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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1985)
Page 8, Portland Observer, August 14, 1986 9 />► Roy I re Jerntgan V * " ! ' bdilor • • SPORT TALK • SPORTTALK• Program to eliminate abuse in youth sports Amp Elmore sells karate/kickboxing I he Electrifying Anthony " A m p ” Elmore it just what the new, exciting sports o f karate/kickboxing needs — a super salesman. " I 'm a fighter, promoter, com mentator and trainer — I 'll even set up the ring if that's what needs to be done," says the champ. Often called the "M uham m ed A ll o f Professional Karate,” because o f his non-stop comments and predictions, Elmore maintains such a style is necessary. " I talk a lot, but I do it to bring atten tion to the sp o rt." f lic A m p describes himself as "a former skinny kid who ran his mouth a lo t." He began training by learning from books and later studied with a friend who had learned karate in Vietnam. Elmore earned his black belt in 1974. There arc differences be tween his sport and the traditional Oriental art. "Karate, in its old, pure form , is an Eastern art o f self- defense. A decade ago, it was still regarded in this country as a mystical art. Karate/kickboxing takes (he art o f self-defense and modifies it into a form o f self-offense for competitive purposes." And although karate has been around for thousands o f years and Elmore held his black belt since 1975, a 1979 television broadcast kindled Elmore's interest in the new, professional sport. Bitten by the bug o f competition, he closed his retail carpet store and devoted full-tim e to a rigid training program. His first pro fessional bout was to follow later that year. Eull contact karate is very different from anything else. A fighter is re quired to throw at least eight kicks per round and there is no clinching al lowed. These rules make fo r a de manding and exciting spectator sport. " In karate/kickboxing, a fighter needs to run like a track star, have the grace o f a ballerina, the stamina o f a boxer and the flexability o f a gymnast in order to w in ," Elmore explains. The 6’4” , 215-pound Memphis na tive is known for his devastating kicks, and holds the world record for the most kicks thrown in a profession al championship bout — an impres sive 189. That records goes along with Elmore's strategy in the ring, which includes lots o f long kicks in order to keep his opponents away from him. Keeping competitors at bay is especially important to Elmore. “ There is no weight lim it in the Super Heavyweight division, and I've given up as many as .30 pounds to an op ponent.” His ring expertise and personality have done much to draw attention to himself and his sport. Operation Push bestowed Elmore with their Sports Award for 1984, he was fea tured as one o f Ebony magazine's 10 Most Eligible Bachelors for 1983, and a column on the front page o f the Memphis Commercial Appeal called Elmore a “ one man chamber o f com merce” for the city. “ I believe the work has paid o ff in calling attention to the sport. The Ebony article, for example, got the attention o f the ladies — and I want to attract every b o d y," he says. Elmore is as proud o f his sport's clean reputation as he is o f Ins 17 knockouts — and works toward bet tering both. Champions, to him, must set examples as good citizens as well as good sports. "T h e man must make the title, the title doesn’ t make the man ” The lessons young people learn from sports are often remembered the rest o f their live«. That is why volunteer coaches and youth administrators have a re- ponsibility to the kids with whom they work, according to Curt Gowdy, National Spokesman o f the National Youth Sports Coaches Association (NYSCA) and chairman o f the "M a kin g Youth Sports Fun For K ids" program. “ The irony o f youth sports to d a y," Gowdy said, "is that while many psychologists, reporters and educators denounce organized youth sports, millions o f parents still en courage their offspring to partici pate.” According to Fred Engh, founder and president o f NYSCA, “ Even though the elementary school-age population is decreasing, overall o r ganized youth league programs have increased to nearly 20 m illion partici pants throughout America. "T h a t indicates that youth league sport arc here to stay, but those who criticize