4-Team Practice

This weekend was one that was supposed to be quite interesting with the three teams from Saitama-ken and one from Yokohama getting together for a nice little bit of round robin play with full squads. What it turned into was another day of pain for this old football player and others. After a decent three series of playing, I ran through the block on the line, taking two more hits from two other players. The third guy hit me square in the sternum and managed to find the hole where no padding was with his helmet.

Obviously, this caused me to drop like a sack of wheat. One again I have managed to re-injure my ribs and sternum. I did that in 2000 and it took me six months to recover due to the fact that I never realized the 2nd rib was actually spraigned badly and needed to be pushed back into place. My chiropractor at that time solved the issue and within 1 month of him fixing it, I was back doing my usual training.

I am hoping that this time will be different since I know the issue. I will have x-rays taken tomorrow morning of the injury and hopefully will find that it is just a spraigned rib and not an actual cracked rib or sternum. I just know right now that I am in a good deal of pain and that it is no fun. All this just when I was finally getting to a point where I was starting to play decent football again and now I will have to take at least 3-4 weeks off minimum to let myself heal up.

Another Season, another injury

Or so the story seems to go. It is now my final season of football and I am just getting back to decent shape and suddenly I am injured again. My finger is now jammed and after x-rays, the doctor concluded that it is just bone contusions causing the pain. I would say that after the first physical therapy session that it s a lot more pain than actual problems. Lets just hope that two weeks will be enough to get back. But then again, maybe I wont be out there in two week.

I am hoping to be in Seattle sometime later this week and then will just have to find a team in the states to play for.

Recovery from Injuries

As I mentioned in my previous post, I injured my neck pretty badly. After 4 solid week of just absolutely putting myself through the recovery grind, I am finally starting to feel like a 1 April return to the practice field is well within grasp.

Of course, this has not come without a lot of training and and hard work. Yesterday was the perfect example of what I have been putting myself through to get back. Working out with my Japanese team, I have been putting in the time of training that they have been doing and then putting my poor linemen through the ringer working on strength items with me and then putting my quarterback through about 40 snaps after already doing 50-60 snaps earlier in practice. I guess he will be fine but by the end of practice, they were all looking a bit tired and I was still rearing to go in spite of the pain.

Today, I am feeling the football pains of a typical monday which is a good thing but I think I will go to the local onsen (hot springs) and see if I can get some R&R time in. I could definately use a good soaking on my sore leg muscles.

In the meantime, I am reading materials like a mad man trying to put together a defense for this up coming season for the team. Hopefully, my writing wont be so bad that the coach wont be able to read it but something has to be done. The team cant keep getting beat on simple misses.

Ouch!!!

Well, I have gone and done something that I am sure will not help my playing football. I managed to run into a concrete overhang that was just high enough to hit me avove the brim of my hat, forcing my head back and causing a bad case of whiplash. Since I did it in my normal, going somewhere, walking speed, the damage is pretty bad.

Now after a week of twice a day massages and aspirin and Bengay galore, I am still in pain. I am hoping this will clear up here soon but it is times like this when you realize just how fleeting our youth is.

At 43, I realize it even more and in spite of being in good shape and training hard, the simple things always seem to be the ones that give you the gold old 'gotcha' in life. But there is always Coaching if I can get up out of this bed here soon.

New Year Party

Well, I survived the bash that was the New Year Party for the football team. Between throwing guys around, doing speed pushups with our rookies, and drinking beer, I would say it was a successful night.

It has finally come to the end of the season with one more item to be performed. Photography of the championship. Yours truly will be on the scene next Sunday shooting and producing the DVD as usual. And while I am not exactly thrilled about not being there to play, it was a fun season and it is nice to finally play with a team that just wanted to play football.

Happy New Year 2008

Well, the time for the first post of 2008 has come. Not a lot happening right now except for the team's new years party. After a season in which we finished 3rd in our block, we did have a good end of season with the special games. Winning the final three games I played in Japan felt pretty good as well.

As I look forward to the 2008 season playing minor league football in the North American Football League (NAFL), I have begun to train. It will be quite different going against guys who are bigger, stronger and a lot faster than most of the ones here in Japan. My current plans are to play with the King Country Jaguars (www.kcjags.com), a team which has won the Northwest Football League (NWFL) the last three years and finished in the quarterfinals of the NAFL championships this year.

I am currently training every day here in Japan, running, lifting and stretching, preparing for what will be my last season. After a career spanning 20 years and 7 teams, I am looking forward to this last season. Look here for more posts in the coming months as I start upon this new adventure.

Last post for 2007 Season

It has come. The time to close out the 2007 season. And while it was not the most desirable season from the championship perspective, it did not end badly. I am healthy, 22 pounds lighter than when I started and feeling pretty good.

My ribs healed up pretty well, I had a minor ACL strain in my right knee a month ago and a slightly sprained right wrist at the end of the season. This is to match the two sets of bruises on my biceps from helmets I took in the arms. Not bad considering my age and the fact that I played like a mad man at the end.

I was finally able to get my pull speed up to the point where I was able to make good blocks on the sweeps and didn't have to rely on someone else to make the blocks for me. It was by all rights, a good hard season for which I am grateful. And while I am being grateful, I will take this time to wish all those who have followed my exploits this season, a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

And with this post I close out 2007 and look forward to 2008.