“Thank goodness it’s just fractured, not broken”

 

Oh. My. Goodness. My kids know that is probably the easiest way to get me all worked up.

Broke is fractured is broke. No difference. The exception is a stress fracture, which is still a break but usually an incomplete break. In other words, it doesn’t go all the way across the bone. Unless it does, and then it is a fracture. Or a break. Whatever.

Think of a stress fracture this way—if your bone is a tree trunk, then a stress fracture could mean that it is a crack in the bark. Usually stress fractures are the result of repeated stress, hence the name.

If you hurt on the outside border of your foot, about midway down, then it is likely that you have a stress fracture. Or at least the beginnings of one. It’s common in runners and those that jump a lot.

It really isn’t just one thing that causes a stress fracture. It’s the accumulation of impacts that begins to break down the outer surface of the bone. The solution isn’t exactly what anyone wants to hear. You either have to rest or wear a boot. Either way, you’re out of your sport for a while.

But here’s the thing—the earlier you begin treatment (rest/boot), the sooner you will get back to your sport. If you try and run through it, it will get worse. Let me repeat that. It. Will. Get. Worse.

And that’s not what anyone wants to hear. The more you try to play through it, the longer it will be before you get back. Some of those even end up needing surgery. That’s what can happen when you ignore medical advice.

While I’m on it, let’s talk about shin splints a bit. I’ve seen all the “treatments” that are out there for treating shin splints. Icing. Rolling your foot on a soda can. Taping.

Here’s my (strongly held) opinion as a physical therapist and athletic trainer that has been treating athletes for almost 47 years:  If you don’t change the way the foot hits the ground, you are only treating symptoms.

Addressing the biomechanical issues of the foot is necessary to solve the problem, to treat the “why” of shin splints. I’m not saying that treating symptoms is unneeded. We do it all the time. But treating the cause is more important.

Most of the time we are addressing pronation of the foot. Those with flat feet especially have problems.

Shoes are a huge part of it. Because of the risk of litigation, I’ll not mention by name those big, cushy “shoes” that pretty much everybody has a pair of, but those things are terrible. Yes, they feel good when you put them on, but I don’t think they were ever meant to wear all day.  They just don’t give you enough support.

And slides. Sure, there are some slides that have a little bit of arch, but for the most part, they’re terrible. Running shoes, or what my generation calls “tennis” shoes, are the best. Running shoe technology has revolutionized shoe technology in general.

Hiking boots? Completely changed by employing running shoe technology. It used to be that you wore a pair of hiking boots for a couple of years before they were broken in enough to be even remotely comfortable. Now days, you can hike with them immediately off the shelf.

Even dress shoes have embraced some of the running shoe technology, building a better arch and more comfortable foot bed. Now, there are shoes for everything but it’s mostly the outside of the shoe—the inside is still basically a running shoe.

Whatever the problem, if the feet aren’t happy, nobody is happy. So see a professional (and not your local shoe store) for advice if there is a problem.

Great Responsibility

 

With greatness comes great responsibility. That’s my own take on a quote used in a Spiderman movie but originally uttered by Voltaire that goes “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Charles Barkley was once quoted as saying “I am not a role model.” Sir Charles has since hedged on that or maybe he just clarified a misunderstanding.

We are all role models for someone. You may not choose that, but somebody, somewhere is looking at you, watching how you act, seeing how you treat other people.

I’ve told the story here before about the time that a buddy and I were doing something we shouldn’t have been doing when a young mom nearby told her child “don’t be like them.”

It’s stuck with me. Little eyes are watching. You don’t have to be a sports star or famous person. You might be just a teenager on a team. But somebody is watching you, wanting to be like you.

The whole campaign “Be like Mike” is all about that. A generation of kids started driving to the basket with their tongues wagging and wearing Air Jordans. Michael Jordan was not perfect, but he tried to always be a good role model.

Everybody wants to fit in, to be liked. But going with the crowd is easy. Being yourself can be difficult. It’s hard to be different from the crowd but all the great ones do. 

Lebron James has his detractors and people seem to argue incessantly whether he or MJ is the greatest basketball player of all time. I don’t see him getting into that much. He just lets his game do the talking.

But people like Lebron are worthy of being a role model. He’s married to his high school girlfriend and you never hear stories about him being in the wrong place doing the wrong things. He’s built schools, paid college tuition for strangers, and regularly pays it forward. Shaquille O’Neal, same thing.

When Warrick Dunn was a rookie in the NFL, he established the Homes for the Holidays program which provides homes for single parent households that are struggling. Deshaun Watson, quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, has made some mistakes in his life, but he gave his first NFL paycheck to two ladies that worked in the team’s cafeteria who were struggling.

And Deshaun still spends a considerable amount of time and money with Habitat for Humanity. Interesting fact:  Deshaun grew up in a house provided by Habitat for Humanity that Warrick Dunn paid for.

What I’m getting at is this—It’s ok to emulate positive characteristics that you see in others. If you see kindness, make that part of who you are. If you see strong character, copy that in how you behave.

But don’t copy the bad side. Don’t be selfish. Don’t be negative. Encourage. Lift up. Take bits and pieces of the good things that you see in people and make them your own.

