Motivational Movie Monday: Vic Vids

For a 💡dose🍊 of motivation:

My 👓Must-See👀 💿DVDs📀

  

Get Coached is a collection💾 of 🎬segments🎥 from 🌠winning🏆 🏉football🏈 📣coaches📢

• 4 NFL head coaches, including 2 Mikes ~ one (Singletary) who played for another Mike (Ditka) & the father (Buddy Ryan) of another featured coach (Rex Ryan), + another one (Sean Payton) who I actually reported on for one of my last doctoral classes
• The Florida State Seminoles former coach (Bobby Bowden)

 

I also am including how their speeches🎤 ~ which are relevant not just in terms of athletic leadership, but 👔corporate💼 🏣business, as well ~ tie in with the 🌈exemplary💭 leadership theory that I’m exploring in my doctoral🎓 📜dissertation.

📢Cheers👏🏽 to 🏉NFL🏈 Preseason I 🎊2015🎉 👟kickoff!

Study Saturday: Higher Ed Cred

Happy Belated #GenTX Day!

Yesterday, we celebrated our advocacy for higher ed in the State of Texas🏇 by sharing our college shirts on 📳social media ~ great timing before my school trip today!

This raised my awareness that I’ve been showing team spirit📢 a great deal lately!

Our Lady of the Lake University ~ where I’m finishing my PhD🎓 

Duke University ~ for Coach K‘s 5th NCAA🏆

 

 Texas Lutheran University ~ whose basketball🏀 team won the SCAC  

Cisco College ~ where I teach speech🎤 before my R.E. 💒 

Since I’m still surveying Texas student-athletes for my dissertation, NCAA players in the Southland Conference (Division I), Lone Star Conference (Division II), Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference (Division III) and NAIA Red River Conference can participate here!

2 for Tuesday Beauty: Go, BiG BLUE!

YES, more of my Cheer Gear is here!

Celebrating the Duke Blue Devils‘ NCAA ~ No. 5 for Coach K!

Great timing before I take my first research tour today, now that I can survey student-athletes in face-to-face for my PhD!

Oh, YES, I represent: right down to my earrings! That’s why my gym buds call me Bling!

 

I’m also portraying pride for the school where I teach!

Wrangler Up! This reminds me of when we had Mustang Day in April when I taught for TSTC.

 

Manic Monday: March Madness Motivation Edition ~ Coach K Wins 5th NCAA Today!

“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” ~ Vince Lombardi 🏈

That was a quote from a clue that appeared on today’s episode of Double Jeopardy! 📺

M is for …

March Madness * Motivational * Men’s Basketball * Magnificent Coach = Mike Krzyzewski

Coach K aims high: one and done, son! ☝️

The commentators for tonight’s close [insert here: 💅nail-biting😁, white-knuckling👊, edge-of-your-seat💺, screaming-when-you’ve-already-lost your-voice😱] NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball🏀 Championship described Coach K as magnificent.

A is for: Ability to Adapt and Adjust

These analysts also attributed this to Coach K.

Coach K now can count his NCAA championship titles on one full hand 👋

Now, more than ever, I’m confident that I chose the right topic for my doctoral🎓 dissertation📜 research because this amazing man was the one who affirmed it more in the first place and has served as a driving force behind my continued studies!

Coach K won five by five! 🙌

Aside from Coach K’s coaching leadership on the court and in the locker room for both college and pro ball that I’ve observed and studied*, I’ve admired him for the following reasons in which I can relate:

• He served our country🇺🇸, through the United States Army (I appreciate all of our veterans)
• He also is a devout🙏 Catholic💒

What a way for this senior to wrap up his college ball career! 👊

I must update my dissertation introduction, in which I mentioned that Coach K has led his Duke Blue Devils to four NCAA titles🏆 –> I now can revise it to FIVE!!! 

Also, my 😸Double A-Teammates😻 deserve credit as my good luck🍀 charms toward this championship because during most of the game when the Wisconsin Badgers led, I was working on school💻, and when I tuned in more during crunch and clutch time⏰, they joined me to cheer📢 on the young Devs that included majority freshmen in the starting line-up! 

