Ben Fanelli's Hit: What Went Wrong?

On the first of November 2009, Ben Fanelli got hit from behind in the head with Michael Liambas’ elbow. Ben had to be airlifted to a Hamilton hospital and was immediately put in intensive care. He was in critical but stable condition and today he is at home in fine condition. He has skull and facial fractures and a laceration above the eye which was the cause of blood loss. Mr. Liambas is currently suspended for the rest of the season, which ends his Major Junior hockey career. But I’m not here to talk to you about what happened, I’m going to explain some of the things that both Ben and Michael did wrong before the hit occurred.

I think that Ben could have been more prepared before the hit, both mentally and physically. The things that he could have prepared more for mentally would be not turning around and not ducking before the hit. If Ben would not have ducked then he would not have gotten hit in the head, and if he hadn’t turned around then he would not have gone head first into the boards. But the one major thing that Fanelli could have done was do up his chin strap tighter, because then his helmet wouldn’t have stayed on and his head would not be fractured.

But we shouldn’t judge Michael because of this one hit. This kid gets straight As in school, works around the community and cares about a lot of people. When he injured a kid a different time the team (Erie Otters) looked all over the arena and could not find him. It turned out that he had paid a taxi to take him to the hospital so he could apologize to the other player.

I think that the way the OHL punished Michael is unfair. A whole year! Why? If Ben didn’t get hurt as bad as he did, then Michael wouldn’t be suspended for as long. It is based on the injury the person got instead of what the person did. I think that one of the best ways of deciding the suspension would be to match the suspension with the length of time missed by the length of the injury. I think that this is the fairest way to decide this because if you injured someone then you should be out as long as they are. But if the leagues cannot decide on this rule, then they should not look at how hurt the injured player is, they should look at the player that made the injury occur.

In summary, I think that first, Ben should have been more prepared, second, Michael should not be judged just based on this play, and finally, why did they have to suspend him for this long.

Now I’m going to ask you a few questions (if you have not already seen this hit that you should type in ‘Ben Fanelli hit’ on YouTube). Whose fault do you think it is? Do you think Michael should be punished this way? What honestly do you think was going through both of their heads before this hit happened? Thanks, Wyatt.

Eva Olsson`s Presentation

“Never hate, dislike if you must, but never use hate!” Dr. Eva Olsson. I think she is right in so many ways, some people hate anything that’s green and crunchy, a.k.a. vegetables. Some people hate their new hockey stick or their house because it’s just boring. I think that’s very right, why hate something when you can just ignore it. You never need to hate because hate started almost every war that has ever went on in the world and has killed over 202 295 000 people died in the most major wars and rebellions in the world, including the 1^st and 2^nd World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the An Shi Rebellion.

But Eva Olsson’s fantastic, moving speech did not only tell us to use the word hate, but it was very emotional too, telling about her ride to Auschwitz-Birkenau in small boxcars with over 100 people in just one. How her mother, grandmother and almost the rest of her family was ordered left, going only to find the gas chambers. Only Eva, her youngest sister, one of her brothers and her father made it to the right and were turned into slave labours. But later her father and brother died, only leaving Dr. Eva and her sister alive. That’s when she said her second message, “Hug your family today, because tomorrow you many not.” Some kids go their whole time being a teenager not hugging their parents because they did not give you a brand new Xbox 360 or iPhone or iPod Touch. She didn’t get to hug her parents for the last time. She just watched her being sent to the left while she walked away from death.

In conclusion, I found to very important messages in her speech that I will try to do today. I have dared my family to never say the word hate in the month of November and December, and hopefully it will rub off into the hands of my class, grade, school, wherever. And today I will go home and hug my parents and tell them I love them.

The Team Day (Norval)

Monday at Norval, I think that our team worked well together. The only difficulty we had was deciding how we were going to climb up the wall. We had to talk and discus options and ideas. We had to communicate. We had to agree. We had to practice. We had to work together and support each other.

We had to climb a fourteen foot wall. As well, each of us had four ropes attached to our body and we had to swing and grab the four balls lying on the ground. On the fourteen foot wall, I think that our team worked well together. We had to communicate while pushing somebody up the wall. Also, when we were swinging a person to get one of the four balls, one person would yell out, “Black and green pull up, white and other green let out”. This was the best time we communicated all day.

I think that communication is the key to doing anything well in a group. Communication is important when playing sports or just having fun together. If you can communicate as a group well, you can accomplish almost anything. In hockey for example, if you’re taking it around the net and your other defence partner says, “REVERSE,” then you know that you should pass the puck behind the net. Another thing that helps you work well as a team or group is to plan and practice. When you prepare you need to practice communicating as well. For example when we were pushing people up the wall, the first, second and third people were very hard but by the end we were pushing people in record time.

Norval was a good opportunity to learn and exercise my communication skills for school projects. It was especially beneficial because I was learning and practicing these skills with the people that I would use these skills with at school.

In conclusion, I think that the two most important things to working well as a team, on any type of team, you have to communicate well and practice things before you do them.

The Small Things of Life

Five years ago, I was out on the internet when a random pop-up (THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BLOCKED) showed a little girl in severe poverty and a World Vision Sign beside her and a saying that said 'For one dollar a day you can give this girl clean water, education and food.' That was the first time that my eyes were opened on the problems in Africa, South America, and South-East Asia. Malnutrition, poverty and the dirtiest water you have every seen. The next year I did a project on Child Labour and found out more and I kept learning more and more.

Do you know why we just leave these children and their families starve or freeze to death. Craig Kielburger started Free the Children when he was 12. It's never to young to start helping other people.

Tell Me Why Quote

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solves most of he world's problems." Mahatma Gandhi

I think that the quote means that if we would do all the good things that we are capable of then we would help to save the world.

This quote makes me think about how since I went to We Day in Toronto Oct. 5th and how Craig and Marc Kielburger talked about how Mahatma Gandhi was so influential toward the people of India and non-violence.

If you had the power to do anything in the world what would you do? Would you be like Mahatma Gandhi or would you be... you decide!

Poverty

One-third of deaths, about 18 million people a year or 50 thousand a day, are due to poverty. One-third of deaths are due to poverty. Out of 3 people one will die from old age, one will die from Cancer or another disease and the last will die from poverty. So why are we not trying to help. Craig Kielburger started Free the Children when he was twelve. I think that since a kid started this we should be doing something too.



I personally have contributed in our community personally by contributing to food drives but I still think that we should be contributing more!!! Kids that are about 10 go to Africa to build wells! People who are 30 could do something since ten year-olds do something. Yes, they have a job and kids but still they can do something.

In conclusion, no matter who you are, if you have kids or a job or both, you can do something in your community, donate money, volunteer at the food bank, you don't have to go to Africa.