It's All About the Child

The late, great Jim Dykes once told me "I like your column but you need to get off that (expletive deleted) bike fetish."  In other words, I write about the bicycle a little too often.

So every time I start to tell you more about the bicycle or how wonderful it is to ride around here, I stop and ask myself if I'm violating Mr. Dykes revered admonition.   Sometimes, if the story is too good not to be told, I forge ahead anyway.  But generally, I stop and write about something else.

Jim Dykes, if you don't remember, was a long-time newspaperman in these parts.  His column in the old Knoxville Journal was one of the funniest and smartest tomes you will find.  His compliment (I took it as such) was maybe the greatest day in my life as a columnist.

If you've been reading, you know that I'm now a grandad.  Six times over, even.   7, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 7 months.  We are blessed that all six live in Blount County.   I can't imagine what it would be like for them to be half way across the country or, like my buddy Steve, half a world away. 

I've heard many a grandparent confess that if they knew that grandchildren were going to be this good, they would have skipped kids and gone straight to grandkids. It really is that good.  However, I really enjoyed my own children too much to say that but my wife-oh my goodness-she loves those babies.  Heaven is an infant in her arms.

In the next few years you might get tired of hearing about my grandkids, just like Jim Dykes was tired of reading about my bicycle.   Maybe Rhetta Grimsley-Johnson (my other favorite columnist) will be the one to tell me to back off on grandkid stories.

But as with everything I write, there is always a message.  Self-proclaimed as "preachy," I do always try and be a teacher (my first profession) here.  

Anyway, while attending soccer games for the three oldest last Saturday, watching my kids and all the others out there, I found myself stepping back and looking at things differently.   I mentioned that a couple of weeks ago.

There seemed to be as many grandparents out there as there were parents.   I can tell you that the grandparents were generally better behaved than the parents (did I really yell at the referees back then?) but then and now, the kids just wanted to play.  

At 7,6, and 4, they really didn't care what the score was at the end of the game.  I'm pretty sure no athletic careers were being etched in stone out there on a blustery morning on Everett Hill but you might have thought otherwise had you been there.

What I saw out there were kids running around and having fun.   Some took it more seriously than others and sure, some were better than others.   But each of them "needed" to be out there, sometimes for very different reasons.

 And what I came to realize most clearly was that every child deserves to feel special.  Mine, yours, every single one of them.  Because they are. 

So when I'm faced with the decision of riding bicycles on these glorious roads and trails we have around here with my buddies or watching grandkids play soccer, you're going to find me shivering on the sidelines.

All About the ACL

ACL.  It's an acronym, but most people don't know what it stands for.

Oh, they know what it means.  They know that it is in the knee.  They know that if it is torn that the season is over.  They know that it rarely means good news.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament is in the middle of the knee and is easily the most important stabilizer of the knee.  In other words, it is essential to holding the knee together.  You might be able to do some things without a good ACL but not many.

It crosses from front to back, attaching the lower leg bone (tibia) to the upper (femur). 

There is a PCL, or Posterior Cruciate Ligament, but it very rarely gets injured and even when it does, a lot of people can function normally without it.

Too often, it seems, I have had to deliver the bad news that the ACL had been injured.  And trust me, EVERY athlete knows that means bad news.   It's the injury they fear the most.

Before I go on, let me offer a few statistics.   Females have a lot more ACL injuries than males.  At a ratio of maybe 8-1.  Most of that is anatomy but part of it is that a lot of female athletes avoid strength training either until they are older or just avoid it altogether.  Or go about it all wrong.

There are roughly 100,000 ACL ruptures per year in this country, with a significant portion of those being athletes.   The tear occurs most often with a twisting or deceleration injury.  About 70% of all ACL injuries do not involve contact.

Football gets blamed for a lot of the ACL injuries but there is no sport that is immune.  And not playing something is unacceptable.   That leads to a sedentary lifestyle and that simply isn't an option if your health is important to you.

But there is good news.   Because of advances in orthopedic surgical techniques and rehabilitation, you will be healthy again one day.   Not today, but sooner than you think.

I will often see someone that has had surgical repair to their ACL within a few days of that surgery.   Your first thought might be "that's too soon," but I assure you it is not.   We know that early intervention means good results.  It might hurt a bit to move that knee (again, not nearly as much as you think) but in the hands of a skilled physical therapist, that movement will not only be essential to the rehabilitation process but will also rapidly help you to feel much better.

