical, tactical or strategic, mental, nutritional, leadership, and so forth. Both my sister and I found this very interesting and decided to give it a try for the tennis tournament.

    I set three goals for myself:

    1. Smartly place my cross court shots. (tactical/strategic goal)
    2. Stay positive and use every point as a learning experience. (mental goal)
    3. Stay hydrated and save energy. (nutritional goal)

    I played five matches throughout Saturday and Sunday and there were several things I noticed from setting the goals. I’ll give examples from a few of the matches I played.

    Match 1

    Goal 1: accomplished

    Goal 2: sort of accomplished

    Goal 3: accomplished

    Conclusion: Goal 2 was partially accomplished but, I wasn’t always in the right mindset during the match. Sometimes I was very focused and positive about the task at hand and other times I was out of it and careful about hitting the ball. My other two goals were met though. From this match I realized that by not meeting all of my goals, I lost the match. I thought there could be a relationship between setting goals and the match results.

    Match 3

    Goal 1: accomplished

    Goal 2: accomplished

    Goal 3: accomplished

    Conclusion: I accomplished all of my goals for this match. I was relaxed, played smart, and stayed hydrated. By having goals to accomplish, I feel that they helped me win the match.

    Match 5

    Goal 1: accomplished

    Goal 2: accomplished

    Goal 3: accomplished

    Conclusion: Looking at the results from my third match, you would think, “Oh, she won that last match, right?” Wrong, actually. My last match was a very good one and I played hard; however, my unforced errors or “gimme points” cost me big time. Even though I did meet all of my goals, I did not win the match. This was in contrast with my idea that setting goals can help you win matches.  What it showed is that it is more important to focus on performance than outcome.

    So, setting goals for you is a very good thing to do whether it’s tennis, volleyball, soccer, academics, or just life in general! It helps you think about what you can do to get better and keeps you from being so worried about the outcome. From my last match at the tournament, I wasn’t discouraged about the outcome at all. I was focused on the goals I had set for myself and I was pleased that I accomplished them. I felt like I had a successful tournament by setting goals and seeing accomplishments made throughout the weekend. Setting goals can make you more successful in all that you do.

    Setting goals improves your serving and your game.
    Setting goals improves your serving and your game.