I heard Pro Bowler Ray Lewis tell a young group “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” We become a combination of all the things that we see. And that includes the people and things that we choose to surround ourselves with.

If you want to be great in anything, you must do four things. You must be coachable. You must be mentally strong. You must exude a positive vibe. You must be a great teammate. That’s it. It’s a simple formula.

If you see those things in others, great. Be like them. But at the end of the day, don’t look around for someone to be like, be you.

I'm glad you woke up this morning

 

You woke up this morning. I hope that is a good thing for you. About 150,000 people didn’t. Wake up, that is.

Since this time yesterday, about 50,000 people have died of heart disease. Another 27,000 died from cancer.  Those two are the biggies. In the last 24 hours.

Since yesterday, 5000 babies have died.  8100 people have died in accidents. Almost 2000 people died of suicide and another 1000 were killed by somebody else.

OK. Maybe I have your attention now. 

Let’s skip the big ones for a moment. 5000 babies died since yesterday. Some of you instantly had the thought that most of those were in undeveloped countries.  Places where babies starve and hospitals don’t exist. There is truth in that.

But that happens in the good ol’ USA at an alarming rate. The infant mortality rate in these United States is 5.6 deaths for 1000 births.  In other words, we don’t rank at the very top of developed nations. The reasons for this are complicated but the bottom line is that we could do better.

Suicide claimed 2000 lives since yesterday.  In this country, about 18 of those are veterans of military services.  That’s per day. Every day. Eighteen people, mostly young men.

That’s almost twice the rate of suicides than in the general population.  It’s better than it used to be. It hasn’t been long since it was 21. 

Now back to the biggies. Heart disease. Cancer. Oh, and respiratory diseases comes in at over 10,000 per day.

Let’s look at cancer. In my lifetime, a diagnosis of cancer was a death notice. Leukemia? You aren’t going to make it. Most other cancers? Your life expectancy was short.

Today, it is totally different.  The 5 year rate of survival for all types of leukemia is 65.7%.  And prostate, thyroid, testicular, breast, and colon cancers have a 100% cure rate with early detection. Certain skin cancers, including melanoma—same thing.

I can’t stress enough how important that early detection is. Annual visits to your Primary Care Physician that include a prostate exam, colonscopies, breast self-exams and mammograms, testicle self-exams—all components of early detection.

I’m outside a lot and strongly advocate for an annual visit to the dermatologist. I saw mine last week. I had several small spots on my bald spot frozen off. That’s prevention. The scary thing about skin cancers is that they start innocent enough, a dark mole, maybe something we consider an aging spot, but then they migrate (metastasize) to other areas. And maybe those areas aren’t so easily detected. Until maybe it’s too late.

Which brings us to heart disease and pulmonary disease. For the most part, those are considered “lifestyle” diseases. What we eat, what we do, how we live our lives determines our chances of getting those killers.

You can’t affect your gene pool and maybe you can’t change your environment very much, but there are so many things that you can change that will decrease your chances of getting heart disease or pulmonary disease.

There are lots of things, actually. Exercise daily. Eat healthier. Stop smoking. Treat your blood pressure issues. Control your diabetes. Get help when you need it.

We, especially us men, won’t admit to emotional health issues. But four times more men commit suicide than women. In other words, in this country, for every five suicides, four are men. We’ve got a problem guys.

The big question is this—what are you doing today to make sure you wake up tomorrow?

The Best Exercise You Can Do

 

I know, I know.  You’ve heard it from me before. Too many times, I’m sure. But you know what they say—you’ve got to hear something 7 times before it really sinks in.

OK. Here it is. “The best exercise is the one you will do.” You can quote me on that. I mean, it seems simple enough.  Anything is better than nothing, right?

It really doesn’t matter what you do, just as long as you do it. Jogging, lifting, paddling, hiking, walking. Tennis, biking, paddleboarding, and yes, even pickleball.

It helps to find your why. Good health? Better fitness? Solving those aches and pains? If you know your why, you will find your way. Oh, there are the gym rats who really need no motivation. They can’t go a day, much less a week, without exercising. I fall into that category.

I don’t know if it is physical need, mental need, or just a habit. I do know that there have been times when my wife would tell me to go get on the bike, that it was obvious that I needed to release some energy.

I honestly believe that my mental health is tied to regular exercise. And there is research to support that proposition.

It’s particularly true on the mountain bike. I can be having a really bad day (yeah, I get those too) and can go hop on the bike and all the cares and problems fade away.

Part of that is the distraction. If you’re flying down a singletrack on a mountain bike, you really can’t be thinking about anything else. It demands your full attention. Let you mind wander and BOOM, you’re down.

It has a way of cleansing your mind. The problems that I had when I climbed on the bicycle don’t seem as bad when I get off. That vacation from worries definitely helps.

This week, a friend and I were discussing his difficulty sleeping. He’s having some health problems and his pain seems more intense at night. And he has a lot on his mind these days.

I told him about a get-to-sleep trick I’ve been using for years. If I’m having trouble getting to sleep, I play basketball. In my head.

I played basketball most of my life. Into my 50’s, I was still playing in pickup games. Tuesday and Thursday at Maryville College. Sunday evenings at Maryville High. I would still be playing but my knees won’t let me.