Most ACL rehabilitation programs are "criteria-based," which means that they are largely driven by the progress of the patient.   Basically, that just recognizes that some people heal quicker than others.   Still, there often can be no substitute for time so there are certain principles that we must all follow that are based on evidence.

At various times in the past couple of decades, there has been an attempt to return athletes to competitive sports as quickly as possible.  We now know that practice can be a big mistake.   It is far better to allow adequate healing while at the same time restoring things like motion, strength, balance, and agility.  It's going to take at least 4-6 months and there is really nothing you can do to shorten the rehab.

One of the most gratifying things that can happen in my profession is to be there when a young athlete gets back to their sport, especially that point when they realize that their knee is normal again.   If you were there when they first hurt that knee and can relate that heartbreak to the joy of return, it is especially sweet. 

George Quarles: Building Young Men

Friday night was Maryville High School's George Quarles 200th win as a head football coach.  Keep in mind that that writing about him is a great personal risk for me--he avoids the limelight like the plague and he could fire me tomorrow.  But I wrote about him once before and he didn't fire me so I'm going to take that risk once again.

After all, it isn't every day that somebody wins 200 high school football games.   In only 15 seasons as a head coach.  

Since becoming Head Coach in 1999, he has lost only 14 games.   Let's take away the three losses in his first year (1999) and the first four of 2000, when his team started the season 0-4 before reeling off 11 straight wins including his first state championship as a head coach.   That means that since the incredible run of championships really started, he is 190-7.  

Think about that.   In that stretch, 6 undefeated seasons.  Nine state championships, more than any coach in Tennessee high school history.  

I mean, goodness!  200 wins!   That's amazing.   He may have reached that landmark the fastest of any high school football coach in history. 

But let me tell you the best thing about him:  He builds character.  Sure, every coach everywhere talks about building character but Coach Quarles does it.   Every day.  

The next best thing about him (in my opinion) is that he builds work ethic.   Put those two together and he builds good young men.   The football thing just happens to go pretty well because of both of those things too.

I'm asked often what it is about Maryville that makes the football team so good year after year.  I don't know that I have any better answer than anybody else.   Dedication, buy-in, winning attitude, confidence, preparation, coaching...the list could be long. 

But it all starts with the humble man at the helm. 

Well today, I'm going to tell you the inside secret about George Quarles.  The one main thing that sets him apart from almost every coach that I've ever known.   Vision.   That's it.   He has it.

He can see everything.  Everything.   A lineman makes a wrong step? Coach Quarles has the best offensive line coach in the country in David Ellis and yet he still sees the field so completely, he can see that lineman and every other position on the field, including what the opponents are doing. 

It is uncanny, really.   That ability helps him to be...well...George Quarles.   And you and I can work and study and we can never have that "thing" that sets him apart. 

It has been my pleasure to walk the sideline with him for almost every one of those 200 wins and more hours together on the practice field than either of us would want to admit.   Thank you, Coach Quarles, for the opportunity.  And congratulations

Your Perspective Changes

Let me tell you a grandchild story.  Oh, not your usual grandchild story (I hope) about "look at what MY grandchild has done lately."  

I could go there:  I've got six of those creatures.  Grandchildren that is.  7, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 6 months.   Let me tell you about my grandchildren (no, not really).

The three oldest of those (7,6,4) are playing soccer through the soccer program at Parks & Rec.  7 & 6 had played last year but in Knoxville where they lived then.  

I hadn't been on the fields at old Everett High School in a long time, maybe since my son played first soccer and then football there.   They've done a good job of fixing it up--new concession stand, nice bleachers, good fields for play.

But it really hasn't changed that much.  Heck, it hasn't changed that much since 1968 when my high school football team played Everett High in football (Jackie Lefler threw a touchdown pass as time expired to win the game) or when my brother-in-law played in an epic playoff game against Maryville High on that same field in 1975. 

It is most definitely a memorable place, steeped in memories for a lot of people.

So here I was early on a Saturday morning, waiting the start of a game on fields where I had spent many hours.   The Black/Dee entourage was impressive:  Last Saturday we even added my 94 year old mother to the group.  When we lined up the folding chairs (you know the kind), we seemed to reach from end zone to end zone.   It was more like we invaded the place as we settled in to watch whichever child (7,6, or 4) play.

