Diana Nyad: No regrets.

“I’m thinking about doing Georgia this year,” Alan said midway through our weekly 18-mile mountain bike ride at Umstead early yesterday morning. He said it wistfully, and punctuated it with a sigh.

The mention of Georgia a month into the new year was a trial balloon of sorts for Alan. Not so much to gauge my reaction; rather, for him to think out loud about what Georgia really meant.

“Georgia” is a three-day training ride organized by some of Alan’s younger (he’s 59), hard-core racing buddies. It’s a test of their pre-season conditioning: three days of riding Georgia’s bumpy high country, including at least one assault of legendary Brasstown Bald, a 10.3-mile grind that gets bell-curve steep as it nears the 4,643-foot summit. It was the climb fatale of the Tour de Georgia, the nation’s premier bike race from 2003-2008. It’s a climb that Alan, a born climber, once relished for his ability to put younger and otherwise stronger riders in their place — namely, off his back wheel.

Alan last did the ride two years ago. Last year, he discovered a life outside cycling, a life that included more hiking, more backpacking and, not coincidentally, a new girlfriend who likes to hike and backpack. Alan is quick (but not too quick) to acknowledge he’s happier and in better overall shape, but that wistfulness surfaces on occasion when he speaks of his past life in the saddle. To get in shape for Georgia, just two months away, he’d need to step up his riding, significantly. “For one, I’d need to start riding 100 miles a week immediately. I’d need to get in some long rides; I’d need to do some 60- and 70-mile rides ... .” And that would mean less time hiking and backpacking with Lois. Hence the sigh.

Balance and happiness vs. the drive to compete.

I’m familiar with the competitive dilemma. For the past three months I’ve been training for this Saturday’s Uwharrie Mountain Run, a 20-mile race on rocky, rooty trail in the Uwharrie National Forest. For the last three months I’ve also been training for a series of mountain bike races, starting with this past Sunday’s Mountain Bike Marathon in Sanford. Now, I’m a big advocate of cross-training. It keeps you from getting bored doing the same thing over and over. It also reduces your chance of injury from overuse. And it insures that a non-natural athlete such as myself finishes 81st out of 112 riders.

Not that I have illusions of winning. Still, I like to at least feel competitive.

The competitiveness issue came up during a backpack trip in December with Chris David. In the 1980s and 1990s, Chris, who is 67, was a competitive marathoner, logging 68 races with times dipping under 3 hours. He took racing seriously, putting in the requisite miles and watching his diet. A traditionalist, he bemoaned the recent trend of people who sign up for a marathon only to walk the entire thing. “To me, finishing in six hours isn’t ‘running’ a marathon,” he huffed.

Another contemporary, Peter Hollis, claims not to be competitive. He says he races mountain bikes just to stay in shape — the fact that he frequently podiums in the 50+ age group is an unintended consequence. The notion makes me smile every time I run into Peter, who is especially fond of “staying in shape” in front of younger riders. Like when I saw him training at Umstead last month. “My race age this year is officially 60,” he said. “I think before every race they should announce our age.” Or more recently when I hobbled to the finish of Sunday’s 42-mile Mountain Bike Marathon. Peter, having finished more than a half hour earlier, was already in street clothes and looking refreshed. “You know what I’m thinking of doing?” he asked. (I was thinking of getting the feeling back in my legs.) “I’m thinking of doing intervals at Umstead once or twice a week over lunch.”

You know, just to stay in shape.

Then there’s Steve Rogers, also a fellow 50+ mountain biker who’s a bit more forthcoming. I was clinging to Steve’s wheel during the Huck-A-Buck mtb race at Lake Crabtree a couple years back when suddenly he slowed and pulled over. I pulled up beside him. “My seat’s coming off,” he said. He fiddled with it for a minute or so as I watched. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up. “We’re in a race, you know,” he said, trying not to overstate the obvious, that as fellow 50-plusers we were racing against each other. “Go,” he said. “Go!” Steve was competitive to the point of having to remind me that we were competing.