In my imaginary games, I’m all the things I never was on the real court. Good at defense. Make every shot. Even block a shot every once in a while. In my mind, I’m making all the moves that I thought I used to be good at. And the next thing I know, the morning alarm is going off.

My point in all this is that you can use your exercise program to relieve the stresses of the day. You can’t tell me that a walk in Jarvis Park won’t bring you some peace. It’s guaranteed. Or putting a lot of effort into the exercise of your choice.

It’s also beyond argument—daily exercise improves your health. We all know that. We know what we’re supposed to do, we just don’t always do it.

So, here’s the deal. Find something you enjoy doing. And go do it.

Yes, you do need to do some strength training as you get older (and younger if you’re playing competitive athletics) and it always helps to stretch daily. But if you enjoy it, you will do it. Don’t worry about finding time. If it is a priority for you, you will find the time.

And like Nike always said, just do it.

Three Little Words

 

Three little words. Hard to say for some. Profound, when said sincerely. And oh so important. I can remember the first time I ever heard a coach tell his team “I love you.” It was Don Story, Head Football Coach at Maryville High. I remember later hearing Punky Dalton tell his Alcoa football team the same thing.

That was a bit different for me. I played high school football for Loudon’s legendary Coach Chig Ratledge. He never told us that he loved us. We were all a bit afraid of him. He was probably 5’7” and 120 pounds but he could stop you in your tracks with just a look.

Coach Ratledge was pretty unique in a lot of ways. First off, he never played football. In high school, he played drums in the school band. His love for football manifested itself in college, where he was the team’s manager and, obviously, an astute student of the game.

A master motivator, Coach Ratledge also had a brilliant football mind. He was the first coach in this area to embrace the triple option. Coached it to the 1969 state championship. Coached it so well that the University of Houston had him teach it to their football coaches.

I last saw him at his 91^st birthday party, just months before he died. In a room full of former Loudon stars, he still had that look, despite being bent over at the waist from back pain. On that night, I bet even big ol’ Bruce Wilkerson, UT All-American and NFL star, would have ran through a wall for Coach Ratledge.

And everyone in that room knew that he loved them. When I was inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame, Coach Ratledge came for the ceremony. Of course, I was proud to have my family there, but having Coach Ratledge there, well, that meant the world to me.

Back to that 91^st birthday party—his daughter had arranged it and invited all the Loudon football greats. Plus me. I was decent, and I did play on the ’69 championship team, but I didn’t belong in that room.

In addition to Big Bruce, you had Lonnie Hawkins, Gordo Watson, Jackie Lefler, Bubba Brown, Bud Guider, Yancy Hampton, Ray Simmons—a long list of Loudon football greats. But Coach Ratledge wanted me there. He made it clear to his daughter.

You see, nobody in that room took more away from football and Coach Ratledge. I was an underachieving high school sophomore not even sure who I was when I overhead Coach Ratledge tell a practice visitor that I could be “a good one” if I worked at it.  It was truly transformative. He set me on the path to a lot of the success I’ve had.

Oh, I was still afraid of the man. One game my senior year got rescheduled to Saturday because of rain on Friday. I had to tell Coach Ratledge that I had to work that morning. I bagged groceries at White Store #32.  Coach Ratledge wanted all of our focus to be on the football game. On game day, he wanted all of your attention on the game at hand. I was scared to death but felt I had to tell him.

I walked into his office in the basement of the high school, probably shaking and barely able to speak. But Coach Ratledge didn’t criticize me at all. He knew that my family needed me to work. He knew that I was fully committed to football.

He didn’t say much, but he let me know it was OK. He loved me but I’m pretty sure would never have told me that. “I love you” was just not something he told his players, but we knew. By the way, we won that game. Beat Lenoir City 48-7.

I’ve heard lots of coaches since then tell their teams that they loved them. The ones I knew best, Tim Hammontree, George Quarles, Derek Hunt—they said it and meant it.

Kids, it may not mean much right now, but a coach that loves you and means it wants nothing more than your success. They want nothing more than for you to become a better person because of your sports participation. Same thing at home. Today, tell someone that you love them and mean it. Somebody needs to hear that from you.

All in

 

A common mantra among sports teams today is to declare that they are “all in.” What does that mean, exactly?

Does that mean that you will do anything to win? Cheat, lie, steal? Tennis can be a strange game. For the most part, players make their own calls. I watched a high school player recently that consistently called anything close as out. He was good. He didn’t have to cheat to win. But he cheated anyway.

Despite tons of public education, performance enhancing drugs are still a huge presence in sports today.

In my day, it was anabolic steroids. Little was known about them and long-term effects weren’t even considered. At 18, I wanted to play college football. My problem was that I was the same size then that I am now—5’11” and 200 pounds. Couldn’t gain an ounce regardless of what I did.

Before that, I had the same problem. I was 5’11” and 185 pounds as a high school sophomore. I remember my high school football coach telling me that if I would forget about other sports and focus on football, that I could get a college scholarship.

That’s all it took. I spent tons of time in the weight room. Worked hard. Ate everything in sight. The ladies in the cafeteria at school took care of me. The lunch rules were one plate per person but because my mom had worked with them for several years, I was allowed to come back for seconds anytime I wanted to.

