Response to "An Open Letter to The Administrators at Wayzata High School"

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy

There is one item floating around Facebook this week, to which I need to respond. Openly, candidly, and without reservation. 

I’m referring to the blog article: An Open Letter to The Administrators at Wayzata High School. The opinion article is a heartfelt message, written shortly after yet another tragic death at Wayzata High School this week. And this death hit very close to our home. 

Robert Pettis (most knew him as Bobby Moore) was a valued and respected member of my son’s swim team. Bobby had a wonderful smile. When we were remembering Bobby this week, that’s the first thing that came out of people’s mouths. “What a wonderful smile Bobby had.” 

I recall a swim meet when Bobby forgot his swim cap. My son immediately gave Bobby his. Because that’s what Bobby would have done for you. The swim team has continued to come to grips with this tragedy this week. With the great mentoring and support of the coaches, parents, and athletes themselves, they have begun to heal. 

However, this open letter wishes to find blame for the too-early deaths of Bobby and others. It asks the WHS school administration, “What are YOU going to do about it?” 

Finding someone to blame (and then blaming them) may give us a substitute sensation for having solved a problem when we haven't really understood cause and effect at all. Sure, anger and self-righteousness are exciting feelings, but we mustn't become so hooked on the excitement of the moment that we stop being able to see more subtle shades of cause and effect. Blaming others is a neat little way of letting ourselves off the hook. 

The opinion article also seems to point fingers at the aggressive nature of the athletic program at WHS. The author postulates that there is too much emphasis placed on success and little to no emphasis on the importance of the individual.

For me, that is where the line was crossed. I’m familiar with the athletic program in the Wayzata school district. The coaches stop at nothing to ensure that each student athlete is made to understand they are important to the program. No matter how fast or slow, how weak or strong, how talented or not. Each. Athlete. Has. Value.

I had the great fortune of being a parent volunteer for one of the middle school sports programs this past school year. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The value of each and every athlete on the team was underscored on the second day of practice.

There were over one hundred athletes spanning the three Wayzata middle schools. The head coach, a middle school teacher, went to each and every athlete, pointed and said his name. Then he said, “You are important to this team.” So many new faces, and yet every name was 100% accurate. And every athlete left that day knowing he was important to the program and to the head coach.

Bobby’s passing was tragic. Many tears flowed this week after it was announced. He will be truly missed. But it was not the fault of one person or one group. Of course, sometimes an organization or individual really can be woefully, even fatally, negligent; in that case, just blame is right and proper. Terrible life-threatening mistakes are made sometimes. But on a day-to-day level, I think it's more true that passing the buck is now a cultural pastime.

If everything is someone else's fault, then what part do I play in my own life? Are my actions entirely without consequence? Am I that powerless? Or do all my actions only lead to good outcomes?

My sincere and heartfelt message to the young people who stumble across this blog entry: Life is full of people who take emotional shortcuts and blame others unfairly or aggressively; for the sake of the human race, don't be one of them.

It is a big problem when finding blame becomes more important than finding ways to put things right. We need to develop the capacity to be objective enough about ourselves to avoid assuming that we could never possibly create problems on our own.

I do not want one more teen suicide at WHS. Not ever. So how do we prevent them?

We start, not by asking others what THEY are going to do about it. We start by asking ourselves what WE can do about it. Don’t play the blame game; step up to help. 

“…ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Show Up

I recently took first overall in a local 5K. Only 54 runners ran. Second place went to a 12-year old runner. I felt sheepish even posting my race summary. The day after I was reading the February/March issue of Running Times. The Editor's Note had a nice article that talked about the secrets of success. One of which was to 'show up'. In short, it basically reminded me that in order to win one must show up. If you don't show up, you cannot win. So take any win you get. You showed up. If faster runners didn't bother to participate, that is their issue, not yours. Here is the article in full, taken from the issue. Enjoy....and get out there and show up!

By Jonathan Beverly


As featured in the FebMarch 2012 issue of Running Times Magazine

Warren Buffet's wife reportedly taught her children and grandchildren a list of five secrets to success. My wife often quotes these to my son when he's nervous about an upcoming test or ball game. Recently, I noticed how well the "secrets" apply to running, particularly to masters running, which we focus on this issue. Here's the list:

1) SHOW UP
This is 90 percent of the battle. Runners are well aware that how high you place in a race is often tied more to who showed up than how fast you ran. I've won a local 10-miler four out of the past five years simply because no fast runners have shown up. I could feel funny about this, but, given my advancing years, and the fact that I did show up, fit enough to run the hilly dirt course, I'll take it. My qualifier there--"fit enough"--reflects something runners also know, namely, that showing up is more than being there on race day; it's a lifestyle. To be successful, you have to "show up" every day. To really succeed, you have to show up mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but even just showing up physically and getting in some miles will put you ahead of the majority who dabble in their training or try to race without training. Showing up, in all aspects, is even more important for masters. Each year, being healthy and on the starting line becomes increasingly the first mandate of our training and lifestyle, more important than any specific workouts, mileage totals or race strategies.

2) TELL THE TRUTH

In running, this seems to me to mostly be about telling yourself the truth: You have to be honest about your current fitness, strengths, weaknesses, age, ability to handle the course and conditions. When we asked "The Sports Scientists" to look at the limiting factors for the marathon in our November issue it was somewhat of a surprise that their overall conclusion was this point as most of the problems stem from erroneous pacing due to not telling yourself the truth about your fitness. For a masters runner, not telling the truth to yourself almost inevitably means not being able to make rule No. 1, as you'll be injured.

