Justin White: Adventurer and Recreational Man

Being part of the sports staff on the Royal Caribbean and the Allure of the Seas before coming to Piedmont, Justin White has always known how to have fun and bring adventure into his life. White lives his life by the “send it” mentality and continues to send the vibe around campus.

“I actually got the send it mentality from Larry Enticer who performs stunts with his snowmobile and says ‘send it’ every time before a jump. I live by that motto because life is too short and sometimes you just got to go for it,” White said.

Being the coordinator of campus recreation and wellness is no easy task, but White manages to run the fitness center and provides more than 30 events in a calendar year. He doesn’t mind putting in the work to make sure all the students enjoy themselves.

“I want to make sure the students love the outdoors as much as I do, and I’m always up for a new adventure with friends to share wonderful laughs and memories,” White said.
“Justin always makes sure everyone is having a great time, and I’ve enjoyed the bowling event he put on this past year,” Ruiz said.

White never had a hard transition into Piedmont since his job as a sports staff member made it easy to shift into his new position.

“The people I worked with on the cruise ships were very like-minded and were from all around the world. I worked with people from England, Slovakia, China, and Brazil.”

With all the adventures he had while traveling on a cruise ship, White managed to escape a lot of trouble, including a GI virus.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of broken bones with passengers, but never expected an outbreak on the first couple days on the job,” White said. “The CDC came on board, and I remember one day I walked up and down 300 flights of stairs sanitizing the rails for eight hours.”

Whenever White isn’t running the fitness center or providing events for the students, he is the adviser to the Klimbing Klub, helping it grow massively in the past year alongside President Noah Wood.

“Justin has been a mentor to me. He has taught me so much in the past three years I’ve been at Piedmont,” Wood said. “He is an amazing leader, and I am truly grateful to have him as my boss and friend.”

White continues to travel around the world and wants to inspire students to seek travel. He currently keeps track of his travels on a map he has posted in his office and circles the destinations he’s visited.

“My next travel will be with my girlfriend and grandmother. We plan on going to Italy and then after that a trip to Iceland with just my girlfriend.”

RR10- Chapter 16: Communication And Sport In The Future

In the final chapter of Communication and Sport, it takes a look into the future of sports and where it will develop into or how it will change. One thing that caught my attention was how the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) will be used in a more none cheating and productive way of getting injured players to recover faster. For example, just how Rafael Nadal recovered from his injuries using German based “bloodspinning” techniques. Imagine a world where injuries in sports were close to nonexistent? It would change the outcome of games since star players seem to get injured at the worst times like the playoffs. For instance, imagine if Kyrie Irving, Gordon Heyward, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Demarcus Cousins were playing in the NBA playoffs right now? These star players are all valuable assets to their teams to get a ring and its a shame we can’t see them play.  Furthermore, it would also extend players careers and we can see them play for more years. Football players have had to cut their careers short so they could be healthy in the long run. Finally, Players seem to be different when they get injured for example, Derek Rose; he used to be so explosive and fast but a couple of injuries as made him a lot more slower and less effective like he use to be in 2010. In the end, the medical field would be an interesting tool to have enhanced for sports so we can see everyone play because at the end of the day we all want our best players to compete in close games so that these games can be more entertaining.

RR10

Chapter 10 served as the perfect ending to the book by discussing the future of the sports.  It covered the topics of sports teams, sports organizations and sports fans. The coverage of how the sports world is moving towards more individualized competition is something I would like to see as a sports fan. UFC is the fastest growing sport across the world and I believe it has the chance to surpass team sports because of the connection people can feel towards an individual rather than a team. The final aspect of the chapter covers e sports which has the potential to become a very popular sport.

Chapter 10: Communication And Sports in the Future

In this chapter its start with giving an overlook on the different chapter, we have read throughout the book. “Technology, economic models, and the advent of social networking ultimately have already been changing and will continue to change the way we interact within and about sports in the future, emphasizing the role of communication even more.” Which is true social media and the different technology has the way we talk to even how we watch sports.  You know longer have to attend sporting events because they are broadcast on tv, radio station, laptop, cellphones, and the list just keep going.

