Key Abilities – Availability

Availability – Former NFL coach Tony Dungy has said that the most important ability for an athlete is availability. 40 years before Tony Dungy I learned that in 1964 from Jimmy Fugisaka, our equipment manager at Fresno State. I was sitting in the whirlpool because I was “sore” after what I though was a hard practice. Jimmy was walking by the whirlpool, he stopped looked at me shook his head and told me some wise words I never forgot “Gambetta you can’t make the club in the tub.” From that time on I never went into training room unless absolutely necessary. I learned to read my body and understand the difference between soreness and injury. The productive athlete is the athlete that is available for training and games. Pretty simple. Thank you Jimmy you were a very wise man.