All that and I by my senior year, I was 5’11” and 190 pounds. So much for my college prospects. An old family doc in my hometown offered to put me on this stuff called Dianabol, which promised to add muscle to your frame.

But then when he was out of the room, I read the little slip of paper that accompanied the drug which listed the side effects. I’m reading along and get to the part that said “impotence.” I may have been a country boy but I knew what that meant.

Huh-uh. Not doing that one. I knew even then that I wanted to be a father. Football wasn’t worth that to me. I had a friend in college that had played football but had a knee injury that ended his career. He then turned to bodybuilding.

A year later, he was a 6’3”, 240 pound monster. Planning a career in health care at the time, I was sort of the dormitory doctor. So this guy calls me into his room and asks me what I thought about the fact that his testicles (sorry—too much information, I know) were the size of pinto beans.

He not only was unable to father children, he had a heart attack in his 40’s.

Years later, medical professionals were still saying that steroids didn’t really add muscle to your body while the bodybuilders knew different. And slowly, we realized the terrible side effects. Not just impotence but heart problems, stroke, and early death.

Yet, that hasn’t stopped the use of performance enhancing drugs. Lance Armstrong was the most drug-tested athlete in sports and passed every one of those. I defended him up until the proof was undeniable. The NFL? Lance proved that drug tests could be beat.

All in? It doesn’t mean that you’ll do anything and everything to win. It means you are committed to doing the little things. It means you eat right, get plenty of sleep, and stay hydrated.

All in means that you put in the work. You don’t just show up for practice, you give it everything you have. All in means that you are coachable, that you are a good teammate, that you are always prepared.

All in means committed to being the best you.

Developing Mental Toughness

 

I got stopped at a soccer match recently by a regular reader, who commented on my recent column on Johannus Monday and asking how, as a parent, she might teach mental toughness.

Wow! I guess I didn’t go there. I pointed out that it was an essential ingredient to athletic success but I didn’t really put wheels on the concept. 

My elevator speech at that time was that as parents, we can help our children gain mental toughness by supporting them, encouraging them, and giving them opportunities. I also said that I planned to give it some thought and to expect to see more in this space the next week.

Well, here it is. First, what is mental toughness? For athletes, it’s the ability to move on after a failure. It’s self-confidence, even (maybe especially) when challenged. It’s fighting through when you’re not at your best.  It’s making a mistake but not letting that impact the next play, the next shot.

That’s what I was talking about when I was talking about working with our kickers. You miss one, you forget about it. You move on.

You’ve got to have self-confidence. I’ve used the phrase “quiet arrogance” in the past. I think most great athletes have that. I don’t think any of us really care for over-the-top arrogance. But we have to have confidence in ourselves, otherwise that last mistake impacts the next opportunity.

I can remember watching my daughter play volleyball back a few years ago. I could always tell during warmups if she was ready to play. She had this sort of “swagger” that I could see a mile away. It meant that she was ready.

It didn’t involve words and she certainly didn’t do anything to disrespect her opponents, but at that point she knew what she was capable of doing and ready to go do it.

OK, so how do you get that? How do you develop mental toughness?

First, you practice. And then you practice more. You practice to the point that you know what you’re capable of doing. You shoot a thousand free throws. You hit a ton of ground strokes. You spend your spare time at the driving range.

You become so good at a skill that you can always count on it during crunch time. You want to be the one to take the last shot because you’ve done it a million times.

You challenge yourself. You play better opponents. You step out of your comfort zone. You put yourself in situations where you are truly challenged. You challenge yourself with difficult and uncomfortable situations.

You never, ever make excuses. You don’t complain about the officials. You don’t whine that the sun was in your eyes. You own your mistakes and forgive the mistakes of others.

You build your support system. You find people that tell you what you’re doing wrong but who also believe in you. My tennis grandson and I meet after every match and first chat about all the good things that he’s done. Then, I will ask him what he did wrong. He knows. And then we talk about how to fix that.

I’m reminded about the 7 “C’s” of mental toughness: Competitiveness, courage, confidence, control, composure, consistency, and commitment.

You stay positive, never letting mistakes impact your game. You stay motivated and committed. And you never, ever give up.

 

Take 'em to the museum!

 

You would think that by now I would have heard it all. After all, I’m old as dirt and have been around since helmets without facemasks. But I haven’t.  Heard it all, that is.

Just this week, the parent of a 10 year old told me about the coach (the sport and the genders will remain unnamed, to protect the innocent) that promised that if their child played for them and dedicated themselves to only that sport, that a college scholarship was guaranteed.

Wait a minute! Really? This coach actually said that? This parent wasn’t bragging or even asking for advice on that situation. They just wanted to know what they could do to prevent injuries over the next several years, until, I guess, that scholarship paper was signed.

My initial reaction was “you’re kidding” which quickly became “wait, what?” Am I hearing this correctly? Are you really serious?

In defense of this parent, I’m convinced they only wanted what was best for their child. I believe that was why they brought it up. At least, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

My first answer is to get your kid a library card. There are about 1000 academic scholarships for every 1 athletic scholarship.  Your chances of securing a college scholarship are incredibly higher on the academic side than on the athletic side.

