March is an exciting time in the college sports world. The madness is about to erupt. After months of preparation the entire college hockey world awaits selection Sunday. However, as important and exciting that is to me, there is a more widely recognized and commercial March Madness. The NCAA basketball tournament is comprised of 65 teams, 31 automatic invites based on league championships, and then surrounded by the best 34 teams in Division 1 basketball. Selection Sunday is an exciting time for many, a stressful one for others, and a disappointing end for many. Coaches, players, fans, and alumni root on there favorite team from October on in hopes of having there name announced on or around 6pm EST on Selection Sunday.
This past Sunday the field of 65 was announced, and there were a few teams jubilated to hear there name announced. The Arizona Wildcats had stressed since being eliminated from there conference tournament and the automatic bid went out the window. As they sat as a team on Sunday that had hoped they did enough to convince the committee that they were worthy of be an NCAA contender. As the time approached the stress level was rising and then the moment came. Arizona was in the tournament. The coach had commented that his team released the stress by dancing and jumping on chairs and tables. The ecstatic coach replied jokingly with if they had played with this emotion during season then selection Sunday could have been a peaceful one and not stressful, because they would have been confident that they had earned a berth in the NCAA tournament.
On the other hand, we look at a team such as St. Mary’s. This is a team who is in a mid major conference where only one or two teams make the NCAA tournament per year. St. Mary’s had one 26 games compared to only 6 losses. At the beginning of the year the team knew that they needed to schedule a tough out of conference schedule to be considered fort the tournament. Many felt that St. Mary’s had accomplished the goal and deserved a trip to the NCAA tournament. As the team sat around on Sunday watching and waiting I can only imagine the frustration and stress on the part of the team and university when there name was not announced. They were one of the last few teams eliminated and it is felt that they were bumped out by teams such as USC and Mississippi St who made the tournament based on there league championship and had no shot otherwise. As I sat home Sunday night watching ESPNU I could see the stress and frustration on Dick Vitale a well respected analyst in the college basketball world. He showed how much he cared for this team and what the program had gone through to compile a successful season only for it to be ripped away. As Dick and many others are adamant that St. Mary’s deserved a chance, there is an equal group taking the opposite stance saying that St. Mary’s did not do enough to deserve a chance.
Now that the field is set the stress levels of all involved can continue to rise. This is the fun stress that causes the excitement that we know of as March Madness. With a one and done tournament setting any team could win on any given night and therefore the bracket becomes unpredictable. Over the next several weeks one by one teams will battle on the hardwood until only one stands, and he can call himself an NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball NATIONAL CHAMPION.

This year Humboldt has signed on to become a sponsor for the March of Dimes- March for Babies. For those of you who might not know, the March of Dimes is a terrific organization dedicated to helping to save premature and sick babies. Premature birth is the #1 cause of newborn death and the biggest threat to babies’ health today, and through March for Babies, the March of Dimes is funding important research to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it. We are happy to be involved with such a moving cause and to be able to help reduce the stress of all the families who are in this situation.

How can you help? Well I am glad you ask. You can help in one of several ways:

• You can join our team on May 5th at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston and walk with us. To join just visit our team website by clicking here and select “Join This Team”.
• You can start walk as an individual or start your own team by visiting the March for Babies website.
• Or you can support the Humboldt team and help us achieve our fundraising goal of $3,500 by donating right online.  DONATE NOW

Thank you all for helping Humboldt and the March of Dimes to reduce the stress of premature babies everywhere!

There are a wide variety of stressors in people’s lives today. It is how you handle these stressors that can have a positive or negative affect on ones life. In my day to day life I have a variety of stress at work and in my personal life that I handle with care. Overall I have one main stress reliever that takes my mind away from everything. Once a week I go and run around for an hour playing indoor soccer. When I am on the field I am focused on one goal, and that is to win. During the week, I worry about work, planning a wedding, buying a house, school work, or even how is my favorite sports team doing. To me it is important that when any one of these situations or a combination cause stress in my life I need to handle it in the calmest way possible. As a leader I do not want to show any signs of lingering because I like to lead by example and if the leader is showing signs of stress then others may tend to follow.
As each week progresses there is a different source of stress. Yet, there is one common theme of stress reduction, and that is physical activity. When running down the field the stress or work, and the school work is flying out of my mind and I am focused on winning the ball. The overflows and accounting assignment are the last thing on my mind. I find that this is a good way to rejuvenate my mind to finish out the week strong. It is convenient that my games tend to fall on Wednesdays. The work week is half way there and school is coming up the next night. I have a forum where I can release my stress in a healthy manner. I encourage the every person find a hobby that they greatly enjoy which is not associated with any form of stress. This is a good way to concentrate on all aspects of life with all you might.