Legions of Air Buds

Now, I have two dogs. The one is sweet, kind, cuddly, and a little on the chubby side (but for those of you who have chubby dogs out there, you know its an endearing quality). He is a really great dog, but my family has accepted early on that he will not be the next Air Bud.

For those of you who missed the essential childhood experience of watching Air Bud, it’s about an athletic golden retriever who goes out for the soccer team, football team, baseball team… you get the point (they made a LOT of sequels, being quite the blockbuster hit. I’m still confused why it didn’t win an Oscar).

My other dog, though not a golden retriever and definitely not as well trained, might as well be Air Bud’s long lost twin (or maybe adoptive cousin, I’m not sure which). My dog Maggie seems to find energy when no one else in the house has any, bringing us tennis balls that we honestly couldn’t care less about, though we pretend to as to not break her little heart. Maggie likes tennis balls, footballs, golf balls, you name it; She’s called it her friend and chewed it up all in the same hour. When I’m in my backyard practicing my soccer skills (which should happen more often than it does), Maggie feels like she has to be apart of the “good time” I’m having. She takes the ball with her teeth and runs with it until she realizes I’m not chasing her.

I’m sure to some of you out there this story sounds vaguely familiar. There’s something almost creepy about how dogs can literally never take their eyes off the ball (I’m sure it’s magic, but since I haven’t gotten my owl yet I can only guess it is). But what’s the point? Other than getting frustrated and having a no-longer-usable, chewed-up soccer ball, football, golf ball, etc. And no, I’m not suggesting that you try and bring your dog to practice (although I have to admit, when our coach said we needed more players I immediately thought of my dog). The point is that those of you who have your own personal Air Bud residing in your house, feel free to use them. Try dribbling around them, making passes while they’re pressuring you, even trying to out run them to the ball. It’ll be good practice, and you’ll make your own Air Bud very happy. For those of you with cats or Chihuahuas… sorry, you’re out of luck.

Agility

Today, I worked on my agility. Now I don’t know if any of you reading this have ever been to China, but for those of you who haven’t, imagine a place where traffic laws are not obeyed. Imagine a place where pedestrians don’t have the right of way, turning signals aren’t used, and red lights are ignored. Then, you are in China.

Being a driver, these rules, or lack there of, can be considered an advantage. But being a pedestrian, you consider it a lucky day when you’ve crossed the street without getting in the way of a speeding bus or taxi. As for the native Chinese people, everyday is their lucky day. Their ability to stop as a car whizzes by, and then quickly dart across the road astounds me. Only with the help of my Chinese teacher can I be so lucky.

After crossing the street a final time today (and after uncrossing my fingers that were held behind my back), I thought about how all of this stopping and starting I was doing was improving my agility. Agility is important in every sport. The ability to stop quickly, turn around, and run at full speed in the other direction is a necessary skill that improves your game, whether it be football, basketball, soccer or lacrosse.

But what about those of you who don’t have a major Chinese city at your disposal? What can you do? Well, don’t fear my worried readers, there are plenty of things you can do. One exercise I’ve found particularly helpful, which I’m sure many of you would know, is running through the flimsy ladder that’s been laid flat on the floor. By stepping each foot into every square as quickly as you can, you get a good work out while focusing on your quickness and agility. Also, jumping rope and short suicides can improve your dexterity as well.

You could even work on your agility by playing red light green light. Yes, you might be too old for this game. But if you get your younger siblings, cousins, or even neighbors to play with you, you won’t feel as stupid or childish. You might even enjoy it, remembering why you liked the game so much when you were younger (although you would never admit it).