Page 54 November 2 0 1 4 ARCADIA SPORTS By Nicholas Smith Olivia DeMichele admits that her parents may have started her in dancing to protect themselves as much as to benefit her. Olivia first started dancing when she was 3 years old. “I almost think they didn’t know what to do with me,” said Olivia. “I’ve always been very energetic, strong and outgoing, so they were hoping this would be good for me and tire me out.” It apparently didn’t work, as Olivia today maintains a schedule that would exhaust most people. She is a co-captain for the Spiritline at Arcadia High School. She also does choreography for the dance company at school, which puts on different types of school dances. When she’s off campus, she works on her dance at her studio, which she has been going to since she was a kid. Her favorite styles are tap and hip-hop. “I love every single style of dance,” she said. “I just enjoy being able to express myself. If I ever have a bad day, I can dance and everything is better.” Being co-captain on Spiritline is a full- time job for Olivia. The team’s coach has been sick to start the year, so Olivia and By Tina Tombs Here are two questions to ask yourself: 1. Why is a warm-up important? 2. What is it that you want to think about and do when you get ready to play? Remember, a warm-up is exactly what it sounds like: To warm up is to get loose; get your rhythm, tempo, balance and mind in a state that is ready to play your best round of golf that day. First you want to allow yourself time to prepare for the golf course on which you are playing. If you came from the office and don’t have time to warm up, the two most important things to do are to stretch with two golf clubs, and take golf swings and chip and putt to get the feel and pace of the greens. That way you save some strokes with your short game and develop feel for your golf swing. In this golf tip I will focus on a routine that I use – and many other tour players use – to prepare for a round of golf. If you can allow yourself a half-hour to warm up and use this routine, I know you will see better scores and feel more comfortable during your round of golf. You can always adjust if you want more time. 1. Stretch wrists, back and shoulders. 2. Putt longer putts first – 20, 30 and 40 footers. This gives you the feel and Warm-up before great round speed of the greens. You can putt to a tee or to the edge of the green. The goal is to get the right distance and develop a feel of the greens. At this time, you can also chip some to get the feel for your chipping. 3. Next is the range. Start with a pitching wedge. Allow yourself 10 balls to loosen up. Use a 7 or 6 iron, long iron or hybrid, fairway wood, then driver. This warm-up time is to get loose, and find your rhythm and timing, hit solid shots, see the target and be in balance. Incorporate your routine in your warm-up to play with the same intensity and consistency you will use in your round of golf. 4. Then go putt some short putts. If you have time, hit some bunker shots to test the sand on that golf course. 5. Now you have prepared yourself physically and mentally before your round. You have given yourself an opportunity to play your best round of golf! Hit it high and let it fly! Tina Tombs is the 2014 LPGA Central Section Teacher of the Year and Director of Instruction and an LPGA Tour Professional. Contact her at tina@tinatombsgolf.com. High energy leads to dance fellow co-captain Kathryn Chamberlin have taken on a much greater role in the Spiritline choreographing. They attend every football and basketball game and their job is to hype up the crowd, which includes the Chaos Corner, Arcadia’s student section. “The corner is much bigger than it’s been in past years,” said Olivia. “They get really into it and it makes cheer more enjoyable when other people are excited.” Olivia’s life will get even busier soon. She was chosen to be an assistant for tap dancing with the NRG Dance Project, which tours to different cities so that leading choreographers can teach students. “This is the first year I’ve done this and I’m very excited,” said Olivia. “I’ll be another set of feet for students to look at and I’m hoping to make some good connections through this opportunity.” Those connections could help Olivia achieve her future goals. She hopes to move to Los Angeles someday and work on the commercial side of dance. But she wants to attend school first, to dance and to major in either sports medicine or physical therapy. She feels like the injuries she has suffered through her career would help her relate to other dancers. 2902 N. 68th St. (68th st. and Thomas) 480-773-7706 giantscottsdale.com Introducing the bike that will keep up with your child’s growth spurts. “grow with Giant” technology allows the bike to “grow” as your child grows See the new Giant Amplify and Blossom bikes today Both boy’s and girl’s models available Includes training wheels Available in store now Easily accomodate riders ages 4-9 in just 5 minutes Alana, age 6 Kirsten, age 9

und