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KIM'S JOURNAL

Part four in a series, the following is a continuation of the journal of Kim Reese,our stalwart board member and reluctant exerciser.

With our journal series we bring you the challenges and accomplishments of an average woman: someone who, like all of us, balances a life full of work, play, friends, family and occasional struggle.

We hope you find inspiration in Kim’s daily endeavors, and perhaps decide to try something new and challenging yourself!

All I can say is @#*!!*@!

I haven't exercised consistently for almost 2 months and I'm disappointed in myself. I have been concentrating on everything else in my life BUT the exercising and the thing is, I can tell that it's having an effect on me. It's affecting my body (I think I've put on a few pounds) and it's affecting my outlook on things.

I truly don't understand why the exercising is a continual struggle for me. I guess I keep waiting for it to be something that comes naturally to me. It's fascinating because I can really tell that my mood is different when I don't exercise. I definitely feel more melancholy. Exercising lifts my mood and clears my head. If my journaling has taught me anything it's that I felt good when I got out and moved. In fact I felt great!

There has hardly been a day within the last month that I haven't woken up and thought, "Today will be the day. I'll at least go on a walk and get back into the groove."

All I can tell myself is that I will not change if I beat myself up about it. I can't be the only living woman on the planet who continues to lapse where exercise is concerned. I'm going to have to come up with some sort of plan, but I'm not sure what it needs to be. What I do know is that I can analyze the heck out of the situation and that won't help me. My head knows what I want to do. My head knows that I feel better when I get out into the fresh air.

I've decided to take a different approach to this. If I continue to see my lapse as a "disappointment" and a "struggle" and if I continue to expect perfection out of myself, I won't be satisfied, and what good will that do me? This experience is just another opportunity for me to learn.

I've learned over the past several months that I do indeed enjoy the process of getting myself moving. I've learned also that I don't have to have a perfect track record. That's a huge relief. My need to be perfect just sets me up for failure and I am far from a failure. The reality is, I'm still in the process of change and I'm willing to change even more.

OK, this sounds a little cheesy (thick Velveeta) but I am officially forgiving myself. I am letting go of all expectations and just going with the flow. Let me see where that takes me in the next month. THIS should be interesting!!!

"Dodgeball is the best," exclaimed one student. "No way," stated another, "that game is evil." Would you care to guess the gender of these two students? That's right. The first comment came from a male student and the latter from a female student. This exchange occurred during a recent class I was in with a group of future teachers.

Many male students remembered dodgeball games in school fondly, while many female students remembered them with agony. The issue on the table was gender. One student had recently observed a junior high PE class and shared what he had seen.

The teacher in charge organized a game of dodgeball, putting boys on one team, girls on the other.  What evolved was a game of the boys throwing the ball as hard as they could at the girls, with only a few girls participating in throwing back. Most of the girls did not seem to enjoy the game. The boys had an advantage, both in strength and desire, and won handily.

Next, the teacher chose two captains and let them pick teams. The boys were chosen first, then the girls, but the teams were evenly distributed according to gender. What evolved this time was a game of boys throwing at each other, while the girls tried to stay out of the way or just left the game completely. Girls who did want to participate were not given the opportunity. Again, most girls did not enjoy the game.

The discussion in my class erupted over how to maintain gender equity in a PE class. How do you ensure all girls get to participate? Is it right to have boys and girls competing together? How can PE be 'fun' for girls too? Do girls just not want to play sports? Should they even have to take PE if they don't want to? It wasn't until after a lengthy (and exhausting) discussion of these questions, that someone finally put my mind at ease with this question, "Why in the world are they playing dodgeball anyway?"

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I could feel my heart once again returning to a normal beat as the class discussion took a fundamental shift.

Could it be that the girls didn't want to participate in dodgeball, but would have enjoyed another activity? Could it be that it is the teacher's role to ensure participation by both genders by creating an environment that allows for it? Could it be that PE should be much more about teaching skills and learning sports than just letting kids go crazy with a game of dodgeball? Perhaps there is a valid reason that my female students remembered the game so differently than my male students. Just something to think about.

By Brenda Britsch, Ph.D.

"Sacred Hoops - Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior"

Phil Jackson, former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and currently head coach for the LA Lakers, is my new hero. His book "Sacred Hoops - Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior" should be a must-read for anyone involved in any way in team sports.

Jackson believes there is a link between spirit and sport. As I re-read the book for the second time in as many years, I couldn't help but wonder several weeks later as Bobby Knight was being officially dismissed, if he couldn't be enlightened by perusing a few of the chapters.

As one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, Jackson has developed a new idea of leadership based on his deep seated beliefs in Eastern and Native American philosophy. He feels that creating a successful team is essentially a spiritual act. "It requires the individuals involved to surrender their self-interest for the greater good so that the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts," says Jackson.

He reveals, very eloquently, how to create a team of selflessness, how to be brave and at the same time gentle, and how to embrace a nonbelligerent way of thinking about the competition. His approach is extremely refreshing, whether you put it in the context of sport, business, or just every day contact with people.

The ideas in the book are worthwhile when dealing with all aspects of life, but are particularly noteworthy when applied to the concept of competition. I believe he is someone to be listened to. His thoughts on the game of basketball are very timely. This book is long overdue.

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