Sunday, July 5, 1998 — North Shore News — 35

north shore news

© SPORTS

Having a ball

A Burnaby Breaker player (right) challenges a West Van Royal
Player during recent action in the women’s over-30 soccer feague
at Grand Boulevard Park.

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

olf not Necessarily |

part “t the overall pack:
age aera inheriting

: Ini iny case’ was hucky and
they are, all terrific peopic, but
famil nbers have a
yery Visible;character defect
hey are addicted to golf.

Qhe‘of them —Debbie’s «

invariably. qu:

B.C ‘Amateur Championship

each year, performing well
ough to usually make the
and play into the final

rounds,

. The interesting thing is,
after all his years of playing
the game, he is only just.
be inning to realize he has
been ignoring development of
one of the most important
pieces of equipment he owns.

- Golf is a sports and cloth-
ing manufacturers’ paradise
with participants wi lingly |
prepared to shell out cxorbi-
tant.amounts of money to
have a slightly bigger “sweet
spot” on their woods, or a
closer fitting glove.

They drooi at the possibili-
 tyof flonger bails. and better
“whip” in their shafts (if you
know what I mean).

~All the while ignoring —
- like Leonard — the single

most important component

that affects their game — yes,
you guessed it, their own
’ bodies.

If all those budding Dave
‘Rarr’s and Dawn Coe-Jones’
‘took a moderate amount of
time and interest in develop-
ing a strength and stretching
program specifically for their

sport, nor only would their
game improve significantly
but they could enjoy the
sport without suffering as
many injuries. (As I have said
in previous columns, the easi-
est way to improve in any
Sport is not to > get injured and

Rees ir Ente e EE oY PERE Wee EK! EE UR HOW eee eo

be forced away from your

.game.of choice.)

Golf is growing by leaps
and bounds, attracting ath-
letes from many other arenas,
but because they have not
adjusted their physical train-
ing to suit the new surround-
ings they end up in pain ‘and
discomfort.

“Although
golfing generally
considered a
benign activity,
lower back pain is
endemic amongst
the participants.”

Golf injuries ac both the
amateur and professional lev-
els are underreported in most
literature.

Back and elbow injuries
are most common in amateur
golfers, svhereas lower back
and wrist problems are more
common at the elite level.

Most injuries result frome
overuse and improper
mechanics that stress a poorly
conditioned body.

Proper evaluation of swing
technique along with a solid
practice schedule and specific
weight-training program are
equally important to ensure
every possibility for personal
success.

Although golfing gene:
is considered a benign activ

“ty, lower back pain is endemic

amongst the participants since

the actual swing subjects the
lumbar spine to rapid intense
loads, predisposing the indi-
viduals to not only muscle
strains, but also disc disease,
spondylolysis and facet joint
arthropathy (all caused by
wear and tear to the spine).

Makes you want to take
up chess, doesn’t it?

Other areas that can nega-
tively affect the physiology of
the unfit, untrained golfer
include knee, foot and ankle
injuries as well as shoulder
damage.

Most of this is largely pre-
ventable with a suitably
assertive commitment to the
physical wellness concept.

Recreational players tend
to prefer to spend their work-
out time on the sport of golf
rather than on exercises to
prevent injury and until they
start thinking differently the
future doesn’t look to ‘

Distribute your time to
include warming up, stretch-
ing and muscular strengthen-
ing along with cardiovascular
conditioning.

‘ou'll be amazed how
much better you feel, both on
the course and in your every-
day life.

Writing this article
reminds me of the story of
two golfers preparing to play
their final shots to the i8th
green, the first of the nwo tak-
ing an age to prepare his
swing.

“Why are you mucking,
about?”, asks his partner.
“Get on with it.”

“My boss is on that veran-
da outside the clubhouse,” he
explains. “So I want to make
absolutely sure I hit the per-
fect shot!”

“Oh come on!” snorts his
friend. “You'll never hit him
from here!”

Fore!

Shane: Collins is a plysical
trainer and athletic conch as
well as an accomplished ultra
endurance runner and
marathon swimmer. He can be
reached at (60-4) 921-0726,

a GE Se

=

is 3 5 SS CMC IIMMY 4X4
The redesigned Jimmy is now hign
on comforts and low on financing.

month / 36 mart /low Wt NBS ws inaged with 3 1901.7. Vortec VE engine, dud at

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On. selected. mois

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Purchase $19,800. Was $21,530

98 PONTIAC SUNFIRE COUPE
Built for drivers looking for sporty
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