It’s getting colder outside, forcing people inside a bit more. I’ve got several thoughts on this.

First, adapt and head outside anyway. I think you’ll find it to be quite pleasant if you dress properly and move once you get out there.

Some people think (some know) that I’m pretty crazy for riding a bicycle through the winter. I’m here to tell you that it really isn’t that bad at all. This week, it was certainly colder but by dressing properly, bicycling was actually incredible this week.

Mountain biking at Dirty South in Knoxville on Tuesday, gravel bike on Wednesday, road bike on Thursday—all were absolutely wonderful. Sure, it’s a bit cold when you start but after you get warmed up, it was perfect.

I know that people see runners out there in shorts and maybe a long sleeve t-shirt with gloves and a toboggan and think that they must be insane. But by generating some body heat through exercise, I’m sure they are quite comfortable.

Same thing for hikers. Layers are the key. And take items in your backpack that will accommodate changes in weather.

Take the kids to the park. Once there and moving, they will be fine. If you just stand there and watch them, you might get cold but that’s what jackets and scarves are made for. Take the short hike up to the tower at Look Rock.

In colder weather, the air is cleaner and crisper. The trees losing their leaves just means that the views are even more vast and spectacular. There may not be a better time to head for the Smokies than in the middle of winter.

Second, it’s more important to follow Covid precautions as you spend more time indoors.

There is no doubt that more time inside and more people in closer quarters makes social distancing more difficult. We also know that colder weather brings on the cold and flu season.

Hospitals in colder climates are already seeing a huge upsurge in Covid cases. Denver hospitals are full. It just makes sense.

I’m not going to argue the whole mask thing. Science has told us that masks work and Common Sense tells me that the mask doesn’t have to be impervious to help. Any barrier will reduce the distance that the droplets will travel.

I know for sure that wearing a mask keeps my fingers out of my mouth. I had no idea how bad I was until I started wearing a mask.

Right now, it seems that fewer folks are wearing masks than did earlier in the summer. That’s disappointing. Masks are more important now than they were then.

I’ve bene at sporting events where masks were few and far between. I heard one complaint that a person wasn’t going back into such and such store because they enforced the mask rule. Uh folks, it’s the law. Don’t punish a business for trying to follow the law and protect your health.

And one last thing—stay in contact with older folks. The longer nights and colder weather also lead to seasonal stress disorder, depression, and a more sedentary lifestyle. Visits are probably still a bad idea.

Help them by encouraging them and by assisting them in being more active.

Teenage Suicide

 This is more often than not a “feel good” piece. I’ll admit that. I’ve never thought it was my place to be critical or negative. I try to be encouraging while hopefully teaching lessons about health, sports, and wellness.

I even try and be positive even while discussing tough topics. I understand the health implications of obesity but I know that sometimes it is complicated. I hate smoking but love the smoker (unless they get too close). I preach against those that don’t take care of their health but believe with all my heart that we should take care of those that can’t take care of themselves.

Recently a local high school athlete took her own life. There is nothing but darkness to be found in that. I didn’t know her but I know several of her friends.

A teenager, entering the prime of her life, who was struggling with something so immense that she decided to end it. Someone suffering such pain that she saw only one way out.

It’s devastating to think about as a parent or grandparent. Such a future, such a life…gone before she really had a chance to show what was to come. I can’t imagine the pain.

Yet, it can happen to any of us. No one is immune. We can be close to our kids but we cannot know everything about them. And it seems to be far more common among athletes than you would think. Athletes succeeding at sports that they love, surrounded by a sound support system.

Reports have suicide up 30% in Blount County. Nationwide, teenage suicides are up by 40%. The isolation imposed by Covid restrictions are likely contributing to those figures.

Maybe sports are part of the problem. Maybe the emphasis on winning and success and scholarships is just too much for some.  Maybe it is too much for someone one too young to fathom the depths of despair and disappointment. Maybe it is overwhelming for them to deal with a level of stress that their young minds cannot comprehend.

I would not begin to understand all that can go wrong. Kids that are loved and in stable families doing this unthinkable final act. Ending their pain in the only way that they think is available to them.

I want to shout it to the mountain tops—there IS help available.

But you’ve got to talk to somebody. Talk to your school’s guidance counselor. They are trained to deal with these things. Talk to a youth pastor or someone around kids doing ministry like Young Life or FCA. There are good people around that will listen and help you.

You may think that there is no way a professional counselor could help you deal with your problems but they can. Whatever your problems are.

