The Sports Machine

Friday, JP ran in the Metro Championships at Harpeth Hall.  

The 1,600 was his first event.  For almost the entirety of the race, JP ran toward the back of the lead pack in sixth place.  He finished in 14:23, a PR for the 1,600.

In a stirring finish, JP's teammate and friend, Gabe, ran down the leader, Ryder Ortner, and won the 1,600 by .100 of a second.  He finished in 4:15:73, also a PR for the 1,600.  Running in fourth place, he passed the third and second place runners in the last 150 meters, caught Ryder, and beat him win a lean at the finish line.

Less than 30 minutes later, JP ran the 800.  He held his pace longer than he had been able to the last couple of races, but fell in the last 100 meters.  Still, he ran a 2:00:13, barely missing breaking 2:00.  I though he finished just under 2:00 but apparently not.  My guess is he was looking at a 1:58 before he faded at the end.

As JP regain his running fitness after being injured, what's missing, I think, is the finishing kick.  He doesn't have the ability - not quite yet - to out kick other runners at the end of the 1,600 or the 800.  In the 1,600, that meant he ran in sixth place, stayed in sixth place, and finished in sixth place.  In the 800, that meant he fell off at the end, was passed by a couple of runners, and didn't break 2:00.

Here's the thing, though.  For him to be able to set a PR in the 1,600 and run, basically, a 2:00 800 with as little running as he has been able to do until very recently is impressive.  While he has been cross-training religiously on the elliptical, stationary bike, and with weights, the only way to get faster at running is to run and run a lot.  He doesn't have the mileage base right now to slip it into 5th gear when he needs to during a race.  I think it's coming, though, and when it does, he's going to be a problem for other runners to deal with.

Saturday morning, Joe played two basketball games with his Stars' team at Maplewood High School.  Both were close losses, the second game in sudden death, double overtime.

In game one in the main gym, the Stars fell behind, early, in what looked like was going to be a blowout to a bigger and more athletic team.  However, in what is becoming this team's hallmark, they rallied in the second half, tied the score, and lost a close one.  Joe played a lot and well down the stretch, going 4-5 from the line and hitting a key 3-pointer.  He just missed another 3-pointer late that would have given him double figure points for the game.

In game 2 in the practice gym upstairs, the Stars again fell behind early but rallied late.  Losing a game in sudden death double overtime is brutal.  This one hurt Joe more than others because he didn't play particular well down the stretch.  

Late in the game, he foolishly fouled a kid from behind on a put back after a rebound, resulting in a 3-point play that tied the game.  Then, in overtime, when the Stars had the ball under their own goal with 7 seconds left, Joe caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key and clearly shuffled his feet before passing the ball to the wing.  Travel.  That one really hurt, as his team had the ball with a chance to win it.

In the second overtime, Joe brought the ball up the course after the Stars won the tip.  At the top of the key, Joe walked into a 3-pointer that he missed badly.  The other team rebounded the ball, drove up court, set up the offense, then scored the winning bucket when a kid drove the lane, jump stopped, and hit the bucket.

A great game was marred when the other team's best player suffered what appeared to be a torn ACL on a drive into the lane in the second half.  It was hard to watch, as he writhed in pain on the floor.  Tough kid. almost Amish looking with long hair tied up behind his head.  A guard, Joe and his teammates couldn't stay in front of him.  I don't think the game would have ended up in over time had he not gotten hurt. 

While Joe's 3-pointer in the second overtime was ill advised given that his team had a decided size advantage, I give him credit for having the courage to take the shot with the game on the line.  That's Joe.  

Yesterday, Joe played a lot of minutes.  He played hard, made most of the right plays, and only had one turnover that I can recall.  He hit key free throws in game one.  That's Joe, too.  

I'll be curious to see how much he plays today in his game at Glencliff. 

A busy weekend of sports.  

A Final Goodbye to the Dodgers

Most of my Dodgers are seniors this year and counting down the days to graduation.  It's unbelievable.  

How did those boys - my boys - grow up so fast?  

Yesterday, or so it seems, I was playing "giant pepper" with them on field 3 at Warner Park before an 11 - 12 year old baseball game, calling them by their nicknames I made up as they laughed uproariously.  The Mongoose (Jonathan Kleinstick).  The Big Cat (Wes Taylor).  The Helpless Gazelle (Aidan Poff).

Now, several of them are playing their final high school baseball season.  I've been determined to get out to see each of them play one more time.  It's tough with my work schedule and the boys' sports' schedules but I'm determined to make it happen.

