New Beginnings

The little tree behind my clinic is emerging from winter's slumber. Beyond the bud stage, new leaves are starting to unfurl.

I've written about this tree before.  I park my truck next to it when I come to work each day.  It really doesn't seem to have grown that much but I guess my perspective is different, watching it every day.  I suppose that if I looked at a photo of it from 5 years ago, it would seem to have grown a lot.

Such is life watching things grow when you're looking up close.  I just know that I enjoy this little tree.  It has enough fall foliage to be colorful and enough branches to hold a little bit of snow in winter.

But in the spring--oh my.  That is when it is my favorite tree.

Many of us just celebrated Easter last weekend.  The holiest of Christian holidays, in many ways it represents renewal and a new beginning.

That's what I think about when I look at my little tree.  The renewal of life and the perpetuity of our world.  Life going on.

I don't want to sound all melancholy but this is my first Easter without a parent.  It's a bit of a strange character.  I now am the oldest generation in my family.  The patriarch, I guess. 

If you keep your eyes open, you will see signs of renewal and opportunity everywhere.  My little tree and some special time spent with my grandkids reminds me of that renewal, be it spiritual, physical, emotional...you name it.  It seems synonymous with spring.

We just finished spring football practice at MHS.  It's a new team and a new head coach.  Maybe this is my formal goodbye to George Quarles.  He will always be a friend and I will miss him greatly.

But Derek Hunt is now at the helm and I'm not sure I could be more excited about a football team.  You'd think that by now I would be getting tired of this stuff but it hasn't happened yet. 

It's a new team, a new season, and really a new coaching staff (although the people are the same--the dynamic will be different).  Isn't that true for every team everywhere?

I think it's one of the most exciting things about high school sports.  And maybe part of the reason coaches coach:   The chance to grow and mold young people and then to see what they can do on the playing field.  Renewing the process each and every year.

I'm sure that same sense of renewal and opportunity is present in all of our schools.  It's truly fun to watch kids grow up and change and become young ladies and young men of talent and ability when before they might have been only potential.

And those that you might never have thought would contribute to the team--those might be the most special of all.  A new season and a new team means that they have a blank slate...that they have the same chances as everyone else. 

Isn't that awesome?!?  I'm excited to see what the kid that languished behind a star can do when it becomes his or her turn.  

Stay tuned. 

I will.

The Best of Times

I attended a birthday party for my high school football coach not too long ago.  I told you about that.  Attending were many of the football greats that he had coached.  Someone speculated that those high school football days were the best days of their life.

It caused me to start thinking.  What has been the "best of times" for me?  And what made it so?

I remember being in kindergarten (I really do!) and loving everything about it.  It was in the basement of the Methodist church and the crafts and teachers were wonderful.  Even then, I loved recess. 

When I was eleven, I remember loading up in my new Boy Scout uniform and heading off to Camp Buck Toms.  I thought that was the greatest thing ever.  I loved everything about it.  I failed the swimming test because I thought the lifeguard was telling me to stop so I stopped (even then, I was a rules follower).  I redeemed myself by winning one of the swimming competitions later. 

Thirteen was special.  At the time, I thought the world most surely revolved around me.  I was finally a teenager.  Girls.  Sports.  Band.  Hanging out with friends.  Surely that was the best of times.

But then I turned sixteen.  I could drive!  Oh. My.  Goodness.  I didn't think life could get any better.  I had an old jalopy (you might have to look that term up) that we paid $55 for but I didn't care.  It was my key to freedom.  Get in it.  Turn the ignition.  Drive to the A&W.

And football.  Football became the other center of my life (along with a little farm girl from Philadelphia).  And we won the state championship that year.   I didn't think life could get any better than that.

Then I went off to college.  When I talk to young folks today, I tell them that college will change them and change their life more dramatically than anything they had ever experienced.  Some thrive.  Many struggle.  Thanks to some important influences, I was one that thrived.

Oh I didn't do great at first.  I was more interested in football, girls, and having fun (see a trend here?).  But knee surgery helped me figure out life and ambitions. I finally "got" this college thing.  I started dating the girl of my dreams and knew almost immediately where I wanted my life to go.  The best of times?   Surely.