A buddy of mine with grandchildren of his own to watch beat me to the cliché-"it seems like just yesterday that we were here with our own kids."

The week before, we had watched the first game (7) in a driving rain.   4 was up next and he declared that he didn't really want to play in that rain so we left to go eat something.   6's game later that morning was cancelled so the Grandmother and I didn't have to make excuses for our absence.  We were with the 4--we didn't want to stand up out there in all that rain either. 

My goodness the 4 year old may have more sense than all of us anyway.

But last Saturday was gorgeous with sunshine and just enough cool to make it comfortable.   And everyone had the aforementioned folding chairs lined up field side for the spectacle to unfold.

Let me tell you about those kids.   I'm pretty sure 7 won't have a long career in soccer but she sure has fun out there.  Oh, she'll play something.  She's going to be tall and she's already athletic with parents wise enough to let her choose her own path. 

6 is a much better soccer player than we would have thought.   She stole the ball once, dribbled the length of the field and then a fired a shot that just missed the back post (but I wasn't going to go there, was I....)

4 probably won't play a lot of soccer either.   I see more individual sports in his future.  Maybe tennis or something where he doesn't have to hit someone else and for sure someone else doesn't get to hit him.

But the point of all this is that they are out there, moving, running, kicking, having fun.   Basic movement education.   I don't care if they become great soccer players or not.  I'm more interested in them learning how to move their bodies, developing athleticism and love for an active lifestyle.

Now THAT'S what it's all about!

The Story of John Tuggle

John Tuggle was a New York Giants football player that was the last player taken in the 1983 NFL draft.   With that last spot goes the unfortunate moniker "Mr. Irrelevant."  You see, very few last picks ever make a team anywhere.

John Tuggle was neither ordinary nor irrelevant.  Against all odds, he made the team and at the end of his rookie year, was named the Giants' Special Teams Player of the Year.

That's when things went downhill for him.  He and his college sweetheart divorced and a knee injury required surgery.  Then he was in an automobile accident and it was discovered that  he had an aggressive form of cancer. 

His diagnosis: Angiosarcoma, that had settled in his lungs.  He was given six months to live.

Not only did that not stop him, it didn't even slow him down.  His response to the diagnosis? ''Well, am I gonna sit around and cry about this or am I gonna take this as day one of beating it?''

So instead of rest and recuperation, Tuggle did what he knew best--work even harder.  Already a legend in the weight room, he put even more energy and dedication into his fitness level in a battle against his cancer.

And despite his cancer, he continued to play football in 1984 and 1985.  

Think about that for a moment....he was getting chemotherapy and radiation, went through several surgeries, had a cancer diagnosis that was terminal, and yet he continued to play professional football. 

Teammates with things as insignificant (in comparison)as an ankle sprain were reluctant to complain.   How could they? 

After the 1985 season, his contract was up and he was not re-signed to the Giants.  Physically, he just wasn't able to compete any more.  The cancer had taken too much from him.

I knew the basics of the story but only after watching ESPN's 30 for 30 Shorts did I know the rest of the story.  If you haven't seen it, you can probably find it on the internet.  It's worth watching but make sure you have a handkerchief handy.

 
For Coach Bill Parcells, cutting Tuggle was just about the hardest thing that he ever did.  And although he was no longer a member of the team, the Giants continued to pay for his health insurance (and would do so for the rest of his life).

He died the very next year, in 1986.  At age 25. 

Watching video of Tuggle play football and talk about his life can only inspire you.  Inspire you to work harder, to live life to its fullest, to dedicate yourself to something bigger than yourself.  

Of course he didn't want to die--didn't expect to die.  Until the last moments, he thought that he could beat the cancer.   But he did give it his everything, lived the life he imagined, and knew where he was going after that last breath.

What more can we ask.

The Problem with Backpacks

Without violating all sorts of federal and state laws about privacy and all that (if you know what HIPPA means, then you know what I'm talking about), let me tell you today that I am currently treating four high school-age teenagers for neck and back problems that I believe are due to the heavy backpacks that they have to carry at school every day.

Four patients in physical therapy at one time by one physical therapist.   And there are a lot more physical therapists around here than just me.  Figure that in and over the course of the year, the number of kids hurting from backpacks becomes staggering.

I've written about this topic before and goodness knows I've preached that sermon anytime anyone would listen but something has got to be done.