Society tends to swing on the competitiveness issue. One decade it’s “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,“ the next, “We’re all winners!” Sometimes, though, the “prevailing mood” is declared by those not intimately familiar with the subject. Did the leader of the “Everyone’s a winner!” movement ever lose a podium spot by a stride length in a 5K? I’m guessing no, because if finishing in the back-of-the-pack is as rewarding as winning a sprint finish, what’s the point in training hard? Why get up and run at 6 on a frigid winter morning, or go for a training ride after a draining 10-hour work day?

Or why, if you’re already a record-setting endurance athlete and an icon in your sport, feel compelled to come out of a 30-year retirement at age 60.

For the 1970s, Diana Nyad was the world’s top long-distance swimmer. Routinely, she was in the news, for swimming the 102.5 miles from Bimini in the Bahamas to Florida, for swimming around Manhattan Island in a record time of 7 hours and 57 minutes. Yet it was a failure, her 1978 attempt to swim the 100 miles from Cuba to Florida that stuck with her. After swimming for 41 hours and 49 minutes, Nyad withdrew due to strong currents and bad weather. Despite her storied career, despite being a pioneer in the nascent arena of athletic extremism, that one failure haunted her. In the ensuing years she’s been plagued by what she terms “monkey chatter” in her head.

“I’d do a 100-mile bike ride and I wasn’t looking at the horizon of the ocean,” she said yesterday on public radio’s The Story. “I wasn’t taking in the flora and the fauna. The whole hundred miles I’d be asking myself why, why am I not doing this better? Why? Why? Why? I was just beating myself up.”

Last year, she decided to try the Strait of Florida again. That attempt was foiled when stings from a school of jellyfish sent her into respiratory distress. She plans to try again this summer.

“At 60,” she told The Story host Dick Gordon, “I’m gonna to do something that is so tough, so big that it takes so much of me that there’s not going to be room for all those regrets. ... There will not be time for that.”

Essentially, in the struggle over one's own competitiveness, that’s what it comes down to. Whether you go to Georgia, or split your time between two passions, or convince yourself that it’s only about staying in shape, or need to silence the monkey chatter, you want to make sure of that one thing there won’t be time for in the end.

Regrets.

* * *

Listen to Dick Gordon's interview with Diana Nyad on The Story here.

Big dreams? Better start planning.

Got a plan for this year? If you don’t, you need one.

If you vowed to be better this year, you need to start planning. You need goals to move you along. You need a carrot to get you out of bed and ride on a morning when it’s 25 degrees out. You need incentive to lace up your Asics and do your weekly track workout when your body is saying it would rather stay on the couch and watch the second half.

If you’re a road cylclist, for instance, you need an event to spur you on. The MS 150 in September, perhaps. Maybe Cycle North Carolina in October. Or perhaps one of the numerous centuries and half centuries that will test your endurance. (If you really want to test yourself, shoot for a mountain century; the Roan Moan in July is a good place to start.)

And mountain biking certainly isn’t without its share of interesting races. From the local TORC cross-country series, to 24-hour races such as Memorial Day weekend's Burn 24-Hour Challenge, to quirky races such as Pisgah Mountain Adventure Bike Race that marry distance riding with thinking.

Are you a runner? Maybe you need those weekly 5Ks to string you along. Perhaps you’re in to distance running — or would like to be. I know of at least one, no, two, training programs ideal for folks interested in running their first marathon. Maybe you prefer trail running. Now’s the time to start upping the miles for April 1’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12M and 50K Challenge, among others.

Into the new breed of adventure 5K? There are more and more of ‘em out there.

Triathlete? You have to plan ahead because triathlons are so popular they fill up in an instant. Still, you may be able to find a good tri, sprint to ironman, with openings left.

If you’re into team sports, check with your local parks & rec to see what options they have coming up.

And if you’re like me and live for a good backcountry adventure, well, I had a little planning session myself the other day and came up with five must-do trips for this year: the Snowbird Mountains of western North Carolina, a section of the Great Smoky Mountains I’ve yet to explore, the little-known west flank of the Black Mountains, the Black Mountain Crest Trail — much of it above 6,000 feet — in winter, and the 73-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail between US 19E and Damascus, Va. You can read more about those adventures here.

Stop reading. Start planning.

Wilson!

Hiking into the past: It’s all the rage in North Carolina this weekend ... .

