{"id":79686,"date":"2017-05-22T15:49:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T15:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=79686"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:47:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T16:47:31","slug":"sportstalk-shop-pokemon-go-effect-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-pokemon-go-effect-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop:  The &#8220;Pokemon Go Effect&#8221; on Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QWaqM9SuVX0\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>There is a charming game (that nearly everyone probably knows by now) that has been sweeping the world, that everyone can play for free (for the \u2018basics\u2019 anyway) on their cell phones and tablets, called \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pokemongo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pok\u00e9mon Go<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While my son is an expert (or he better be, with all the cards and accessories that I\u2019ve paid for) and I know very little about the game itself, I do admit there are a number of benefits to participating in this activity.\u00a0 It encourages people to get out, walk around and get some exercise and fresh air.\u00a0 Also, it is a nice \u201cunifying\u201d event that helps bring people together, and it is something that people of many different ages, classes and demographics can participate in.<\/p>\n<p>There are also times when I see parents so engaged in their cell phone activities that their little kids are getting into trouble or nearly get hurt themselves\u2014being oblivious to things going on around them.\u00a0 It\u2019s also quite common now for couples to be holding hands while simultaneously frantically typing on their screens with the other hand while never exclaiming a word to each other.<\/p>\n<p>But I am not here to pass judgment on social issues\u2026and if that\u2019s how love looks in 2017, then so be it.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cdisturbing\u201d feeling that I sometimes get while watching people overly addicted to this activity at the expense of everything else around them, is the same emotion I have felt a few times during this school year when some (but certainly not all) teams seem to be trending down a similar path.<\/p>\n<p>Let me explain.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve noticed more than a handful of individual athletes\u2014at different schools in different areas and in different sports\u2014who seem largely focused on what is clearly most important to them\u2014themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 Players who seem more interested in padding their stats, doing what\u2019s in their best interest, and, in many cases, doing what their parents are telling them to do\u2014even when in direct contradiction with his\/her head coach.<\/p>\n<p>The primary interest of these athletes\u2019 parents appears to be to do what is best for them, for now and for their immediate future and, oh yeah, the coach better keep winning games so that my son\/daughter can continue to get more and more exposure.<\/p>\n<p>This year, I\u2019ve noticed a slight spike in the already excessive amount of student-athletes (do people still use this term?) who coincidently\/ironically\/purposefully transfer out of schools at a time when their team\u2019s win total is declining, and \u201cmoving\u201d into school districts in which their new team\u2019s win total is increasing.\u00a0 More wins equal more media\/internet coverage, which equals more exposure to college scouts which translates to scholarships and dollars in other areas.<\/p>\n<p>Once the family makes this commitment, then the \u201cnew\u201d coaches\u2019 philosophies better change to accommodate their son\/daughter or there\u2019s going to be conflicts that quite frequently escalate to the school\u2019s administration and school boards, which, as we\u2019ve seen over time, frequently leads to the removal of coaches that parents don\u2019t \u201capprove\u201d of\u2014regardless of how successful or how many wins that coach has achieved in the past\u2014or is currently achieving.<\/p>\n<p>In one school district, speculation (in the absence of clear specified reasons) has left the very strong impression that the <strong><em>style<\/em><\/strong> in which a coach wins games is (now was) even more important than <strong><em>if <\/em><\/strong>the team succeeds.\u00a0 This \u201ctheory\u201d becomes more palpable when the new coach indicates operating in a style that will be more beneficial to the individual player(s).<\/p>\n<p>Keeping your eye on your own game is key to having success in the world of Pok\u00e9mon Go.\u00a0 But encouraging an atmosphere where it\u2019s acceptable for athletes to only care about their own self-interests at the risk of their school and community will undoubtedly continue to erode the waning interest in many high school sports programs that numerous districts are now facing.<\/p>\n<p>*****<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to stop by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buffalowildwings.com\/en\/locations\/Detail\/0474\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buffalo Wild Wings<\/a> on Grape St. in Whitehall this Thursday for our special \u201cSportsTalk\u201d show, honoring the Allentown Central Catholic Girls Volleyball Team for capturing a state championship title.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk with members of the Vikettes during the hour- long program and you can have the opportunity to ask a question or make a comment, supporting their tremendous achievement. Also check out ways <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rcn.com\/atvn\/st-gets-wild-2017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here on the website<\/a> how you can also support a local charity at the same time! This week\u2019s charity is LLS.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a charming game (that nearly everyone probably knows by now) that has been sweeping the world, that everyone can play for free (for the \u2018basics\u2019 anyway) on their cell phones and tablets, called \u201cPok\u00e9mon Go.\u201d While my son is an expert (or he better be, with all the cards and accessories that I\u2019ve&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[675,221,822],"class_list":["post-79686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-buffalo-wild-wings","tag-high-school-sports","tag-pokemon-go"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The SportsTalk Shop: The &quot;Pokemon Go Effect&quot; on Sports - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SportsTalk Shop: The &quot;Pokemon Go Effect&quot; on Sports - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a charming game (that nearly everyone probably knows by now) that has been sweeping the world, that everyone can play for free (for the \u2018basics\u2019 anyway) on their cell phones and tablets, called \u201cPok\u00e9mon Go.\u201d While my son is an expert (or he better be, with all the cards and accessories that I\u2019ve...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-pokemon-go-effect-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-22T15:49:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-18T16:47:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-pokemon-go-effect-sports\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-pokemon-go-effect-sports\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"headline\":\"The SportsTalk Shop: The &#8220;Pokemon Go Effect&#8221; 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