Kendall Johnson is blogging for the Pilots this season and she checks in occasionally with updates on the Pilots, the season and life in general. Be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/KendallBlog to follow Kendall and the Pilots all season long!
ENTRY #9
Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012
Hey Strangers,
I want to first express my gratitude to Dees for to taking over the blog last weekend. As the picture she posted displayed, I was unable to fulfill my duty due to a prior commitment. But I’m well-rested and ready to report. A lot has happened since we last talked. My dog and I have had a sleep over, Nichole Downing bought the most hideous phone case that looks like a hot dog bun yet is chocolate-scented, and someone (we will find out who) threw our house’s lawn chairs on top of our garage. On the soccer side of things, we’ve been practicing hard this weekend, with a particular focus on defense. Hopefully this practice will help us obtain a victory and a shutout this Sunday against San Diego State.
Today I would like to talk about a sacred place amongst our team. Rain or shine, each player seeks rejuvenation at this site at least 6 days a week. Some players even visit this venue multiple times a day. This sanctuary is so powerful it literally has the ability to heal people. Yes, my friends, I am talking about The Training Room. With the combination of the long season and our already short numbers, it is important that our team does whatever we can to take care of our bodies. The newly-renovated training room allows us to stay as healthy as possible. It has life’s four essentials: pre-wrap, tape, ice, and foam rollers. I truly don’t know what else anyone could ask for in life. On top of that, the room is adorned with six “training tables”. Although the primary purpose of these monuments is to receive treatment from the trainers, they are a great place for meditation. I don’t understand why they are called tables, considering that they are arguably more comfortable than my own bed. Regardless, the tranquil noise of the ice machine along with soothing sound of the tv, make the tables a great place to reflect upon life endeavors and/or take a quick, revitalizing nap.
(Gergs working his magic in his natural habitat)
Each team is assigned a trainer and ours happens to be Gergs. His real name is Gregory Waltner, but that’s irrelevant. When I think of Gergs, one vivid, near-death, memory comes to mind. When our team is on road trips, we often partake in an activity that will get our minds alive and feet moving. We’ve played kickball, soccer golf, dodge ball, and many other activities. One of my favorite things about these games is that Gergs often participates. On this particular trip, the game we played was walking soccer. As the name suggests, each player must walk at all times. Once the whistle blew, Gergs turned on his game face and I knew it was all business from there. What I did not know however, was that Gergs has quite the driven shot. Halfway through the game, Gergs stole a ball from my team and his eyes grew the size of watermelons, which I think signified he saw an open goal. He wound up full throttle and drilled the ball, yet instead of it going towards the goal it rocketed directly into my gut and knocked the wind right out of me. With the force he applied on that ball, I’m lucky to be alive today. Gergs apologized multiple types and with the kindness of my heart I forgave him, as long as he gave me massages whenever and however long I wanted. This incident made me realize that athletic trainers could never really get in a fight, because after they injure the person, they would feel inclined to help them heal their wound. Just a thought.
Injuries are never fun, but there are ways to make the most out of your rehabbing experience. Last year when I was injured due to the “ligament that shall not be named”, I had plenty of time to come up with rehabbing activities. One of my personal favorite games to play involves ice and the stim machine. When someone is hurt, the trainers often use a stim machine. This machine works by sending electrical currents through your skin and these currents penetrate through your epidermis, incubating an inflexatable boundary around the crucial ligaments that break down metacombonial scar tissue, thereby healing the procured wound. Alright I lied, I made up that last part to make myself sound smarter, but I do know that the electrical currents give your body a tingling, somewhat shocking, sensation. Whenever I am hurt, I always see how high I can make the machine go up. Kids, do not try this at home (although it’s very unlikely that you could, considering you’d have to possess a stim machine, which would be a slightly weird Christmas present to ask for). Gergs professed that the highest he has seen someone go up to is 48. Props to whoever did that. My PR is 42. I’m proud of this accomplishment, but hope I can stay healthy and will never have to try and beat that again. With that said, my motto is “when life hands you a stim machine, see how high you can go.” Inspiring words.
Another great thing about the training room, is that it’s where we get ready before we head out to Merlo Field to play a game. We play our final non-conference game this Sunday at 1 p.m. against San Diego State (Editor’s Note: Click Here for a preview). It’s going to be a tough battle, but we are looking forward to ending this part of the season on a positive note. Hope to see you there!
Life,
Kendall
Previous Entries
• Entry #1 (Aug. 10, 2012)
• Entry #2 (Aug. 17, 2012)
• Entry #3 (Aug. 24, 2012)
• Entry #4 (Aug. 31, 2012)
• Entry #5 (Sept. 6, 2012)
• Entry #6 (Sept. 15, 2012)
• Entry #7 (Sept. 20, 2012)
• Entry # 8 - Dees' Guest Blog (Sept. 27, 2012)