Coast

Feeling competitive? Have three friends, at least one of whom is the opposite sex? And are all of you 16 or older? If you answered yes to all of the above, consider about heading down to Emerald Isle Saturday for the Emerald Isle Parks & Rec 4 x 4 Volleyball Tournament. Entry fee is $55, winner gets 70 percent of the pot ($231 if the maximum of six teams signs up), second place gets 30 percent. You must preregister by 5 p.m. Friday, by calling 252.354.6350.

Logistics: In addition to pre-registering (see above), you have to bring your own ball and officiate games you don’t play in. More info here.

Weather: The tournament is indoors. That said, it’s supposed to be 60 and sunny at the coast.

Piedmont

When you hike in the woods, odds are you're oblivious of the history around you. That you’re unaware of the daffodil that might signal an old homestead, or the wide trough that could be what remains of an old “highway.” This weekend, you have not one but two opportunities to hike into history.

This old roadbed up from Crabtree Creek near the old Company Mill goes past the old Camp Craggy at Umstead State Park.

Friday at 2 p.m. (we like to start the weekend early around here), join a ranger for a mostly off-trail hike to historic Camp Craggy in Raleigh’s Umstead State Park. Located upslope from Crabtree Creek near the old Company Mill, Craggy was a Boy Scout camp in the early 1900s. The hike, 2.5 miles round trip, begins at 2 p.m.

Logistics: The hike, which begins from the parking lot off Harrison Avenue and I-40, is free, but pre-registration is required, by calling 919.571.4170.

Weather: The good news: A high of 63 is forecast. The not-so-good: there’s an 80 percent chance of rain.

On Sunday, join the Eno River Association’s Joe Liles for a hike, Fanny’s Ford and the Road to Holden Mill. Subtle signs will tell the tale of this once commercially vibrant area that is now part of Eno River State Park.

Logistics: Meet at the picnic shelter at the end of Cole Mill Road at the Few’s Ford access area of the Eno River State Park, at 2 p.m. More info here.

Weather: Sunny with a high of 54.

Explore the human past of Stone Mountain, such as this chimney from an old homestead along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, on a 336 hike.

Mountains

They’ll also be hiking into history Saturday in the Stone Mountain area, albeit for a more colorful past. The 336 Area Hiking Group sponsors the Moonshine Stills Hike, a 5- to 7-mile mostly off-trail exploration in/around Stone Mountain State Park. Stills, old homesteads, cemeteries “and what ever we can find,” are the objectives, according to hike leader Steve Martin. A rugged outing is in store, Martin cautions. “If you enjoy nice, marked trails please pick another hike.”

Logistics: The group will meet at 7:30 a.m. in Greensboro to carpool to the park. More info here.

Weather: High of 52, 20 percent chance of rain.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

* * *

 
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Chris David atop Wayah Bald.