From then on, things seemed to blur.  Life has flown by.  Kids.  Career.  Grandkids.  Experiences and people and things that were beyond my wildest dreams.

I've heard both Coach George Quarles and Coach Gary Rankin tell their young charges after winning one of the many, many championships that they had won "don't let this be the best thing you ever do."

I left that birthday party thinking yeah, those were really great times.  And it was great to catch up with so many friends--friends that I hadn't seen or talked to in many years.  But was that really the best time in my life?

Yeah, it probably was.  But so was everything else in there.  All the experiences and adventures that have made up my life.   I'd like to think that today and every day is the best day of my life.  At least that's my goal when I wake up in the morning.

How about you?  What is going to be the best thing you ever do?

Sometimes you've got to accept doing poorly

"How do you do it?"  Do what?

"All these things you do.  Like work and bike and write your column.  All that stuff."  I don't know.  It just gets done.

"I know, but you've got to have some advice for me.  I'm just getting started and I'm really overwhelmed."  OK.  Well, maybe.

First, turn off the television.  "No way.  I can't do that.  It's the only time I see my wife."  That sort of answers itself.  Uh dude, you can do better than that.

Is there really something on TV that you can't live without?  How many reality shows can one man stand?  And Bachelorette?  Really?

"But you're forgetting about sports.  I've got these sports packages so I can watch something 24 hours a day, on 10 different stations."  Do you really need to be watching the World Series of Tiddlywinks?  And you can hardly spell pentathlon, much less know what events are in it.

If memory serves me correctly, you watched the luge championship one time and then rode your kid's sled down the hill, into traffic, and then crashed into a tree.  Two surgeries didn't cure your interest in luge?

And then there's sleep.  Nobody needs to sleep until noon.  "I was up late."  Yeah, I know.  Binge watching MASH reruns really shouldn't be on the agenda.

I'll admit that this is the category that I fail on.  I don't get enough sleep.  No doubt.  I know that the research tells us clearly that we need more sleep.  It's just that I've got too much to do. 

"I've heard you brag about exercise all the time.  Your dadgum bicycle and all that.  There are just days that I don't want to exercise."

There are days that I don't want to exercise either.  But most of the time, I do it anyway.  It is part of my lifestyle.  It's part of who I am.  I do it because I want to be healthy for many more years. Right now, it's working pretty good for me.

It takes discipline (at which point my friend groans loudly).  And persistence.  And a loud alarm clock.

"OK...but back to the big picture, please."  Well, you've got to prioritize.  It is important to know what is most important to you.  You've got to have a plan.  Know what you want in life and understand what it takes to get there.

Some days it's important to knock out all the little tasks first and then move on to the most important big task.  Other days it helps to get all the easy stuff out of the way before you go to the harder stuff.  And sometimes it works best to tackle the hardest thing on your list first.  In other words, you've got be flexible. 

And one more thing.  You've got to be willing to do some things poorly.  Those are the things that are least important to you...that are lowest on your priority list.  I mean, I've seen your yard.  Mowing and trimming seem to be pretty low on your priority list.

"Yeah, if it's green and growing, I'm fine with it."  There you are.  You're already on it.  Good luck with the rest of it.

Eat That Burger!

My wife and I were sitting around, the NCAA Men's tournament was on TV, it's about 8 o'clock but I had my computer cranked up and was working (I'm always working, according to some) but then a burger commercial came on.  We had eaten a rather early dinner so when I saw that burger, I said to my wife "I could SO eat a burger right now."

Keep in mind that I don't eat many burgers.  I eat smart most all the time.  So we decide on which burger we really want and leave the house, now well after 8 PM to go get a burger.  We talk and laugh and consider how silly it is to be headed out this late just for a burger.

We talk about retirement and grandkids and all those things that people that have been married 40+ years and still like each other talk about.

And then the next morning I skip my workout (not to sleep in, mind you) and I'm OK with it.  That's unusual in that I'm usually most certainly NOT OK with missing a workout.

But you know what--I was OK with all of it.  It was very much outside my normal routine.  Those that know me know that I'm dedicated.  Dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.  Dedicated to a variety of pursuits.  Doggedly persistent.

