by Charlotte Wilson | Feb 24, 2014 | Mormons in the News
Jessika Jenson hails from Rigby, Idaho, and grew up snowboarding as well as dirt biking, wakeboarding, and mountain biking. Snowboarding, though, is her specialty.
Jessika first started snow sports skiing at a local resort and switched to snowboarding when she was only 10 years old. Since then she took her training into her own hands and entered every open competition she could. She started competing when she was 14 and found open competitions at local resorts like Kelly Canyon and Grand Targhee. Jessika’s talent made her a notable contender, and she quickly rose in the rankings.
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by Charlotte Wilson | Feb 3, 2014 | Mormons in the News
The 2014 Winter Olympics begin in Sochi, Russia, in just a couple of short weeks. Tyler Anderson, a luger who’s been training for the Olympics almost his entire adolescence, decided to table his Olympic ambitions to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a faith often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church). Why would someone with so much athletic talent give up a chance to compete in the Olympics? The answer is simple: Tyler felt he was needed elsewhere.[1]
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by Keith L. Brown | Jan 30, 2014 | About Mormons
Darrell Bevell was born on 6 January 1970 in Yuma, Arizona. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others). He is a returned missionary, having served two years in Cleveland, Ohio.
Bevell is also a four-year collegiate starting quarterback for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently wrapping up his third season as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, and the big news is that he is headed to Super Bowl XLVIII.
A True Football Legend
Bevell graduated from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. After high school he attended Northern Arizona University (NAU) where he redshirted as a freshman quarterback under offensive coordinator, Brad Childress. Shortly after that, he left for his two-year LDS mission.
He had received scholarship offers from NAU and Utah, but made the decision to play for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin-Madison. In 1993, he was named starting quarterback, and led the Badgers to become “co-champions of the Big Ten and securing the school’s first Rose Bowl invitation since 1963” [1] with a year-end record of 10-1-1. The team ended the season with their first ever Rose Bowl victory by defeating the UCLA Bruins in the 1964 Rose Bowl with a final score of 21-16. (more…)
by Keith L. Brown | Nov 30, 2013 | About Mormons
Concussions are a big topic of discussion in the world of sports, in particular in the sport of football. Statistics show that there are between an estimated 1.6 and 3.8 million sports-related concussions in the United States every year, and athletes ages 16 to 19 sustain 29% of all sports-related concussions.
There are distinct differences in age when it comes to managing sport related concussions. Recent research demonstrates that high school athletes not only take longer to recover after a concussion when compared to collegiate or professional athletes, but they also may experience greater severity of symptoms and more neurological disturbances as measured by neuropsychological and postural stability tests. It is also estimated that 53% of high school athletes have sustained a concussion before participation in high school sports, and 36% of collegiate athletes have a history of multiple concussions. [2]
To better understand the impact of a hit that a football player receives on the field (which often leads to other serious injuries), Jake Merrell, a Brigham Young University (BYU) graduate student in mechanical engineering, has developed a “smart foam” that fits inside of a football helmet.
“Smart Foam” – An Impact Detection System and Alert System for Coaches
While searching for a way to measure the amount of impact inside a football helmet, Merrell discovered that when he combined nanoparticles to a foam substance similar to that found inside a football helmet, when compressed, the two created an electric current. The “Smart Foam” system is a combination of foam and motion sensors that measures the acceleration and force of impact that a player receives to his head, and transmits that data to a tablet or computer. It also sends a warning to sideline coaches that there has been a concussion-level hit. In a recent press statement Merrell stated, “A coach will know within seconds exactly how hard their player just got hit. Even if a player pops up and acts fine, the folks on the sidelines will have data showing that maybe he isn’t OK.” [3] Merrell has plans to submit his project to the Head Health Challenge in which the “NFL is collaborating with G.E. and Under Armour to spend $60 million researching and developing new helmet technologies.” [4] (more…)
by Keith L. Brown | Nov 15, 2013 | Famous Mormons
Todd Jay Christensen, an American football player who played in the National Football League from 1978 until 1988, was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Ned Jay and June Christensen on 3 August 1956. During his career as a professional football player, he spent most of his time playing tight end for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders. He became well known as “The Renaissance Man” because of his varied interests.
An Athletic Prowess
When Todd was born, his father was pursuing a doctorate degree at Pennsylvania State University. His father taught in West Virginia for a time, and when Todd was 5 years of age, the family relocated to Eugene, Oregon, where his father was offered a job as a professor.
Todd was athletically gifted from a very young age. By the age of 9 he had already set world records in track and field. He had originally hoped to continue excelling in track and field, but by the time he reached puberty and adolescence, he soon discovered that although his mind was set on one goal, his body had other ideas. “Puberty and adolescence helped me realize that I was not as fast as I had thought,” he recalled. “My body went a different direction and that was when I started leaning towards football.” [1]
He graduated from Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, and later attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. While attending BYU, from 1974 to 1977, he was a starter at running back. In 1977, he led the team for three consecutive seasons as a receiver, and was an All-Western Athletic Conference selection. His career numbers at BYU are impressive: 152 receptions, 1,568 yards, and 15 touchdowns. He graduated from BYU in 1978 with a degree in social work and soon embarked on a professional career in football. (more…)