We were on day three of a four-day, 50-mile backpack trip on a particularly rugged region of the  rugged Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina. Specifically, we were about a third of the way up a climb that would see us gain close to a thousand vertical feet in less than a mile. It was not the first such climb we had encountered. In fact, much of this trip had been something of a roller coaster, with long, slow, steep climbs followed by long, slow, steep descents (I said something of a roller coaster). My quads and calves ached on the former, my knees on the latter. Yet here we were, me at 55, Chris David at 67, plugging along at a good clip, averaging about 2.5 miles per hour.
Chris’s proclamation wasn’t old guy braggadocio or uninformed speculation. He’s been backpacking since the early 1960s, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1983, and has been leading hikes for the Sierra Club for more than a decade. He’s hiked with beginners, he’s hiked with people who are on the trail as much as he is. He knows backpackers.
“I’d say about 1 percent,” he said, throwing a statistic into the mix. “No, make that one tenth of 1 percent.”
I won’t deny I found some satisfaction in Chris’s assessment, but I was mainly just glad that I could do this. That I could hike all day with 35 pounds on my back, that I could experience the winter-clear 360-degree view from atop 5,342-foot Wayah Bald, that I could stand beneath London Bald and stare down a treed bobcat not 10 feet away, that I could survive the wild gorge trying to contain Ledbetter Creek and stand atop Cheoah Bald, enshrouded in a cold rain trying to turn to snow wondering what the view might be like. That I, an absent-minded guy who is just as likely to find his car keys in the fridge as in the key bowl, would be able to remember nearly every step of this trip two weeks hence.
That reminded me of the one other thing I’m good at remembering, the thing that made it possible for me to be here in the first place:
The importance of setting the right goals.
Set a goal and the rest will follow. Advice that may seem obvious on this, the first day of the new year when so many of us are intent on erasing our bad habits and charting a new course. Goals are the carrots we employ to help us achieve an end to a means. Unfortunately, many of us won’t make it to February with our goal for the year intact.
Why?
We may set goals, but often we don’t set the right goals, the goals that we’re truly motivated to achieve.
Take Chris. Chris is a long-time runner, with 68 marathons under his belt since his first, the Marine Corps, in 1986. But it’s not the races that continue motivating him to run 50 miles a week. It’s the opportunity to do trips such as this, or his recent 63-mile backpack trip through the Smokies, or the 155-mile solo trip he did in the Nantahalas a couple years back. Or that make him think about another thru-hike on the AT. Backpacking in the wild is his true motivation.
My mountain biking buddy Peter Hollis is likewise driven by what for him is the right goal. Most people either lie about their age or demure when the topic is broached. Peter is likely to bring up his age, apropos of nothing, in the first sentence or two of an encounter.
At the start of the Huck-A-Buck cross-country mountain bike race at Lake Crabtree this summer, Peter lamented the fact that they didn’t announce our ages at the start (at 59, he was the oldest contestant — and proud of it). When I ran into him at Umstead a few days ago, the second thing he said (after updating me on trail conditions), was, “Well, as of January 1 my race age for this year is 60.” Peter claims he races to stay in shape, not to win. But he’s quick to add that he wants to be the fastest 60-year-old on the trail, and if he can whip some 40- and 30-year-olds in the process (which he does), so much the better. Being able to ride a gray streak is his true motivation, his real goal. If he wins the race, and he often does, so much the better.
Setting the right goal may require a little introspection.
Take the No. 1 health-related goal that so many people will set today: to lose weight. Is it really the weight that’s important? Is it strictly a numbers game, to see the scale record 10 fewer pounds by the end of January, 10 fewer still by Leap Day?
Or is weight loss a secondary benefit of your true goal? Is your true goal to fit into a size 4 dress  by prom? To abandon your 1920s-fashionable tank suit http://fashion-era.com/swimwear.htm for a bikini come summer? To shave three minutes off your 5K time? Focus on your true goal and secondary benefits, such as weight loss, will follow.
Knowing your true goal will also make it easier to come up with an effective strategy for reaching said goal.
During my junior year in college (my second junior year), I had managed to balloon up over 200 pounds going into winter break. For Christmas, Santa brought me a lime green polyester Addidas running suit. The running boom of the ‘70s was just kicking in and I decided then and there that I would be able to run 5 miles by the end of the semester. Starting that afternoon and continuing for the next four months I put one foot in front of the other faster and more often than I had the day before.
Darned if the semester didn’t come to an end and I was running 5 miles. And darned if I hadn’t lost 45 pounds in the process. Walking across the quad one day in April, a former suitemate whom I hadn’t seen in a while stopped me, eyes agog, and asked, “What the hell happened to you?”
I hesitated, both to let my friend twist over what he could only be thinking — that I was deathly ill, because in our acquaintance I had never once demonstrated anything resembling discipline or restraint — but also to ponder the question: What the hell had happened to me?
I thought back to my rotund self sitting next to the Christmas tree contemplating the lime green polyester Addidas running suit which had inspired my true goal.
“I became a runner.”

* * *

• To help jumpstart your thinking about how to set the right goal, check out this OutsideOnline piece in which staffers test-drive seven potential resolutions, from giving up caffeine to a body cleanse.

* * *
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Saturday's competitors look, but don't touch.

