How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew (16 page)

Go Long
•  •  •

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have the ten cents to go to the high school football games, so I had to climb a tree and look over the fence. That’s tenacity!”

—C
HUCK
T
ATUM

H
OW TO
T
HROW A
P
ERFECT
S
PIRAL

Step 1:
Hold the ball in your dominant hand, cradling the tip between your thumb and index finger, and laying your middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie on the laces. There should be a space between the ball and your palm.

Step 2:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, aiming your weak hip, shoulder, and wrist at your target.

Step 3:
Throw the ball. Raise your elbow up to cock the ball right above your ear, shifting your weight to your back foot. Then power through your hips and abs to throw, pointing your hips and belly button toward the target.

Step 4:
Make it spiral. Loosen your thumb, snap your wrist, and allow the ball to roll off your fingertips as you release it. Your index finger should be the last one off the ball. When you finish, your throwing hand should meet your opposite hip. You’ll know you’ve done it right if the crowd goes wild.

More Handy Tips

• The spiral comes from your fingertips, but the distance comes from your hips. Throw with force
  and
  grace.
  
• Before you throw, hold your weaker hand out in front of you to block tackles or just look cool. Besides, the trophy sculptors will need that image of you to make a bronze replica of your torso.
  
• As you throw, hold your weak arm tight against your side as your torso rotates. It’ll help ensure a solid pass.
  
• Release the ball sooner for a longer, higher throw. Release it later, and follow through for a shorter pass.
  
• Get the fundamentals down, so when eleven guys are rushing you, you’ll be able to stay calm and get a pass off.
  

Grease Palms
•  •  •

“When it rained, I remember, as a boy, there were two things that really worried me. Is my bike outside? And is my glove outside? I couldn’t rest until I got them both in. My glove was my life companion.”

—B
OB
K
ELLY

H
OW TO
B
REAK IN A
B
ASEBALL
M
ITT

Step 1:
Soften the leather using your favorite conditioner. Some good options: lanolin (from sheep), neatsfoot oil (from cows), saddle soap, or petroleum jelly. Dab or drizzle just a little bit of it onto a clean, dry cloth. Next, starting in the palm of the mitt and working your way over the entire glove (laces included), gently massage in the oil. Wipe away any excess or your glove will soak up every last bit, making it heavy. If, after this, you feel the urge to kiss your new glove, that’s perfectly understandable. Just make sure nobody else sees you.

Step 2:
Form the pocket. Toss a baseball or softball into the glove, and then tie your mitt around it, using twine, rope, your shoelaces, or a wire clothes hanger. Let it sit overnight, or for two days, if you can stand it. If you think it’ll help, you can even stuff it under your mattress. It might help break it in faster, and it will definitely give you sweet dreams.

Step 3:
Play ball. Using your glove is the very best way to make it yours. Head outside with a pal, play catch until the sun sets, and repeat until your glove feels like a natural extension of your hand. You’ll never miss a grounder or pop fly again!

More Handy Tips

• Oil your glove whenever it begins to feel dry. Two or three times per season should be plenty.
  
• In the off-season, when you’re not using your glove, tie it up with a ball in the pocket so it maintains its shape.
  
• In all other areas of life, sharing is wonderful. But not when it comes to a new baseball glove. If you allow someone else to wear it in this early stage, it may form to his hand, not yours. Keep it close.
  

Sink It
•  •  •

“We’d play basketball every day. I scored a hundred points in one game. It’s very easy to score. Never miss.”

—A
L
S
ULKA

H
OW TO
S
HOOT A
F
REE
T
HROW

Step 1:
Toe the line. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and place your dominant toe on the line directly in front of the basket. Your weaker foot can either be on the same line or slightly behind.

Step 2:
Get comfortable with the ball. You’ve got a full ten seconds to relax into the moment. Do whatever it takes to shake off the pressure, drown out the fans, and focus. Spin the ball, bounce it, take a deep breath, shake your booty, pull your ear, scratch something, whatever chills you out. Once you settle into your own ritual, stick with it for every free throw.

Step 3:
Cradle the ball. When you’re ready to shoot, hold the ball in your dominant hand, resting it on your fingertips so there’s a space between the bottom of the ball and your palm. Use your weaker hand to guide, but not throw, the ball.

Step 4:
Shoot. Focusing on the back of the rim and holding the ball just above your forehead, between your eyes, bend your knees. Then, as you power up through your legs, extend your arm toward the basket, allowing the ball to roll off your fingertips for the perfect backspin. Finish on your toes.

More Handy Tips

• Hold the ball so that your fingers are perpendicular, not parallel, to the lines on it. This helps with rotation.
  
• When shooting, your thumb, pointer, and middle finger will do most of the work. Getting your ring and pinkie fingers too involved could cause chaos and spin the ball sideways.
  
• To get good ball rotation, point your pointer and middle finger at the basket during your follow-through.
  
• Practice your free throws every day, as if the game depends on it. It often does!
  

Stick It
•  •  •

“We used to play pool for two cents a game, but that was very seldom. It was a rich man’s game, because nobody had a pool table.”

