BreakPoint Demo

Stoppage Lite 2.0 now available in AppStore

Stoppage lite the free version of the timeout app has a new version available in the AppStore. If your a parent , an educator , or a daycare professional Stoppage lite could be an excellent resource. Stoppage is designed to administer timeouts in calm and productive manner so children will contemplate the choices they make and consider their consequences.

The user interface of Stoppage is what makes the app effective. Stoppage has time interval buttons that can be adjusted on the fly. This a great feature for adding time to timeouts. Also there are no pre-set timeout durations that you find in other apps. You set the time that you feel is appropriate and change it if needed. The time counter is a large on screen display and countdown in milliseconds. The milliseconds counter gives the child the illusion that time passing by faster hence keeping them more engaged in the timeout. Best of all it's free so download it and try it out.

 You can download StoppageLite in the AppStore. If you prefer you can download the full version of Stoppage with completion buzzer and timeout warning signal iPhone and iPad for only 0.99 cents.

2016 WWDC Live!

WWDC2016:

patiently waiting for the WWDC2016 keynote broadcast. will be blogging live with reaction to the latest news from apple!

Hello! WWDC2016 wish I was there! Ok here we go Tim Cook just took the stage!


Class act by Apple and Tim Cook addressing the massacre in Orlando and how we all need to embrace our differences!

2 million apps in the app store and 50 billion paid to developers! astonishing!


4 Platforms:

Time Cook: "Developers are crucial part of what we do"

WatchOS:

* keep favorites in memory

*instant launch

*Dock for favorites

* scribble the response you want! 

The timers UI looks strangely familiar. Activity sharing looks great but one has to wonder if it is oversharing! The new included api's look promising.

tvOS:

* Sling is coming to AppleTV
* NBA2K is coming as well
*wow new remote for appleTV
* oh boy single sign in !! now that rocks! no more pain in the butt authentication!

OSX:

is there a naming controversy. are we getting a new name? yes we are! its now macOS!

macOS X is now sierra!

features:

*auto unlock with apple watch!
* universal clipboard from one device to another!
* iCloud Drive now with available desktop on other devices
*optimized storage
*apple pay to the web
*tabs every where!
*Siri comes to mac!

iOS:

iOS 10 is here! biggest release ever! 10 big features!

1) user experience
    - raised screen notifications
   - easier access to camera
  - 3d touch look at info
  
2) Siri

 - now open to developers


3)quick type

    - siri makes recommendations and fills in info

4) photos

    - face recognition with people
   - memories of specific location and people
  - amazing updates to photos

5) Maps

   - all new design
  - proactive suggestions
  - new categories
  - traffic on route
 - search along route
- available on car play

6) Music

- redesigned from ground up
-new UI will be much easier to use and improve the user experience
- now with lyrics

7) News

     - over 2000 publications

    - 60 million readers

    - new design with topics and featured stories
   - subscriptions
   - breaking news notifications

8) HomeKit

   - now supports new products including cameras and locks
  - new app Home
  - integration of home products is amazing
  - works with apple watch

9) Phone
   - voicemail transcription

10) Messages

   - Rich links and video right in messages
   - camera and photos
   - emojification!
  - bubble effects
  - hand written messages
  - full screen effects

wow love the enhancements to messages! 

So what are the take aways from WWDC2016? There is a lot of updates across all the platforms. The best in my opinion come in iOS 10! What apple is doing with the home app and home automation is outstanding. To potentially to be able control everything in your home right from iPhone or iPad and have it integrated with Siri is groundbreaking. Then there was the improvements to messages! Messages now includes rich links and videos. you can watch a video  right in the messages app. Emojifications just became simpler when typing the app can make suggestions all you have to do hit the emoji button and tap on the highlighted words and select your emoji. Absolutely incredible but apple didn't stop there. You now will have access to photos, video, and camera right in the messages app. 

Perhaps my favorite new feature is bubble effects with effects like slam or invisible ink. Invisible ink is great if you want to keep something hidden or surprise someone. Apple has also included full screen effects that display on the whole screen of the messaging app. Lets not forget the improvements to Maps. Apple made good improvements last year but the new features are leaps and bounds better than that. In addition to iOS 10 I believe Apple Pay to web is great security tool and can protect users from fraudulent activity. Can't wait for Fall.


  

NCAA Division I: Is it right for you?

The NCAA Divisions :

As I mentioned in a my previous post on recruiting services any prospective student-athlete needs to have an understanding of what the NCAA is and the difference in it's divisions. The NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Associations and it has three divisions comprised of more than 1,200 institutions. Yes it's a juggernaut and has started to monopolize the college athletic landscape over the years as it's popularity has increased, but thats for another article.

NCAA Division I:

Division I is the most popular and the one you have probably seen on tv in the form of Men's Basketball or Football. Of course with the introduction of ESPNU, ESPN3 , and other cable sports channels you can probably get glimpse of some of the other Division I sports. Division I is made up of the larger colleges and universities and typically divided by power conferences and mid-major conferences. Conferences are leagues that universities compete in with similar size and type schools. The power conferences such as the ACC, SEC, BIG12, BIG10, and PAC12 are made up of typically large schools with enormous finances and resources at there disposal. Mid-Major conferences are made up of smaller Division I schools whom typically don't have resources of their big brother counterparts.