I stood behind the boulder, behind the two climbers puzzling over the boulder. Their puzzlement was interspersed with suddenly leaps into action, attempts to make a seemingly impossible leap from one not-so-generous hold about 10 feet an overhang to another modest hold perhaps 10 feet away. Interspersed with those unsuccessful attempts was the occasional bad word muttered under their breath. After each unsuccessful leap — known as a “dyno” in climbing circles — after they’d picked themselves up off the crash pad they would sidle up to a guy in a full black beard, jeans and a black jacket with a USA Climbing patch on the back.

“You need to try and grab the hold ... this way,” USA Climbing guy said, displaying the exact handhold necessary to stick the hold. And it was the exact way: This guy, a Level 3 routesetter for USA Climbing, has set enough climbing routes over the years to be able to eye a move and know exactly what specifically it would take to land the move. He was in town to apply his years of routesetting experience to the 14-foot-high, 3,000-square foot “boulder” in the Triangle Rock Club that will be the site of Saturday’s Raleigh Rampage bouldering competition.

“We’ll have climbers here from Richmond to Columbia South Carolina,” said a bleary-eyed and apparent No Shave November participant Scott Gilliam, the Triangle Rock Club’s chief routesetter. Although the 56 routes to be used in Saturday’s competition must be set by a Level 3 USA Climbing-certified routesetter, which Gilliam is not, he’d been working pretty much non-stop this week to help get the boulder ready. “I’ve slept 14 hours since Sunday,” Gilliam offered Thursday evening. “I’ve only had two caffeinated beverages today.”

Although there will be competition in the mortal division — officially referred to as the Citizen’s Session — it’s the competitive USAC session that's the big draw. About 80 top boulderers from around the region will square off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with finals held from 3-4 p.m. The finals are worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity and appreciate true athleticism. The top 3 to 5 finishers in each category will have 3-5 minutes to solve each of three “problems” — especially challenging routes dreamed up by the USA Climbing guy. They’ll involve moves like the one he was  trying to explain to the two climbers above.

Like that move, but not that specific move.

All around the boulder Thursday night were posted advisories: “This part of boulder CLOSED to Rampage COMPETITORS.” While competitors couldn’t touch, they could at least look, which created the curious spectacle of competitors staring motionless for minutes at a time at a particular route. They’d stare, heads cocked like confused cocker spaniels, then begin what appeared to be mime routines, slowly moving their hands to emulate the moves they’ll use Saturday.

Come to check out the competitive session and who knows, you might be compelled to enter the Citizens’ Session, which runs from 6-8 p.m. ($25 to enter). The Citizens’ Session comes with an added perk: there’s beer afterward. Gilliam emphasized the “afterward” part.

“You’ll get one wrist bracelet to compete,” he said. “When you’re done, we’ll clip that bracelet off and give you a beer bracelet.”

Good plan.

* * *

For more on the Raleigh Rampage, go here.

Remember when Opie had to chose between football and piano lessons? Trying times indeed for the sheriff.

I wrote the following for the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh, where it originally appeared August 16. See the related post on student athlete injuries that appeared here yesterday.

As school approaches and a busy round of athletic seasons — from football to soccer to cross country — begins, parents face a variety of concerns as their student athletes hit the playing field.

More often than not, says Jeremy Boone, author of "Parent Your Best," those questions have less to do with their kids getting hurt than how they can help make playing a sport a fulfilling experience for their kids.

"Sports parenting is a skill," says Charlotte-based Boone, who's also the founder of Athletes by Design, a sports consulting firm, and works with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason. "It's about influence, not control. It's about being nonjudgmental, yet accountable and responsible."

Here are some tips on how to be the perfect sports parent.

1. Agree on what competition means to you and your kids

Dad may have grown up playing football and has one idea; Mom may focus more on the social benefits. Dad may be disapproving because the team lost; Mom may be beaming because the team hung together in defeat. "The child gets caught in between," Boone says. "They don't understand who they need to be like."

A good starting point for discussing competition should start with students looking at sports differently: "Instead of thinking of it as you vs. them, look at it as you vs. you," says Boone. Start with looking at how you compete with yourself. "What's the best you can bring today for yourself?"

2. Determine your core values

"Do you believe in hard work? Trust? Honesty? Create a litmus test of values that your son or daughter must be willing to be accountable for." If they show those agreed-upon values in practice and in games, says Boone, it helps everyone define whether the season is a success.