“Children now participate in leagues that travel much greater distance than ever before and push the limits of the human body in ways not expected for previous generations.” My brother and I participate in summer sports since we were little it keeps us busy on the move every weekend. I don’t think of it as a way to push my body in limits that it couldn’t take. It helps me to keep pushing and becoming a great athlete in track and field.  Athletes at all levels will increasingly find themselves debating appropriate uses of performance-enhancing drugs even debating what constitutes performance enhancement.

RR10

This chapter discusses the world of sports in the future. It discusses not only the future of sports organizations, but also the future of the fans and those who present the sporting events.

The chapter discusses that sports are going into hyperdrive which is pushing more of the individual sports such as UFC and sports like the x games. While these individual sports are on the rise, I don’t believe that the major team sports will ever be passed by these. The book also discusses the world of e-sports and how that market is coming up.

RR9

“Commodification of sports” refers to how the world of sports is now bought and sold and has become one of the largest businesses in the world. The world of sports brings in as well as pays out billions of dollars every year.

Sports are no longer seen as just for the viewers entertainment. Corporations such as the MLB, NBA and the NCAA make money off out their athletes when fans watch the games and buy tickets and merchandise. The organizations also profit off of the advertising and spend tons of money on it as well. This has turned sports into a massive business and no longer just for the love of the game.

RR10 – Chapter 16

While reading this chapter, it made me think about how sports are going to be in the future. I don’t think many things will change in sports but I do believe that football is getting more dangerous. Football athletes are getting bigger and stronger from generation to generation. This is not only true for professional athletes but also true for athletes in amateur leagues. With this being said, some athletes are taking illegal substances like EPO’s to enhance their performance. I believe that athletes who take illegal substances will never stop and I feel like more and more athletes will do it. I think that sports organizations will make some illegal substances legal in the future because they may think that since athletes are already taking them then they might as well make it legal. I believe with the communication side of sports is that technology will get better and we will be able to watch a game live wherever we go.

Chapter 16: Communication and Sport in the Future

The last chapter in the book talks about where all moving parts of the sports world are headed in the future. Obviously, e-sports are a rapidly growing industry that attracts both the traditional athlete and fan. Chapter 16 talks about the future of sports organizations, participants, media entities and fans.

The book wraps up by saying that sports are headed into “hyperdrive.” This is where more individual sports like MMA, BMX and skateboarding will take prominence over the team sports. This is an interesting idea, but I’m not sure I agree with this. Football is the most team-oriented sport in the world, and is far and away makes the most money in the United States. Maybe individualized sports will continue to gain popularity and grow, but I don’t know if they can surpass sports such as basketball, baseball and football in the U.S. and soccer worldwide.

RR9- Chapter 14: The Commodification of Sport

Chapter 14 “Commodification of Sport” covers how sports have become big investments for companies seeking to make more money. Sports has entertained us sports fans for as long as I can remember and people are willing to spend any amount of money to be entertained. Just think how much people spend to watch pay per view boxing events and it all makes sense.

In this day in age companies are spending Advertisements for the Super bowl and they run at 1 million dollars per 30 seconds. It takes money to make money, and the companies that advertise themselves believe it is worth the cost. Another example is when sports teams decide to get a new stadium. Take the Atlanta Braves with their new SunTrust Park. They moved to this new stadium to be closer to the public outings and to collaborate so they can both make more money.

Sport is, and nearly always has been, a money-making market enterprise. In spite of that, there are consequences to the extensive marketing, sponsorship, and product placements that are ubiquitous in sport. In conclusion, money is a huge contribution to sports but should not be the only factor; instead it should be focused around one major factor. It’s all about the game and the enjoyment we get from it.

 

Reading Response 9

 Chapter 9 the “Commodification of Sports,” which refers to the idea of how sports have become exchanged as part of transactions, bought and sold, when it should never be allowed. More and more companies have started to invest in sports and has become a truckload of revenue.

Organizations like the NCAA have started to become more than just entertainment. These organizations have turned into a business. They profit from their athletes by selling tickets at high prices. Their merchandise is ridiculously high in cost.

Bigger pools of audience lead to more advertising. Advertising has become one of the highest revenue generating techniques. Advertisements for the Super bowl run at 1 million dollars per 30 seconds. It takes money to make money, and the companies that advertise themselves believe it is worth the cost.