A Down Day?

OK.  I know this is the Sports Section and all and maybe what follows isn't much about sports but my answer to that is that sports are life and life is sports or something like that (and if you're already confused about where this is going, well...sorry about that).

Anyway, this is my favorite time of year.  Football in full swing.  Cooler mornings.  Crisp nights.  Time slows down a bit and life is full.

Yet I found myself fighting something last week.  Those around me kept asking me what was wrong.  

I guess I was more quiet than usual.  One friend suggested that my chemistry was off.  That's possible but how do you know?

Most people ask if anything had changed. 

Not really.  No major life events. My health is good.   I've still got most of my hair.  I can't quite stay up with Steve Bright on the bicycle but I'm still pretty decent. 

My six grandkids are the smartest, funniest, best kids around.  My kids have grown up into really great adults, making their own way in the world but letting us be a part of it.  I look forward eagerly to getting home to my wife each night and I'm not sure I can ask for anything much better than that.

My right knee is pretty much wore out (people ask me about my limp on a regular basis) but it really doesn't hurt me much so that knee replacement is still well off in the future.

So I got off by myself for a bit.  That's not something that my schedule allows very often (like never).  And I thought about some of the things that I've written about in this space.

And I remembered what a wonderful place that we live in.  Most people visit the Smokies (the most visited national park in the country).  We get to live here.  I mean, the Appalachian Trail forms the eastern border of our county!

Many people dream of a life on the lake.  We're surrounded by them.

I consider the climate around here just about perfect.  Go north and you get cold weather and snow that lingers so long that some of it was still around in July.  Go south and you get heat and humidity, bugs and sand. 

If you're into golf, we have golf courses all over the county.  Good ones.

We're blessed to have an outstanding college in the middle of town (Maryville College) which brings culture, sports, and academics to us.  Not been to the Clayton Center yet?  Big mistake.

And then there's Pellissippi State's Blount County campus--state of the art and giving us great educational diversity and opportunities.

Medical care?  Top-notch (even if I do say so myself).  A region with diversity and people that will give you the shirt off their backs. 

Lots of folks love the fall for college football.  It's a big deal around here.  At this point, everybody has a chance at a good season.  UT looks to be better but I'm hoping for a great season for my beloved Clemson Tigers (or at least another win over South Carolina).

I still prefer high school football.   On Friday nights, I get to walk the sidelines and be a part of something pretty special.  I'm living the dream with good friends, great family, and a job that I look forward to going to.

So today you're going to find a smile on my face and a song in my heart (or in my earbuds).  Have a blessed day.

Dr. Ken Bell

Today, I'm going to tell a story of the extraordinary things that the human body can do.

One of the constants of my adult life has been my friendship and professional relationship with Dr. Ken Bell.  We arrived in Maryville about the same time over 33 years ago.

Through the years we have played tennis, climbed rocks, rode bikes, hiked, been snow skiing, and done all manner of physical pursuits together.  We've driven across the country twice together, hauling bicycles to Utah and Colorado.

He and I (and a couple of others) have taken several "mancations" together, usually having something to do with mountain biking.

But today, I am in awe of Ken Bell.

For the better part of a year, Dr. Bell has been training to compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Chattanooga at the end of this month. 

In May, he competed in a half-Ironman Triathlon in Chattanooga more as a training activity than anything else.

Let me back up a bit.  In 2005, Dr. Bell finally relented and had Dr. Eric Morgan, his colleague at Maryville Orthopedic Clinic, perform a Total Hip Replacement on him.

For years, I had watched Dr. Bell agonize as he tried to straddle a bicycle or rise from bed or chair.  

When it finally started to interfere with his work as a surgeon, he got it fixed.

It was not longer afterwards that he was back on the bicycle.  Swimming always came easy for Dr. Bell (but then so did most other athletic pursuits--a story for another day) but running seemed out of the question.

One day not much later, he was participating in a sprint (shorter) triathlon and was experiencing some hip pain while walking during the running portion of the competition.  So he broke into a trot.

And he found that the hip pain went away.  He hasn't stopped since. 

Zoom forward to today.  An Ironman Triathlon is not just an ordinary race.  It is a grueling test of physical capacity.

Swim  2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon (26.2 miles). Definitely not for the faint of heart and definitely not for unfit.

