STAYING HEALTHY ON THE JOB
Posted by Tim Bryce on April 12, 2013
BRYCE ON WORK & PLAY
– The realities of playing sports as we grow older.
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Before graduating from college, I played my fair share of contact sports, including football, baseball, hockey, and rugby. Like a lot of kids, I got pretty beat up in the process, such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, sprains, and a particularly nasty knee injury which sidelined me for the remainder of a season. Nonetheless, I loved playing and think back fondly on those years.
As I entered the workforce though, I came to the sudden realization my playing days were over. I could no longer afford to become sidelined from my job due to a broken bone, sprain, or some other serious injury. Plain and simply, it would affect my livelihood. It’s hard to give up such sports, but it became clear to me it was time to find something less brutal to do. This explains why activities like golf, tennis, racquetball, fishing, etc. are popular among those in their middle age or older, there is less of a chance to suffer a serious accident.
Some time ago I helped establish an “Over 35” coed softball league in my area which has since become rather popular. I found our games to be a great stress-reliever and the hub of social activities for the many people who played the game with us over the years. I admonished my players not to get injured. I wanted them to have fun, but if it was a matter of losing a game or facing an injury, particularly at our ages, let’s take the loss. While others played as if they were in the World Series, we played smarter and survived the games with no significant injuries. We may have been beaten by other teams, but they paid for it in injuries, or should I say their companies did.
Young people typically find it difficult to accept the fact they are getting older, and occasionally you come across someone who has seriously injured themselves foolishly. I remember one young man in our print shop who broke his collarbone playing touch football (not tackle). This obviously hindered his effectiveness as a printer. He may have thought the injury was funny, but we made it clear that it was not.
Contact sports is for people who can afford to be injured, such as youth. It is certainly not for adults who have to make a living to support a family. Risking injury in some frivolous game is just plain stupid and should be rebuffed as opposed to celebrated. An injury sets the company back, your workload, your coworkers who must pick up your slack, and your family.
As I warn young people entering the workforce, let’s leave the contact sports to the fond memories of our youth. For example, one day I’ll have to tell you about the Sycamore game in 1971.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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Copyright © 2013 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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THE BRYCE IS RIGHT! 
Kevin Schachter said
Can I play softball?
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Tim Bryce said
A J.S. of Skidway Lake, Michigan wrote…
“With age, comes wisdom. We, who are north of 50, need to come to terms with the fact that whether or not we can do things like we used to, there are some things we just really just shouldn’t do.
I smiled reading about your “over 35″ league. I have a school classmate who is still playing softball very well at age 61. My grandad skied until he was in his 80’s and won a slalom race in which he was the only man over 50. He was very careful during his working years. He worked as a lineman for Bell Telephone and climbed poles, so a broken bone from skiing was not acceptable.
Your warning to the youngsters is good advice, but in my opinion, youngsters consider themselves pretty much invincible. They don’t understand not being able to read fine print or the need to raise the volume on the TV….but they will, someday.”
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Tim Bryce said
An N.D. of Iowa wrote…
“What a great post! You know, I truly feel that a person is as old as he/she feels…….to me, age is but a number…………I certainly don’t feel, nor act, my age…..I never, ever plan to get old….ever…..thankfully, I’m in very decent health and am on the go all the time……am trying to get into a regular exercise regimen, but, for some reason, I hate the word “exercise,” so am looking for “creative” ways to work out. My husband was forced to retire a couple years ago, as he almost died from an abdominal aortic aneurysm……..he’s a true miracle, as he survived a 4 1/2 hr. operation (doctors said that 90 to 92% of all people having the same thing die……and instantly)……I have been so blessed…..he’s a retired union trucker (33 years)…..it’s very, very difficult to “adjust” to retirement……I find myself getting frustrated every so often…..but I have found the “secret,” I send hubby over to our Senior Center to play cards with the “little ole ladies” over there, where he can spend 2 or 3 hours, while I can have some “me” time at home…..LOL!!!! This summer, we are taking a family cruise to Alaska for 10 days…….living life to the fullest extent possible, and we’re super excited about that.
Oh, and BTW, just the other day, I saw the neatest news clip on t.v. A woman just turned 90 years old……for her birthday, she parachuted out of an airplane (along with her two sons, in their 60s!)…..I thought that was ever so cool…..she was just laughing and saying, “this is great, this is great,” isn’t that just awesome, though? All I could say was……..incredible, go for it……anybody can do anything they put their mind to!
I’m thinking that, when we go to Alaska, I’d love to go dog sledding down a mountain….now, wouldn’t that be one incredible experience, though?
Since my hubby suffered that devastating illness, I always tell people, life is fragile…..we’re never promised tomorrow…only what we have now……make the most of what we’ve got….live life to the fullest while one can!!!!
Thanks so much for the great post! I really enjoyed it!”
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