My latest excuse...I'm not beautiful enough to dunk.

So it turns out I have another factor to put on my list of reasons why my dunking may be a very hard challenge to accomplish.  I already had the following three listed....

1. I'm old = 37 going on 38
2. I'm white = old stereotype
3. I'm lazy = enough said
4. Here is the new one....I'm not beautiful.

Turns out I neglected the fact that I am not "beautiful".  There is a theory that people are better athletes when they have body symmetry.  To borrow from one of our geometry classes, symmetry is when you take an object and it is identical on either sides of an axis.  People with balanced body symmetry are considered to be more beautiful becuase their features are balanced and proportional.

A couple of years ago there was a TV documentary and articles in magazines like Sports Illustrated that covered this topic.  In short here is what they said....

"In The Learning Channel's four-hour special The Human Face, biologist John Manning of the University of Liverpool contends that there's a link between facial beauty and athletic ability. Manning, who says that "people rate symmetric faces as being more attractive than asymmetric faces," performed tests that found runners with asymmetric ears to be slower than those with symmetric ears. Why might this be so? Manning argues that facial symmetry reflects symmetry in the body: A visage mat's off by as little as a millimeter from one side to the other—the left eye slightly lower or smaller than the right eye, for instance—can signal a similar shortfall in coordination and speed." (Green Morse, 2001)

So let's take a popular and beautiful athlete such as NFL quarterback Tom Brady (the guy is in GQ and married to a supermodel).  Here is what he looks like compared with myself using facial symmetry....I'm hosed!  The repeat of the left side of my face looks like an ogre.  The left side turns into a pencil necked geek.  Tom on the other hand stays pretty handsome throughout. 

So now if I fall short of my dunking dream I blame my lack of beauty.  It's a cold cruel world...but somehow I will perservere.

Green Morse, K. (2001, September 03). Face facts. Sports Illustrated, Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
/vault/article/magazine/MAG1023490/index.htm

Time is getting short...progress still slow

This week I had the chance to start working with a parent who works professionally as a physical therapist.  She offered her services to see if getting more specific with my workouts and having someone monitor them for me would help out.  I have to say that after doing the workouts twice that I am pleased with the rigor of the workouts...we will have to wait and see if the results come with it.

I am still stuck on a 20inch standing vertical and being able to touch the rim with a running jump.  I know that I need about 6 more inches to make the total goal happen....here's to more hard work!

You had me at "El Diablo"

Last week EVHS completed a tremendous week of Homecoming events.  In a nutshell it was a joyride of one event after another. 

A group of 10 seniors went around to every feeder elementary and middle school to spread the word about what Homecoming is and how they could all be involved.  We took the opportunity to hand out some free swag (t-shirts, footballs, and tattoos) and at the same time taught them some of our best cheers. 

From there our school put on one of the biggest parades we have had in years.  People lined up on Valley Road to watch the band, elementary & middle schools, DADD club, LULAC, Homecoming Royalty, class floats, and Football team come down the road.  It ended with a Chili Feed in the cafeteria and Powder Puff Football finals in the stadium.  Energy was everywhere that evening.

Friday ended the work week with a terrific Pepfest in the gymnasium complete with performances by the Dance team, Cheer squad, and Senior Football players.  Although the football game on Friday night was a very soggy affair the rain did not deter our team from getting their 6th win of the season highlighted by a showstopping rendition of "Party Rock" by the band and the crowing of the Homecoming Royalty. 

Saturday finally ended everything with our Volleyball team taking to the court and the Homecoming Dance that night.  Whew...even going through it all is an exhausting list of activities.

The energy and spirit of our student body and staff this year was like a tidal wave of support.  I am super proud of what they have come together to accomplish.

With all of these obvious signs of support, it was a subtle act that reminded me of how good it is to be at EVHS.  When we were working to tear down the facilities towards the end of the football game, I was taking down a tent that was protecting our ticket takers.  One particular leg was giving me trouble when a couple of parents walked by and asked me if I needed help.  I graciously declined their offer and explained that I could handle it on my own.  Unbeknownst to me a student was nearby escorting his girlfriend to her parents car.  He approached the tent and said, "You just lied to those people didn't you...you could use some help."  This young man is completely unassuming and someone I say hello to often in the hallways.  He had read the situation perfectly and more importantly acted in a manner that could only be described as chivalrous.

As proud as I am of our student body spirit, victories on the field of play, and all of the pomp and circumstance that comes with high school events...it was this simple gesture that typifies what is common at EVHS.  Students who are respectful, responsible, and genuinely caring individuals.

"Jerry McGuire" is one of my favorite movies.  I think the emotional peaks and valleys of that film parallels a lot of real life situations.  At the end of the movie Jerry McGuire is trying to express how much he loves Dorothy.  All I can say to EVHS is....

"Shut up...just shut up...You had me at El Diablo"

5 Levels of the Hand

So tonight I added a new workout routine.  Thanks to Mr. Mandeville, who provided some of Men's Health articles, I integrated the "Blake Griffin" workout.  Blake is a 6'10" NBA player with a 38" vertical (from a standing 2 foot jump).  So I figured I cannot go wrong emulating his workout tactics. 

It consisted of 3 supersets of exercises where you do one with weights (to build strength) followed immediately by an explosive exercise using a medicine ball.  I did it all with my new strength shoes and found it to be really challenging.

Most recently I have been frustrated by a plateau from my workouts...but I still am seeing some small progress.  Thanks to a couple of senior basketball players who are also seeking to increase their vertical we have talked about the 5 levels of getting a dunk.  When you look at your hands your fingers are naturally divided into three parts by the creases from your joints.  The palm of your hand can be divided in half.  So the goal is to go from level 1 (the finger tips) to level 5 (the wrist).

Before I got to the meat of my workout I did get my longest index finger to the top of the rim.  This is a small point but one that continues to give me hope.