YES, my Snow Angels go for the Blue Devils!

Lastly, I wish to point out that the very first paper that I wrote for my doctoral coursework compared the coaching styles of Coach K and his West Point coach, Bobby Knight ~ I’m proud that I aced🃏 it back then and proud of this team this whole season and tonight! 🌠

For the love of the team and the love of the game! 💝

*For more reasons why Coach K has the winning leadership recipe that champions both high performance and satisfaction, please read his books📚 and these studies📑 that I cited about him and Coach Knight, a.k.a. The General:

My Concept Map Bibliography (LEAD 9310, Oct. 21, 2008)

• Carpenter, M. (2001). Quotable general: Words of wisdom, motivation, & success by and about BOBBY KNIGHT, basketball’s unrivaled teacher. Nashville, TN: Towlehouse.
• Coach K.com. (2008). Coach K – The official web site of Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from http://www.coachk.com
• Feinstein, J. (1989). A season on the brink: A year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Klein, P. (2006). Management styles: Bob Knight vs. Coach K. Organizations and Markets.
• Krzyzewski, M. (2000). Leading with the heart. New York: Warner Books.
• Maresco, P. (2007). Leadership and recruitment: What leaders can learn from Coach Robert Montgomery Knight: A conceptual view. Academic Leadership, 5(1).
• Mellen, J. (1988). Bob Knight: His own man: The man behind the myth – on and off the court, 1^st ed. New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc.
• Plonsky, C. (2008). The softer side of Bobby Knight. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(24).
• Silverthorne, P. (2006). HBS cases: On managing with Bobby Knight and “Coach K.” HBS Working Knowledge.
• Sulek, R. P. (1990). Hoosier honor: Bob Knight and academic success at Indiana University. New York: Praeger.

Nothing but net! 🏀

Sports Sunday: Coach K Makes 1K!

L is for …

Leadership * Legendary * Legacy

Coach K: the first Men’s Division I coach to reach 1K victories!

That is exactly what Coach K exudes, and today, he took it to the highest level ~ as he exceeded 999 wins when his Duke Blue Devils excelled at Madison Square Garden and thundered past the St. John’s Red Storms.

Now he has joined the ranks of my fave female coach, Pat Summitt!

Congrats to my hero who made history on this Game Day!

Study Saturday: Time to Collect

It is official: my study has been approved!

Needless to say, when I was notified that I can commence my research, I was overjoyed and grateful to GOD. During every free moment, I have worked on my dissertation, from my concept proposal to my proposal defense to my research proposal ~ it surely has paid off!

Here is more information about my study:

I am surveying Texas student-athletes on their perceptions of how their college coaches’ leadership influences their academic and athletic performance, as well as their athlete satisfaction. Based on my own studies of leadership, this element is essential:

***VISION***

When I asked my former boss at the first college where I taught what she needed to complete her Ph.D., she pointed out to me:

***PERSEVERANCE***

When I asked my former office next door neighbor at that same school what got her through her terminal degree, she told out me:

***ENDURANCE***

… which also helped her with her first 5K race, which we randomly ran together!

{Top three inspirational photos and quotes from Dyess AFB Base Gym, where I’ve been exercising lately}

Cultural Diversity: Among the Many Blessings of Our World

Happy Belated MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Day! 

Thanks to the Reverend Doctor King, whose quotes you can find on my FB Fan Page, our world is more open to diversity to this day. Many of us have opportunities to offer our gifts from GOD and learn more about others’ cultures because MLK’s message continues to resonate…

One of GOD’s gifts that I offered was at Church this past weekend. That was when I was lector for the first time at my parish. The good LORD gave me strength as I stood before our congregation and proclaimed His Word from the Books of Isaiah and First Corinthians, as well as Psalm 40. Thank GOD for using me as His servant and instrument to speak through Him.