So at this half-Ironman in May, Dr. Bell somewhat casually (he wasn't there to win) finished third and qualified for the Half-Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

Yeah...you heard me right.  The world championship.  In Zell Am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria.

So on August 20th, Dr. Bell headed for Austria to compete against 44 others in the 65-69 category.  He went early to get acclimated to the venues and the weather.

Alas, a serious family medical problem forced Dr. Bell and his wife Patty to return home 2 days before the competition started.

But rising from our small community is one of the best athletes in the world and that's a pretty big deal.

Oh, and he still plans on doing that full Ironman at the end of the month.

Not To Be Taken Lightly

One more time, I'm going to write about concussions.

For the past couple of years, concussions have dominated the popular and medical news media.  Several high profile cases have focused a lot of attention on an arena that really deserves a lot of attention.

Not that many years ago, if you could remember what you had for lunch (after a blow to the head, or after you got your "bell rung"), you went right back in the game.

The present state of awareness really started with a study that came out in 1994 that revealed evidence of significant brain trauma in NFL players that did not have a history of concussions.

Since then, lot of research and study has been done on the long term ramifications of concussions.  

And the results are scary. What we do know is that concussions are not to be taken lightly.  We know that there are long term effects even to relatively minor head trauma.

That when you "got your bell rung," actual damage was done, damage that could surface many years down the road.

And lest you think it is just a football thing, let me assure you that it is not. Any active individual can get a concussion.  (Heck, even an inactive individual can trip and fall in the bathroom and get a concussion.)

So, when is it a concussion and when is it just a bump on the head?

Without getting all medical about it (and because there really isn't a single definition of a concussion), a concussion is a blow to the head that disrupts the function of the brain. 

It may manifest itself as a headache, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, or memory loss.    It can be slight, maybe where a blow to the head leaves you with a mild headache, to severe, in which you lose consciousness.  Either way, we take it seriously. 

In sports, we start our evaluation immediately.   Decisions about how to deal with an unconscious athlete are simple--immobilize them, protect them, and get them transported to the nearest hospital in an ambulance. 

It's all those lesser injuries that take up most of our attention.

We start by administering a standardized set of questions useful in determining cognitive function.  Simple questions, really, but useful in deciding if the brain function has been impaired in any way.  

We perform balance testing , which can provide very important early information.

If symptoms go away quickly, we will just monitor their progress but the game that day at that time is over. 

Lingering symptoms used to mean staying up till quite late, watching for cognitive deterioration.  If there are several hours between injury and bedtime and the symptoms are not getting worse, sleep is generally OK.

Once they have no symptoms and have been cleared by their physician, we administer an ImPACT test, a computerized test of how the brain is functioning.  Along the way, we strongly (in no uncertain terms) insist that the athlete be honest about symptoms.  We don't want them hiding things from us.

If they have medical clearance and a negative ImPACT test, it still isn't over.  Our athletes then have to go through a series of exercises and activities that can take up to two weeks to complete and that's only if they have no recurrence of their symptoms.

This is one arena where we just don't take any chances.

Reflections On A Bike Ride

I went on a bicycle ride last weekend.  That should be no surprise.

This particular ride was a long ride uphill.  It was just me and one longtime friend.  And before you go all "aw heck, Joe's gonna talk about the bike again" let me tell you that this isn't about the bike at all.

It's about getting out and enjoying what we have in our backyard.

This particular ride (sorry) was on the Cherohala Skyway.

Have you ever made the trek from Tellico Plains to Robbinsville, North Carolina along Cherohala?  Oh.  My.  Goodness.

If you value these mountains, if you find these rolling hills beautiful, you owe it to yourself to make that drive.  The views are incredible.

And not many people visit the Cherohala.  In several hours on that winding path, we were passed by automobiles only twice (but by motorcycles a bunch of times).  It is an incredible if undiscovered asset.

I guess it doesn't get the attention of say the Blueridge Parkway since it connects one small, rural town (Tellico Plains) to another (Robbinsville).  By the way, drop by The Hub in Robbinsville for a meal or a shake.  Or both.

Of course we have the Smokies in our backyard and all the hiking trails there.  My wife doesn't consider it a good hike unless there is a waterfall at the end and Fern Branch Falls off of the Porter Creek Trail in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies is one of her favorites.

Lots of folks head for Ramsey Cascades nearby but this one is another worth your while.  On the way you pass by the Ownby Cemetery and the old Messer farm site.