And that's my point for today.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  We are blessed with a beautiful, interesting, mysterious world and we owe it to ourselves to be in it.

I know one person that wouldn't let a gram of fat pass her lips if her life depended on it (it might, but not the way she thinks).  Not me.  I'm not afraid.

I admit that I don't really tolerate idle time well.  I have a friend whose idea of the perfect beach vacation is to pull a chair to the edge of the water and read a book.  All day. 

Not me.  I need to be doing things.  Paddleboarding.  Snorkeling.  Building sandcastles.  Chasing grandkids.  Do I enjoy it more?  Maybe.  I feel like I'm immersed in the experience rather than sitting  watching it pass by.

I spend a lot of my time around teenagers.  Teenage athletes mostly.  Right now, a lot of them are experiencing "senior-itis," ready for their senior year of high school to be in the rearview mirror.  I caution them not to let a moment go by without savoring that moment.

Just can't stand to sit in one more high school classroom?  College, for all its glories, is still harder.  Those high school teachers will work hard to hold you accountable in the classroom.  In college, not so much. 

Much later, when you're reminiscing about your favorite teachers, you probably won't think about a college professor.  (You'll probably remember that teacher that believed in you.)  No disrespect for college professors, their job is simply different.

Still in sports?  Practice seem hard and goes on forever?  Can't help you much there.  Just take it from someone that has been in that place many times over many years--it's OK.  You will wish for those days again one day.

Be the best YOU!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about living in the moment.  I admitted that it was something that I struggled with--my way is more to tackle a task and not be satisfied until I am finished.

I related the story of working in my yard and finding joy in the task and the weather and being able to be outside.  Simply finishing became less important.

But that's not the whole story.  I also know that if you are to accomplish a lot, you've got to have a plan.  Having a goal and no plan is like leaving on a trip without a road map.  You've got to know where you want to end up.

It might be individual goals.  Never forget that the first thing you've got to be is the best you that you can be.  Competition comes later.  Much later. 

Maybe you want to be as strong as you can be.  Or as flexible as you can be.  Or as fast.  That's totally acceptable.  That gives you the foundation on which other things can be built.

I would tell you at this point that core strength is one of the most important components to any training program, regardless of your sport.  And if you want to prevent injuries, nothing is more important than flexibility.

The next step along your path is skills acquisition.  Maybe it is shooting free throws.  Or performance in agility drills.  Break skills down into their basic elements and work on that. 

For free throws, good coaches tell me that consistency in your form is essential.  That goal isn't going to move.  It's going to stay 10 feet off the floor and 15 feet away.

For agility drills, maybe it is the simple change of directions.  Work on that.  Foot speed is  best defined as how quickly you move your feet-a skill that essential to most sports.

If you're working on speed, breaking it down into components is essential.  It all starts with...well...the start.  Do you explode out?  Getting up to full speed quickly is important.  I remember an offensive lineman from around here who had the quickest first 2-3 steps that I had ever seen.  He used that to a good college career.

Stride length is important.  Flexibility is important.  Running form is important--you want everything focused on propelling you forward as fast as possible.

Personal goals should be just what the term implies.  But set yourself on the path to achieve your dreams by having a plan, seeking advice, and relentlessly pursuing success.

Maybe then it's time to expand to team goals.  Unless you're in an individual sport, in which case it's OK at this point to aspire to a state championship or whatever might be out there in front of you.

It's completely OK to set the bar high for team goals.  Go undefeated.  Win the District.  Win the league.  Win the state championship.  But never forget that if you're part of a team, that team goals must always (always) take precedence over individual goals. 

If you forget that, you will not give your sport what it deserves and you will certainly not take from sports what they have to offer you. 

It's A Personal Decision

"YOU LET YOUR SON PLAY FOOTBALL???"

Uh...yeah.  I seem to be getting that more and more these days.  It is often followed by the question/statement--"well what about concussions?"  Well, OK, that's an issue.  A big issue.  In all of sport.  Not just football.

As far as I know (and I should know), my son never had a concussion playing football.  I did.  There is one high school game that I don't remember.  At all.

I remember showing up in Dayton, Tennessee for the game and remember lining up across from an All State tackle.  I sort of remember him slapping me on the head and then it all fades. I never came out of the game.

