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[Asherdan]

[AlohaDawg]

Awesome and lovely.

I was born with a 47 degree curve in my spine between T12 and L4 (this is why I'm not a Navy officer right now) but I played what I could even though there were all kind of reasons why I was clumsy, ran kind of funny and usually have pain. Nowadays, it's mostly the pain. The rest of the guys slowed down too.

I love playing sortball and paddling now. It's great to be out there and work toward accomplishing something with the guys, and occasionally have an opportunity to suceed on your own. It hurts and I love it.

The greatest thing about loving sports and being a dad is being able to share all kinds of experiences with your kids. I am totally looking forward to coaching soccer this fall for my 7 year-old. Of all the ways to bond with kids, the combination of playing and teaching, and learning and accomplishing you get with sports makes that the best way to me. I know Ash is an all-star dad, and I'll bet he finds this true too.

The other lesson I take from Ash's story is that it's important not to carry around regrets, especially what-might-have-been type regrets. You play the hand you got, (and if you're like me, you bluff a fair deal and get away with it)(most of the time) and with a combination of skill and luck you'll walk away from the table ahead.

[swinehund]

So what grabs you guys about sports, and if they just don’t, can you relate that ‘in the zone’ bit to anything applicable in your life?

‘Cause the lessons on preparation, dedication, confidence and performance I took outta sports have given as much if not more in life to me than sports did.

I've never been big on team sports (watching or playing), and I'm still not, but I get the same experience from the solitary challenge kind of things. A friend of mine signed on to train for a marathon a couple years ago (the Arthritis Society thing where they cover all the training and travel if you raise $5000 for them). She was definitely not someone who I had thought of as being much of a jock at all, so she really inspired me. I signed up for a half marathon, and in less than four months of training (I just looked up a training schedule on the internet) I managed to finish it in 2:30:30. I am not exaggerating in any way when I say I don't have an athletic background. I was the fat kid with smoking parents, and I got so short of breath whenever I exerted myself as a child they thought I might have asthma. I got sick of that situation in my early teens and walked a lot of the weight off, but I never got into cardio very heavily. When I started running, I couldn't keep it up for 10 minutes straight, but the structured training had me running for 2 1/2 hours very quickly (I was 27 when I started this). After a brief lag, I'm back into it, and will have done 3 more in this year by the end of June (next one's this Sunday!), aiming for a 2 hour finish. Watching the steady progress is pretty addictive, and it's only a matter of time before I commit to a full marathon.

When I was young, I got the impression that some people were just good at things and some weren't, and if you weren't you may as well not even bother. I never developed enough of an appreciation for how much one can improve some aspect of one's self with simple, regular training, clear and reachable goals, and well-laid plans. While so far I've mostly only applied this to other physical things (diet and strength goals), a few numerical goals have helped me stick with my unfortunate thesis and actually believe I'm making progress on it. I definitely have a greater sense of control now, less resignation. Also, medals! Yay! They give you a medal just for finishing it, I like that.

[theinevitable]

dang.
everything in the world, right now, is telling me to start appreciating baseball. it is calling me.

did you hear about the catcher for the Bo'Sox who made it to the game at the last second? They needed him because their current catcher couldn't catch knuckleballs, apparently, and so he landed, jumped in a police cruiser which raced him to Fenway with the siren going. He sprinted out, and made it into the dugout just as the game started.

I used to run, but I am so bad at it. I think I need to build up some muscle, eat better, etc. I am basically the prototypical scrawny nerd-- and while this is gaining acceptance because of scrawny indie kids, it isn't really what I want to be my defining characteristic.
Goal for the summer: be a skinny indie kid with a near-average level of muscle.

[robot_god]

I was a baddass catcher in little league cause I was able to actually catch the ball, and the other catcher would just drop it all the time.

Man, there were so many passed balls, it was basically crazy.

[AlohaDawg]

did you hear about the catcher for the Bo'Sox who made it to the game at the last second? They needed him because their current catcher couldn't catch knuckleballs, apparently, and so he landed, jumped in a police cruiser which raced him to Fenway with the siren going. He sprinted out, and made it into the dugout just as the game started.

I used to run, but I am so bad at it. I think I need to build up some muscle, eat better, etc. I am basically the prototypical scrawny nerd-- and while this is gaining acceptance because of scrawny indie kids, it isn't really what I want to be my defining characteristic.
Goal for the summer: be a skinny indie kid with a near-average level of muscle.

Tim Wakefield is still pitching? What is he, like, 50?

I am basically the prototypical scrawny nerd-- and while this is gaining acceptance because of scrawny indie kids, it isn't really what I want to be my defining characteristic.

We used to call that "Heroin Chic".

[theinevitable]

but... but... no!
no!

I would say it's more "sad/awkward boys who write songs about girls not liking them chic"

at least, I hope my friends do not all think I am on heroin.

[Mite]

Great story, Ash. Sounds like you got all of the good stuff you could possibly get out of such an experience. I'm a bit jealous, tell the truth.