3. Be honest with praise

So your son struck out. Says Boone: "If you say, 'Don't worry, next time you'll hit a home run,' your kid will look at you and say, 'Really, because I've never hit a home run.' " False praise benefits no one.

Instead, use it an opportunity to "build better decision makers, to build their self-awareness and encourage self-reflection. Ask, 'If you could hit the rewind button, what would you have done differently? What would you do next time?"

4. Encouraging or pushing?

"I have a real simple litmus test for that," says Boone. "If for five days straight the family conversation at dinner is about the kid's sport, you're pushing them too much. Make (dinner) an off-limits time to talk sports unless they bring it up."

5. 'I want to quit'

A real angst-builder for parents, especially considering the precedent this decision could set, not just for sports but for life. Begin by discussing your core values, says Boone, one of which probably involves commitment. "Nine times out of 10 it's because of some damaged relationship on the team, with the coach, another teammate," says Boone. This is a life lesson in the making, says Boone: Work together to identify the real issue, then talk about ways to deal with it.

6. Dealing with the coach

When you feel the need to talk with a coach about an issue involving your child, keep one thing in mind, says Boone: "They make the final decisions. They are the CEO."

"Where most parents go wrong is they start with blasting the coach with their opinion about what's wrong, what needs to be fixed. No coach is going to listen to that," Boone says.

Rather request a meeting and be clear about the topic and objective. You want to have a discussion, not diatribe. The goal is to get the coach's perspective on whatever the issue is. "If your intention is to manipulate the coach for better opportunities for your child," cautions Boone, "you're lost, you're done."

7. ‘Trow da bum out!

“Part of being a good sport parent,” notes Bob Graham, “is to avoid yelling at the officials. Within the officiating community,” adds Graham, who officiates high school lacrosse, “there is much discussion about how to handle parents who ‘ride’ the officials, especially those parents that don't really know the rules.  In many sports the Youth Level officials are high school aged and inexperienced.  They are learning too.  Parents should set a good example and ask the official at a time out or break (quarter or half) to explain a call instead of yelling at the ref.”

And you’ll know if you’ve succeeded  ...

At the end of the season. That’s when the report card comes in for Brannon Cashion, a Charlotte dad whose 7-, 9- and 11-year-old sons play a gamut of sports. Come season’s end, that’s when Cashion, who often doubles as the boys’ coach, finds out whether their season — and to a degree, his role — has been a success by simply asking, “Are you going to keep playing?”

Correct answer from an enthusiastic kid: “Yes! I can’t wait.”

* * *

Concussions

With all the talk about concussions, you might think that would be on Kevin Bottomley’s mind as he watches football practice on his son’s first day.

“I think with all the attention it’s been given they’re probably safer today than when I played,” says Bottomley, who’s son Mason is a freshman defensive back at Cary High School.

In light of recent media attention, primarily at the NFL level, there’s been considerable attention given to concussions in sports. “Parenting Your Best” author Jeremy Boone believes it’s a valid concern, especially for football and women’s soccer. But when cross-country runners come home needing a concussion waiver signed by a parent, then the topic may have become “emotionally overblown.” As Bottomley, who graduated high school in 1991, observed while watching Cary’s football practice last week, “They use to teach us about avoiding head-to-head contact, but now they really drill it into the kids.”

Still, concussions are a growing concern for parents of student athletes in contact sports. Many schools are sending out information sheets on concussions: how to recognize the symptoms, what to do if you suspect your child has suffered a concussion. You can also find out more at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Concussion in Sports Web page.

Today, I have a story appearing in both the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer offering tips for parents of student athletes as the busy falls sports season gets underway. The story focuses primarily on the emotional issues that often arise. Below is a look at the physical side of high school athletics, with information and tips on injuries and injury prevention.

If you have a high school athlete, there’s a 1 in 5 chance he or she will suffer a physical injury.

In the 2009-2010 school year, the latest year for which stats are available, 1.35 million of the nation’s 7 million high school athletes got injured, according to the Center for Injury Research & Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. To be a certified injury, the incident had to require medical attention (doctor, athletic trainer, emergency personnel) and result in the athlete missing at least one lost day of practice or a game.