 The next thing I remember is arriving back at my high school.  In film review, I actually played pretty well.  But I sure don't remember it.  This is from a person that can still tell you scores and individual plays some 45 years later.

So I obviously didn't suffer any cognitive damage from concussions from years of playing football (my cognitive insufficiencies are strictly my own).  That was also my only concussion.

So how do I answer the question of how can I possibly allow my child to play a sport where concussions happen?  That's a good question.

Medical science and research has taught how serious concussions can be. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they require our full attention and our best efforts. 

That same medical science and research has taught us how to better deal with concussions.  No longer do we put athletes back in the game once it "appears" that they are OK. 

We treat every blow to the head that results in any symptoms (headache, dizziness, blurred vision...those sorts of things) as a concussion.  And we don't wait until an athlete tells us that they are having a problem. 

If you ever watch one of our athletic trainers watching a game, you will likely see us watching intently.  I want to see how a player reacts to a collision.  Do they stagger away?  Does it seem like they are a bit disoriented?  Does something just not seem right about the way they move?

In the NFL, they even have a staff of athletic trainers whose job is to watch the game on video monitors, replaying possible injury scenarios.  They have the power to pull a player from a game based on all this. 

Once we have decided that something is up, that player must complete a battery of tests that includes balance and cognitive testing.  If there is anything (anything!) that indicates a problem, that game is over for that player. 

Then, for that player to return to sports they must pass a formal and extensive cognitive test, perform a variety of balance activities, and get medical clearance.  No exceptions. 

So what's the bottom line here?  We are better at recognizing possible concussions.  We are better at managing those concussions.  We are better at making sure that it is safe for an athlete to return to their sport. 

But it's still a personal decision.

Live in the Moment

A friend recently sent me a book entitled The Precious Present, written by Spencer Johnson.  Dr. Johnson is widely known for his book The One Minute Manager.

Without spoiling the book for you, let me tell you that it is basically about living in the moment, about enjoying life as you live it.

Let me back up a bit.  Confession time.  I don't do that very well.  I am very task oriented.  I get great satisfaction from completing a task.  The "doing" of the task...eh...not so much.

If you could see my desk, you would see a countertop littered with post-it notes with specific tasks on each one.  Even my computer has an application where another set of post-it notes can be found on the screen in digital form.

I take great pride in tossing those post-it notes in the trash or deleting them from my screen.  That is the final step to completing a task. 

My approach does seem to get a lot of things done.  I will tackle work projects and won't let up until I'm done.  I will work around my yard and will work feverishly just to get to the finish.  I will take a list of chores and go full speed until everything is checked off.

Even on the bicycle sometimes I'm that way.  I just want to get to the finish of the ride.  To accomplish the ride.  It's just the way I'm wired.  Or so I thought. 

A couple of weekends ago, I was trimming some bushes at home.   In typical fashion, I was trying to get finished with that project and get on to the next one.  More check-offs on my list of things to do that day-that's the goal.

But then I stopped and thought about why my friend sent me this book and what Dr. Johnson was trying to tell me.  It was a gorgeous day.  I felt great.  Life was (is) good.  I was doing something productive.  And I thought, what's wrong with being here, being in the now. 

I thought about a message that I've heard former Maryville High football coach George Quarles tell his players many times--about enjoying the moment.  I've heard him tell his players "you're only guaranteed 10 opportunities to play this game.  Don't take this one for granted.  You'll never get it back."

That is so true.  When preseason is in full swing and you're tired and it seems like the first game will never get here, it's easy to wish it would all be over.  But then the games start and the next thing you know, you're in the last game of the season, maybe the last game of your life.

I knew Coach Quarles was a super coach and a great builder of young men but I never realized that some of his lessons could include me.  I probably thought I was too old to listen or something. 

Goodness knows I'm an old dog and we've all heard you can't teach old dogs new tricks. But maybe, just maybe, I should have been listening all along.  Maybe life wouldn't be speeding by so fast if I would take the time to stop and smell the roses.

So here's the advice of the day:  Whatever you're doing, enjoy the moment.  Enjoy the journey.  Enjoy the game.