My next message, shouted loudly, is don’t let your kid specialize in one sport. Play everything. You’ve heard me on that one before, but let me quote a professional that is probably the world’s premier sports orthopedist.

Dr. Jim Andrews has said in many forums “specialization…means not only an increase in risk factors for traumatic injuries, but a sky-high increase in overuse injuries.”

Dr. Andrews literally invented the procedure most often used these days to repair a torn ACL, but as he approached his retirement from surgery (recently celebrated), he moved his focus to the challenges of youth sports, and particularly the dangers of playing only one sport. 

I can’t say it better than Dr. Andrews, so I’ll quote him here verbatim: “The culture of youth sports pretty much dominates parents’ thinking and coaches’ thinking. And it’s hard to crack into that culture to kind of get them to understand that sometimes, they’re doing more harm than good with the pressure they put on these young kids to specialize and play year-round and play two leagues at the same time.”

Keep in mind, this is the doctor for the superstars. Tiger Woods. Michael Jordan. He saved Drew Brees’ career. Yet his focus late in his career turned to the youngest athletes.

What is his general advice?  Let your child play multiple sports to physically develop properly. He points to a recent Super Bowl game where a survey revealed that 90% of the football players on the field played more than one sport in high school.

“All these kids need to be an athlete first,” Andrews has been quoted as saying. “But the coaches and the systems are telling the parents as you probably know that if your kid doesn’t sign up to play youth baseball year-round, they can’t play with the elite league.”

So my advice is let your kid grow up well rounded. Take them to the lake to ski. Climb mountains. Swim, paddle, and definitely play all the sports they have time for. And never forget that you are better off buying books and visiting museums than you are playing travel ball.

Mental Toughness

 

I recently interviewed UT tennis player Johannus Monday for a podcast that I do. Often called “Joe” by friends and fans, Johannus is tall, powerful lefty whose game is spectacular to watch. I became acquainted with him primarily through my tennis-playing grandson. 

A three-time All-American, he is currently #7 in the country in singles and #8 in doubles.  He played in Wimbledon last year in England, which is where he is from, an opportunity that he called “the best moment of my life.”

In my interview with him, I asked Johannus what it took to compete at the highest level. His answer surprised me.I expected it to be the classical mantra of hard work, persistence, dedication, attention to details. Nope. That wasn’t what he shared at all.

He said that at the top of the game, everyone has the skills. Everyone has the ground strokes. Everyone can serve and volley.  Everyone understands the basics of the game.

Everybody is fit and works hard in the weight room. They all spend hours and hours on the court practicing. What he said was that what separates good from great is the mental aspect. Being mentally strong is the difference.

He recalls that when he arrived at UT, he was sent to a sports psychologist to work on mental training. He recalls being placed in an ice tub and going through mental exercises to control his body’s response to the cold.

We sometimes call it “mental toughness.” It’s a complicated beast that requires a level of mental discipline that eludes a lot of athletes.

I’ve seen the down side of this happen too many times. A play goes awry or someone misses a shot they should have met. Or strikes out. Some players will allow that to blow their mind and they simply don’t recover.

Mental toughness means you move on, not letting the last play affect the next one.  Having self-confidence helps. Mental self-manipulation helps.

When I was still on the MHS football sidelines, I spent a lot of time with our kickers. I was sort of their unofficial “coach,” although I did very little coaching with them.

I was responsible for their conditioning and making sure that they knew the practice schedule. Oh, I might remind them to keep their head down or to visualize a successful kick, but that was about it. I spent a lot of time with the kickers, so I always got to know them quite well.

Then, during a game, it was part of my job to keep their head in the game.  Most of that was just to tell them “the last one doesn’t count—the next one does,” if they ever missed a kick. Understanding their headspace from all the practice time we spent together helped.

Your last mistake doesn’t matter. It’s what you do next. That seems a good lesson for life as well. We all make mistakes.

But knowing that’s what you need to do and doing it can be two very different things. You have to figure out your own psyche to know how to do that successfully.  A simple “get over it” doesn’t work.

I’ve heard many coaches tell their team to expect some adversity during the course of the game. A fumble. A turnover. A call you might disagree with. Your ability to put that behind you and move on is the key to athletic success when they’re keeping score.

Self-analysis helps but sometimes you need someone that you know and trust to tell you that it’s OK to move on. That it’s what you do next that really counts.

Sportsmanship: Is it lost?

 

Sportsmanship. What is it? Better yet, what isn’t it?

I can remember being appalled at a crowd that cheered when a player for the other team went down with an injury.  That isn’t sportsmanship.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a coach refuse to shake hands with the opposing coach after a game. That isn’t sportsmanship.

Taunting. Trash Talk. Threatening gestures. All too common but definitely not sportsmanship.

I can remember one team that I worked with. It was the Tennessee All Star football team that would annually play a similar team from Kentucky at the end of the school year. That game was played for years and I served as the Athletic Trainer for the Tennessee team.

This particular team started their taunting during warmups and never let up. We got our butts beat. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed being on the losing side of a game, but for that game, a loss seemed proper justice.

I’m not a big Penn State fan but their return to nameless jerseys is something I do like. There is too much “look at me” in sports today. Things done just to call attention to yourself.