And if you've never ventured beyond Bald River Falls at the confluence of Bald River and Tellico River, you've missed a gorgeous hike. 

Speaking of Cherohala, there is a short hike (1.3 miles) from the Rattlesnake Rock parking area to another gorgeous and rarely visited waterfall.  My wife and I visited in the middle of the winter when the ice was everywhere.

Lunch on a rock at the base of the falls was cold but magical.

We are surrounded by water in this area and lots of folks take advantage of it.  Fort Loudon is abuzz with ski boats and personal watercraft every weekend.

But there are other options.  A lot of folks have gotten into StandUp Paddleboarding (SUP) and Chilhowee Lake seems particularly suited for that.

We usually opt for canoe travel.  Put in at the Harrison Branch boat ramp where 129 emerges from the hills and you first see the Little Tennessee River.  Go straight across the river where motorboats can't go and explore the inlets and creeks on the other side.

Watch close and you may see a bald eagle.  If you keep looking, you can find Citico Creek and can travel for quite some distance before fallen trees force you to turn around.  Along the way, you will see everything from prehistoric-looking gar to birds of every ilk.  One day we saw a deer thrashing in the bushes.

My point is this:  You don't have to go far to see wonderful and amazing things.  And you don't have to run marathons or bike 100 miles to get in the middle of wilderness (or what seems like wilderness) that will take your breath away.

It's all in your backdoor.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I dealt with a couple of quite severe injuries this week.  Not quite catastrophic, as both these young athletes will one day be well and healthy.

It was my job to be there to take care of them when they were hurt.  It will be my job to do the rehab that gets them both back to playing their sports.  Running that gamut is what makes my job the best job around.

But it is also my job to help the injured athlete get through the emotional part of the injury.  And that part starts at the moment of the injury.

It starts with trust.  I don't believe in hiding anything from them.  I am honest with them about everything and then when I tell them that they will be OK, that they know that they can trust me.

That when they look in my eyes, they know that yes indeed it will all be OK one day.

We're currently rehabbing a big time marathon runner who also happens to be a friend of mine.  His knee surgery, which he knew was inevitable several months ago, has really gotten him down.  He is afraid he will never run again.

He and I chatted just the other day and I told him that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  That before this surgery, that light might be the train bearing down on him in that same dark tunnel.

But now the future is bright.  He will likely run again but has already decided that his days as a marathoner are over. 

So how do you help someone through the pain and the process of a significant injury?  When they are laying there with a broken bone or torn ligament, what can you do, what can you say, to help them get through it?

At the moment that they know that it is serious (and they almost always know without being told), what do you do to restore hope?

First, they need to see a calmness.  That can help set the stage for dealing with all these emotions.  

That's the caregivers, the family members, the coaches...everybody.

For those taking care of the injury--the doctors, the athletic trainers, the EMT's--doing your job, taking care of them with confidence is everything. 

Not too long ago, I dealt with a truly catastrophic injury--an injury that I knew was bad.  My words "you've just got to get through this" were what this person remembered most about the process of getting loaded up in the ambulance.

But in the end, I guess that there aren't really words to say that can help them bridge that gap from injury to wholeness again.  It really has to come from within.  You can only help (or hurt).

I want my kids (those athletes entrusted to my care) to know that I truly care for them.  That I only have their best interests at heart.  That I will never lie to them.

Kids are resilient.  Give them a chance and they will work hard to be as good or better than they once were.  It's another part of why my job is so great.

And seeing that light at the end of the tunnel is everything.  

Why Do Kids Not Have Summer Jobs Anymore?

I saw an article asking the question "why do our kids not have summer jobs anymore?"   So I asked around a bit.

I asked Drake Martin, MHS senior who plays football and baseball.  Drake worked all summer at a local landscaping/gardening retailer, putting in long hot days after football workouts every morning, baseball workouts, camps, and on and on.

I ran into Hannah Crook who in addition to pursuing a degree in nursing at Carson-Newman holds down at times as many as three jobs.  Lifeguard, caregiver, swimming instructor.

According to one study, there has been a 40% drop in summer employment over the last 12 years.  

Another study stated that only 25% of 16-19 year olds hold summer employment in America today. 

So obviously these ambitious two are more the exception. 

So what does that mean?  Are kids today lazier, less ambitious? I would suggest that is not the case at all, but more on that later.

