Sergeant Tony's Blog

There was nothing I could do to stop it.

The seconds passed away and the quarter was over and we went into the dressing room up by 20 points at halftime.

What couldn’t I stop?

I was the head coach of the varsity boy’s basketball team and I couldn’t stop the halftime celebrations going on in our locker room. We were beating our cross-town rivals by 20 points! We’d won a game earlier that season against them in triple overtime at their place. And now we were playing at home and were ahead by 20 points!

A head coach doesn’t celebrate at the half. A head coach knows that there’s another half of basketball to play. But teen-aged boys playing their rivals don’t have the life experience to understand that. They can’t imagine that there’s another half of basketball to play.

I tried to stop the celebrations. But the locker room was electric beyond my ability to control it. And the looks of pure joy on their faces made it hard to be angry at them. I tried. I tried in vain to take the joy from their faces. Truth is, I probably didn’t try hard enough. Truth is, it felt good to me too. I was pretty pumped as well.

Every war movie teaches one lesson over and over. The enemy must be destroyed and left dead on the battlefield. Not left for dead. The ones left for dead will somehow find a way to revive themselves and will come back and ambush you later.

Every horror movie teaches two things. One, don’t go back into the house, don’t go down into the basement, don’t go up into the attic cuz there’s a maniac with an axe waiting for you. And the other thing you learn is the necessity of making sure the ghoul is dead. Graveyard dead. Otherwise he’ll come back to wreck havoc and mayhem on you.

“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” baseball icon Yogi Berra is quoted as having said.

“It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings,” is widely attributed to sports writer and broadcaster Dan Cook. An assumed reference to a rotund soprano singing the final aria of an opera, indicating the end.

The point is, until it’s over, it’s still on. It’s still possible to turn things around, discover something new, embark on a new career, make a difference, become what you were intended to become, be with the one you were destined to be with.

When there’s still time on the clock, there’s a chance.

The history of late bloomers is totally fascinating! The people who became famous later in life are some of the most interesting characters you’ll ever read about.

Andrea Bocelli didn’t start singing opera until he was 34.

Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was 36.

Ian Fleming, Frank Baum, and A. A. Milne were all 44 when they wrote their most famous, and first, works: Casino Royale, The Wizard of Oz, and Winnie the Pooh, respectively.

Susan Boyle was 48 when she entered and won the contest “Britain’s Got Talent.” She dreamed a dream.

Ray Kroc was 52 when he convinced the McDonald’s brothers to franchise. Seven years later he bought them out.

Harland Sanders, aka Colonel Sanders, launched his career as a fried chicken tycoon when he was 65.

Grandma Moses didn’t start painting until she was 67.

Ronald Regan was 69 when he became our 40th President.

Oscar Swahn won two Olympic gold medals for shooting when he was 72.

So long as there is time remaining …

“Everyone saw the big clock ticking,
nobody knew the time.”

I couldn’t stop those boys from celebrating when there was still another half of basketball to play.

What happened?

We lost by 2 at the buzzer.

All of my attempts to keep those boys focused on putting the game away failed. By the beginning of the 4th quarter our lead was down to 8. I watched as my team wilted in front of my eyes. I yelled. I tried to be calm. I screamed. I called timeout and got in their faces. I called timeout and prayed. I tried everything I could think of. Nothing worked.

The other team saw the game clock ticking and played to win. My boys saw the same clock and played not to lose.

In all of the years I coached high school basketball, that was the most painful loss I ever experienced. It pains me to this day.

There’s a difference between marking time and making time.

There’s a difference between settling and refusing to settle. (Are there any sadder words than “he/she settled”?)

There’s a difference between looking at your future with excitement, with passion, and opportunity instead of as a series of ever repeating mediocre days.

And the most fantastic thing about it all is that it’s within your power to make that change, to do the unthinkable, to turn this thing around, to make a difference, to turn an apparent loss into an awesome win!

Just do it …

The clock’s ticking …

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“Tony, how can I be successful at getting fit and losing weight?”

“Be consistent to AT LEAST three USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP workouts per week. Give 100% effort! Increase the weight of your dumbbells every 3 to 4 weeks until you max out (women at 15 or 20 pounds, men at 30 or 35.) Eat less. Move more.”

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SELF DEFENSE

I’ve been asked to teach a self defense class on Saturday morning July 31 and Saturday morning August 7.

This is the same class offered on two different dates.

The class is open to anyone, but class size will be limited, so contact me to reserve a place in the class. Cost is $35 per person or 2 for 50.

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WANT TO LOSE 10 POUNDS BY THE END OF JULY?

Take Shape For Life is the BEST weight loss program I know of. If you’d like to lose weight talk to me. This is the program I used to lose the almost 30 pounds I gained after knee surgery. Let me help you!

You can also go to www.combatchallenge.tsfl.com/

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BOGA tomorrow at CUMC @ 0530.
BOGA is one half hard core boot camp fitness and one half power yoga … BO-GA!

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TUESDAY & THURSDAY EVENING CLASS

The Tuesday and Thursday evening classes meet at St. Agnes’ track. These are cardio (walking/jogging/running) workouts and they begin at 5:45 PM.

St. Agnes is at the corner of Walnut Grove and Mendenhall.

Should the St. Agnes track be occupied or the field being used, making the track unavailable to us, we’ll go to St. Mary’s track, at Walnut Grove and Perkins.

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CALENDAR

A calendar has been added to the official USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP website.

http://www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com/calendar.html

For you visual learners, you’ll find this an easy way to glance at the week or month and see where the workouts will be, if there’s a venue change.

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What would you do if money were not an issue, fear were not a factor, and failure were not an option?

To your optimum health and fitness!

SEE YOU ON THE QUARTERDECK!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow

USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
Mailing address: 4888 Southern Ave., Memphis, TN 38117
Cell Phone: 901-644-0145
www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

http://www.combatchallenge.tsfl.com/esuite/home/combatchallenge/