Working in Movement

I wrote the other day in Genetic Athletic about the gifts of elite athletes and how a very well developed sense of proprioception can make up for compromised body structure. Today brings another example, this one from American college and professional football of the mid-20th century.

Elroy Crazy Legs Hirsch died yesterday at age 80. The nickname Crazy Legs is a clue. Hirsch admitted, "I must have looked pretty funny .... I've always run kind of funny because my left foot points out to the side, and I seem to wobble." The interesting thing is that Hirsch knew this and worked with it instead of trying to "correct" it. The human sensory motor system can figure out how to use almost any structural situation, if it's given a chance and the learning conditions are favorable. That's a wonderful thing.

There's a nice tribute from the University of Wisconsin, and a couple of video highlight reels so that you can see those crazy legs in action.

I wrote yesterday that Waypath related this weblog to books on physical education and neurotheology. Not entirely true, as it turns out. Waypath suggests books based on an individual post, not an entire weblog. So those two books related to this post, and not the whole weblog.