Bubba Hooker is a well-known local youth leader in our community. Bubba has himself been touched by suicide. Bubba told me “I’m sick of seeing our kids die and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop it.” He and Roger Murphy, local educator, minister, and youth advocate, have plans to put a group together to try and make a difference in Blount County.

I know that probably the hardest thing in the world to you would be to tell your parents how you feel. That’s understandable. But you’ve got to tell someone. A family friend. A teacher. A coach. Someone.

Just know that nothing is too much to overcome but you’ve got to have help.

Life is Like a Camera

“Life is like a camera.  Focus on what’s important, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, take another shot!?”

I was out biking this week and stopped by a local country market where the proprietor gladly allowed me to use her bathroom. On her wall were several quotes, some with credits, some anonymous. This one happened to stick out to me, I guess partly because I had never seen it before.

“Life is like a camera.” If you think about what has gone before, you probably don’t think of your life in the terms of a movie. Our memories are more like a series of snapshots. Or at least short snippets of video. Never full length movies.

I can remember walking off the football field after a particularly painful loss. I remember walking beside my position coach and saying “sorry, Coach.” He said “it’s OK Joe, you gave it all you had.” A brief moment.

That simple reply, offered during a down moment, meant everything to me and is still with me today. There are profound lessons to be found in moments like those. Coaches that I know and admire look for those moments.

You’ve heard me mention the cliché “life lessons” way too many times. But there are moments, brief comments even, that can change lives. Such is the impact of a good coach or a good teacher.

“Focus on what’s important.” There are those of you that will disagree with me, but I truly believe sports are important. Oh, not undue emphasis on professional sports which, I suppose, are important for their entertainment value. I’ve always been more interested in the high school athlete.

Sports are important to promote an active lifestyle, to learn how to be coached, to understand what it means to be part of a team. To discover who you are, to figure out the benefits of hard work—to see the fruits of your labor.

“Develop from the negatives.” Absolutely. Adversity is going to happen. Everywhere. In life. In sports. No one lives their entire life without encountering difficulties, without dealing with negatives.

I’ve heard many coaches tell their teams “at some point, you’re going to face some adversity.” It’s how you deal with it that will tell you who you are, what you are made of. That’s true in sports. And definitely true in life.

Everything doesn’t go as we plan. Sometimes there’s a Plan out there that replaces our own plan. As hard as you might work, you might still lose the game. You work diligently on your jump shot only to miss the game winner. Your team is driving the football down the field when you fumble. You miss a crucial shot on goal.

How do you respond? Does it affect your next attempt? What do you do with those negatives?

“If things don’t work out, take another shot.” I work a little bit with the kickers on our football team. If they kick well, I want to be the person there cheering them on. And if they miss, I’ll be there telling them to put it behind them and get ready to kick another—that you can’t affect the past, only the future.

Life isn’t always as cozy as that. We don’t always get a second chance at life’s events. That’s why you’ve got to keep your head up and your eyes open, looking for the opportunities that life gives you. And be prepared to meet those opportunities because you have a solid moral base, live a life based on principle, and know who you are.

David Farmer, PT

Goodbyes can be hard. You have goodbyes that are “see you later” and you have goodbyes that mean “farewell.”

I had a good friend finally succumb to cancer this week after a long battle. When David Farmer graduated from physical therapy school at LSU, he hitchhiked west until he got to Durango, Colorado where he looked around and decided that this was where he wanted to be.

A unique character, Farmer was Cajun to the core, keeping that deep Louisiana accent until the end. He looked like a stoner but was one of the most brilliant people I ever knew. He quietly built a life in Durango but was THE physical therapist to the professional mountain bike community for many years.

He loved simple things. His ukulele. His old Volkswagen Thing. A hat some friends gave him. He owned a coffee plantation in Kona, a queen bee company in California, and a popular sports club in Durango yet he would travel to join friends wherever they might be, sleeping on the couch if need be.

That was Farmer. Nothing was more important to him than spending time with friends. I happened to be in that circle. I was one of the lucky ones. Along the way, I introduced him to three friends from here, Ken, Eric, and Keith. They were instantly his new best friends. Some of the best times of my life were with those four.

This week, one young friend commented “the first time I met David, he made it seem like we had been friends forever—that I was the most important person in the room.” That was David Farmer.

When friends or family pass, it invariably causes us to look at our own life…our own mortality. With Farmer, I choose to look at the lessons that he taught me.