Some highlights from that study:

Injuries by sport

Injuries per 1,000 players.

Football:  3.81 injuries
Girls soccer: 2.0
Wrestling (boys): 1.98
Boys soccer: 1.75
Girls basketball: 1.58
Boys basketball: 1.45
Girls volleyball: 0.99
Softball (girls): 1.12
Baseball (boys): 0.82

Mostly commonly injured body part

Reflects percent of total injuries.

Ankle: 17.5
Head/face: 17.2
Knee: 15.7
Hand/wrist: 10.3
Hip/thigh/upper leg: 9.2
Shoulder: 8.4
Trunk: 5.8
Lower leg: 4.7
Foot: 4.1
Arm/elbow: 4.0
Neck: 1.9
Other: 1.0

Bench time

Number of days (practices and games) missed due to injury.

1-2 days: 14.7 percent
3-6 days: 27.3 percent
7-9 days: 16.1 percent
10-21 days: 16.9 percent
22 or more days: 25.0 percent

Injuries by class

Percentages of injuries by year in school, broken down by male and female athletes.

Freshman: 20.8 percent | 27.9 percent
Sophomore: 23.5 percent | 26.7 percent
Junior: 25.8 percent | 24.1 percent
Senior: 29.9 percent | 21.3 percent

Check out the entire report here. For comparison sake, check out this study of the 2005-06 school year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

* * *

Hydration

Hydration is a particularly important issue for so-called “fall” sports — practice for some of which began over a month ago, in the dead of summer. If your student athlete is fatigued, irritable, unproductive and is suffering headaches and muscle cramps, he or she might be dehydrated.

Here’s a good overview of dehydration that ran in the New York Times last year: “In Summer’s Heat, Watch What You Drink.”

For a succinct take on recognizing dehydration and getting rehydrated, here’s what the Mayo Clinic has to say.

Playing hurt

“If you get hurt,” advises the National Institutes of Health, “stop playing. Continuing to play or exercise can cause more harm.”

Schools and coaches have gotten better about sidelining injured players until they’re ready to return. Still, there’s often subtle suggestion that an athlete “gut it out” that puts injured players on the field before they’re ready.

For most non-serious injuries, follow the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) approach to recovery. That will help relieve pain, reduce swelling and speed healing.

For more on sports injuries, check out the Sports Injuries section of MedlinePlus, a service of the NIH and U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Cheerleading

60 percent of cheerleading injuries are the result of stunts, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. By stunts, they mean: cradles, elevators, extensions, pyramids, single-based stunts, single-leg stunts, stunt-cradle combinations, transitions and miscellaneous-partner-and-group stunts.

The most common injuries were strains and sprains (53 percent). Injuries occurred most frequently during practice (83 percent). The top five body parts injured were the ankle (16 percent), knee (9 percent), neck (9 percent), lower back (7 percent) and head (7 percent).

Photo: The famous "my-achin'-everything" photo of NFL quarterback Y.A. Tittle after a loss in 1964, his last season. In addition to his bloodied face, Tittle was thought to have a concussion and possible broken ribs.

Allen and I ride one morning a week at Umstead. It’s typically a mildly competitive ride where we save just enough air to chat about bikes (lot’s of debate about whether to go the 29er route), rides (mountain centuries that Allen does and I talk about), juicing (Allen is obsessed with making fresh OJ). And, occasionally, why we suck.

This morning was my turn to suck. Sunday I’d done a mountain bike race, the 10th Annual (and last?) Huck A Buck at Lake Crabtree County Park. I was the fist to sign in in my age group (Cat 2 50+) and thus at least still in contention for first place. Fifteen minutes later I saw 55-year-old Rich Wetherald and suddenly dropped to second (a distant second). A few minutes after that I ran into 59-year-old Peter Hollis (third), who mentioned he had just seen Steve Rogers (fourth) and that a buddy of his from Down East was riding. “He’s pretty fast,” said the pretty fast Hollis. Fifth.

