Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

In the seven decades (geez, when I say it like that, it makes me realize I’m no spring chicken anymore) I’ve been on the planet, I’ve realized the extent learning is a vital part of life. 

Inspiration comes at us from many angles. I remember my Dad once saying that the day he thinks he has learned it all is the day he should probably wait for Jesus to come and take him home. 

For me, one of the main avenues of learning this thing called life has been my good fortune of being involved in sports. 

And now, with this amazing opportunity to tell others about the attributes shown by our region’s youngsters who participate in sports, I’m proud to say my learning experience and associated inspirational motivation continues. 

I’ve spent a good part of the past three years recovering from a heart gone bad, a country western song in real life. The good doctors have replaced my four main coronary (heart) arteries, burned off a misbehaving bundle of nerves from that heart, and most recently turned me into a living version of the energizer bunny with the implantation of a battery-powered pacemaker. 

If ever there was a time I could have just said that’s enough and thrown in the towel (as they say in sports), it would have been in the middle of this personal battle. 

But all I’ve had to do is watch and think about the examples that unfold in front of me as I write about the sports events I am lucky enough to cover. 

And the main lesson has been the one about never giving up. Keeping your nose to the grindstone. Getting back up when you get knocked down. The list of such sayings is a long one indeed. 

As Vince Lombardi, he of Packer coaching legend, once said: “it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” That quote is often attached to the bottom of emails sent my way by St. Regis football/basketball coach Jesse Allan. 

It is apparently something student athletes around here, and a certain aging sportswriter, take to heart. 

Example number one of that this season is the Hot Springs High School football team. Last year a tragedy hit the team hard when a teammate died early in the season. 

This year, the team watched in stunned silence as another teammate, senior Johnny Waterbury went down in the opening game of the year with what turned out to be a nearly season-long ankle injury. Losing one player in six-player football can have devastating effects. 

The Savage Heat lost that game and the next one in what was an uncharacteristic 0-2 start to their year. This past week, they showed what resilience is all about. 

All teams suffer injuries in the sport of football, it is part of the game. 

But the loss of one of the team’s leaders leaves young athletes with two choices: throw in the towel or get back up from being knocked down. 

This past Saturday, in a second round six-player playoff game, the Heat blasted Highwood 46-8 to advance to the state semifinals. 

They clearly chose to get back up, even on the legs of teammates limping around after a season of shaking off adversity and reaching down, digging deep under the direction of head coach Jim Lawson, a successful coach who often talks of the “next man up” concept. 

The Heat will play Box Elder, the high school, not the bug, in the semifinal round. 

Another prime example of getting back in the saddle after being bucked off is the Thompson Falls High volleyball team. 

The Lady Hawks also uncharacteristically lost their first two matches of the season.  But they also characteristically grabbed the bootstraps and pulled themselves up, righted the ship, got back on course and put together a very successful season. 

Under the steady leadership of their head coach, Sandra Kazmierczak, the Lady Hawks ran off several wins in a row, overcame a grueling, 3-2 loss to Sanders County rival Plains, then went on to win the Western District 7B title. 

The reward for the Lady Hawks, other than the invaluable life lesson, was a trip to the Divisional championships where they came one win from advancing to the State championships this coming weekend. 

My hat is off to both Thompson Falls and Hot Springs. 

Watching these events unfold was a senior citizen sportswriter whose drive to keep going was kept alive. 

This old dog, it seems, learned a new trick.  Or at least re-enforced one that had taken a beating in the last few years.