Diversity in Sports Development is Crucial

The first organized sport I ever played was football.  It was the 4th grade so I was nine years old.  Where I'm from, there were two teams back then for all ages up to 8th grade.  That means that as a nine year old, I was playing with 14 year old 8th graders, some of whom were already shaving.

I don't remember being frightened but maybe that's just memory loss.  Or maybe I was just too dumb to be afraid.

My best year on that team was 6th grade, when I was the starting left tackle for the Indians who won the league.  We thought we were just about the best team in America, with Jackie Lefler at quarterback and Gordo Watson and Mike Hooker at running back.  

You've heard me talk here about the summer recreation program in my hometown, where one day we might divide up and play baseball while another day was kickball, dodgeball, crafts, or flag football. 

And then on our own, we would play everything.  Basketball, tennis, street football...you name it.  We made contests out of everything from throwing rocks to catching fish by hand.

The main point is that we were always doing something.  I wrote an article about growing up that way not too long ago but the reality of it is that world doesn't exist anymore. 

Gone is the day when a 10 year old could leave on a bicycle in the morning and stay gone most of the day.  

Organized sports seem to be the best avenue available to the children of today for sports performance.

And that's OK too.  I've announced here before that my son's first favorite sport was gymnastics and his favorite gymnastic event was the balance beam. 

Thanks to Pat Dial, early movement education was stressed at Maryville Gymnastics.   Learning how to move your body, balance, coordination--all those things came with gymnastics, which may be the perfect first sport for children.

These days, the next sport is usually either soccer or baseball/softball.   Both have their merits.  Soccer teaches eye/foot coordination while baseball and softball teach eye/hand coordination.  Soccer is usually the more active sport and kids seem to grasp the objectives of the game better.

Travel ball for baseball and softball, where teams are put together for the sole purpose of playing weekend tournaments, is common beginning at about age 8 and widespread by age 10. 

For boys, football might be the next sport, although girls could probably play at that level (and a few do).  Mo'Ne Davis might open doors for more than little league baseball. 

Basketball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, track:  There are opportunities everywhere for participation and participation is good.  The bottom line is that playing lots of different sports is crucial to athletic development (and, if the truth be told, that's what a lot of parents are looking for anyway). 

I will tell you this:  If somebody says that your child is a "natural" and that if they will concentrate on this one particular sport they will surely be a star and a college scholarship recipient, run from them.  If they do this before your child is in high school, run and hide.

Biggest Lifting Mistakes

Keep in mind that my career is taking care of injuries.  Shoulders, knees, feet, ankles.  Hips, backs, necks, heads. 

For the record, I don't have any of those acronyms that designate that I am a strength coach or a personal trainer, like my colleague Tracy Martin, who in addition to being a physical therapist and an athletic trainer is also a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) and a Titleist Performance Instructor. 

But I have spent my life around athletics and have been known to frequent the gym.  I even used to own a gym, Cherokee Health & Fitness. 

And if you ever visit the Total Rehabilitation office where I see patients (Cherokee), you might find my desk interesting-it consists of a countertop between the rehab side of the facility and the fitness side.  That way, I can do my work on the rehab side but also be available for "minute" consultations with members of the fitness center.  And those happen every single day.

So forgive me for having strongly held opinions about what is good and bad about strength training and fitness.  It's just that I get to see the complete spectrum from injury thru rehab.

Among those strongly held opinions:

●Unless you are preparing for a competition, there is no place for single repetitions in anything.  No "single rep max."  That is where injuries occur.

●About that competition:  that's where a lot of injuries occur.  CrossFit (of which I am a huge advocate) has been a bit maligned because of a rather high rate of injuries.  In my opinion, those injuries are the result of the competitive nature of CrossFit.

Let me explain that a bit.  In CrossFit, you are always in a competition with yourself, with the clock, and often with those you are working out with.  That makes you work harder, which is part of the good side of CrossFit.  Formal CrossFit competitions are also huge right now.

The problem is that when you exceed your limits, your risk of injury is increased.  The key is to know your limits and stay within them.

