CHAPTER 1

The Early Years ofDeveloping aFitness Pattern

The Emerging Athlete

In the world of fitness, athletics, and distance running, manypeople seriously believe that there is a certain age span that favorsfitness and competitive athletics. Once the end of that age spanis reached, they believe it is time to retire physically and continuewith career goals and objectives related to their occupations.Always a contrarian, I was told on several occasions that I wastoo young to participate in certain physical activities, and decadeslater I was told many times that I was too old to participate incertain physical activities. In most instances, my stubborn, goal-drivenway of life has proved them wrong. My family was verysports-oriented. My father, Ralph Sinclair, and my mother, EstherSinclair, were very active in community affairs. My sister, Jean,and brother, Roy, were also involved in sports at an early age.

In my early years, I was fortunate to grow up with a father whowas my school principal and also a sports fan. He had a specialinterest in golf, baseball, basketball, and football. After I reachedthe age of three, he took me with him to basketball and baseballgames, although I remember very little about the games we saw.When I was old enough to hold a bat or a basketball in my hands,I began playing with my neighborhood friends. My mother wasalso very supportive and encouraged me to be active and makefriends.

In the mid-1950s, I played Little League in Statesville, NorthCarolina. Since I was the youngest on the team at that time,my playing time was very limited. Several of my older friendscautioned me that I was too young to play a sport like baseball.

In 1957, at age ten, I decided to try playing in the adult softballleague for my church, New Perth Associate Reformed Presbyterian.I actually made the team and played in several games, usually inlate innings after the outcome of the game had been decided.Once again, my friends told me I was totally out of my mind tobe playing at my young age against men in their twenties andthirties.

A memorable event with a lasting impact happened when I was inthe fifth grade. My father unexpectedly came to my classroom andtook me with him to Charlotte to see my first major-league baseballgame. The Washington Senators were playing the CincinnatiReds in an exhibition game. The excitement and thrill of thatbaseball game made a huge impact on me, and my sports life waschanged forever. From that time forward, my goal was to becomea professional baseball player. I looked for opportunities to playbaseball and softball anytime a game was being held nearby.

By the time I was in the seventh grade, I had expanded my athleticinterests to include basketball and football. During that year, Itried out for and made the junior-high basketball and footballteams. My baseball activities included playing Babe Ruth Leaguebaseball in Statesville and making the Statesville Babe Ruth All-Starteam as a pitcher. Reaching that goal took much sacrifice anddetermination, because I was not old enough to have a driver'slicense. There were many days when I hitched rides with strangersback and forth from Troutman to Statesville, a distance of sixmiles. On days when car rides weren't available, I walked severalmiles to practice or to play in the games.

By the time I entered the ninth grade at Troutman High School,I was becoming a real sports fanatic. My father gave me the keyto the school gymnasium, and I made good use of that facility. Itseemed that every minute I wasn't at work I was playing basketballin the gym or playing baseball at the school athletic field. I madethe varsity baseball team and the junior varsity basketball andfootball teams. While I wasn't playing or working, I was busyhelping to organize youth baseball and football programs for thecommunity. Coach Bob Pharr was my baseball and basketballcoach. Having recently graduated from college, his youth andenthusiasm helped to motivate those of us who were trying tobecome established high-school athletes.

As a freshman, I had older athletic heroes that I followed closely.Locally, Danny Loftin and Jim McAbee were four years olderthan me and were exceptional athletes. When I attended athleticevents, I closely observed their movements and tried to learn newathletic skills from them.

My tenth grade in school was all about the sports world. Isuccessfully made the varsity basketball and football teams andplayed in many varsity baseball games. During the warm springafternoons, I sometimes participated with the distance runnerson the newly formed track team. I developed a secret desire torun distances at that time but had to choose between baseballor track as my varsity sport of choice. I really enjoyed runningseveral miles with the track members and then returning tobaseball practice. I began to feel that the reward for attendingclasses each day was to participate later in the day in variousvarsity athletic activities.

My junior year was a time of transition. I had to mix my threes-portathletic world with a few studies and sometimes a girlfriend.When I received my driver's license, I occasionally took my dateto a ballgame. The really big social event was having her watchme play in a varsity contest. I didn't have much time for thesocial world, because I had my sights set on college baseball andhopefully a professional baseball tryout. Our high school wasin the 3-A North Piedmont Conference. Unfortunately for us,almost every other school was much larger and had more studentsand better financial support. We always played bigger teams andlost more games than we won. Nevertheless, we always battledto the end. On the varsity football team, I was a regular starter atright guard. In basketball, I played the guard position. In baseball,I regularly played the outfield when I was not pitching.

At the end of my junior year, I made the Kannapolis AmericanLegion baseball team and was a regular starting pitcher.Practically every day in the summer of 1963 I drove my old 1954Ford almost sixty miles to play my favorite sport. Coach BillFord made a great impression on me as my baseball coach. Hispatience, positive...