Just last week, I picked up the backpack of one of my student athletic trainers just to move it out of the way.  I thought I had dislocated my shoulder as I lifted it up.

My goodness, I once backpacked the length of the Appalachian Trail that lies within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, from Fontana to Davenport Gap with a backpack that weighed less than the one this 15 year old girl was carrying.

I think a lot of it is the backpack itself.  They just aren't made for these kinds of weight.   For the same weight, I would want a trekking pack with a padded hip belt, an internal frame, and much better shoulder straps. In other words, a backpack made for carrying heavy loads.   But that's only part of the problem.

The posture that they have to assume to carry this load is awful.  No wonder they hurt.

You see them walk by and they are all hunched forward, with their shoulders rolled in tugging on the straps, bent forward at the waist as though they were facing a mighty wind, with their head straining forward to help balance the load.

It is positively obscene.  

And here's what most people don't understand:  they do this every day.   Sometimes it is between classes.  More than once, I've heard the complaint from one of these teens that they have to carry ALL of their books ALL day, since their locker is too far away for them to visit it between classes.  

So what happens?  They end up with neck and back problems and in physical therapy for treatment and rehabilitation.  And goodness knows what is in store for them as they get older.

Better backpacks would help.  I've tried making the suggestion that they switch to one of those cases that roll along behind you, pulled by a handle (like you would see in an airport).  No way!   That would most definitely not be cool.

I understand budget constraints and the constant pressure on our schools to do more with less but in the computer age is there not an electronic option?   I got another degree in 2008 where I didn't have a single textbook, where most of the work was done on my laptop from any place I could get on the internet.  

I don't have all the answers but I'm pretty sure I've got a handle on what the problem is.

Attention to the Details

I see it every day--dreams in the making.

Maybe it's an athlete working out at the fitness center that serves as the view from my desk or maybe it's somebody on my football team.   It could be somebody in the batting cage next door or one of the many outside at Maryville Little League.

Exercising, working, sweating, and yes, hurting...all in the pursuit of an athlete's dream.

Sometimes the dream is a big picture like the running back that dreams about scoring the winning touchdown or the basketball player that leads their team to victory.  

We never dream of failure--always success.   Always driving in the winning run or getting the last strikeout.  Of kicking a field goal as time expires.   But before you get to that point, there is a lot of work to be done.  

You've first got to learn the basics that provide the foundation for further skill acquisition.   Nobody goes out and high jumps 6 feet on the first try.  Speed, technique, and practice have got to come first.

It is the little things like perfecting the gymnastics dismount or the handspring roundoff.   At some point, it might have been just getting to the end of the balance beam without falling off.  Or hitting free throws consistently.

Those small pieces that make up athletic success.  I guess my point today is pretty simple:  That focusing on those little parts is what ultimately leads to the bigger success.   Some coaches call it "attention to the details."

I know I see that every day too.   Coaches running the same play again and again until it is perfect and then running it some more so that it becomes automatic.   That is often what separates those that persistently succeed from those that too often fail.

Let's look the progression of a successful running back.  At first you run.   Then you learn to run faster.   Then you learn how to start fast at the snap of the ball.  Along the way you learn to change directions and evade a tackler.  Then you learn how to read a defense and hit the seams open to you.

The good ones seem to have an innate sense about when they are about to be tackled.  More than once, I've seen a good runner accelerate once they are in the open. 

Or take tennis.   First you learn the forehand, then maybe the backhand.   The overhead comes in there sometime and the volley.   Next you start to put the game together and can actually begin to play the game. 

Maybe all this is why I have no interest in league championships and that sort of things for children.   Save that stuff for when it means much more.   In my opinion, the perfect little league season is when all teams hover around .500 (winning about half of their games).   That means that working on the basics-giving kids the skills to later put together winning performances-is the most important thing.

Giving children opportunities to build that foundation is the best thing that you can do for them.   In other words, the most important thing you can do for your budding superstar is to have them learn how to move and use their bodies.  That means that they play different sports and try new things.

As I've said here before, my son's first sport was gymnastics where the balance beam was his favorite activity.  I'm willing to bet that the balance he learned at 3 under the tutelage of Pat Dial made him a better athlete later on. 

His first team sport was baseball, where you do lots of different things (throw, run, catch, hit a moving object) and then soccer, where you learn to use your feet.  His final sport, football, was where he was most successful.

I think those basic movement skills served him pretty well.