It’s All Yours
-Dewey Brooks
Pickleball is addictive. I used to play racquetball and it was great. But that’s all just you against your opponent and there’s a lot of running. When I was young, fine, but now… well, now I have a partner! She covers her side of the floor and I cover my side of the court and we have a strategy. It’s not just running around. We try to figure out the opponents. We plan things out. We have code words!
Last year, I was putting insulation in my attic and I messed up my grip… But it’s like, I’m not going to quit playing pickleball, right? So I would pop a Motrin and go play. And then I get tennis elbow, right? It really hurt. And that was on top of an old shoulder injury too. It just kept piling on. I mean, I could play. But, at that point, why would you want to?
So that’s when I came here. My experience has been great. [Julianna Schultheis, PT] got me back in shape and playing again… and then of course, I picked up the wrong pair of shoes and messed up my feet. I came in limping! So she helped me out there too.
And now after all our work here, I’m feeling good and playing tournaments again.
Come May, Dewey was back on the podium, taking bronze with his partner in a Pickleball Tournament in Connecticut!
Dewey's Lasting Lessons
You know, when I was younger, I was kind of abusive to my body. I thought I was invincible. I could control the pain. As you get older, the pain doesn't go away though. It gets worse. So I think the best advice I can give to others (aside from making sure your shoes fit before you leave the store!) is something I heard from Warren Buffett. He was talking to some baseball kids and he said “I'll make you a deal: I'll buy each one of you a car. Any car, you name it, I'll pay for it. It's all yours. The only catch is that you only get that one car for your whole life. You can't trade it in. You can't get another one. So how are you going to take care of it?” And after they all talk about it, he goes “That's your body. You can't get another one. You better take care of it.”
This article first appeared in the July 2023 Cioffredi & Associates Newsletter. Read more here:
Newsletter