It must take some football players a long time to get dressed, with wrist bands, biceps bands, pants that are more like shorts, with tape on everything. Taped wrists. Taped fingers. Taped shoes.

Oh. My. Goodness. Tape on shoes. It’s commonly known as “spatting” and is about the worse idea anybody ever had. Yes, I know that a lot of pros and college players tape their shoes. That doesn’t make it a good idea.

First off, it does nothing. It doesn’t support the ankle. It doesn’t keep the shoe on the foot. And research tells us that tape on anything stretches out in about 30 minutes. It’s the “feel” of the tape that makes you think it is doing something.

Secondly, if there is ever a serious injury to the ankle, that tape is miserable to get off. Just imagine peeling it off layer at a time. Or we just cut everything off, shoe and all. It’s hard on the athlete and the athletic trainer.

Back to the sportsmanship thing. I never liked cheering for a mistake. Somebody misses a free throw and fans from the opposing team cheers—to me, that’s not sportsmanship.  I believe in cheering a great play, whether it is on my team or yours. Obviously, I’m not a fan of booing at any point.

Even a sedate sport like tennis has gotten rather raucous.  I hadn’t seen college tennis since I was an undergrad but have more recently been following UT’s tennis team. To say I was surprised at the energy and volume is an understatement.

Maybe it’s not taunting but it sure is close. High school tennis is more like what I remember. My tennis-playing grandson will always acknowledge a great shot by his opponent.  A quick clap using the racquet is the usual response.

I like that. I like it when a football player knocks another one down and then offers a hand up. I did that, back in my day, although I do realize that was eons ago. I guess it was a silent form of taunting but it still seemed like the right thing to do. And then go knock them down again.

Every year, the Blount County Officials Association gives out a Sportsmanship Award to a high school and middle school football team. I thought that they had stopped doing that, since I hadn’t heard much about it. I would really like it if the status of that award was elevated to lofty levels and become something that teams aspired to.

 

 

The Road Less Traveled

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

 

That line, the most famous by poet Robert Frost, came up in a conversation recently. It was actually the tail end of a discussion about what it takes to excel in athletics.

 

You might remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about some of the greatest athletes ever from around here. I heard from a lot of folks about that one. No one disagreed with my selections, but a lot more were suggested.

 

I don’t disagree with any of those. The Blount County Sports Hall of Fame is filled with stellar athletes.  I’ve been told that Smoky Webb (Coach Webb) could have been a professional at most anything, if he had good knees. The greatest shooter in my tenure here (47 years now) was left off. That would be Lee Humphrey. Actually, it has been said that his dad Tony was that good, if he only had good knees.

 

I missed on several good golfers. Amy Delashmit Neubauer was the greatest rower ever produced around these parts. I’ve missed a bunch, I’m sure.  So, at the risk of cutting anybody off short, let me just end it there.

 

My point was more about what it takes to get there. That sometimes talent isn’t enough. And that yes, some people are just gifted, genetically predisposed I guess.

 

I can remember working with one of my nephews when he was in high school. He would come over to my gym and I would set him up with a workout. What I found with him was that I was asking him to do all of the things that he didn’t like to do.

 

Like most teenage boys who strive to be athletes, he lifted weights. And like most of those, he loved doing curls and bench press. But as a two sport athlete, he needed much more than that.

 

As a defensive lineman, he needed that upper body strength, but his core was more important. The bench press was OK but power cleans were better.  He loved an overhead press to develop his Triceps, but strong legs would serve him better.

 

A post player on his high school basketball team, his job was more about rebounds and defense. He had to have strong hips and legs. Heavy weights might help but activities that promote explosive power are better. Squats are good—plyometrics are better. For him.

 

He and I had the discussion about strengths versus weaknesses. He wanted to build on his strengths. I wanted him to focus on his weaknesses. The bottom line is that both of us were right.  You do both.

 

Back to the original premise. What does it take to excel? The thing that I hear the most from athletes at all levels is persistence. It doesn’t matter how hard you work some of the time, do you work hard persistently? Are you persistent in your nutrition and your sleep habits?

 

I wrote more recently about what it takes to be an athlete at any age. All those folks mentioned were persistent. You just can’t take days off. And I guarantee that no athlete that excels takes days off on a regular basis.

 

They might take a break occasionally. We all need that sometimes. Your body might need to rest and recuperate. But if you look at their body of work, their big picture, you will see that they were persistent in their efforts.

 

You want to be great? You can’t be like everybody else. You’ve got to pay the price. You’ve got to put in the work. You can’t do what your buddies do. You separate yourself by taking a different path.

 

When traveling down the road in pursuit of excellence, you must take the road less traveled.

3 AM Friends

 

I saw an old friend recently. Lonnie Hawkins is one of the few people I graduated from high school with that I’ve stayed in touch with. I’ve been gone from our hometown for a long time. Lonnie and I played football together. We’ve been friends since the 7^th grade.

Prior to the 7^th grade, the schools in my hometown were segregated. The black kids in town had to travel to another town, some of them literally riding past schools in the town where we all lived.

That changed when we went into the 7^th grade and the schools were integrated. We had no idea about the politics with all that, we just knew that the kids that we played with got to go to the same school as us.