Division I Advantages:

So what are the advantages to playing at the Division I level? First of all, if your playing at the Division I level your typically playing with and competing against the very best. There is no better way to improve and reach your potential than competing at the highest level. Division I student-athletes typically have the best scholarship packages, but doesn't necessarily mean a full-ride as there are restrictions in certain sports on how many full scholarships they can offer. The university athletic facilities at this level are absolutely amazing. This can be a huge benefit to any athlete. When you have the best facilities at your disposal it gives any student-athlete the opportunity to improve and reach heights they never dreamed of. Athletics at this level is highly structured and demands the same level of commitment. With this structure comes demanding practice schedules, off-season workouts, strength training, academic support services, and lengthy team schedules. All of this is designed to help student-athletes succeed so teams and universities can win championships.

Division I Disadvantages:

Division I sounds great right? So are there any drawbacks to playing at this level? What makes Division I great can also be detrimental to a student-athlete. The commitment required to compete at this level is immense. It can be seen more of as an occupation or job than playing a sport. Your sport maybe a specific time of year  but your athletically related activities will not be confined to the season. The NCAA allows teams to conduct activities out of their main season to prepare and develop players for the upcoming season. Some sports even have two seasons and in combination with off-season activities there can seem like no end in sight. So when does a student-athlete go to class and study? Regardless of how much the NCAA wants to prioritize academics and the amount of assistance universities provide the player can eventually become more of athlete-student rather than a student-athlete. Time management is crucial to a student-athlete at any level but even more so at the Division I level. If a student-athlete has poor time management skills at this level it will cost them dearly. The university in essence is paying you to play a sport and win championships everything else eventually becomes secondary if you allow it to.

Mid-Majors:

So what about the Mid-Majors? Mid-Majors are more like Division II schools, which I will discuss in another post, but are typically smaller than Power Conference schools. This can be an advantage academically. The smaller the school the smaller the class size and possibly the better learning environment. I would imagine most people learn better in small groups or individually than having 500 people in one of their classes. This maybe the only advantage Mid-Majors have on Power Conference schools. Everything else is an advantage to the larger schools with all the resources and immaculate facilities they have. The NCAA regulations are the same. The schedules and time constraints are similar. The amount of travel may differ since the power conferences have the financial resources to travel more.

The Right Choice:

So which is right for you? before pursuing opportunities at any division you have to be honest about your skill level and if your good enough to compete at that level. You also need to evaluate your academic situation honestly. Can you meet the initial requirements to qualify at the NCAA Division I level? Also do you have the time management skills necessary to be a student-athlete at this level? If you have answered those questions and are receiving offers from Division I schools then it becomes more about which school and coach is the right fit. Examine the schools academic program and make sure they have the academic programs your interested in. I would also recommend getting a good sense of the coaches philosophy as it relates to academics and athletics. Regardless of how great an athlete you maybe eventually your career will end and you will need an education to fall back on.

Tennis Recruiting 101: Are recruiting services worth it?

Every year junior tennis players all around the world attempt to navigate the tennis recruiting landscape and achieve their dream of playing college tennis. This can be a daunting task for anyone but especially for a student-athlete who doesn't have the knowledge and expertise. There are so many questions that a tennis player will ponder. What is the difference between NCAA and NAIA? What is the difference from Division I to Division II or Division III? Are there advantages to playing NJCAA for a year or two and then transferring to a four year school? The most important question that prospective student-athletes should ask themselves is a recruiting service worth the money? All of these questions have merit and should be answered very early in the process but the recruiting service question and in essence how to start the process is by far the most important.

Recruiting services can have a great deal of value to the right person as long as you have the right perspective. Basically recruiting services typically offer a player the opportunity to market themselves to college coaches. The ultimate goal of the recruiting service is to obtain its clients athletic scholarships. Thats what they are getting paid for. Many of these services offer a whole suite of managed products to include video production, online profiles, contacting coaches, scholarship negotiation, and submitting of application and financial requirements. Wow thats a lot of assistance. Who wouldn't want to pay a service to handle all that for you? Are there any draw backs to using a recruiting service?

With anything there is always the good and the bad. Tennis recruiting services are no different. First of all, there is the cost of using a tennis recruiting service. When a company is managing your tennis marketing and your future as college tennis player your going to pay a pretty penny for that kind of service. Now there are tennis recruiting companies that offer many different levels of service from basic profiles to complete hands on management. A tennis player would expect to pay from several hundred to several thousand dollars. To some this maybe worth it if they receive a scholarship but there is no guarantee! Secondly, recruiting services usually have established relationships with certain schools and coaches but not every coach. This can be seen as  a positive if they have a relationship with a school your interested in but often their relationships don't extend much farther than a particular division or conference. So if your considering using recruiting service it would be good to find out who they work with.

Finally, tennis recruiting services are largely gate keepers. What I mean by that is they are a middle man. In order to remain relevant they need to keep you from contacting coaches until near the end of the recruiting process. So basically the player is not very involved the selection process and are trusting the recruiting service to make this decision for them. This should raise a lot of questions for prospective student-athletes about the school, the tennis program, and the situation they are about to dive into.

As a former collegiate coach who has coached at every level of the NCAA. I had fruitful relationships with tennis recruiting services during my coaching career. I was pleased more often than not but I did notice some trends with players. I noticed that the players from recruiting services weren't as invested in the program as players whom I recruited personally. I also noticed I had a stronger initial bond with players I personally recruited than those from the recruiting services. Basically those student-athletes whom were involved from the very beginning displayed greater satisfaction with their school choice and were less likely to transfer after a year or two.

If there is anything to be learned from all of this its to be personally involved in the recruiting process. Do you want to take control of your tennis recruiting without the middle man mentality of recruiting service. Do you want all the benefits of tennis recruiting service without the hassles ? Then check out my app BreakPoint. I designed the app to empower the junior tennis player to take control of their college tennis destiny and eliminate the gatekeepers. Best of all, you can download, create a profile, and upload a highlight video for free.