…and the Beginning of a New Chapter!
Today is day one of my recovery from major surgery. I’m sure that means that I’ll be watching lots of DGPT videos (mostly the ones that I missed during the season.) It also means that I’ll be spending a lot of time working through the Playthrough and Tournament footage that I saved up for my convalescence. And finally — and, perhaps, least intentionally — I’ll be deciding what aspects of my game that I want to start improving when the doctors tell me that I can do more than “sit, stand, and walk.”
One of the aspects of my surgery was to repair a major abdominal hernia. That injury kept me from using my core — and, in turn, my lower body — to generate power. My reach-back (such as it was) had become more of a targeting aid than the beginning of a powerful throw; and my follow-through was so restricted that I was putting massive amounts of stress on the rest of my body — especially my knees and ankles. Now that the hernia has been repaired, one of my first goals will be to increase both the strength and the flexibility of my core. Granted, I’m 4-6 weeks away from ANY kind of PT or training, but I’ve already begun to focus on finding those movements, exercises, and workouts that will help me generate the same kind of power that I used to have beck in the day when I was hitting 100 mph backhands on the racquetball court. Granted, I’m sure that I will need to revamp my mechanics (once again!) and unlearn old habits born from the inability to use the correct musculature and the correct form. But I’m also sure that the correct mechanics will not only allow me to keep playing as I age, but maybe even to break through to the next level of competitiveness.
At least, that’s my hope.
Another aspect of my surgery was to remove my prostate, which had developed a cancerous area large enough to cause concern. This issue didn’t affect my game in any physical way, but no matter how strong your mental game, having an issue like that sitting in the back of your mind will not promote good focus or a well balanced emotional state.
So, as I’m sitting here at my desk getting ready to start editing video clips, I am sure of two things; #1 — I’m cancer-free, which is more important than any disc golf improvement could ever be, and #2 — I can’t wait to get started on my way back to the course, the chains, and the sight of my disc flying from the gold tee on hole 16 at Muddy Run!
Here’s to long drives, short putts, and no more cancer!!