Also, thanks to GOD, I keep making progress with my dissertation study. Now that I may have an adequate amount of NCAA schools in Texas from whom I have approval to recruit student-athletes to participate in my research, my next step is to acquire approval from the my school, OLLU’s Institutional Review Board. All I can do is move forward…

Another way to move forward is to keep moving! There are plenty of ways to stay Pretty Fit, as I’ve recommended on the app. Even while you’re about to eat and waiting for your meal to be ready, you can stay on-the-move and in-the-groove! With Heart Disease Awareness and Black Heritage/History month coming up in February…

• Cook Light and Workout in the Kitchen!

FYI: Above link gives props to my mom’s cooking! 

2:22 ~ make a wish!!! 

LOVE is in the Air …

… Literally!!!

Healthy Life for YOU and Your Loved Ones

~*~ Happy 85th Birthday to the Late & Great REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ~*~

Our world most certainly has come a long way since the death of MLK over 45 years ago, and his legacy lives on. Now we’re a more integrated and global. Thanks to Dr. King’s dream of GOD’s people appreciating, welcoming and embracing diversity, those of us out there who are living in that vision are more open-minded to other cultures.

Throughout the Reverend King’s Birthday week and Martin Luther King Day and week, I’m posting quotes from this legendary advocate on Elaine Dispo – Rant Sports. Another relevant philosophy that I wish to draw to your attention comes from John 13:34-35:

… Love one another. As I have loved you…

Let us love GOD, His creatures and ourselves. With Valentine’s Day on the way in less than a month, I’ve encouraged my Pretty Fitsters to love themselves and those under their care.

• VS for VDay: Love Your Body, Pretty Fitsters and Youngsters

Here, I discuss the importance of living the Pretty Fit Way, which comes from leading a healthy and happy lifestyle for ourselves and our children. That being said, we must not consider exercise as a chore (here’s an idea: dance cardio during your chores), but rather, as an activity that we enjoy. Of course, the same goes for our kids, so we want them to choose workouts that they look forward to doing.

My GODdaughter Reyanna the Birthday Girl and I about to workout with her Zumba game on the Wii

When I mention our loved ones, I’m not just extending them to people, but to our own animal companions as well. For those of us who are pet parents, if we want our fun, furry, fuzzy family and friends to live long lives, then we also must ensure that they have health. I’ve had health scares for my big, almost eight-year-old cat, Asia, for the past few years. Exactly two weeks ago today, on New Year’s Day, I found our latest one (a growth on her front right paw), Upon taking her to her and my little sweet Annie’s clinic — Windmill Animal Hospital (which I consider as the BEST animal healthcareever) — Dr. Price concluded that Asia’s condition (corn) came from being overweight and prescribed her this metabolic diet for her to shed pounds without deprivation. 

Asia‘s latest doctor’s visit

Therefore, I have that typical New Year’s Resolution: to lose weight — not for myself, but for my older cat! Now this goal isn’t some form of vanity; it instead very much is an effort to lead her to a more active healthy life. Despite my disappointment in Asia’s sedentary nature and failed attempts to get her to exercise, Dr. Price pointed out that she may not be as playful as Annie because of her extra body mass preventing her from that ability, not necessarily resulting from an unwillingness. Since my Double A-Team can’t verbally voice their desires, I must look out for their best interest without them telling me.

Looks like Annie wants the diet more than Asia does

Meanwhile, one way that I’m taking care of myself is by making progress with my dissertation. If any of you are connected with college administrators in the state of Texas, please network them to me as I’m seeking approval from NCAA-affiliated schools to recruit participants in my research. For my study, I plan to survey student-athletes, so here is my memo below:

To: College Administration
From: Elaine J. Dispo
Date: January 1, 2014
RE: Approval to Recruit Participants

My name is Elaine Dispo, and I am a Ph.D. candidate at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU). I am seeking to
recruit student-athletes to participate in my dissertation study, The Relationships between Student-Athletes’
Perceptions of Their Intercollegiate Coaches’ Leadership Practices and Student-Athletes’ Satisfaction, Athletic and
Academic Performance.

Participation is completely voluntary, and participants are free to stop participation at any time. All data collected
will be anonymous and confidential. Participant data will be coded such that individual identifications to particular
persons, teams or schools will not be possible.

Please sign this memo below indicating your approval to recruit your student athletes, upon approval of OLLU’s
Institutional Review Board. Thank you for your consideration.