3) PAY ATTENTION

The key to any good training program is that it's tailored to the individual. To know what the individual needs, the runner and coach (especially if the same person) must pay attention. Again, while true for all, this becomes magnified for masters, as the type of training you can handle and the reaction to that training not only change with age but change differently for each person. Nowhere are we more "experiments of one" as when we carry our running past youth. As Roger Robinson says in his overview of masters training, "There is consensus on many things. But dealing with aging is always a tangle of senescent cells, wisdom, denial and defiance."

4) DO YOUR BEST
If you're not going to do your best, why bother showing up? This one is a no-brainer. As we age, however, those for whom "doing your best" has meant "doing your all-time, genetic-limit best" have to adjust to concessions not allowed in youth. This is the theme of Alex Sebastian's essay, inspired by the age-based handicapping of the Dipsea. Even with adjusted realities, however, success still requires doing your best on any given day.

5) DON'T BE TOO ATTACHED TO THE OUTCOME

While not downplaying the others, this might be my favorite "secret" as it's so counterintuitive to the mainstream idea of "success"--the very word seems attached to some measure of the outcome. But tying ourselves to the outcome is a sure way to sabotage actually doing our best. I recall the lights that came on the first time I saw this articulated clearly, in a November 1999 Running Times article by the late Andy Palmer entitled, "How Badly Do You Want It?" Palmer wrote, "You must be truly able to 'let go,' to become a split personality of sorts. It's not easy; after all, you are striving to do your very best, yet you have to not care about the result. Running the race should be the most important thing in your life while you are running it, yet you can't care how it turns out." Not to beat a dead horse, but again, this is so much more important for aging runners, as your outcomes change to the extent that you start to wonder if the effort is worthwhile. Only by not getting too attached to the outcome can you continue to show up and enjoy success.

Rest assured, there's plenty in the pages to come for the whippersnappers as well as the masters--our profile of Jenny Simpson, our high school and college coverage, and multiple training articles--and these rules above apply to all. If you pay attention, some day you too may be enjoying success long after your peers have stopped showing up.

Ooooh, Pretty Colors

In the highly anticipated release of the new Team Tri Rochester uniforms, I thought I'd cover the top three kits I would want to most wear in a triathlon if I had  some extra Ben Franklins just laying around. And please keep in mind, that this lone wolf cares not one iota what you think of my selections. I've always been a person who marches to the beat of a different drummer. A drummer strung out on some very good reefer added in for good measure.

Choice Number Three: The bright orange colors of Spanish team Euskaltel Euskadi. While orange has different symbolic meanings, individual reactions to the color orange can vary widely. Taking at a psychological level, for me the color appears to be an exciting, joyful and fun hue. There's no sadness or sorrow to it.

Choice Number Two: The neon green of Team Liquigas/Cannondale. A little flashy in the grand Italian fashion and super easy to spot. Loud and proud. Just the opposite of my race day personality, which is probably the underlying reason why I would not hesitate to wear a Liquigas skin suit.

Choice Number One: By far the best kit worn in the triathlon world today..male or female....is that of Australian Michellie Jones. Jones is certainly a true legend and is instantly recognizable in her colors. The mix of colors just works for me on so many levels. No, I would not ride a pink bike, but I would wear the male version of this kit.

So what about y'all? What team kit do you most covet if you had your druthers to sport some fine threads during your next event?

The Age Grouper

Courtesy of Runner Triathlete News, May 2010 issue. RTN is a publication for runners, triathletes, and cyclists throughout the Southwest. I'm happy to subscribe to it.

Campsite of transition - trinkets on display
Shoes yawn open - helmet perched on aerobars
The fifteenth final check

Bare feet walk over gravelly asphalt
Look back at the bike like a pre-schooler looks back at Mom
Clutch goggles and cap and breathe in chemical toilets

Study bobbing red buoys like a charlatan palm reader
Nagged by doubts and a full bladder
3...2...1... - Beep goes the watch

Wade, plunge, swim
Soup of feet and elbows
Face to face with another face twisting for air

Ridiculous crawl three-quarters of a circle around a buoy
Shoulders cry out
Triceps tighten

Discomfort of not knowing what time, how far
Prehistoric language of splashing water gives way to cheering
Hand, then foot touches mud and you emerge

Peel off cap and goggles and blink at the world like a newborn
Stagger ashore on wobbly amphibian legs
Beep goes the watch

Run from water like you did something wrong
Count racks and look for red gym bag
Win noiseless game of Marco polo with the bike

Simon Says theater of helmet first
Mother May I buckle my chinstrap
Run alongside the bike to the chalk line

Ragged breathing, water pours off the face
Gritty feet fight into stiff nylon shoes
Beep goes the watch

Lake water
replaced by sweat
replaced by plastic flavored water

Wind whips past the ears
Hum of thin black rubber on hot pavement
'On yer left!"

Smokin flyin crankin
Bare thighs born to turn these pedals
Gears shift and you lunge and climb

Adrenaline, then elation, then dull pain
Invades the engine of heart and lungs
Spreads to drive train of quads, glutes, hams

Loosen straps, swing a leg,
Coast to dismount, more baby steps
Beep goes the watch

Hook brake levers over wobbly steel pipe
Unbuckle the chinstrap as blind toes feel for shoes
Bend, zip, zip, grab, run

Snap the race number and pull on a visor
Beep goes the watch
Tell your legs they're not biking anymore

Strides and breathing smooth out
Check calf numbers and relax or press
Choke down half a paper cup of sticky flavored drink

Do the math when you see the fast guys coming back
Hold it together against fatigue
Who moved the last mile marker?

Lead legs burn
Lungs vacuumed out
Nothing in the tank

Loudspeaker name, music, applause
Merg and the boys
Banner, electronic burgundy mat

Beep goes the watch

written by Mark McGraw, College Station, Texas.

Sunday Editorial