One of the problem is year-round sports participation.  There really isn't a down season anymore.  TSSAA has even added a "dead period" for high school athletes during which they can't participate in school-related activities (workouts or practice).

But that just leaves more time for their travel teams or for camps or for "showcases."  Yes, it would appear that if you want your kid to get that all-elusive college scholarship, they've got to spend the entire year focusing on their sport.  No time for jobs there.

Year-round school is another deterrent to the summer job.  I don't know what I think about that.  Those that are in year-round schools seem to love it.  Those that aren't don't want to have anything to do with it.  It does limit employment opportunities though.

A lot of teenagers are participating in really great extended learning programs.  In the ever-increasing pressure to create an impressive resume so you can get into the college of your choice, such programs seem almost necessary.  Not a bad thing but maybe they're missing out on the lessons learned from a real job.

Of course a summer job means that you can't go to summer camps or travel with the family.  Surely that is a loss for the student. 

So what does it all mean?  Do kids today lack the "work ethic" of the baby boomer?

My generation works things to death.  Too hard really.  In high school, I did farm work, bagged groceries at the White Store, and mowed yards.  In college, my jobs varied from summers in my hometown factory to teaching lacrosse to kids at the YMCA (and most everything in between).

Even now I put in too many hours, stay at football practice until late, and then go home and do yard work, farm work, and honey-do's.

I would suggest that young folks today do two things very differently:  They work smarter and they have a different value system from us older folks.  They still work as hard but work more efficiently, targeting projects and activities that help them reach personal goals.

There is no way that people of my generation worked as hard at sports as today's young athletes do.  

We just didn't have the opportunities they do.   The result is bigger, faster, better athletes.  It's really beyond argument.

And young folks today value personal time, the opportunities to do the things that make them happy, and a more well-rounded life.

Maybe they're missing the many things you learned from summer jobs and earning a paycheck but in the long run maybe they're going to be better off because of it.

We can only hope so because the future is in their hands.  

The History of the Jock Doc

I was asked a couple of times how long I had written this column.  I have to admit, I'm not exactly sure.

It's somewhere around 30 years.  It all started when The Daily Times Sports Editor Gary Turner asked me to write a piece for the newspaper addressing questions about sports medicine. 

I recruited Dr. Bob Haralson, the founder of Maryville Orthopedic Clinic, to join me and we took week about answering questions that we got from readers and some that we created ourselves.  It was called The Jock Doc.

We floated along like that for a couple of years and then Dr. Haralson turned it all over to me and it became a column.  For a long time, it appeared a couple of times a month.

In about 1990, it became a weekly feature and sometime in there was moved to Sundays.  It has remained focused on sports and athletic health care but the good folks at The Daily Times have given me the latitude to preach about a wide range of topics. 

I've generally avoided religion and politics but even those have been touched through the years.

What all that means is that I have produced a 900 word essay every week, 52 weeks a year, for 25 years or so.  From somebody who wasn't a particularly good English student in high school

Well...no...the truth is, I hated English.  And hated writing essays even more.  I've told the story here before about Dr. Barrett, the UT English professor that changed all that (although my senior English teacher in high school, Edward Headlee, planted that seed).

In a nutshell, Dr. Barrett brought me in to his office and asked me why I was such an underachieving student in his class.  He saw something in me that I didn't know I had.

And if you've followed my column through the years, you know that my high school football coach did pretty much the same thing.  He was the person that gave me the confidence to seek success that has served me so well since that day when he told a bystander to football practice "if he works at it, he can be a good one."

So here I sit, pondering 30+ years of writing a newspaper column.  Make no mistake, it is a labor of love.  And I have no plans to quit.

But I've reached the conclusion that we all have an overwhelming obligation to see the good in people, the skills they have, the traits they possess and then to tell them about it.

This is my place to do that.

My personal goal in this space is to be uplifting and positive.  Sure, I might occasionally speak out against injustices and I do have particularly strong feelings about smoking and other bad health practices, but I try to couch even those in positive ways.  I believe if that you are going to point out a problem that you should be ready to provide a solution.

Thinking about your own sports experiences, who were your favorite coaches?  Those that yelled all the time?  That never had a good thing to say?

Or maybe it was that coach that knew when you needed a boost.  Who might have been demanding but who saw things in you that you didn't even know you had.  Who were a positive influence on you.

Those are the best coaches out there, in my opinion. 

Be a positive influence in somebody's life.  Every day.  The world will be a better place.