4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
JOHNSON (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
play sports, he said, but it was rather a domino effect after the oldest son, Damion, began playing soccer at a young age.
"There was a certain amount of momentum that built up from one child to the other" Jerry said. "They were all natural at it."
Jerry was also an avid sports player while growing up in Washington. After high school, he traveled overseas with the Peace Corps. Later he spent seven years in Mali, where he met Djeneba. Jerry had one kid and Djeneba had two, and the couple had seven more together after moving to Fort Collins.
But supporting a family of 12 wasn't always easy, especially with 10 kids constantly playing sports. Sacrifices were necessary for the family to get by.
"They couldn't have a lot of the material things that their friends had." said jerry.
So when Estelle begged her father to take her to a club soccer tryout when she was 10, he was reluctant. But she tried out and made the team. Through working with coaches and hitching rides with other families, she was able to play with the squad.
"I'd bike to practice every day and I'd ride to games with a teammate or something," Estelle said. "We definitely did a lot of carpooling."
Later, an individual sponsor came through to help cover her club soccer expenses. Many of the Johnson kids benefited from sponsors who supported their club sports endeavors.
"We've been really blessed with having people see our situations and know that we have potential," Esther said.
Each kid played three or four different sports, according to their father. But Jerry still managed to make it to nearly every single event his kids participated in. One particular Saturday, he traveled to seven different games in two different cities to watch all of his children play. Estelle's mother, however, didn't enjoy watching the games at all. Estelle said her mother has been to four of her games during her entire athletic career.
"she gets really scared that were going to get hurt," Estelle said.
Djenela concentrated on keeping the kids in line at home. Jerry said he was the one responsible for keeping order among all the kids.
"We had zero tolerance for any of the kids getting mad at each other very seriously," Jerry said. "Overall, there was absolutely no problem."
The close bond encouraged in the family remains strong. Even with all the kids moved out of the home, Jerry still speaks to each one nearly every day, and the kids are all in constant contact with one another. Estelle said catching up with family can quickly turn into a web of three-way calls and putting people on hold.
"It gets really chaotic," she said.
Weston White/KANSAN
But it is a chaos that has supported Estelle throughout her life. She and her siblings are aware of how imperative their family has been to their success.
"All of us have learned from each other," Esther said. "We know we're very very lucky to have each other and to be as close as we are."
Despite her family's struggles, Estelle wouldn't have had it any other way.
"When you have that much of a support system," she said, "it's hard not to love it."
Estelle Johnson prepares for a kick in the game against Long Beach State last Friday. Johnson played soccer with her nine siblings as a child.
- Edited by Samantha Foster
Before the 2005 season, Ault installed the pistol as Nevada's primary offensive formation. And Ault said the running back's ability to start "deeper" — or farther behind the line of scrimmage — is the offense's biggest advantage.
PISTOL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
During the winter, coach Mark Mangino watched tape of Ault's pistol offense. After talking with Warriner — and after talking with teams that run the formation — the hawkaws decided to install the
Players said Kansas practiced the offense routinely throughout the offseason.
"I didn't have anything better to do this summer so I thought I'd look at something different," Mangino joked. "We're not going to make a living doing it. But it's a good change-up for us."
TENNIS
Facing Northern Colorado, Kansas consistently used the pistol formation. And the results seemed
pistol this season.
"It it allows us to get downhill a little faster and see blocks develop differently on certain plays we like to run out of it," freshman running back Toben Opurum said. "But it really helps because when you throw different formations and personnel at the defense, it's hard for them to stop that."
to verify its effectiveness in the running game: The Jayhawks rushed for 328 yards.
"That's the way our offense is," senior wide receiver Kerry Meier said. "We keep on evolving."
But the formation also creates another added offensive wrinkle that opposing defenses must prepare for. In the spread-heavy Big 12, teams are always searching for new aspects to add on offense.
Mangino said that some of
Kansas' tricks and plays involving the pistol formation were left on the practice field to be unveiled at a later date. And quarterback Todd Reesing said the formation was one he expected the layhawks to continue using this season.
Edited by Tim Burgess
Still, the pistol's most enticing aspect still revolves around a rather simple idea: Place the running back up deeper in the formation to see the line of scrimmage better.
NYC filmmaker sues for in-game discrimination
State Supreme Court Justice Michelle Weston reserved decision on a request to allow Brooklyn filmmaker Alan Rich to record the wheelchair competition at this week's U.S. Open.
NEW YORK — A New York City documentary filmmaker sued the U.S. Tennis Association on Tuesday, claiming it discriminates against wheel-chair players by refusing to sell broadcast licensing rights to their matches.
The wheelchair division, which features 20 of the top players, begins competition Thursday and ends Sunday.
Rich, a lawyer who is representing himself and seven handicapped players in the case, has been filming a documentary about the players called "Fire in the Belly." He said his immediate goal is to be permitted to film the competition and later argue in court over whether the footage can be used in his documentary.
He contends that because the major networks covering the tournament—CBS, ESPN and the Tennis Channel—do not cover the wheelchair events, he should be given the rights.
"No doubt, many of us in society are not comfortable watching amputees in wheelchairs play sports yet," Rich said in his court papers. "While I do not fault the broadcasters for doing what, at present, they view as commercially viable, the USTA cannot have a policy that has the result of discriminating against these outstanding athletes with disabilities."
Associated Press
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"He could be a major factor for our team," Riley said. "I'm going to continue to show that kind of belief and faith in him."
"I was told this by somebody: Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future," Riley said. "You can't put yourself above and beyond anybody. We all have periods where things haven't gone our way for whatever reason, and we've
Several Heat teammates offered their support quickly through Twitter posts and reaching out to those in Beasley's circle. Riley said Dwyane Wade, the team's best player and the NBA's reigning scor-
Beasley finished his rookie season as Miami's second-leading scorer behind Wade, averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. The Heat plan for this season include using Beasley at both small forward and power forward, and Riley said that hasn't changed even though Beasley hasn't been around teammates for several weeks.
Beasley hopeful to rejoin team
Come Pre-Game @ THE DOME
Speaking about Beasley for the first time since the 20-year-old entered a Houston rehabilitation facility last month, Heat president Pat Riley said Tuesday that he "confident ... very confident" Beasley will have a strong season for Miami and insisted he still strongly believes in the No. 2 overall pick from the 2008 draft.
NBA
Beasley checked into the Houston facility sometime around Aug. 20. A series of posts on his Twitter account raised many concerns about his well-being, including one entry that said "I feel like the whole world is against me I can't win for losin."
MIAMI - Michael Beasley is in daily contact with the Miami Heat and is working out under the direction of team personnel, with plans of being with the team when training camp begins later this month.
TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press
Riley could not reveal specifics about the manner of treatment Beasley is receiving, citing privacy concerns. Those close to Beasley, including his personal manager Bruce Shingler, have said repeatedly in recent weeks that they are not willing to discuss the exact details of the treatment.
"I'm not going to forgive anybody's transgressions just merely because they're 20 years old." Riley said. "I think when you become a professional basketball player, a lot of things come at you a lot quicker than normal. There's a lot of things you may be able to handle or not handle."
all had an opportunity to grow. Because of what's happened in the past, we hope there's growth spurts for him."
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