It’s usually interesting to hear about the journey people make to get where they are now.  In fitness and health it is very often a winding path. Uphill, downhill, left, right, backwards and dead stops. As I am sitting here today, struggling with debt, but still working out (thanks goodness for that!) I am thinking about how I got here.

Everyone has a “map of their life” tattooed somewhere on them. Like most people mine has many, many different tattoos. Most of them are hidden tattoos that I am probably not even consciously aware of, but they are still part of me and as I sit here thinking about

I was never all that athletic as a kid. I played neighborhood baseball and football (although I didn’t really understand the game all that well), but my parents did get me to try other things. My mother, a national class figure skater back in the 1950’s, signed me up for skating lessons around 5th grade or so and I actually kind of liked it! Figure skating ain’t easy that’s for sure. I was proud of my self as I worked up to where I could skate backwards quickly and do a couple of very basic jumps. I never took it any farther than that but it was probably good exercise for an otherwise fairly lazy kid like me. Before all that however I tried my hand at Basketball. More my Dad’s idea than mine but I played in a local “league.” I was a small kid so I didn’t get a ton of playing time, but I played guard and was only ok. At least that’s how I remember it.

I DO have some feel good Basketball memories though. Around that same time I attended (my Dad’s idea) Al McGuire’s Hall Of Fame Basketball camp at North Central College in Naperville Illinois, 3 years in a row

BTW in case you didn’t know…..I grew up in the North Suburbs of Chicago.

Anyway I was always the smallest kid at those camps so I didn’t get much playing time, but I did win a couple of events for our teams extra curricular contests. I felt inferior at that camp so when I got the chance to win the goal post hanging contest (I think I won 2 out of the 3 years) AND the smallest splash contest I felt great! I even remember some of the cool counselors. One was a guy named Malcom Mahone. I think he had played in college and he was such such a cool guy to me. I am getting a little misty eyed thinking about it. I was kind of a loner kid (although I did make a couple of friends there) so when he treated this small, kid special it felt great! Remember this was like 1971 so this is an old memory but still strong. Interesting how we remember people all our lives isn’t it?  Of course there were other counselors, and the late, great Al McGuire would show up for a couple of days. Now that he is no longer with us I feel honored to have had that time with him.

The most special guy I remember though was Dick Versace. In case you don’t know Dick Versace went on to coach teams in the NCAA tournament, the NBA and was a TV commentator. Back in the McGuire Camp days, I believe he was the coach at Gordon Tech high school. What a great guy! A true coach. Every year he remembered my name. He would walk with me, talk with me. Me! The head coach of the camp treating the smallest, weakest, skinniest kid at the camp special!  Once time we were walking back from lunch standing at a corner when a station wagon made the turn coming very close to running over my feet. Coach Versace immediately went to my defense. He tore off after the car yelling at the driver. The car stopped and the coach kept yelling. He even said “I ought to report you to the president of the university.” The guy replied “I am the president.” After which he apologized to the coach saying something about being absent minded that day. Coach came back and told us the tale. Laughing. He also liked movies and I knew (still do) a lot about classic horror movies. So sometimes I quizzed him, and he did the same to me. I wish I could give him a call and thank him for the extra effort from back then.

Hey coach, wherever you are! I hope you are doing well!

I guess the tattoos I have from those experiences are teamwork (from the camp itself), and maybe more importantly that everyone who “shows up” is special. No matter how small or untalented they may be. I certainly wasn’t a Superstar or physical marvel but coach Versace took the time and spoke with me often. I feel I have incorporated that concept into my training relationships with my clients. The ones that “show up” are special no matter how out of shape they are. Funny thing is I didn’t realize it until now that Coach Versace may have had some influence over me in this area! Like I said before I am not even consciously aware of many of these tattoos. Thanks for reading.

Best,

Robert