And we got to play on the same sports teams. We were happy and excited. Lonnie and I were in the same homeroom, became friends, and are close to this day. Seeing him again was truly joyous.

Do you have those kinds of friends? Those friends that time and distance might separate but when you get together the friendship is still strong? That’s sort of a hidden joy that you can allow yourself. And it’s a blessing when you see each other again.

I saw a bit on social media just this week. It talked about two kinds of friends. The 3 AM friends and the 6 PM friends.

The 6 PM friends were definitely your good friends, somebody you might call on if you needed something. Somebody that knows you, knows your faults, and likes you regardless of what is going on. Somebody that will answer the phone if you call at 6 PM and might drop what they’re doing to help you out.

If we’re lucky, we have several of those. I’ve heard that if you can count five good friends, that you’re fortunate. I can and I definitely feel lucky.

The 3 AM friends are a different matter. They’re the ones that will answer the phone even if it is 3 AM when they see your name. They’re the ones that figure that if you’re calling at that time that you really need something so they’ve already started getting dressed.

There’s a Ben Affleck movie where Ben’s character walks in the room and says “I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it, and we’re going to hurt somebody.” His friend doesn’t think twice and answers “whose car are we gonna take?”

I’m not advocating violence but that’s a 3 AM friend. Somebody that trusts you and doesn’t have to have a long explanation. I’ve got a couple of those in my life and they know who they are.

My friendship with Lonnie Hawkins started in a classroom, where we found that we had a lot in common. It was solidified on the football field, where we were teammates.

Teammates. There’s something about that term. Being teammates means that you have fought the same battles. It means that you have shed blood, sweat, and tears together, and drank out of the same cup.  Most of the friends from high school that I’ve stayed friends with were teammates. It’s a special bond.

Lonnie and I used to haul hay together too. We would sometimes see who could toss a hay bale the farthest or highest. We didn’t know it then, but we were training for the football field when we did that.

Sports generate a relationship like few others. It’s a brotherhood (or sisterhood) of people who might be completely different off the field, but on the field will fight for each other to the very end.

The life lesson there is not just about the value of friendship, but the lesson that when you’re part of a team, trust is integral part. Playing on a team builds that trust. Or it doesn’t and you fail. And there’s something especially cool about playing sports with your friends.

I’m not sure about calling at 3 AM but I feel certain that if I really needed Lonnie to do something for me, he would do it. And I would do it for him.

Athlete at any age

 

I have never had any qualms talking about the candles on my birthday cake. It looks like a bonfire. 70 is a bunch. It doesn’t bother me.

Some may argue, but I consider myself an athlete. You’ve heard probably too much about it. Bicycle. CrossFit. Yoga. I played basketball until I was 59. Going snow skiing tomorrow.

No one could argue that my buddy Ken Bell is an athlete. Just chase him down a hill on a mountain bike and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Years ago, I introduced him to rock climbing. He immediately climbed easily something I struggled to climb.

We did a tennis clinic one time. He and I started at the bottom end of the group. By the second day, he was on the first court. I stayed on the lower end. He has always been that kind of an athlete. And he still is that kind of athlete.

His kids are too. His oldest is a beast on a bicycle. His second was an All-American high jumper and can still jump out of the gym. His third was a late bloomer but is definitely athletic. His youngest could have done anything athletic he wanted to.

Retired pediatrician Dr. Charlie Raper is still running longer distances than you and I can imagine. It hasn’t been that long since he ran the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim.  He’s an athlete.

Bill Carl and Caroline Haynes will beat much younger people at tennis on any given day. They’re definitely athletes.

I’ve talked about pickleball a time or two. I’m not really interested in playing but I do know that a lot of people are playing that have never played anything. That’s a good thing.

Anything that gets people out and active is a good thing. And I can tell you that there are a lot of people on those pickleball courts. I will show up at John Sevier with my grandson to play tennis and we might be the only people on the tennis courts but there will be a line of people waiting to play pickleball.

It seems to be a game that just about anybody can play and enjoy.  And that’s a big part of it—if you enjoy something, you’re more likely to stick with it.

So, here’s the (loaded) question: If you’re not on a team or competing, are you an athlete? Of course you are. Athletes come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.

If you’re moving your body in a skilled fashion, I would consider you an athlete. Dr. Jim Gillespie, local senior golfer extraordinaire?  Of course, he’s an athlete. He might not run a mile, but he can hit a golf ball that will fly far enough that you think they’re going to sell inflight movies.

Emil Herran, who will ride a bicycle more miles in a year than most people will ride in their lifetime?  Sure, he’s an athlete.  You don’t have to break records or win championships to be an athlete.

What does that mean in the long run? I think it means a longer, healthier life. It means that you can do ordinary things like climb stairs and get up and down from the couch easily for a whole lot longer.

Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of physics says that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by an external force.” I believe more and more each day that is true for all of us as well.

So, fight through the tough days. Get up. Get out. Move. You don’t have to join a gym or run a marathon.

What does it take?

 

To understand part of this story, you probably need to understand what my office looks like. Well, it’s not really an office like you might expect, but it’s what I call my office.