●There isn't a lot of value to a flat bench press.   It isn't really a functional activity so its value in sports performance is negligible.  It is also the one exercise that is overemphasized more than all others.

Particularly in younger lifters, the bench press is the gold standard for their perception of how they are doing in the weight room.  "How much can you bench" is a common question among that demographic. 

Yet the overdevelopment of the front of the chest that is the inevitable result of too much emphasis on the bench press yields injuries.  Among weight lifters, it is the single biggest source of shoulder injuries that I see in the clinic.

●Be careful with full squats.  A heavily weighted squat in which you go all the way down as far as you can go is really hard on the knee. I have seen lots of torn menisci from full squats.

Let me close with a few tidbits.  It is more important for the 50+ person to participate in regular strength training than it is the 20-something.  It is extremely important for those prone to osteoporosis (mostly female) to participate in strength training.  Many of the effects of aging can be reduced by good fitness and regular visits to the gym.

Ode to Offensive Linemen

I hate the term "skill players" in describing members of any given football team.  Maybe because I was never one of them but it still has implications that I will never like.

When I played football, I was one of those guys with his hand in the dirt.  Even though I wasn't that big, lack of speed made me a lineman from pee-wee football on.   In high school, I was a linebacker and offensive tackle.

Yep, 5'11" and 195 pounds at offensive tackle. 

My son was also an offensive tackle (and defensive tackle in high school) but at 6'5" and 290 pounds, he was a bit better suited to that position than I was.  He was a heck of a lot better than me at it too. 

His skills carried him to 1st team All-State in high school and a successful college career at Clemson University.  But always, always with his hand in the dirt (with the single exception of his first year in organized football when he was a pee-wee league quarterback).

Offensive linemen are the unsung heroes of any good football team.  Ask any running back how far they would get without a decent offensive line.  They know.

Offensive linemen are the ones down in the trenches where blood and guts prevail.  Where the game is won or lost.  Often injured, they learn to play through pain and emerge on the other side better men because of it. 

The myth of the big dumb lineman is all myth.  I think the collective GPA for the seniors on my son's high school offensive line was well over 4.0.  They became an oral surgeon, a nurse, a nuclear physicist, and a lawyer.

So much for that myth.

For the most part, offensive linemen are big and have always been big.  There was a study done several years ago of linemen in the NFL.  Offensive linemen had been big their whole lives.  Defensive linemen, for the most part, were pretty average sized for most of their growing up years but in high school or college, suddenly grew.  A lot.

The analysis of that was that a child that is always bigger than the other children must always be controlled, even passive.  Gentle giants, if you will.  If the big kid is ever aggressive, they quickly get the label of bully. 

My son fit that description.  Always a head taller than pretty much everybody in his class, he had to be gentle.   In middle school, we used to offer to pay him to foul out of a basketball game.  In pee-wee and midget football, he wouldn't so much tackle somebody as he would grab them and lay them on the ground. 

I've watched David Ellis, offensive line coach at Maryville High School, mold young men of all sizes into effective offensive linemen.  There may be no better coach around than Coach Ellis.

Most offensive linemen are quiet, unassuming young men that do their job and don't expect the accolades that come with being the one to cross the goal-line or throw the deep route.  They accept their lot and take great pride in doing their job well.

So today it's hats off to the offensive linemen of the world.  

It's My Job!

It's been over 5 years now since Blount Memorial Hospital acquired Appalachian Therapy Center, the local rehab center of which I was majority owner.

I've probably said it a million times but BMH bought my practice and then gave me a job doing what I was already doing.  I've been blessed in so many ways for a long, long time and I'm pretty sure that in the long run, this is going to be another one.

My job is technically Manager of Outpatient Rehabilitation.   We have six outpatient offices where we provide a variety of rehabilitation services.  Much of what we do is physical therapy but we also provide services in occupational therapy, speech therapy, athletic training, and massage therapy.

That doesn't even begin to describe what all we do.   When most people think of us, they think about orthopedics and sports.   But we do a lot more, most of which you probably don't know about.  Aquatics, lymphedema, stroke rehab, hand therapy, wound management, cancer rehab, balance and vertigo programs.  These days, lots of rehab following joint replacements.

