For all intents and purposes I'm done with Twitter. There are many things posted on the "go to social media app and source for what's happening in the world" which are positive and informative. All too often the things I see on the app have nothing to do with me or with "what's happening" in my world. Yesterday though I re-tweeted a story about a 300 pound Michigan high school football player who because his season had been delayed until the spring, decided that rather than "sit around and do nothing at all" during the fall season, he would join his high school XC team to, in his words "get tougher mentally and physically." You can find the story here:
The Michigan Cross Country coach was somewhat surprised at the young man's interest but was happy to have him join the team after seeing his "determination." The coach further explained it in this way. “That’s the great thing about cross country, it doesn’t matter who you are or what your ability is at, it’s a sport that takes them in and works with them wherever they’re at,” he said. “To put yourself out there in something that’s very different than what you’re used to, that takes a certain type of person, especially when you’re a teenager. Not everyone is willing to step into something they’re going to struggle with, especially in front of people.”
So, I threw out the Twitter challenge to any football player who wants to keep busy or get in better shape for his season. I haven't heard from any yet but am hopeful one or two may give it a try. I'm not trying to "steal" them from their sport of choice, just give them an option while waiting for their season to start, with the hope that maybe, just maybe, when their football playing days are over they may look back and think to try running again.
That is essentially how it was for me. In high school I played football. I wasn't close to being a star player. I started on both offense and defense as an upperclassman and had some success, which is to say, I was fully involved with the sport. I loved the camaraderie among my teammates, some of whom remain close friends to this day. We continued on together in fact, playing in the Boston Park League and Eastern Football League as young adults, simply for the love of the game. Trust me when I say I don't live in the "glory years." Not for a minute. (Besides, my glory days came later as an adult distance runner.) It was after that though that I returned to distance running, a sport which I had actually tried as a high school sophomore after realizing I was destined, for at least a time to JV games and sitting the bench on "game day." But, I guess this is my way of putting it out there that I have an understanding of that sport as well as Cross Country.
Thinking back I recall Monday film sessions when our football Coach played our Saturday game film to the entire team, breaking down every play and most often pointing out how we could have done something better or even perhaps what we'd done wrong. I recalled thinking how grateful I was that during the game no spectator, cheerleader or classmate knew about my mistakes. My errors were made among a crowd of 22 players on the field and I'm not sure many watching understood what we did anyway.
All of which brings me to one point the Michigan high school XC coach alluded to in regard to the 300 pound runner. "Not everyone is willing to step into something they’re going to struggle with, especially in front of people."
Being good in one sport does not necessarily translate into being good in another. Going from football to distance running is a very difficult transition. And I understand a reluctance on the part of kids who remain, often times, anonymous while playing their sport. It's true, you're on your own in XC, with no place to hide. But one thing I love about our sport of Cross Country is that nobody will judge you on your finish time. Whether you finish first or dead last, you finish. You have accomplished something wonderful in my mind. The Michigan lineman in fact finished next to last in his initial outing, probably outdistancing his running partner to the finish with some of the "determination" his Coach spoke of. I know he'll be telling his grandchildren about that race one day! I get it. Cross Country and distance running in general, I think better than any other sport, prepares you for life. I know it has benefitted me. It can be, as it became for me, a lifetime of enjoyment culminating in having an opportunity to coach some of the greatest kids on the planet.
Again, looking back, I wouldn't change a thing I did in sports as a kid. But I hope that if I'd had the opportunity to run Cross Country instead of "sitting around doing nothing" that I might have been that "certain type of person." I'm hoping there are some of those brave souls out there now.
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