Farmer: “Good is not good enough and great is a step in the right direction.” The world of sports is demanding. The difference between success and failure can often be measured in inches or seconds.

Good athletes might look at others and think “I’m as good as they are.” But do you have their dedication? Do you have their drive? Do you really have what it takes?

With Farmer, success meant that you were “all in.” But if you weren’t, that was OK with Farmer. He marched to his own drummer and encouraged you to do the same.

I was never that good of a mountain biker but I enjoyed the mountains and the camaraderie (I’ve gotten a lot better in recent years-go figure). That didn’t matter to Farmer. He just wanted to ride and then enjoy great food and drink afterwards.

Farmer was an “Enabler.” Those that worked for him would tell you that he enjoyed their success as though it was his own. I remember one time when he flew to a meeting just to be there when another friend received an award. I guarantee you that it was more important to Farmer that his friend got that award than if he had gotten it himself.

If Farmer had been on a team, he would have been the perfect teammate. He would never have been concerned with his own stats, just the success of the team. If he were big enough, he would have been the perfect offensive lineman on a football team.

Another Farmer quote: “As I see it, you have two choices--you can either leave or bleed.” You might have to interpret that one for yourself but for me it means that you pay the price for your pursuits or you go another direction. Whatever choice you took, David Farmer was by your side.

Goodbye, David Farmer.

It's Not Always About the Score

 When you are reading this, a couple of huge football games will be over. Huge. Enormous.

You can say that Alcoa/Maryville and Heritage/William Blount are just single games in a 10 game season but they mean more. Much more. Those games are not just “another game.” They mean something.

And that’s good. It’s good to play in games that mean something to you. Those games get your attention. They should get your best effort. And they give you life lessons that you can hopefully take with you when you’re through playing.

Coaches will speak of that part of “just another game,” but the kids don’t buy that. This is the one game that they really want to win. I don’t think they would trade a state title for a win in this game but it is close.

We will know the outcomes of those games by now but this isn’t about winning and losing at all. It’s about participating.

Engraved on a monument at West Point is this quote from General Douglas MacArthur: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days, on other fields, will bear the fruits of victory.”

I believe that is an eternal truth and that is one reason why playing sports while growing up is so important. Life lessons are learned on our playing fields.

President Teddy Roosevelt said “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly….”

In games such as these, we do keep score. There is a winner and a loser. Our games require the structure of keeping score. I was never a fan of not keeping score, even for children’s games. There may not be a scoreboard but the kids would always know the score.

Too often, we glorify “winners” and look down on all others as “losers.” I am here to tell you that just because you end up on the short side of the scoreboard, not all are losers.

Coaches will talk about “paying the price” and “giving it all you’ve got.” That’s what it’s all about. Success is built on the practice field. Games are the measuring stick for our preparation, effort, and skills.

In any game, if you can truly say to yourself, that is my best effort, then it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says.  Oh sure, we all want to come out on top. It’s what we work for. It’s what we dream of.

But the outcome of a single game does not decide who we are and what we are made of. Did you get better? Were you prepared? Did you do the little things like eat right, properly hydrate, listen to your coaches?

The discipline that it takes to do the little things is one of the greatest things you can take away from sports—one of the great lessons that you get from competing.  To know that you worked hard at something and became the best you that you can be…that’s what it’s all about.

The ATC: It's what we do

 I’ve had several questions this week about how we do things. By “we,” I’m referring to the Athletic Trainers at each of our schools whose job is to keep their teams safe and healthy.

You may not know what an Athletic Trainer is. An Athletic Trainer is a college trained health care professional, usually holding a Masters Degree in Athletic Training. Athletic Trainers do much, much more than tape ankles. We provide interventions to prevent injury, rehabilitate after an injury, provide emergency care on the court or field, and a million other things.

This week, I was asked how we make decisions about when lightning is close enough to be a danger.

All of our Athletic Trainers carry portable devices to detect the exact location of lightning and determine how far away it is. On a recent Friday night, measurements on that device and careful assessment caused a delay of the game and evacuation of the stadium. It wasn’t until it was determined that the storm had passed (and even then we had to wait another 30 minutes) that we were able to restart the game. A 9 o’clock kickoff made for a rather late game.

But I believe that anyone that was there would agree that it was the right decision and the right process. During the worst of the lightning, it seemed like it was literally hovering overhead.

