09 November 2017

Hockey & Birth Month: Why it matters in representing Canada at World Juniors but not the Olympics

I have recently been on a Malcolm Gladwell fix, and I have finished three of his five books. I am not reading his works in order, as I have just finished his latest book, Outliers (an excellent read which I recommend).

In the opening chapter of his book he argues that it isn't necessarily skill that gives a hockey player a chance to play on an all-star team, but rather their birth date. He argues that a player born closer to the days after the age cut-off are at a higher advantage.

Which when you think about the younger years, being born in January or February is a decided physical advantage over someone born 10-11 months later in November or December. It all makes sense.

However, I am not someone to just believe what an author says and decided to crunch my own numbers.

Junior Hockey

I looked at the birth month of each player named to Team Canada's Junior team since 2012, that's six years worth of data, to see if Mr. Gladwell's theory was accurate.

Here is the chart, by number of players born in each month.


There definitely seems to be a trend here, with the months of January to July all having 10 or more players born in that month. With March being the peak at 23.

Another way to look at it is by quarters.


This shows that an astounding 73% of Team Canada's players have been born in the first six months of the year. Shockingly, only 9% in the last three months. Sorry to those born in October to December, the chances of you having a chance to represent Canada at the World Juniors is slim.

Ok, so this confirms the theory, right? Absolutely, at the junior level.

I thought I would take it one step further and look at Team Canada's Olympic squad.

Olympics

Looking at the five squads since NHL players were included in the Olympics in 1998, this is what I found.


There isn't a peak near the start of the year, in fact, the peak is between April and October. Notice how July now pops out.

Then this is how it is broken into quarters.


The two larger pieces are quarters two and three. In fact, quarter one (when it is argued players born in those months have the advantage) is the smallest.

Also, it is an exact 50/50 split. Showing that representing Canada at the Olympic level doesn't favour players born early in the calendar year, rather the middle six months.

Now I know what you are saying, that the age cutoff may have been different for those who represented Canada in 1998. Absolutely.

So here is what 2010 birth quarters were:


And here is 2014:


As we can see in 2014, there is a favor to the first two quarters, but still in both years, 2010 and 2014, it is the middle quarters that make the larger sum.

Discussion

Unfortunately to the NHL not participating in the 2018 Olympics we may not be able to answer this question, if the tred will continue.

Here are some arguments for why there is such a gap in data, from World Juniors to Olympics.

First is age. World Juniors features 17-20 year olds, when a 12 month age gap makes a huge difference, in terms of time on planet earth. Whereas for the Olympics, it is 30 years, and by then every adult male has reached their peak physique, leveling the playing field.

Second is just the discussion we had, that maybe the 2018 and 2022 teams will show more of a trend towards the first six months, especially since hockey has become more streamlined in the past two decades.

Third comes down to personality. Those born earlier on are given the silver spoon, a lot more opportunities, and sometimes gifted ice time. Once they make the big leagues and have to earn their spot, it may come as a shock - since everything has been so simple before. Where as those born later in the year have had to work hard from the get-go, and know how to work hard. So when it comes to the adult years, and the Olympic squad - you have a combination of those that have been given opportunities and respected that combined with players that have fought for opportunities.

Fourth, and this is from my mother, Olympians have raw talent and physique that just can't be beat.

Conclusion

I am sure there are more potential explanations, but in conclusion, we can see that the argument Mr Gladwell made is definitely accurate for the junior years, but not so accurate for the olympians.

11 September 2017

ReMoved - Film on children being in Foster Care

This movie is intense and brings to light many emotions that children feel when in foster care. This is American based and therefore differs slightly from the Canadian system, but the emotions are the same. Below is the preview for the film, if you would like to watch the clips you can download the license for the film, or watch them from the website, https://www.removedfilm.com/pages/watch.

04 August 2017

Steps to Emotional Coaching


There are five steps to emotional coaching within the emotion-focused family therapy approach, and they are:

  1. Attend to the emotion
  2. Name it (put it into words)
  3. Validate the emotion
  4. Meet the emotional need
  5. Fix/problem solve
Often we tend to jump to fixing it, and then do the other steps.

27 July 2017

Positive Psychology for Daily Life


I'm offering for the first time with the College of the Rockies Positive Psychology for Daily Life.

It is a three hour crash-course in Positive Psychology.

