Your Problem Could Be Mental
Strate-age-y
A dvice for twenty-something skatersTrain to prevent a career ending injury
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I watched a lot of my peers who were athletes drop off the map for one reason or another. I've come to the conclusion that the twenties are pretty crucial years for athletes. Years that you better take real seriously, because whatever you got away with as a teen, you're not going to get away with through your twenties. And whatever it was that you got away with, you're going to have to figure out what that was for yourself, and that's the really tough part, because it's a mystery, what each person's body can take. Now there's a subtle reference here to drugs and alcohol, because that's what made some of those friends drop off the map. But it refers mostly to injury. If you read this while you're in your late teens, you might be able to take steps that will help you avoid some of the traps waiting for the twenty something athlete.
When you've been an athlete in your teens, getting a little older brings some rude awakenings. Number one rude awakening has to do with injury, some freak injury sneaking up and biting you. I'd say the twenties and maybe late teens are the years the injuries have the best chance of knocking you right out of your sport.
My theory is that the power and ability that twenty somethings develop after years of surfing or skating lead up to some moves that they can do that one day just become too much for some bone or joint. Part of it happens because they have ability, and part of it happens because they haven't conditioned their muscles to the level of their technical ability.
The reason for this is that you're so unprepared for an injury when you're young. You just don't think it'll happen, so you don't bother to prepare. You build up just enough muscle to match your daring, but not enough to compensate for a move that may put unusual stress on a ligament.
Discovering pain
Of course, you can get pretty badly hurt in your teens. But for a lot of people, they hit twenty five and start getting knee problems or what not and they think, "oh my god, I'm over the hill". It's pretty harsh, and it's hard to deal with the fact of your own mortality, your body showing visible signs of deteriorating. And mentally, it's harder to deal with that when you're twenty, because it's so new. When you're thirty five, and dedicated to sports, a veteran, injuries and pain have been a part of your life for a long time. Pain didn't bother me at thirty five and it doesn't bother me in my forties. But man, when I was sixteen and started getting back troubles, I thought it was the end. It was so hard to understand all that pain.
I had a back injury when I was sixteen, and a knee injury at twenty two, and I think it made it all the worse because I didn't know what to expect. I thought I was really in decline. It took a while to realize that I should train to prevent those injuries and not just to keep getting faster and to build more endurance. I also didn't know that it was possible to overtrain. And that if I had to train to excess, that I'd better eat right. I think I went through all that at a very fortunate age, because by my mid twenties I was wise to the whole training routine, and I knew how hard it is just to survive in sports. I was in a big rush to get good at sports when I was in my low twenties. But it wasn't until my thirties that I learned that a certain amount of pacing, just sticking it out and becoming a veteran, figuring out the game in steps, was the sure road to excellence. In other words, I learned that the fastest road was the slowest road.
That's what I think it all boils down to, I think, is survival. And you should get that through your head if you're in your low twenties. The way I've gotten good at a lot of sports is just by hanging in. After a few years I look around and a lot of the guys who were my superiors or my competition are gone, quit, got injured. And I'd say to myself "Hm, I'm still here, and I guess I'm among the top guys now, as long as I can stick it out." That's what happens. Tape up your weak joints, get some limitations, learn to survive and don't get obsessed with your sport to the point where you get injured and get knocked out of it altogether. There will be plenty of time to totally go for it and pull out all the stops, as long as you're still in the game.
I'd advise you to take training and conditioning very seriously at this age, and to especially try to build up the muscles and tendons around your knees. This might involve something doing something really unpleasant, like getting off your skateboard and going running a couple of times a week.
Hey, junior. You're not over the hill
People in their twenties start thinking that because they've slowed down a little or have lost a little reflex ability or .2 perscription of eyesight, that they are past their prime. Fact is, for a skateboarder or surfer, there is a high probability that you will be entering your peak of ability in about ten years. Think about that.
The reason is, barring a really bad injury, in your thirties you'll have a lot more conditioning and a lot more knowledge of your sport. Even if you take up a new sport, you will probably master it quicker, having had a sports background.
In your thirties the necessity for using wisdom in sports pops up, and in your forties, it takes over completely. "Sports-Smarts" takes on a huge role, because the physical part isn't as effective, like you can't just overwhelm your sport with your sheer talent and energy. You have to start using your brain to work out the problems in your sport that you used to just muscle over. Then you find that the smart approach works a lot better, and you find you're actually a better athlete for it.
Now, if you figure this out in your twenties, meaning you make this important discovery out of using your head instead of out of necessity due to physical deterioration, you're going to be a much, much better athlete for it. If you start working smarter instead of harder now, while you are a relatively pain free twenty-something, you're going to go into your peak a few years early.