That others more capable than I had shown up wasn’t the problem. I didn’t care that I would be coming in fifth; no matter how prepared I was I wasn’t beating these guys. (Asterisk: I did beat Steve at HAB 2010 — his seat broke midway through the first lap and he had to ride 15 miles standing.) They’re better riders: better technically, better physically, willing to take more chances. I just wanted to ride well, to ride hard, to keep from dropping off their slipstream for at least half of the first lap. For half a lap I just wanted to be able to still see them up ahead, to feel part of a race.

That delusion lasted about 30 seconds, until I hit a small tree that I’m guessing felt sure it was a safe distance off the trail. For the next 19 miles, the next two hours, I rode alone (except, that is, for the seven Cat 1 riders who lapped me). My race quickly turned into a ride, then a leisurely tour, and finally, survival. It was hot (99 at neighboring RDU at race’s end), I had exhausted the 100 milliliters of fluid in my Camelbak (plus a 16-ounce bottle of hot strawberry electrolytes) and for the last half hour or so it was all I could do to turn the pedals. I had nothing left, and worse, no apparent reason for having nothing left. I hadn’t gone out too fast (the tree), I hadn’t been clinging to the back of the pack for a ridiculous amount of time (again, the tree), I hadn’t partied until 4 a.m. the night before (I was in bed by 10). I sucked, and I couldn’t figure out why. Which is where Dr. Allen came in.

“So ... did you avoid the heat last week or embrace it?” Good question. If I’d hidden inside during last week’s brutal 100/100 (heat/humidity) days, I would have been more susceptible to Sunday’s steam bath. But I hadn’t: I’d run twice (including seven miles midmorning at Umstead) and ridden for 70 minutes at Lake Crabtree.

“Eat anything funny?” Not funny for me.

“Injuries?” I wish.

“Bike issues?” Tempting to blame the , but no.

Finally, Allen got around to the obvious, which he would have started with had it not been so obvious.

“How much have you been riding?”

A lot! was my initial reaction. Last week alone I’d ridden ... hmm, just once, for an hour and 10 minutes. But the week before ... OK, the week before there was a spin class, but no actual saddle time. Allen let me connect the dots. My perception, it turned out, was far from reality.

In early spring I had vowed to be doing a weekly three-hour ride at Umstead; It had been at least a month since I’d ridden two. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers was doing regular centuries on his road bike to build stamina. I hated to think what the others in my age group were up to.

Not that it matters, because, again, it’s not a pair of 3rd place socks that I’m after. As Peter, who always makes the podium, puts it, “I’m here for the fitness.” I’m doing this for myself.  Next race —  Aug. 21’s Race at the Reactor, at Harris Lake — I don’t want people looking at my lap times and thinking, “He must have flatted on that lap.” I don’t want my last lap to be seven minutes slower than my first (I could live with a two-minute difference). I don’t want guys passing me and saying, “Are you OK?” while I’m still upright and moving. I don’t want to wind up being on the course so long I end up drinking hot strawberry electrolytes. I don’t want to simply survive: I want to look at the results, check out the guy who finished ahead of me and think, “Maybe next time.” (OK, maybe I am a little competitive with the other boys.)

As we rolled back to our cars, Allen said, “I’d like to do some extra credit, but I’m afraid that’s it for me.”

I looked at my bike computer: 1 hour, 40 minutes, 23 seconds. “I think I’ll ride a little longer,” I said, pulling a u-turn and heading back into the woods.

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast, especially come summer. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. 
To help ease this trying transition, we’re running a new feature every Monday, at least during the summer, called 90 Second Escape. Essentially, it’s a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s in the sun.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: A ride through the woods.

It was billed as a race, the 10th Annual Huck A Buck mountain bike race at Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville. But to a lot of us, “racing” isn’t something to be done in 100-degree heat. Regardless, race or ride, mountain biking in the woods is always a good time.

Escape with us now, for the next 90 seconds ...

For 10 years, the Huck A Buck has been an institution for Triangle area mountain bikers. And for the last two years, the race’s organizers, Happy Fun Racing, have said the 2011 edition would be the last.

But a month ago, we detected waffling. It might be the last, one organizer let slip.

So, was Sunday’s race the last? GetGoingNC.com took its cameras (just one actually, a flip video) to Lake Crabtree to get a definitive — sorta — answer.