Swinehund, I totally agree with everything you say. Hated sports, never thought I was good at them, so didn't try too much (well, that's a lie, I beat myself up pretty badly when I was in about the 6th grade for sucking - though not enough to really practice).

Unfortunately, I've got some weird problem with my calves now. I was hoping to run the peachtree road race this summer, but I can't do much more than a mile without my calves cramping up and hurting for days. Any sports people know anything about that? Do I just need a new pair of shoes? I've been icing them and working on my form for months, and it just doesn't go away.

The Inevitable - Join your local Y, go and lift 3 times a week, and watch the guys (or gals) who seem to know what they're doing and copy them. They'll probably be more than happy to help you out, too. Go high weight, low reps, and lift to exhaustion (meaning you use enough weight to do 8 reps but not 9, then rest for a minute and do that 2 more times). Don't cheat and try to lift anything using your back if you're not supposed to use your back. Don't hog the equipment. You'll hurt like hell for a week, and then you'll feel awesome. God I love weightlifting.

[robot_god]

Tim Wakefield is still pitching? What is he, like, 50?

He just won last night.  2-4, but his ERA is good.

[FlipConstantine]

For the longest time, "Sports" was me and my friends getting on our skateboards and luging down hills covered in broken glass and unidentifiable needles (well, there was glass anyway) because none of us could actually do any tricks.  Ocassionally this activity was supplemented by a few half-assed attempts to recreate "Calvinball", but that didn't work too well.


Ah them good ol' days.

[swinehund]

Unfortunately, I've got some weird problem with my calves now. I was hoping to run the peachtree road race this summer, but I can't do much more than a mile without my calves cramping up and hurting for days. Any sports people know anything about that? Do I just need a new pair of shoes? I've been icing them and working on my form for months, and it just doesn't go away.

Proper shoes are very important, but you might have something else wrong. I am not a physiologist of any sort, I don't know. If you haven't already, go to a specialized running store (bring old shoes that you've run or at least walked in a lot), and they should be able to fit you for something that works with your gait. They should make you run down the block or something in them while they watch.
If you've already been through that and are concerned enough, a physiotherapist or RMT person should be able to help. I had all sorts of weird aches spring up and clear up (mostly hip-knee-top of foot which all seems connected), but they're mostly gone now.

You may also find that lying on a tennis ball helps (wiggle around until it's right under the spot that hurts most, sit for a minute).

Also theinevitable: don't overlook the simple power of plenty of push-ups and chin-ups. Bars to install in the doorway are pretty cheap, and together those will work most of your upper body muscles. Throw in handstand pushups (against a wall) for awesome shoulders, start with just the handstand if necessary.

[AlohaDawg]

The Inevitable - Join your local Y, go and lift 3 times a week, and watch the guys (or gals) who seem to know what they're doing and copy them. They'll probably be more than happy to help you out, too. Go high weight, low reps, and lift to exhaustion (meaning you use enough weight to do 8 reps but not 9, then rest for a minute and do that 2 more times). Don't cheat and try to lift anything using your back if you're not supposed to use your back. Don't hog the equipment. You'll hurt like hell for a week, and then you'll feel awesome. God I love weightlifting.

Hi reps, low weight for tone
Low reps and high weight for bulk

Also, do not neglect the cardio portion of your workout. Circuit training is a good way to go if you can get into a class.


Mite, if you are running mostly on roads, try some path running and see if that makes much of a difference. I agree that you should for sure make sure you have good fitting shoes as well.  If your insurance covers it (mine does) you might even get some orthotics made that help keep your ankes for rolling in or out. The wear on your shoes should tell you if you are pronating very much. Most people do.

 Make sure you have enough potassium too, low potassium is what gives a lot of people leg cramps, especially at night. Eat a banana before you work out.

[littlefallsmets]

See, I dunno, I don't know the workings of your life and experiences but... simply having your name down in some record book somewhere as having played pro ball, that's... that's a tell-your-grandkids kinda thing to me.

But I grew up addicted to minor league baseball (as I've laid out at great length) both in Little Falls and in Utica and... I grew up a half hour north of Cooperstown as well so the whole "legend" of even getting to play a half inning in the outfield of the Appilachian League as a Huge Accomplishment... I just can't get the idea out of my head.

It just seems so awesome. Suffice to say, a series of strange growth spurts in my teens rendered me completely unathletic, even if I was occasionally begged to be a football linebacker (but the coach was a child molester and I'd rather write for the school paper anyway) or the tall guy who stands under the basket, gets rebounds and doesn't run much.

My current equivalent dream in my life right now would be making a song that got decent play on Dr. Demento but... that only bespeaks how far down the nerdhole I've fallen.

[pmcd9]

Thank you for the story Ash.  I'm happy you've made it to a place where you aren't consumed with regrets.  I'll bet those kids eyes really light up when you blaze a speedball in there.  I pick you for my side when we have the great TOUAMB softball match at TOUAMBcon '07.

~Paul

[theinevitable]

I can see it now:

"you got Ash? Fine! You have to take theinevitable, too!"
"oh come on man, seriously? I don't want him."
"yeah dude. OK fine, you can play one man short, if you'd rather do that."