—A
L
S
ULKA

H
OW TO
S
HOOT
P
OOL

Step 1:
Line up your shot. Pool is a game of geometry. You need to know angles to sink balls. To figure out your aim, draw an imaginary line from the center of the pocket through the colored ball you’d like to sink. The exact point where your imaginary line emerges from the colored ball is your magic spot. Aim your white cue ball for it, and you’ll sink the shot.

Step 2:
Grip your stick. Lean over the table with your head directly over the cue and your feet staggered and shoulder-width apart. Wrap your dominant hand around the fat end of the cue so your elbow is pointing north. Next, spread the last three fingers of your weaker hand on the table, a few inches behind the white cue ball, as a base, and loosely wrap your pointer and thumb around the skinny end of the cue stick. Keep your fingers springy and your palm off the table.

Step 3:
Shoot. Holding your stick level, take a few slow practice shots, stopping short of the ball. Once you feel confident in your aim, let ’er rip.

More Handy Tips

• To get your cue ball to follow the colored ball, hit it toward the top. To stop it in its tracks, hit it just slightly below center. To get it to roll backward, hit it toward the bottom.
  
• Know that every pool table is different, depending on the angle of the floor and condition of the felt. Playing on your friend’s table with the ripped felt and wobbly leg gives him the “home table” advantage.
  
• Practice your technique and you’ll never miss a shot again. Unless, of course, you’re pool sharking. Then miss the first ten until someone challenges you to a bet. Once you’ve got a taker, sink away. Caution: If you try this, you should also be a very fast runner.
  

Make Aces
•  •  •

“I started playing tennis when I was twelve, and that’s when I realized that racism was out there in our little country town. There was a white side and a black side, and my grandfather got ticked off because they wouldn’t let my cousins play on the city tennis court. So my grandfather built his own tennis court. He said, ‘My kids can have anything other kids can have!’ We played tennis every weekend. You’ve got to work at it to be good.”

—B
ILL
H
OLLOMAN

H
OW TO
H
IT A
T
ENNIS
S
ERVE

Step 1:
Set your feet. Stand with your kicks shoulder-width apart just behind the baseline on either side of the center mark. (Scoot to the right if you’re serving into the left box, or to the left if you’re serving into the right one.) Your dominant rear foot should be parallel to the baseline, and your weaker front foot should be turned at about a forty-five-degree angle.

Step 2:
Grip your racket. Wrap your dominant hand around your racket so the face of the racket is perpendicular to the floor. If your racket had blades around its edges, you’d be able to chop wood with it.

Step 3:
Choose your target. Without being too obvious and telegraphing your serve to your opponent, focus on where you’d like your serve to land. Once you choose your spot, don’t waver.

Step 4:
Toss your ball. Hold the tennis ball in your weaker hand against the strings of your racket. Then throw it high up into the air one to two feet in front of you, keeping your eye on it the entire time.

Step 5:
Whack it. As your ball rises into the air, bend your knees. When it reaches its peak, spring upward and forward, extend your arm to strike the ball at the highest point possible, and follow through.

More Handy Tips

• To practice your serve, break it down. Master your toss; then master your swing.
  
• Since you’ve got two shots to ace your serve, go big on the first one. If you default, you’ve got another try.
  
• Stay on your toes. Flat-footed tennis players get beat every time.
  
• Keep your grip on your racket loose, until you lift it to strike the ball. That’ll help keep everything else, and particularly your shoulders, loose too.
  
• Never curse on the court. Don’t ever #%^&*! do it.
  

Play Fair
•  •  •

“Play hard, accomplish your goals, and yet be humble in the eyes of your opponents.”

—B
OB
K
ELLY

H
OW TO
B
E A
G
OOD
S
PORT

Step 1:
Play fairly. Cheating only proves one thing: You’re not strong enough, fast enough, or smart enough to win the game on your own. A win by dubious means is not a win at all, and even if no one else knows what you did to break the rules, you will, and it won’t feel good. Know the rules, and abide by them, and you’ll be able to relish every victory, knowing you played your best.

Step 2:
Respect your opponent. You may feel like you want to mop the floor with him or humiliate him in front of a crowd, but remember that without a competitor, you wouldn’t have a game to play at all. Be thankful for the other team, and respect their efforts and abilities. Then you can beat them.

Step 3:
Be gracious in your losses. If the game didn’t go your way, there’s nothing you can do but accept it. No tears, no temper tantrums, no fighting. Simply hold your head up high, thank your opponent for a good match, and vow to play harder next time.

Step 4:
Be humble in your victories. If the game did go your way, good for you! Now hold your head up high, thank your opponent for a good match, and vow to play harder next time. You can break out your happy dance later, after the other team has gone home.

More Handy Tips

• Listen to your coaches and the officials. Backtalk during a match is bad form, even if you think you know better. If you’re tempted to trash-talk, pretend your grandmother is on the sidelines listening to your every word. If your grandmother swears like a sailor, then imagine the string of curses she’ll let out if she catches you misbehaving during the game.
  
• Share the glory. If you’re playing a team sport, remember that it takes an entire team, not just one person, to win the game.
  
• Have fun! After all, that’s the whole point, isn’t it?