By Staff
Coaching Management, 12.1, January 2004, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm1201/bbcourage.htm
Anthony Sumner is a cross country runner for Corunna High School in Michigan. His coach, Gordon Aldrich, says the sophomore is like every other athlete on the team when it comes to having drive and competitive fire. The only difference is that, due to cerebral palsy, Sumner navigates cross-country courses using a four-wheeled walker. The disease, which is the result of damage to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth, is marked by muscular incoordination and speech disturbances.
According to Aldrich, coaching an athlete with a disability is as much about knowing when not to help as knowing what help to give. “Anthony wants to feel like a part of the team and do things on his own,” says Aldrich. “What he doesn’t want is to be treated differently or given special attention. He doesn’t want any help getting on and off the bus, and he doesn’t want any help getting up if he falls on the course.”
While Aldrich admits that it is often difficult to refrain from helping Sumner when he falls, allowing him to pick himself up is probably the best coaching he can give. “Besides,” says Aldrich, “he’s so independent he would get mad if we ever tried.”
Sumner started the 2003 season with a goal of completing a 5K race. He worked toward that goal first by completing a half-mile portion of a race, then bumping it up to a mile, then a mile and a half, then two miles. “Eventually,” says Aldrich, “Anthony completed the 3.1 miles. So far he’s done that three times.” Aldrich adds that during the season Sumner has brought his time down from over an hour to 56 minutes.
Aldrich estimates that Sumner runs approximately 14 miles in between meets while taking part in the team’s practices. Aldrich keeps Sumner’s workouts as similar as possible to the rest of the teams’, with a few modifications. He dials back the distances, and if a racecourse presents major hills or dangerous terrain, he’ll pick and choose the parts of the course Sumner will run.
“One of the things I’ve learned is that, as much as possible, you want an athlete with a disability to become totally immersed in the program—encourage them to do all the events they can possibly can,” says Aldrich. “You have to let them grow physically, emotionally, and competitively. And just like with any athlete, sometimes you have to let them go where it hurts, without letting them get injured, of course.” Aldrich says he challenges Sumner during practice by asking if he thinks he can do a little extra such as one more half-mile or another lap on the track.
Even as he’s pushing, Aldrich keeps a careful eye out for when Sumner has reached his limit by having open, frequent discussions. “We talk all the time, and if something is hurting, Anthony tells me,” Aldrich says. “Then we back off his training or have him take a day off.” Aldrich also keeps in constant contact with Sumner’s friends on the team. He knows there are times when an athlete may be too proud to tell a coach when he’s injured, so he tries to keep as many channels of communication open as he can.
Aldrich, who has had other athletes with disabilities pass through his program, says that while competing and being part of a team is great therapy for athletes like Sumner, his presence also has a powerful influence on the team has a whole. “Some of the kids see the struggles Anthony encounters and say, ‘Holy cow, if he can do this, I can do tremendous things.’”