youth sports make some good points, too. Although problems exist in a number o f areas, the state ment that 'no program is better than it's leader,' can best summarize the problem in youth league sport«,” Engh said. In nine out o f 10 cases, the leader is a parent o f one o f the team players. “ In most cases," Engh said, "th e parent probably has never been told that his or her responsibility extends beyond ensuring that the team wins the championship. Perhaps more importantly, that responsibility in cludes the development o f the value systems o f the young people being coached, and it is just as important for parents and coaches to remember that youth sports should be a fun experience." “ No parent would let a 10-year- old take swimming lessons from a person who is not qualified to teach," Engh said. "W e ll, what about the young people who suffer emotionally, psychologically and sometimes physi cal abuse because the youth sports coach was never told that he had the responsibilities in these areas?" Engh believes the coach's volun teer status dix*s not exempt him (or her) from these responsibilities. To fill this training gap the NYSCA, a non profit organization formed in 1981, offers a basic certification program that can be completed by attending three-hour sessions on tw o consecu tive nights. “ The feedback we've received from leagues that have implemented the NYSCA certification indicated that by clearly stating minimum stan dards for volunteer coaches, the vast majority willingly com ply,” Engh said. "M o re importantly, the young sters benefit almost immediately from the more positive experience vouth sports wav intended to achieve in the first place " NYSCA doesn’ t stop at educating and certifying vol unteer coaches. They have also creat ed special programs to offer com prehensive guidelines fo r parents, youth league administrators, and game officials who arc involved in community youth sports programs. Certification o f an NYSC A volun teer docs not denote qualification to coach, per se, but moreso indicates a basic awareness o f the very important role that each volunteer has on the psychological well being, safety, and the need fo r basic sports instruction o f each child in his (or her) care. Atlanta, Lieorgia, County Comnns sinners make NYSCA certification program mandatory for over 1,500 coaches in leagues using municipal facilities. I angles , Virginia, U.S. A ir Force Tactical A ir Command bases with youth sports programs w ill require all coaches to be certified beginning tall I9K< Io obtain further inform ation on NYSL A and their programs, contact the NYSCA, 2611 Old Okeechobee Rd.. West Palm Beach, FT 33409. A u d ie N o rris , n ic k n a m e d " T h e A t o m ic D o g ." h as re m o v e d h im s e lf fro m J a c k R a m s e y 's d o g h o u s e a n d w ill ta k e his ta le n ts to E u ro p e N o r ris, w h o has o n e y e a r re m a in in g o n his c o n tr a c t, fe e ls th e t th e E u ro p e a n e x p e rie n c e w ill b e n e fit h im in th e lo n g ru n . T h a n k s fo r th e m e m o ries. A u d is , a n d th e b e s t o f lu c k to y o u . The lo n g e st bicycle ever co n s tru c te d w as a te n d e m th e t co uld seat ten dl A ck COU€G€S coM M irreciN C WHAT GOLF SCRAMBLE (SHOTGUN) WITH NATIONAL PRO - MA. LM ELDER WHÉN TUESDflV AUGUST 27. 1985 WHERE McNAAV G O U COURSE INVITATIONAL SALEM O R E G O N 6 2 5 5 River Rood North Tel 3 9 3 4 6 5 3 $110 FEE INCLUDES CART GREEN FEE. . -T -0® 8 SOUVENIRS PRIZES AND DINNER . orts Irmted $100 6 » 't o first come first serve 9 * ' . a s «' INCLUOES RLL OF THE ABOVE WfTHOUT A CART $ 12 0 0 OTHER DINNER GUESTS (not porbupoOng r Scramble) 9 00 a m 1000 a m 4 00 p m TIME CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST TEE OFF DINNER ENTERTAINMENT AND AWARDS REGISTRATION FO R M PLEASE RETURN REGISTRATION FOAM TO AJNE A KEV 1148 NE FREMONT PORTLAND O R 97212 0V A U G 20. 1985 TEL (503 287 9669 CtTV CHECK BOXES STATE GOLF CART □ Ves □ No 2 8 7 -9 8 8 3 HOC ADORE SS NAME • ZIP PHONE NUMBER OF OWNER GUESTS □ «EASE ENCLOSE ENTRV FEE CHECK PRWBLE TO BLACK COLLEGES COMMITTEE I9C LUE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING VOU JOIN US FOR A RJN-RLL© DRV AT McNAAV G O U COURSE * Ï • (Ch'ideare 'or Teen Parents children s«s'isbi< | i per child Xeservsiions Only 787 988J) . □ •V e . W r a Z j a A. 1