Course Description
Why do you always try to “fix” what’s wrong or weak? Focusing on the positive attributes is not what we tend to do. If you condition yourself to focus on your strengths instead of your weaknesses and positives instead of the negatives you can start improving your positive psychology. Learn how to incorporate five ingredients of well-being on a daily basis: positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

UPCOMING COURSES
September 27, 2017 at College of the Rockies Cranbrook Campus
November 25, 2017 at College of the Rockies Cranbrook Campus

26 July 2017

According to science, this is when we peak in different skills and attributes

This is a chart that is just fun to look at and create discussion. The data isn't necessarily accurate as it isn't done by samples, rather by users and submissions - so not really science. Nonetheless, read away.
Article here. Original "studies" here.

22 July 2017

How to spot a good therapist


From Psychology Today, they listed 10 ways to spot a good psychotherapist regardless of therapeutic approach.

Here is a snap shot of the ten items.

  1. Good therapy is not friendship
  2. Good therapy is evidence based
  3. Good therapy affirms the clients basic human dignity and worth
  4. Good therapy encourages and models accurate, honest, and timely feedback in communication
  5. Good therapy = good therapeutic alliance
  6. Good therapy encourages the clients idependence and competence
  7. Good therapy considers the clients history and biography
  8. Good therapy takes into account the clients subjective experience and inner world
  9. Good therapy happens when the client does the work
  10. Good therapy offers support, requires learning, and facilitates action

Please go here for the full article.

20 July 2017

18 July 2017

Apparently Guardians of the Galaxy has the most on-screen deaths

According to a study by Go Compare, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) has the most onscreen deaths (see full list here). The movie contains 83,871 deaths, including the 80,000 Nova pilots at the end. That's an astounding 693 deaths per minute! Even if you removed the 80,000; the movie would sit second on the list.

It is also interesting to note that four of the top five body counts are PG-13 movies. This could lead to an interesting discussion if number of deaths should be included in movie ratings, not just how the death happens.

A quick eye-test also suggests there are more deaths in recent movies than older movies. But I can't say definitively.

15 July 2017

Oppositional Defiance or Faulty Neuroception? @monadelahooke


I'm not a believer in the Oppositional Defiance Disorder because it is not organic, rather how the individual is perceived. Dr. Mona Delahooke made a case for this argument on her blog. If there is one part, early on in her piece that I fully agree with, is that "defiance" is often a way for a child to maintain order in their fragile environment.

Here is a teaser from her article:

Over the years I have come to believe that oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is not a label that should be used to describe young children. As a developmental psychologist, I view oppositional defiance as a child’s response to stress. Viewing children’s challenging behaviors on a continuum of stress and stress recovery reveals a whole new way to think about this stigmatizing disorder, as well as a new way to support children, informed by neuroscience.

Consider the case of Timmy, an 8 year-old boy in the foster care system, who was diagnosed with ODD when he was four years old. His numerous behavioral treatment plans seldom improved his oppositional behaviors. Prone to constantly disagree, run away and hit others, the child had been placed in three different foster homes in a single year. At school, after he found out that a beloved PE teacher was suddenly transferred, he refused all class work and eventually threw over his desk, frantic, when the teacher asked him to line up for lunch.

Oppositional defiance? Hardly.

Read the rest here.

13 July 2017

Creating a routine that supports good mental health


Sharon Martin, a liscened clinical social worker, shared tips on how to create a routine that supports good mental health. Here are the highlights:

  • A set bedtime and wakeup time
  • A healthy breakfast
  • Time to blow off steam
  • Exercise
  • Taking medications at the sametime daily
  • Prioritize your to-do list
  • Appreciate what's good in your life
  • Adequate sleep
  • Fun and simple pleasures
  • Build and enjoy your relationships


11 July 2017

Safe Infant Sleep Habits


BC Council For Families outlined some of the unsafe infant sleeping habits, and how it is becoming a public health concern (Read here). Instead of focusing on negatives, let's focus on what to do (as outlined be Erica Simmonds in the article):

Safe sleeping practices 
  • Place infants to sleep on their backs 
  • Place infants to sleep in proper sleeping attire 
  • Ensure infants are sleeping in crib, cradle or bassinet that meets regulation standards, and is properly put together 
  • Ensure there is no loose bedding, such as pillows, toys or blankets 
  • Do not place toys, cords or cables within reach

29 June 2017

Being a Committed and Present as a Parent

The following is a talk I gave at my church on June 18, 2017.

