Author: Paul Bazzano

Chilly!

Brrr.. It’s cold out there

The clocks have been set back and now you have an extra hour in your day. What are you going to do?

Exercise of course!

Andy Prishack of Select Physical Therapy of Fairfax has a few suggestions for how to exercise in the cold weather.

Remember this fun acronym that may not make much sense..but go with it

BOS SHOT

B-uddy.. find one, it’s so much easier to get outside and get moving when you have someone encouraging you to get out there. Remember when your parents told you about the buddy system? Well it applies to workouts as well.
O-overdress… don’t do it. I know it’s going to be freezing when you get out there.. hey it’s the truth. We’re supposed to get a really cold winter this year. But when you start moving you’re going to regret over dressing. A good rule of thumb is to dress like it’s 20 degrees warmer outside than it really is.
S-hades.. Wear some. For some odd reason many people only think to wear sunglasses in the summer. But the sun shines year around people! The combination of the sun and the snow can cause blindness so go get those shades that you packed away with your summer wardrobe and get going!
S-unscreen.. Okay now you probably think our friend at Select Physical Therapy are crazy. But you need to protect your skin and yourself during the winter months because the sun can still be harmful.
H-ydrate… In the summer months its easier to know when your dehydrated and need to replenish yourself but when its freezing outside the last thing you want to think about is drinking something cold.
O-pen your eyes.. When you exercise outside you probably aren’t thinking about frostbite, but you should because it has negative effects. Be aware of the effects of the weather and what they may do to your body
T-emperature… Make sure you pay attention to it. Believe it or not you may eventually get used to exercising outside but you shouldn’t if the temperature is below zero.

Mason Hockey Raises Money for Military Charities

Photo/Matt Ricciardi

The Ice Hockey team raised a total of $16,890 for two children’s charities in their third annual community fundraiser game.

Steve Hyjek started the event three years ago when he became the head coach at Mason as a way for the team to give back to the community.

“It is part of our program to do some community outreach and elevate the visibility of our program on campus,” Hyjek said. “It is something that is important to me. For me to be able take some of the skills that I have in life and some of the love that I have for the sport of hockey and use that to benefit others.”

Representatives from the Washington Capitals and the Department of Defense were also on hand to help the team raise money for charities Our Military Kids and So Kids Can.

Our Military Kids provides support for children whose parents are overseas in the National Guard and Military Reserve as well as children of Wounded Warriors. So Kids Can is affiliated with the Washington Capitals and help kids in need in the Washington D.C metropolitan area. Each group received half of the money raised.

Aside from donations and ticket sales, there were raffles and silent auctions to help raise money.

The silent auction included items such as a Brian Orakpo signed jersey and hockey stick signed by the 2012-2013 Washington Capitals team along with other NFL, NHL, NBA and MLS autographed items. Volunteers, many who are not even affiliated with the team, helped run both events.

“These are all friends. Some of them have no connection to George Mason. They are people that want to help out,” Hyjek said, giving credit to all those who volunteered at the event. “ It is a team effort. The players also helped pitch in by selling tickets and helping us with sponsorships. Doing something like this is an important part of who you are as a person, not just who you are as a player or as a team. It is something we all believe in. It is something we need to do.”

Volunteer Bonnie Marlar has helped since the event started three years ago and loves what it stand for.

“I love it because he (Hyjek) puts together a lot of great things to donate and it is always for a great cause. He pulls together a lot of money for the cause. I just enjoy helping,” Marlar said as she helped potential winners.

As for the game, the Patriots beat the NCR Military Eagles 3-2 in the friendly exhibition behind Seve Cordova’s two goals and an assist. The Eagles consist of players who are currently serving in the military. One of the Patriot players, defenseman Nelson Dasilva, is a former Marine and thinks the event to help out military families is for a great cause.

“I think it is for a good cause. It helps bring exposure to some charities and exposure to the community in terms of Mason as a school. The community gets to see Mason do good things,” Dasilva said, who completed two tours of Iraq in 2003 and 2004. “It was a fun game. Lots of people came out. The energy was great.”

The Patriots will continue their season this semester looking for wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Story by: James Zembriski

Mason Refs Go Beyond Intramurals

Student referees are taking full advantage of all the opportunities Mason’s Recreational Department has to offer by earning additional certification to be a referee in local Fairfax County leagues.

Working with the local United States Soccer Federation and Cardinal Basketball Association, Mason referees are able to attend learning sessions to become certified referees at high school and recreational levels. Tyler Fabian, who has been a soccer referee since 2004, is one of the 16 referees who has taken advantage of the program since it started in the fall of 2011.

“As long as you ask, you will get it. If I wanted to pursue getting certified in basketball, Mason can definitely get me certified. They are always willing to help and would find me a course so I can get certified,” said Fabian, who explained that the training sessions are free for referees. “Another great incentive is that you do not have to pay anything for it. Mason pays for it. You get paid for going to the class.”

