Thanks for the Memories

 

I was reminded recently by a former athlete how special youth sports teams can be.  He told me about some of those positive experiences and how they impacted the rest of his life.

It opened up the floodgates of memories for me.  Through the years, I coached a little bit of everything. Baseball, softball, soccer, football, basketball. If my kids were involved, I was helping in some way.

The first real soccer game I ever saw, I coached. I didn’t know much about it, but I learned. I only coached one year of t-ball baseball, with the late great Tommy Wilson, but I stayed on in the administrative side for little league baseball for several more years.

I coached softball until my daughter moved on. To this day, I stay in touch with many of those players, and always send birthday greetings to my favorite second-base player, Abbie Mitchell Rector.

I was stopped in a funeral receiving line by one of those not too long ago.  She remembers those days fondly. I hope they all do (although I think Summer Maciel Webb’s mom still holds it against me for the time I put some kind of goop in Summer’s hair).

Football was fun for me. I hope it was for the players on the team. I helped Ricky Maples with the Cubs and Bears until my son got too big for the Parks & Rec league. His first year, he played quarterback, but soon figured out that his future in football had his hand in the dirt (ask a football player).

Coach Maples and Nick even had a system of hand signals to call the plays from the sidelines. Formation, play, and snapcount…all transmitted through hand signals. Pretty cool for a 9 year old.

But basketball was where I spent most of my coaching years. In about 1990, I restarted the dormant Blount Stars program, originally created by coaching legends Charlie Finley and Tom Ware.

I coached both a boys team and a girls team.  I supplied the uniforms, recruited the coaches, and handled most of the logistics.  What I got in return was a lifetime of memories and relationships. 

But do I remember the games and all that?  Not so much.

What I remember are the road trips.  Going to downtown Memphis with the Bright family, looking at the sights that had changed so much since the 70’s when I lived there.

Loading up to head for an AAU basketball tournament somewhere.  Bill Hammon had this big red Suburban and I had my family van so we would load up the boys team and head somewhere for a tournament. Everyone had to ride in one of the two team vehicles.  Everyone roomed together, ate together, and hung out together.

We got stuck in Middlesboro, Kentucky one time by a snow storm. They cancelled the games but wouldn’t let us in the gym so we just hung out in the hotel until we could get home.

My assistant coaches for much of this time were Big Larry (Jones) and Little Larry (Sankey), the latter of which wasn’t really little at all.  We had a thing called “Prime Time Pine,” for those that didn’t follow the rules.

Yeah, we won some games along the way but that’s not what I remember. I remember the kids making friends, being kids, and playing together. I’d like to think that they became better adults because of those experiences.  I don’t think anybody became better adults because of the games we won or lost.

But maybe that’s just me.

Are you willing to pay the price?

 

Are you?  Are you willing to get up at 5 AM in order to get to the gym and get a workout in before anyone you know is even up?

When your friends are all going out, but you need to catch up on some things so that you can concentrate on taking care of the things that will help you succeed, will you go out or will you finish the needed tasks?

Are you willing to put in the effort?  When the going gets tough, are you going to push harder? Are you going to work harder than you ever have? Are you willing to follow a nutritional path that is better for you? Will you pass on that cheeseburger and fries, even though all those around you are not?

Are you willing to be coachable?  Will you listen?  Will you trust? Are you willing to go to bed early enough to get a good night’s sleep? Are you willing to tolerate the pain and suffering?  When it hurts, will you say “one more?”

Are you willing to let the team come first?  Will you ignore all those around you that are telling you that you are the best ever, and simply go out and prove that you’re the best you?

I had the distinct pleasure recently of attending the retirement reception for Dawn Marsh.  Dr. Ken Bell and I decided to surprise her at the reception at Duluth High School in Duluth, Georgia.

If you have been around here for long, you should remember Dawn.  If not, you surely recognize the Marsh name, part of the winning legacy at Alcoa High School.

Dawn was one of the best ever.  In high school, she led her basketball team to the state tournament.  As a Lady Vol, she led the 1987 team to Pat Summit’s first national championship.

She still holds several Lady Vol records, including most assists in a game (18), most assists in a season (243), and most assists in a career (755). In other words, she made everyone around her better. 

She just concluded a storied career at Duluth High School, where she was a teacher and a coach.  Along the way, she coached basketball, golf, and softball, winning a state championship in softball in 1999, finishing with a perfect 23-0 record.  She continues being a highly respected NCAA basketball official.

Dawn was the epitome of doing what it takes to win.  When she was in high school, her Uncle David Marsh (another legendary Marsh and high school state champion at Alcoa) was the boys’ basketball coach so she could get into the gym anytime she wanted to.

She spent her summers playing pickup games all across Maryville and Alcoa, becoming a playground legend along the way.  There is no doubt that she could have excelled in any sport available to her, but basketball seemed to be her destiny.

She could dribble, she could shoot, she could pass (obviously). Much to the dismay of Pat Flynn, her high school coach, and Pat Summitt, her behind-the-back, no-look passes were still a sight to behold.  Watching her play was downright fun. Despite that, she was every coach’s dream. She worked hard, never took a night off, never let anything get in the way of excelling on the basketball court.

So…if you want to be good, if you really do want to do what it takes to be successful, be like Dawn.

The Joy of Sport

 

I saw a high school basketball game last week.  That might not seem particularly odd, unless you consider that I haven’t seen a high school basketball game in probably 5 years. Now that’s odd. At least for me.

I’ve seen a lot of basketball games.  A LOT of basketball games.  Legendary coach Galen Johnson and I used to sit together at games and the conversation often turned to which of us had seen more basketball games. 

I’m pretty sure he won that contest but it doesn’t change the fact that both of us had seen a ton of games.  For most of those, I was working.  My role as an athletic trainer and sports physical therapist put me on the sidelines of many, many games.

My own kids played until mid-way through high school, when they quit to focus on what ultimately were their best sports.

I coached travel basketball for several years, coaching both girls and boys teams.  And I played a lot of basketball, finally hanging up my sneakers at age 59.

This game that I attended was William Blount versus Heritage, and the gym was packed.  I was mostly there to see a couple of girls that I got to know through their rehab. One is still sidelined by knee problems but the other is joyously healthy after going through ACL reconstruction and months of physical therapy.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I saw people that I hadn’t seen in years.  I got to watch the work of coaches that I admire. And I saw hustle and a level of play that I don’t remember seeing often back when I was attending 3-5 games a week.

I sat between two friends and enjoyed every minute of it. I listened when fans disagreed with the referees (don’t they always?) and found that I could observe the game with great objectivity, certainly more than back when I had a kid on that court.

So, here’s my takeaway—basketball is an amazing game…a game that is a joy to play and a joy to watch.  I often wish I had stayed with it.  Football was my sport, but I might have been better at basketball if I stuck to it. I know that I was able to play basketball a lot longer than any other sport I’ve done.

Injuries do occur—that is undeniable, but isn’t it still true that “nothing ventured, nothing gained?” I still believe in the value of sports. 

I believe that the lessons that we learn from sports participation prepare us better for life. It is just those very lessons, learned on the fields of friendly competition, that teach us how to work with others, to get the best out of ourselves, and how teamwork really functions.

I believe that moving our body, purposefully while pushing our physical limits, helps us to lead healthier, happier lives. 

I enjoyed that game. I enjoyed the kiddos that I came to see and others that I maybe didn’t. I enjoyed picking out which players had parents that I took care of when those parents were on that same court (there were many).

I enjoyed the spirit and the effort and the game. I think I’ll be going back.