Remembering Alex Newsome

As I was reading Pam Sander's tribute to Alex Newsome in today's STARNEWS (04/18/14), I could not help but think back a couple of weeks to an article by Tom Grady in his “Sports Notes (03/25/14).” His article, “Physics is an important part of the game in all sports,” addresses the need to understand the importance of properties like speed, trajectory, velocity, momentum, mass, projectiles, friction, etc. when playing games involving balls. Mr. Grady points out that everything about sports involves physics and that he uses soccer practice to teach physics lessons.

Sadly, my question then becomes “did all the boys understand that a ball, the size of a baseball and traveling at a certain speed, could have such velocity to kill a teammate?” I have a 13 year old grandson who plays baseball as a seventh grader in Indiana and his dad is a volunteer coach. If I called my grandson and asked him if he thought a baseball hit by one of his teammates could kill a fellow player, would he understand that it could happen? I would like to think that my son and the other coaches spend some time imparting information to the players on how powerful a baseball can be when struck by a bat. Unfortunately, I think that in Indiana, like here, it probably never occurs to them to actually point out the physics of the game.

It is commendable the efforts that are planned to remember the life of this young athlete. I congratulate the baseball teams across our district that could put aside school rivalries in order to celebrate Alex Newsome by wearing special shirts. I am impressed by the compassion that has been shown by the Hoggard baseball team for the the younger Roland-Grise players. I appreciate the efforts that are being made by the New Hanover County Schools to comfort parents, teachers, and students by providing grief counselors as they try to come to grips with their feelings and worries. I am impressed with the amount of media coverage that has been given this tragedy. The outpouring of this community is inspiring.

Also, I can not imagine the pain being felt by the young player who hit the ball or the coaches who were responsible for the players. As in all situations, there are always questions. Hopefully with review, better procedures can be found and implemented for the future. Unfortunately, the public has a short memory, events can be forgotten, shirts will be put away, and again the powerfulness of that struck baseball will not necessarily be understood.

So maybe a more lasting tribute to and remembrance of Alex Newsome would be to infuse physics lessons into the playing of sports. A campaign to bring physics to all young players in order for them to understand the forces at work during a game or a practice. For example, the rule about wearing a helmet while batting would not be followed because the coach said so, but because of understanding the speed and velocity of the ball coming at them.

Like in understanding the physics of the game, wearing special equipment will also have to start when the players are young. In the STARNEWS article (04/19/14), “Head gear for baseball players still evolving,” it is discussed that changes to equipment will only come after players have grown-up with the new protection.

In addition let's not depend just on the public schools to get this information out to all people. Local agencies like the New Hanover County Public Library, the Cape Fear Museum, YMCA, YWCA, etc. need to also join the campaign. Local organizations already work to get the public aware of the need for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Let's tie safety in sports to the understanding of scientific principles. It's a win-win for everyone.