The Walk

I get up every morning between 6:00 and 6:20, head to the can, weigh my sorry ass (my weight never fluctuates more than 3 lbs., despite my unhealthy obsession with it), hobble awkwardly with tin-man limberness down to the kitchen where my lovely wife, who has already heard the toilet flush, has poured my first cup of dark brown life blood. I take my first two or three gulps and slowly regain the ability to speak, not only in English, but with other human beings (one of which, unfortunately for her and for her family, possesses her father's AM disposition yet, has not become acquainted with my Columbian elixir) with genuine concern and curiosity regarding how they are handling life's/middle school's challenges. Their moods and body language are 'tells', as poker players would say...I know whether it's a quiz day, as opposed to a test day, whether things are going well with their friends, and if I really pay attention to the small details, if there is expected to be an opportunity to be seen by someone in particular...though, I would never dare mention it! I use these signs to gauge whether it's time do some character building or time to just hug 'em.

At some point, I head back up the stairs for one of about two different reasons and it is then that I know, with near certainty, whether my legs are 'ready' for the planned workout for the day. There are 'the days of grace' where I bound up them, knowing that there will be 'no chain' today. There are the days where I know that necessary will be a longer warm up, but that the legs will 'be good'...and I know the days that I'm glad it's a rest day or when an unscheduled one is necessary. I have often wished that I could literally walk up those stairs every day for every one of the athletes that I look after, so that I could make the very best decision for that individual each and every day. With most though, through listening to their voices, through reading their words very carefully, and ideally seeing their body language, I find that I do get to do the next best thing to taking 'the walk' with them.

There is a 'night and day' difference between an athlete burying himself to get through a session that he dragged himself out the door to do and one in which he was eager and he had to hold himself back from going too hard during. Templates don't take this into account...they cannot. It's funny to me that other 'coaches' take shots at my anal collecting of data, but then when we're alone, ask me questions about how I'm helping so-and-so get so much faster. I do try to explain, as I feel for them and their athletes and genuinely believe that the way coaches are perceived, as a whole, affects me too. What they fail to realize though, or refuse to commit themselves to, is that the numbers provide the 'GPS' of where we've been and that together with the record of how the body felt at different points along the way, during the daily 'walk' if you will, is the very blueprint of how to get an athlete to 'perform' at their very best when you want them to...when they want to.