What do you do if you are hiking and a lightning storm crops up? Think profile. What is there around you that might attract lightning? A tall tree?  Get away from it. Hovering under a tree is always a bad idea.

Get away from exposed areas. A low place away from trees is probably the best place you can be. Crouch down and wait out the storm. Remember that it is better to get wet than dead.

I was asked this week how we make our decisions about concussions. In other words, how do we know when something is a concussion?

First let me tell you what a blessing it is to have Athletic Trainers at all of our schools. It is impossible to be there for every practice and game for every sport, but it surprises outsiders how often we are there when our services are needed. 

Here’s my point:  By being around the members of the team, we get to know them…quite well. That lets us do a better job when it comes to dealing with a possible concussion. If an athlete is behaving oddly, we are there to notice it. And since we know that kid well, we are better able to recognize aberrant behaviors. We know which kid might exaggerate their symptoms and which one is going to try and hide them from us.

By our definition, every blow to the head that results in symptoms (dizziness, headache, visual disturbance, et cetera) is a concussion until proven differently. Once an athlete is stabilized and appears in no immediate distress, we assess their physical presentation, their vision, their balance, and assess their cognitive ability and short term memory.

If there is any doubt, it’s off to the Emergency Room for that athlete. We take NO chances in this arena. Too much can happen and it’s pretty much all bad. Sending an athlete back into the game with a missed concussion can result in 2^nd Concussion Syndrome, which can be much worse than the initial concussion.

So we are SUPER cautious when we suspect a concussion. If symptoms abate quickly, we may watch the athlete for a while but more than likely the game is over for that athlete on that night. If the initial symptoms are significant enough or if symptoms tend to linger too long, it is an ambulance ride for our young charge.

Lightning. Concussions. Covid-19. Wearing masks. Social distancing. Wearing a bicycle helmet. Make smart decisions and be safe!

A Little Bit of Covid

I admit it…I do occasionally go lacking for ideas for this space. After 34 years, that’s inevitable. Most of the time it’s just that I don’t want to repeat myself. I wrote the same piece on Mrs. Geraldine Upton at least three times before my wife reminded me that I had already covered my story with her.

This time it’s sort of the same thing. I’ve written about nothing but Covid-19 and returning to school and sports for three straight weeks.

I usually write about is whatever is on my heart and that’s been foremost since it looked like there would be a fall sports season. And I would be lying to you if I told you returning to sports wasn’t still weighing heavily on me. But the fact is, we’re in it, with games about to commence.

I don’t worry about volleyball and soccer as much as football. In football, the contact is more, the numbers are much higher, and I honestly believe the chances of getting Covid-19 are much higher.

I understand the overwhelming desire to return to some degree of normalcy and I know what the senior season an athlete dreams of means to them. So, I’m there. Every day. Doing what I can to keep them safe. Because that’s my job.

To protect my family, I’m putting my clothes directly in the washing machine and heading for the shower every day when I get home. I wear a mask, I wash my hands. I maintain social distancing whenever possible. But if I have an injured athlete, social distancing goes out the door.

Back to the original dilemma: What to write about that isn’t about Covid-19 (obviously I’ve already blown that one). I asked a patient of mine for suggestions about what I should write about this week. He had already admitted to being a regular reader—looking for my column on Sunday morning every week.

He said “write about what we should be eating to stay healthy.”

OK. I can do that. I’ve been down that road before but I’ve been told you have to hear something seven times before it really sinks in. So here is my opinion.

If it contains white sugar or white flour, stay away from it. You don’t have to completely eliminate those food culprits from your diet, just limit your intake of both of them.

I just don’t understand those that drink several sodas every day. The average soda contains about 8 teaspoons (or 30-40 grams) of added sugar. Each. The American Heart Association recommendation on added sugar is about 25 grams a day. That’s just too much sugar.

And we can’t ignore that there’s a lot of sugar in other foods. Ketchup. Salad dressing. Sports drinks. Barbecue sauce. We get plenty of sugar in our diet so we need to look for ways to cut back. All of us.

In general, Americans consume way too much in the way of simple carbohydrates. My personal path was that my problems with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) went away when I dropped my carb intake considerably. Complex carbohydrates are OK but even then, we need fewer carbs and a more balanced diet.

We all need to eat more simply. The items in your grocery cart should have one name, not a list of ingredients. There are good fats and bad fats. Know the difference.

Eat smart. Eat healthy. But food is meant to be enjoyed so don’t beat yourself up for the occasional lapse.