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Articles by Bill Welker
Op-ed: The limitations of being human
Today, I would like to share with my readers the importance of not taking yourself too seriously. I had this problem until my late twenties. I searched for perfection in sports, teaching and life. I was also looking for complete peace of mind and wanted all my thoughts to be pure when dealing with others. Naturally, I struggled to accomplish these three personal goals. Grappling with such human desires, I nearly had an emotional breakdown. It was time to get help.
Op-ed: Where are the kids?
In case you haven't noticed, today's playgrounds, baseball fields and basketball courts are void of children during the spring, summer and early fall months. When my kids were growing up, they were outside on swings, playing baseball, and shooting hoops from dawn until the streetlights came on. You could also see them riding their bikes for miles across the city. Of course, I still see many contemporary youngsters riding bicycles. But they're motorized! Can you believe it?
Op-ed: Why do I believe?
I am by no means a biblical scholar or a theologian. In fact, I am a sinner, but aren't we all. However, I have read the New Testament many, many times over the years. In the New Testament, it has been determined that Jesus fulfilled at least 300 and possibly over 400 prophecies during his three-year ministry. What also amazes me, Jesus never takes credit for anything he did or said, stating that they came from his Father in Heaven. He also once said, "Why do you call me good.
Op-ed: Teachers — the unappreciated professionals
In America, our K-12 classroom teachers are essentially treated as second class professionals. To make matters even worse for these educators, student discipline has become a very serious problem in public schools for various reasons. Consider the following: Contemporary Discipline Practices are Inadequate Today's public school teachers are forced to educate children in an environment where there are no student discipline policies that truly protect them or their students who want to learn.
Bill Welker: What? No program? (Opinion)
I'm an avid Mountain State high school wrestling enthusiast. Every year I look forward to acquiring a souvenir program from the state tournament. This year I was informed that there would be no more programs sold at the state tournament. Asking why, I was told that the cost of printing the programs was too expensive, and now you could only visit the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission website to see a digital state program. Did you know that?
OP-ED: Coping with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
I have had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) all my life. Even as a child, my devoted mother, Dorothy Irene Welker, would say to me, “Billy, you dwell on things too much.” I still do, but it wasn’t until my late 20s that I was finally diagnosed with OCD by Dr. Dorothy Jones, a clinical psychologist. In the United States, approximately 2.5 million people have been diagnosed with OCD. And those are only the reported cases. Millions of other Americans just try to cope with it.
MMA on the Rocks
Matt "The Mechanic" is coming off a solid week of picks at UFC Baku, and now he’s back to see if the streak continues as we break down UFC 317. We take a close look at the main card, headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria—making his 155 debut—and Charles Oliveira, battling for the vacant belt. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja defends his flyweight title against Kai Kara-France... but is KKF really the most deserving contender?
Practice formats for high school wrestling
The success of your scholastic wrestling program will depend largely on how well you prepare practice sessions from day to day. It is important to realize that your daily practices must evolve with the needs of the athletes participating in the program. For example, if you are working with young and inexperienced wrestlers, you will need to spend more time on the perfection of fundamental techniques. After that, you can begin to move on to more advanced wrestling skills.
Creating mini-reading lessons from test items
By Bill Welker As a reading specialist in the middle school environment, I developed a remedial reading program during the school’s 20-minute homeroom period for students in need of added instruction. Due to time restrictions, my lesson had to be brief. Thus, I came up with the idea of developing mini-lessons from standardized and teacher-made reading tests. Teachers often view tests as just that — tests.
Little-big word approach for young or remedial readers
By Bill Welker “Big words scare me!” said countless youngsters throughout my years as a tutor and reading specialist. I wondered how I could make multi-syllable words less threatening to a number of my students. Where should I start? Why not start at the beginning — my own “beginnings” in learning to pronounce large words.
Positive influence of sports
I have made many mistakes in my life as an athlete on and off the field of play. But haven’t we all? Now that I’m a retired teacher, coach and official, I have thought about how athletics and family assisted me in coping with the challenges of living a life of personal fulfillment. I want to share with athletes in all sports the five principles I have learned participating in sports and gleaned from a caring family. Be humble Always take your classes in school and sports seriously, but not yourself.
8 Universal Truths To Elevate Your Game
O fficiating has been in my blood since I was a scholastic wrestler during the mid-1960s. Throughout the decades, I gradually began to understand the personal characteristics that all great officials possess. They are human qualities that are based on common-sense behavior. I have developed eight principles for success.
No Wake Zone - Referee.com
I don’t know if Little League Baseball, small-fry wrestling or other youth sports build or reveal character, but I do believe in the innocence of children. That belief was reaffirmed at one summer Bronco baseball game years ago. The players at this level are 11 and 12 years old. I was the umpire-in-chief behind home plate during a tournament game when an 11-year-old boy hit a pop fly to right-center field. The base umpire was in the proper position to observe the play.
How to Capture a Chicken Wing (Hammerlock Style): 7 Steps
From the referee's position, the match starts, and you've broken down your opponent (he/she is flat on the mat). Thread your arms underneath your opponent's arms (if they clamp their elbows to their sides and go into a "prone position", you can make a fist and knead it into the space between their elbow and body to create space for you to drill your hand through).
Wilson, Myers named best on the mat
The OVAC Wrestling Coaches Association recognizes the Ohio and West Virginia Wrestlers of the Year at the end of every season. I conceived and initiated the award in 1988, chairs a committee of five Ohio Valley wrestling dignitaries that selects the honorees. The West Virginia representatives are Bill Hinegardner and Ron Mauck. The Ohio representatives are Dick Wolf and Dan Doyle. The recipients must be seniors and are chosen on the basis of wrestling accomplishments over their careers.
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