Let me explain. I’m a physical therapist and an athletic trainer, but most of you knew that. I work in a clinic called Total Rehab-Cherokee, usually shortened to just “Cherokee.” My building is basically a warehouse-type building, with a high ceiling and wide-open spaces. 

The clinic takes up about half of the space, while a fitness center occupies the rest of the space. They are separated by a wall on one side and a counter-top around the rest. My “office” is a space about half way down that counter top.

I’m about as much in the middle of the whole building as you can possibly be, straddling the world between the clinic and the gym. There are several other clinicians that occupy that countertop, but all of them face inward, toward the clinic. I face outward, toward the gym.

This is where I sit most of the time when I write my column for this space (and too much of the time, really—such is the world of medical documentation).

This whole arrangement is very purposeful. This makes it much easier to take care of my patients on the rehab side and opens me to engagement with the fitness members. Just about every day, someone from the fitness side walks up with a question.

Usually, it starts like this: “I know you don’t like to be bothered, but….” That’s not true. I don’t consider it a “bother” at all. I’m honored that people want my opinion about their health and fitness. It’s part of what keeps me going.

Sometimes it is a simple ache or pain that doesn’t really require medical intervention but just some common sense advice. I’ve said many times that good health care is often merely good common sense.

Sometimes it is a question about their training program. Just yesterday, I was asked what exercises might be of benefit to prevent back pain. With multiple college degrees in fields related to exercise science and a lifetime spent in a gym, I sort of know what I’m talking about.

I got a different sort of question yesterday. “What separates an elite athlete from an ordinary athlete?” The person posing the question added that it didn’t seem like it was only talent.

No, it’s not. The cliché is “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work.” That’s mostly true. I mean, there isn’t any substitute for good genetics. Aaron Douglas comes to mind. Maybe the best high school athlete I’ve ever seen, Aaron’s parents were a Lady Vol All American and an NFL lineman. Phil Fulmer offered him a football scholarship in the crib.

But Aaron worked hard. And remained coachable. So did Brandon Warren. And Lester Whitted. John Garrett might not have impressed you physically, but he was talented and never made the same mistake twice as a state champion quarterback.

Those of us around back then knew that Randall Cobb was something special. We knew he was talented. We knew he worked hard and stayed coachable and all that. But I’ll not lie and tell you that I thought he would have a long NFL career when he was a high school star.

Randall took care of that. He stayed committed to excellence. He dedicated himself to being the best he could be. Commitment. Dedication. Work ethic. Persistence. Staying coachable. Doing the little things.

And that is the answer to the question.

Helicopter Moms

 

I found myself derisively using the term “Helicopter Mom” recently. Let me explain.

Every week day at 7 AM, we open the doors to Total Rehab-Cherokee to local high school and middle school athletes. We bring all of our Athletic Trainers in to evaluate those kids with injuries.

It’s a great system, allowing our Athletic Trainers to intervene in injuries in their earliest stages, before they can escalate to something more severe. And if there is a problem that is already more serious, we’ve got a great system for that as well.

The orthopedic surgeons at OrthoTennessee-Maryville come in early and will see any athletes that we bring them at the front end of their schedule. And sports physician Dr. Ben England always saves his first spot for someone from our 7 AM Athletes Clinic.

It works well.  We’ve been doing it that way for over 25 years.

On the day I’m talking about, I saw it coming. Mom walked boldly into the clinic, followed by her in-need-of-a-haircut son. She was a bit demanding at the front desk and then takes the simple form that we have them fill out while complaining about the paperwork.

She fills out the form (a pet peeve of mine-a high school kid can tell us what their address and phone number is) and then, when I sit down with her son, she promptly answers the questions that I specifically addressed to him.

She even interrupted when he tried to speak. I tried not to be rude but finally asked her to wait in the reception area. Too crowded, you know. The kid was actually pretty bright—and once Mom was gone, was quite good at describing what brought him to the clinic that day.

It’s not just Moms.  It can be Dads too. So, what is it with Helicopter Parents?  What are they trying to do?

I do get it. Sort of. Maybe they have had bad experiences and want to protect their child from the misery that can be found just around the corner. Maybe they’re afraid that their child is growing up and is going to leave them behind (it will happen—it’s called life).

There is nothing wrong with parental involvement. Involved relationships with your children are healthy. I’ve said many times that if you are engaged with your children when they’re growing up, they have a better chance of becoming healthy, well-adjusted adults.

I believe that Helicopter Parents (it’s not just Moms) have good intentions. Maybe it is all about giving your kids opportunities that you wish you had. Maybe the child has some problems that we don’t know about.

On the good side, children of Helicopter Parents are more likely to feel the love, the protection, the security, and the acceptance.

But on the negative side, children of Helicopter Parents may be more likely to lack self-confidence and self-esteem. They may be more likely to avoid taking responsibility for their actions and lack the ability to make independent decisions. 

What’s a parent to do? Protect your child, by all means, but don’t do everything for them. Allow your child to make a mistake once in a while. Mistakes can be important lessons and can lead to crucial life skills that they can’t learn if they are sheltered from the situations they need to grow.

Give your child space and the latitude to make their own decisions. You can guide that decision-making but give them some latitude. Instead of handling their problems for them, give them the tools to handle their own problems.

And when they come in to the clinic, let them fill out their own form.