The training sessions not only teach students about the rules but demonstrates how to act like a referee. “They not only prepare you for the rules of the game but also how to respond and act in the game. How you treat the players whether he is upset with you, arguing with you or bickering at you. They teach you how to respond in a professional manor,” Fabian said.

Chris Carr, a senior who has been a basketball referee since his sophomore year, looks at this program as just one of the many advantages towards being a referee.

“It is great working with Mason and the entire department. Everyone is great,” said Carr, who has also been a referee for intramural soccer, volleyball, flag football and dodgeball. “The hours are always really flexible and they always try to help you out anyway they can.”

Paul Bazzano, the assistant director of intramural and recreational sports, believes that this program not only helps out the student referees but Mason as well.
“This program allows our staff to gain the additional training needed to advance through the ranks and work local youth leagues and scholastic games outside of Mason,” Bazzano said. “The individuals that have taken advantage of these opportunities have been able to bring the skills obtained outside of Mason to our program and has helped them emerge as leaders and mentors to our young staff.”

Not only has becoming a referee provided both Fabian and Carr with a part time job but with a job that they love doing. “I am a sports management major and I love just being around sports. It is great for me to be able to stay involved,” Carr said. “Being involved in the sports industry is great.”

Being able to teach players the rules of the game is one of Fabian’s favorite parts about being a referee. “With this type of level, everyone is learning. You do have new people. You have athletes who are very athletic. They may not know the sport so you teach them the sport,” Fabian explained. “I always find it very interesting to help those who do not know the sport or want to learn the sport and as a referee you can do that.”

Both would recommend to anyone who is considering applying to be a referee to give it a try. “If you are interested in making money, you like sports and you do not have night classes, definitely consider it,” Fabian said, who along with Carr believes becoming a referee is a great way to earn an income. “If you want to take a leadership role one day, this is a good opportunity to build yourself up.”

For anyone who is interested in becoming a referee at Mason, contact Colby Grant or Paul Bazzano for more information.

Story by: James Zembriski

Mason Referees Selected for Regionals

Students Jake Kelley and William Adams brought their referee skills to College Park, Maryland for the 23rd annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Flag Football Classic.

Showing impressive skills and commands during just their first semester of being a referee at Mason, they applied to the Regional Classic and were accepted. “Both Colby and Paul were very impressed in how well Jake and I were doing in the beginning of the semester and asked us if we would like to apply to ref in this regional tournament at Maryland,” junior William Adams said. “We jumped on board so we applied and got accepted.”

Both Kelley and Adams became interested in becoming a referee from their love and experiences playing sports. Each has enjoyed the opportunities being a referee has presented them.

“I love it, honestly. I played football for my whole high school career. I was on the players side of it and now I am on the referee side of it which is very cool because I get to stay involved with the game,” sophomore Jake Kelley said. “It is just a lot of fun. It is a really cool way to meet new people. I have made a lot of great friends so far and it has brought me great opportunities like Maryland.”

NIRSA, also known as the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, hosted the Regional Football Classic over a three-day span from November 9th to the 11th at the University of Maryland. Nearly 40 teams were present from all across the Mid-Atlantic and Washington D.C area.

Referees from many different universities were also in attendance at the Regional Classic. Kelley and Adams were able gain other referees’ perspectives and learn from their peers. “It was a great experience. It was great to hear advice on how to be a better official from people who came from all these different places,” said Adams, who has also been a referee for futsal, soccer and volleyball at Mason.

Not only were they able to showcase their skills but they were able to learn new ones too. “It made me more confident in my calls and things like that. They were able to critique me on my positioning on the field and hand signals for a certain call or a certain situation where maybe a foul was not necessary but was called,” explained Kelley, who plans on becoming a referee for basketball and softball this semester at Mason. “It definitely affected my whole persona on the field.”

A lot of their early success was credited towards Mason’s training program for referees. “Our training was very well done. I knew the rules going in and whenever someone had a question about something, I could easily tell them this is how it is suppose to be enforced and so on. The fundamentals on where you should be position-wise and stuff like that was solely because of the training. It definitely benefited me,” explained Adams.

Above all, the two saw it as an honor representing Mason on a regional level. “I was honored to be able to do it. We represented the school and it was a really cool experience and I got to talk to a lot of people from different schools and see how their programs do it. It was a good learning experience for Mason’s program,” Kelley said. Adams also took this opportunity as a reward for his hard work. “I take it as a great honor that my bosses recognized me and how hard I was working and how quickly I was picking up on things. I felt very fortunate that I was selected,” said Adams, who plans to be a referee for basketball and softball during the spring semester.

Both Kelley and Adams said as they gain more experience, they hope to move even further in the referee rankings.

Story by: James Zembriski