A personal physical inventory was immediately necessary. My roommate Rich Wiles uttered “Dude, are you ok?”
As I exited my bunk, I immediately felt my legs buckle. My lower back torqued beyond belief. Ankles and knees? Oh, they were creaking and crunching at the mere shift of my body weight.
“Yeah, I think I’ll be OK,” I managed say without grimacing. Too much. And sure enough I was OK as the day went on. But the problem? I’m glad you asked!
The previous evening, conference attendees had the opportunity to visit the JMU University Recreation Center. This state of the art facility for students to be active and healthy was set up with a smorgasbord of activities for us to participate in. Badminton, basketball, weights, treadmills, bikes, rock wall, pickleball, yoga----you name it and we could do it! I felt like this would be a great experience and an opportunity to burn off some stress before the next morning’s event. I started with some “low risk” activities like badminton (thanks for the beating Chad and Victor) as well as some pickleball. After an hour of play, I met up with Aaron Hart and Ron Malm interested in shooting some basketball. Joined by Doug Hallberg and Nick Kline, we set our sights on finding a basket and a ball. Finding a sixth person, we opted for a friendly game of 3 on 3. Little did I know what we were embarking on.
The next 30 minutes seemed like a marathon, but it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a long time. This North Carolinian couldn’t remember the last time he played a game of basketball, but there we were working the court like nobody’s business. Of course, we were all a step slower (maybe two or three?) than in the past. The best comment made was “my mind said go to the ball, but my body never responded”. Playing with the reckless abandon of my youth, I hit the floor once and had five people immediately rush over to check on my status. I’m sure all of us were scanning the walls looking for the AED location at some point as well.
When we completed the game with handshakes all around and headed back to the dorm it dawned on me. The six of us just experienced the greatest social and emotional experience that sports and games can provide. We were most concerned with the being able to play and enjoy physical activity at our own pace. Yes, we kept score, and of course everyone was trying to win. However, we all found sheer joy in being on the court, playing, and the comradery that went with it all. We managed ourselves, had great social awareness, and our relationship skills between each other were unsurpassed. And we all survived without the use of an AED!
Listening to others on the way back to the dorm, there were similar stories. People finding pleasure and joy in all the different activities. One participant tried rock climbing after first experiencing lacrosse earlier in the day. “There’s a rock climbing place near where I live and I’m going to have to check it out now,” she remarked. My other friends discussed the fun they had with badminton and just getting their workouts in, which is always a task during conferences.
I was finally able to get my body together that next morning and head to breakfast. While there, I encountered several other people moving mighty gingerly as they stepped up to the scrambled eggs in the cafeteria. “What did you play?” “Are your ok?” Those were the topics of conversation over breakfast. I even opened the keynote discussing the activities the night before as I sensed the audience was in a similar body experience as me. I encountered Ron later Wednesday and he informed me he was playing with a previous injury and happy to be out on the court. The emotional draw of playing with his peers was too great for him to ignore. Fortunately, none of us worsened his condition.
On the flight home, I pondered many things. But the greatest was the joy and emotional release we all had playing, competing, or participating in physical activity at our own levels. The smiles on faces from people 18-58 and beyond were contagious. Our endorphins were overflowing. And finally, I thought about how healthy it was for all these teachers of young movers to get out and play. After all, that’s how a lot of us got involved in teaching physical education. This school year, take time to focus on some self-care and get out and play. The social and emotional benefits will keep you fresh and energized the entire school year!