I grew up in Arlington, VA and went to Yorktown HS. I have lived here for most all of my life (with the exception of the 4 years I lived in Charlottesville for college). I drove up to Yorktown High School yesterday to watch my good friend from High School, Jason Busby, coach the freshman basketball team. He and I played basketball together 9th through 11th grade. Jason was the starting point guard and really good player by his senior year on the varsity team. By that time I had chosen another sport.
When I drove past the school to the gym I saw many members of the Yorktown Track team running around the school on an easy distance run. It brought back memories.
As I watched those kids running around the school I thought about how fortunate they were to have chosen a sport that is something they can do for the rest of their life. The guys and girls that I saw running outside on Yorktown Boulevard looked like the either the Freshman or JV squad that wasn’t running particularly fast. But they were running. Those kids were building good habits that they could take with them for the rest of their lives; on a COLD December day before their Christmas break. And I guarantee none of them even thought one second about that. They were there to finish their training run that Yorktown head coach Mark Stripe had instructed them to do, then get back inside.
Jason’s freshman squad won and continued their undefeated season with a big win over Falls Church. Jason doesn’t play much basketball anymore with a 1 year old at home, but did have something exciting for me as we caught up on the court after the win: “After this basketball season I am going to start training to try to finish my first half marathon!” he said.
“What’s taken you so long?” I said jokingly.
Then I thought about how I tried to convince him 20 years ago to run Cross Country with me to get in shape for basketball.
Then I again thought about the kids running outside. “Jason! You would have run a one of these 13.1 milers 10 years ago if you had taken my advice…” I almost said – then thought of a more appropriate response:
“That’s awesome! I’ll write you up a schedule tomorrow!”
Chris:
ReplyDeleteReading your blog brought back some very fond memories of beginning my running "career" at the tender age of 14. I actually did not go there by choice. In middle school in Delaware, I was one of the tallest young men in our class and played basketball and football. However, as I grew in height, my weight did not keep pace. Consequently, being a 5' 10" freshman in high school and weighing only 105 pounds was not a great combination for trying out for the position of quarterback. After three days of tryouts in late August, the football coach, Mr. Wood, called me over and put his arm around me and said, "Do you see those tall, skinny guys running around the athletic field? You really ought to be over there with them. If you stay here and continue to try to play football, these 200 pound linemen will hurt you." I was just crushed! I couldn't imagine hanging up my uniform and my dreams and start hanging out with those losers running around the field. Well, Mr. Wood's fatherly advice to a young man was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Since I had never trained as a distance runner, my body, lungs, legs and heart had some real adjustments to make. I ran my freshman year on the junior varsity cross country team and ended up finishing in the top three in almost all the dual meets and in the top 10 in the state finals. When spring came, I had another fortunate converstaion with Mr. Wood. In addition to being the football coach, he was also the track and field coach. He recruited me to join the team and be part of his mile squad. (Smart coach!) Over the next three years, I ran with the varsity teams and got faster each year. During the winter off-season, I joined a local running club and participated in several longer races, some during the middle of the winter in Philadelphia. During my junior year, the school added the 2-mile event and I moved up from the mile. The highlght of my high school running was a state-wide track meet during the summer before my senior year. Although our high school two mile record had only been in existence for one year, I was able to break that record by about 20 seconds.
It's been many years since I joined those tall, skinny guys running around the field, but I still get a thrill every time I suit up to go out for a run or toe the line for a race. My times are slower now and I am gravitating to the shorter races, but I still love it. As you said in your blog, running is something that stays a part of your life for as long as you want it to be there. We can leave it for periods of time, but it's always there when we are ready. It will gently embrace us and say "Welcome back."