Elaine J. Dispo, Ph.D. Candidate, Our Lady of the Lake University

__ I agree to allow Elaine J. Dispo, Ph.D. Candidate at Our Lady of the Lake University, to recruit our studentathletes,
to fulfill part of her measurements for her dissertation research, upon approval of OLLU’s IRB.

 Thank you for any of your help, tips and references. May we make 2014 our year!!!

3:33 ~ make a wish!!! 

†R.I.P., Savannah Elizabeth, on her One-Year Anniversary†

Happy 2014: The Year of Courting

Cheers to the New Year! Here’s to 2014: the year of Courting…

For yours truly, I’m courting my Ph.D. That means I must marry my dissertation topic: Relationships between Student-Athletes’ Perceptions of Their Intercollegiate Coaches’ Leadership Practices and Student-Athletes’ Satisfaction, Athletic and Academic Peformance.

Most of my waking hours have been devoted to my study and pursuing schools who will approve my request to approve my recruitment of participants for my research. If any of you readers have suggestions of NCAA-affiliated colleges in the state of Texas for me to seek consent to survey their student-athletes and/or have connections with their administration, then please feel free to refer me, thank you!

In efforts to reach out to my Pretty Fitsters on leading a Pretty Fit life all year-round and all life long, I’ve provided my compilation of unconventional workout videos that can be done anywhere, as well as other health-related tips from my favorite fitness gurus:

• Friday Spotlight: Get into Gear for the New Year!
• Back into Groove: Cold Remedy & Warm Up at Work!

From 2013 to 2014, I feel grateful for my loves, especially GOD, my family, and my bestie. While I gave more generously to the Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda relief, I was pleasantly surprised to still receive gifts from my mom, my BFF, and mis suegros (in-laws):

From Nanay: PJs & Socks

It never fails: my mother always gives my sister and me socks and pajamas. At least we’ll always be warm!

From Melo: Chocolate & Chicken Soup for the Soul Gift Boxes

Of course, I put these to good use: eating the chocolates and reading this book. I actually loved the Chicken Soup for the Soul series since high school, and this Think Positive edition puts my own approach to life in perspective!

From La Familia Zapata: Hello Kitty stocking & ornament + blinged gift card

Mi cuñada (sister-in-law), Janet, along with mi suegra (mother-in-law) and mis sobrinitos (nieces and nephews) sent me Hello Kitty goodies and a gift card. They’re so sweet to remember me, and I miss them all dearly! 

Happy Birthdays to these January Babies: my Great-Uncle Terry, my mother’s siblings Uncle Art & Robert + Auntie Aida, my GODdaughter Reyanna, & mi sobrinito (nephew) Justin!!! 

4:44 ~ make a wish!!!

It’s Been Blessed!

The CHRISTmas Countdown is here, as the New Year draws near, so it’s time to CHEER!

I’m delighted to report that my dissertation committee blessed my Concept Proposal! We had our first conference call altogether yesterday for this information session about my study. Now all I can do from here is move forward, and as graduates of my program have said: ONWARD…

My research is about the influence of college coaches‘ leadership on their student-athletes’ satisfaction, athletic and academic performance. Some of my inspirations include winning basketball coaches Coach K, Pat Summitt, and Phil Jackson. Here’s to Team: Dr. D in Mission: Ph.D.

Here are my freshest fine 9 Dispo Hoop Scoops:

The MFFL’s Rants (since I was stuck at home during the Snow Days, I was able to crank out these babies)

• Mavs Fly to Victory over Pelicans
• Dirk Is Dallas’ Secret Special Sauce
• Dallas Needs Wright & Harris Back
• Mavs Can Blaze Past Trail Blazers
• Monta Ball Made Magic at Moda Center
• Mark Cuban Holds Grudge Against J-Kidd
• Mavs Can Sack Sac
• Mavs Off Game in Sac
• Mavs Must Beat Warriors in Battle

*Friendly Reminder: Please vote for the NBA All-Stars*

11:11 ~ make a wish!!! 

†R.I.P., Nelson Mandela†