Monday, Hume Fogg played USN at Vanderbilt, which was really cool.  Apparently, Vanderbilt allows Hume Fogg to play one baseball game a season there.  It means a lot to the boys, I know, to have an opportunity to play a high school baseball game at Hawkins Field.  It's special.

Jonathan Kleinstick, whom I began calling "JK" early on, plays centerfield for Hume Fogg.  JK was a Dodger almost from the beginning.  He was one of my core guys for almost a decade, from age 5 to 13 or 14, along with JP, Wes Taylor, Benton Wright, and Porter Weeks.  

JK's dad, Randy Kleinstick, was my first base coach for all those years.  We coached together in ballparks all over middle Tennessee in spring, summer, and fall.  Randy became a dear friend of mine and, to this day, he still is.  Recently, he retired from Nissan after a career spent working there.  

JK was the Dodgers' leadoff hitter, always and forever.  He and Randy worked and worked and worked, often times together at Green Hills Park and, later, in the batting cage at JT Moore Middle School.  JK turned himself into an excellent outfielder and a good hitter.  He's always been my fastest players.  

In the perfect Dodgers' lineup, batted JK first and JP second.  I called the "the daily double," with a tip of the cap to Cubs' Hall of Fame broadcaster, Harry Caray.  In the early 1980's, he called Bobby Dernier and Ryne Sandberg "the daily double," too.  

Walking into Hawkins' field, I saw Juliet Douglas, the interim Head of School at USN.  A true servant-leader, she was coaxed out of retirement to run the school for a year while they searched for a new Head of School after the ignominious end of Amani Reed's three year tenure.  Juliet represents everything that is good about USN and it made my night to see her at the baseball game.

I walked over to the Hume Fogg section on the third base side, found Randy, and gave his wife a hug.  Randy and I quickly settled in to watch the baseball game.  JK made a couple of nice plays in centerfield, tracking fly balls with confidence.  Clearly, he is comfortable defensively, which wasn't always the case when he was younger.  That's what consistent, hard work will do for you.  

JK was 0-2 at the plate, batting ninth.  He's been in a bit of a slump which, of course, happens in baseball.  He had been hot lately, batting leadoff, but cooled off the last two or three games, according to Randy.  

It was a great game, 2-2, until the sixth inning when Hume Fogg's coach foolishly pulled almost all of the starters so the junior varsity players could get play an inning or two at Hawkins' field.  I left and later learned that USN won 16-2.

As I left, I stopped by the Hume Fogg dugout, leaned down, and talked briefly with JK through the protective netting.  I told him I was proud of him as my voice caught in my throat.  In a spontaneous gesture that, somehow, summed up my feelings this spring for all of my Dodgers as they play out the last games of their baseball careers, I tapped my right hand tow my heart a couple of times, smiling and fighting back tears.  

As I turned to leave, I marveled at how grown up JP looked and at how quickly those Dodgers' days passed by.

A Tough Spring

It's not been the easiest spring for the boys athletically.  

Joe has struggled to find his way on the baseball team at school.  He hasn't started, bats eighth, and generally plays right or left field.  It's a very different baseball season from what he is used to, for sure.  As a rule, he's a pitcher, a middle infielder, a team leader, but that's not what has happened this season. 

Obviously, I don't see what goes on at practice, so it's hard for me to get a feel for why he's not been able to get noticed by the coaches.  His lack of size works against him, obviously, but that may change.  My only complaint - and it's a relatively mild one - is that I don't think Joe has gotten a real chance in games to play consistently and prove himself worthy of more time.  Still, the roster is a large one and it is, after all, seventh grade baseball.  

The more interesting thing to me, though, will be to see what Joe does with what is shaping up to be a bit of a lost seventh grade baseball season for him at school.  Does he use it as motivation and work tirelessly to get stronger, more agile, and a better hitter?  Does he set short-term and long-term goals for himself, in baseball, then come to me to see what we can do to help him carve out a path to reach his goals.  Or does he feel the sting of non-success briefly, then move on to the next thing, as Joe tends to do.  It's worth watching, as a father, for sure.

JP had his first race of the season after having been injured for the first time in his athletic career.  He ran the 800 at the Scott Hartman.  He got boxed in early, then used up all of his energy escaping and moving into second place, albeit briefly.  JP faded down the stretch and finished in seventh place at 2:01.  

While JP has been cross-training like a fiend during his recovery from injury, there is no substitute for actual running when it comes to preparing for a race or a race season.  That is abundantly clear. 

In short, both of the boys are unexpectedly facing some adversity this season.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, either.  It's part of life.