Thursday, September 20, 2012

Mend it like Beckham

In searching web sites the other day to see how long i'll have to wear my Frankenboot, i came across the drfoot website (http://www.drfoot.co.uk ) where they discuss all things podiatry. They explain how the boot i have works and that many athletes have used it with great success. It was there that i saw the phrase in the title, and i've decided to adopt that as my mantra while my foot is healing. (The specific link is http://www.drfoot.co.uk/fractures_fifth_metatarsal.htm.)

I have no lingering dreams that the National Hockey League will ever call me up (and i doubt this season they'd even want me as a scab), nor do i think the US Olympic team will phone me, given that they consider women who are excellent players and half my age too old, but that doesn't mean i'm any less of an athlete. I am clearly not the fastest skater nor the most adept, but i do play hockey. If i could play as well as i think the game, i'd be another Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr. The challenge is for me to figure out what i CAN do given my abilities and to do it well while leaving room for improvement. I think there's a real niche for someone wanting to coach--the ability to take a bunch of determined but not terribly gifted athletes and bring out the best in them and help them improve their game. Yes, sounds like what many do with kids, but nobody seems all that interested when it's older women. Too bad, as many of us really want to improve, and we'd be glad for the opportunity.

My orthopaedist made a face when i told her i played hockey, and i got the distinct impression that she was ready to stick me in that middle aged woman box when i hobbled in with my fractured 5th metatarsal. While i cannot deny my cack-handedness, which i think may be partly due to the fact that i probably should be left handed, and while i may look a bit dumpy, here's a newsflash. I do stuff. I hike, sail, kayak, snowshoe, practice yoga, and play hockey. I also work a fulltime job, which is sedentary and which often has me busy more than 40 hours a week. My garden was a bust this year, but i still managed to can some tomatoes, dry some herbs, and am contemplating putting up some saurkraut.

The professional athletes i read about have only their professional job and can take oodles of time perfecting their bodies so they can excel at their craft. For everything else, they have the wherewithal to employ staff. Now, granted, not all do. But what i wish to point out is why, because i'm not in that creme de la creme athletic class, am i treated differently? I need my body to perform at its best to do ALL of these things. And not just for several years so i can earn heaps of money, invest it well, and retire, but for the rest of my life.

Mend it like Beckham? You betcha.

4 comments:

  1. go you camoflage the "boot" to show it off with pride?

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  2. LOL, John. I did think of making it a tad spiffier by glueing some glitter on it.

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  3. Maybe you should take up football too. That bionic foot could work wonders!

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  4. You sound like my dh, who was complaining he couldn't be a knee model after his knee operation.......mind you he couldn't have been one before!!!!

    Gill

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