************

Father's day is a confusing day for me. Our early years are foundational for each and every one of us. That when I think of fathers day, I flashback to kindergarten and grade one. I can see my friends and classmates excitedly working on crafts for their fathers, while I  am awkwardly making another "mothers day" craft. But then I come to the present and think of the wonderful handmade crafts that my children made for me, and the hugs, kisses and laughs this morning, and I am filled with joy.

Unfortunately though, my every day work-life reinforces and confirms my early years experience, and my perceptions of fatherhood. I co-facilitate a parenting program for parents of children aged 0-6. Since September 2014 we have had 61 participants in the group, and only six of those have been dads. Then I think of my clients, several of them are in care, and many of them come from broken homes where a dad is not present or available. I then take this negative reinforced view and apply it to the world around me, which isn't such a great thing to do.

I have, and continue to fact check my perception, and it is incorrect. In 1986, according to Statistics Canada, one out of two dads were involved at home. This number has increased to two out of three dads in 2015. Plus, the recent East Kootenay Addictions Survey on East Kootenay youth indicated that 64% of youth live with both birth parents. So my perception is obviously wrong, and I need to adjust it.

But what makes this Fathers Day particularly confusing for me is that it is the first Fathers Day since my birth father passed away from alcoholism last summer. A man that I have not seen since I was younger than my own children. I have from him a letter that he wrote on a type-writer that I have had with me since as long as I can remember. One piece that continuously sticks out to me is how he ends the letter, "Live long and prosper" - so I know where I get my nerdiness from. In the letter though, he says that he loves me three times. As a child this was confusing, because if you loved me, wouldn't you be around to be my father.

This makes me think of a program that I am involved in at work where we support children and youth who have complex trauma and disrupted attachment history, we are intentionally encouraging caregivers of these children to use the word committed instead of love. While commitment is a part of love, it's not always present when some says I love you. Because when we have children, it is a commitment.

President Monson stated the following: "Perhaps when we face our maker, we will not be asked 'how many positions did you hold?' But rather 'how many people did you help?"

Elder Oaks added to this by saying: "A familiar example of losing ourselves in the service of others is the sacrifice parents make for their children. Mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and rear each child. Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family."

That is commitment.

I would like to address a couple of ways that Satan tries to destroy the family, or at least make us less effective in rearing children. Which by the way, are spirit children, just like us, to Heavenly Father.

First I would like to focus briefly on Contention.

I recently conducted a survey on over 1,000 divorced members. The top two reasons for divorce were: emotional abuse and infidelity. Next were related to growing apart. (Did you know couples know each other the most at two years and one month, and then the least at 40 years and 11 months).

In the For Strength of Youth we read: "Strong families require effort.... Be cheerful, helpful, and considerate of family members. Many problems in the home come from family members speaking and acting selfishly and unkindly. Seek to be a peacemaker rather than to tease, fight, and quarrel."

President Ezra Taft Benson also said:  "A father’s duty is to make his home a place of happiness and joy. He cannot do this when there is bickering, quarreling, contention or unrighteous behavior. The powerful effect of righteous fathers in setting an example, disciplining and training, nurturing and loving is vital to the spiritual welfare of his children. "

Next let's talk a little about Pride.

Of those divorced members that I surveyed, nearly one third refused to seek any professional help.

Pride, to me, is also known as a white knight on a white horse syndrome, the desire to not be weak. Brene Brown, a guru on shame and vulnerability, shared the following experience:

"I did not interview men for the first four years of my study. It wasn't until a man looked at me after a book signing, and said, "I love what say about shame, I'm curious why you didn't mention men." And I said, "I don't study men." And he said, "That's convenient."

And I said, "Why?" And he said, "Because you say to reach out, tell our story, be vulnerable. But you see those books you just signed for my wife and my three daughters?" I said, "Yeah." "They'd rather me die on top of my white horse than watch me fall down.""

I sometimes feel that this type of perspective is reinforced accidentally when fathers read The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It states that "fathers are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families." It's easy to see the draw of the white horse when that one part is the only section on fatherhood cited. When in actuality, it later says that fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. That means dads can and should help in the nurturing of children. Think of it like a board or video game, this is often what I tell dads, that your primary weapon is to provide and protect, your secondary weapon is to nurture.

Elder Ballard said: "There is no other relationship quite like that which can and should exist between a boy [and I would also add daughter] and their dad."

Which leads me to my next item, Relationships.