I'm blessed in that I get to go to work every day and do exactly what I love to do.  See patients, work with sports teams and athletes, work with a great team of clinicians and support staff.  And weekly write this column.  I've been doing it for about 29 years now and it is definitely a labor of love.

I will likely work until it isn't fun anymore or until I can't do the job well anymore.  I've got some key people in my life that have promised to let me know when that latter one happens.  But that's not why I'm writing this. 

I first moved here in 1977.  My first job out of physical therapy school was at Blount Memorial Hospital.  So BMH was my first job after graduation.  I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last.

In 1979, I moved to Bluefield, West Virginia for what I've called a 2 year sabbatical.  I returned to Maryville in 1981 and opened what would later become Appalachian Therapy Center.  I've been here ever since.

I've raised my family here.  My grandchildren are now all here and in local schools.  Even though I'm not a native, I've never been made to feel like an outsider.  This community is in my blood and I'd like to think I am part of the local fabric.

The life that is available to all of our citizens is what brought me here in the first place.  It's the people, the history, the schools...everything.  It's why I've stayed.

A third of the county is in a national park.  How cool is that?

Lakes and rivers form most of the other side of the county.  Everything in between is rolling, pastoral, beautiful.

The people...oh my.  Smart.  Friendly.  Accepting. 

From a health care standpoint, it's amazing what is available here.   Great hospital.  Top flight physicians.  I know them better than almost anybody and I can tell you they are good and smart and worthy.   They take care of me and mine.  Always have.  Always will.   

So today, I ask that you stop and think about how blessed you are to live here...about what a wonderful place this truly is.  Thank you, Blount County, from me and mine.

No Regrets

The year that you've anticipated for years:   Senior season.  It seems like it would never get here.

Maybe it started years ago in youth leagues.  Maybe it was a different sport but it led you down a path to where you are today.  Football, volleyball, golf, soccer--those are the fall sports that are now in full swing.

Maybe you really didn't find this sport until you got to high school but you have spent many hours preparing for these games.  You've worked hard, put in the sweat and tears, and now it is time to put all that into a memorable senior season.

Right now, your dreams are vivid and robust and full of success.  My wish for you is that it is everything that you dreamed of.   You will remember these days for the rest of your life.

It's been a very long time but I remember those feelings and dreams.  Maybe it is because I get to be around a new set of high school seniors every single year so I'm reminded annually of what it is like.  What it feels like.  What it smells like.  The confidence of having prepared well yet the insecurity of was it enough.

If you have done all you can do and lay it all on the line come game time, you should have no regrets.  For most, it represents the end of your athletic career.  I would hope that you take the active lifestyle that you learned from sports and carry it on perpetually.

For others, maybe it is the platform for other things.  If it gets college paid for, great.  That is a wonderful thing.  For the infinitely small number that will become professional at their sport, that's OK too.

But right now, before the games actually begin, it seems like you have all the time in the world.  You do, but you don't.  So savor every moment.

Enjoy the practices.  Enjoy the pre-game meals.  Enjoy your coaches.  Savor the bus rides and the meetings and the time spent with teammates. 

Because I can tell you, before you know it, it will be over.   And then all you have are the memories. 

So build good memories.  Don't be afraid of taking center stage.  Never miss an opportunity to appreciate those around you, especially your family who is probably there every time you take the court or field. 

Don't get caught up in needless drama.  Discard those people from your life who interfere with your focus, with your goals, with your team.

Don't waste a minute worrying about "things."  If you've done the work, arrive ready to play, and give it 100%, you'll have nothing to worry about.

Finish what you start.  If things aren't going well for you, if the victories aren't piling up, find what it is that you can do better and dedicate yourself to those things.

Stay coachable.  I don't know of a single coach around here who doesn't have your best interest in mind all of the time.  All that they really want is for you to be the best that you can be.  They are never never never trying to get in the way of your athletic "career."

In the end, the effort, the preparation, the dedication, and the focus are what matters most.  All that other stuff will take care of itself.

And parents, give your child the room to make the best of this season.  Support them, love them, and for goodness sake, be there for every game.   It will most assuredly be over in the blink of an eye.