In a ground breaking study with baby rhesus monkeys, scientists put two wire moms in a cage with the baby monkey. One mom was just wire and food, the other was covered in soft material. The hypothesis at the time was that the baby would spend more time with the mom that had food. Which was incorrect, the baby spent the most time with the comfortable mother than the one with the food. And would only eat when really hungry.

Brain research is showing that in order to build healthy brains, healthy emotional relationships are needed.

A scriptural example that I can think of that addresses this principal is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke when a father brings his son to be healed, and I will be bouncing between the three gospels in recounting this moment. I should note that in each of the Gospel's they have a slightly different diagnosis for the son, from lunatic to sick - either way, this boys brain is in need of help.

In the scriptures we read:

There came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying: Lord, have mercy on my son.

Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

And straightway the father cried out, Lord, I believe. (Not wanting to fall off the white horse. That desire to be a protector and not be weak) [The saviour sees through this, and the Father says] Help thou my unbelief (the father looses his pride, and becomes vulnerable)

Jesus then took the boy by the hand, lifted him up and he was healed.

Every time I read this, I think of how committed this father was to his son to have him healed by the Savior.

Lastly, is parenting in the moment, and some of the distractions that get in the way.

There was this husband and wife therapist combo, Fritz and Laura Perls that developed a psychotherapy called Gestalt Therapy, which simply put, it emphasizes personal responsibility in the the experience of the moment. It at times is a very annoying approach because the therapist points out everything that is happening in the moment for the client, "you keep tapping your fingers against the chair" "do you notice that your bouncing your leg" "how come you keep looking to the side of the room" "you are fidgeting again" "your face is scrunched" and so on, and tries to help the client find ownership for what is happening in the moment.

Now while this therapy did not establish and is neither the foundation for mindfulness, truly living in the moment, it was the start of the movement or realization of how humans tend to live passively, not owning what happens in the moment. Plus, that we focus more on what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future, instead of being present right now.

While focusing on the past tends to lean towards a type of depressed or sadness type personality, and a focus on the future is closer to a fear or anxiety type personality - I don't want to get too much into that mental health component - but rather that while more parents than ever are engaged in parenting, they are even more likely to be distracted or disengaged from the moment, most often by technology.

Everyone knows that I like technology, and I do believe it has a place in our modern world. But because of my fondness of tech, when Elder Ballard spoke last September about technology at a regional devotional and mentioned Pokemon Go, I heard a lot about this talk. (Interestingly, when you start typing Elder Ballard into Google, Pokemon Go is the recommended autocomplete - which means Elder Ballard and Pokemon Go are a commonly searched topic.)

Elder Ballard said: "Now someone has found one more way to keep family members occupied away from what matters most,” Elder Ballard continues. “It’s something called ‘Pokemon Go.’ I don’t understand this, and don’t ask me anything about it. I just know one thing is that young people, and maybe a lot of old people, they look down on their smartphones, trying to find Pokemon, I guess, instead of looking up to see the beautiful creations of God’s wonderful world"

Just think about this quote for a moment. While most were quick to blame Pokemon Go, understandably, how often do we look down at our cell phones for emails, texts, Facebook, Musicly, Snap Chat, Twitter, Instagram and many other notifications - instead of looking up to see God's creations: nature, wildlife, and children.

I'm just going to use myself as an example. I have an app called quality time that tracks the apps I use and the amount of time spent on my device. I consider myself a medium device user. And since I began tracking my use in December I have used my device as much as 26 hours in a week, and as low as 16 hours in a week. That means if I put all my cell phone use together, I spend a waking day or a whole day on it during a week.

Now of course I can use the excuse that I use my phone for work, which I do, and that I get paid to be on social media - but that's just one social media platform - and both of those really don't account for more than 30% of my smartphone use. So when Elder Ballard says "...one more way to keep family members occupied away from what matters most." It makes an impact.

It also makes me wonder if I don't fully understand what President Benson taught, that "A fathers calling is eternal and it's importance transcends time"

Now my hope has not been to bring shame or guilt, or to come across as perfect, I just shared that I spend 1/7th of my week on my cellphone.

I share these so that you don't end up like my birth-father, a man that's only impression on my entire life was a letter, instead be a committed parents in building relationships, being in the moment, and being peaceful and selfless.

I know that parenting, and fatherhood is a sacred responsibility that can bring us closer to our Saviour and Heavenly Father.


Amen