Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993 TAG: 9310090216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
On Wednesday, his spinning wheel stopped on sad.
Preston, who had learned to control the gagging through hypnosis therapy, said Friday he is off the team for good after missing practice Wednesday to keep an appointment with the counselor who has treated him for the past month.
At issue was Preston's readiness to practice.
He had been cleared to play again by his counselor and Tech's team doctor and rejoined the team Sept. 26. However, he felt a mild form of the symptom return once during a full-pads workout on Tuesday - his first since the first week of summer practice - and said Friday he planned to continue working with Dan Porter, a licensed professional counselor at Behavioral Science Associates in Roanoke.
This was Tech's off week, and coach Frank Beamer had said Preston could earn playing time during this week's workouts. Preston was on the roster for Tech's junior varsity game held Friday.
"I told Coach Beamer that if they wanted me to be 100 percent before I practiced, I couldn't do that right now," Preston said.
"If they didn't want me out there unless I'm 100 percent, I can't practice. If I can't practice, I can't play."
Although Preston had almost completely suppressed the gagging symptom, some on Tech's staff apparently were uncomfortable with Preston's return and had warned him against missing practice. Even after Preston met twice with Beamer and team doctor Duane Lagan and was accepted back on the team, Preston said the coaching staff's reaction to his return made him feel awkward.
"It's not what I expected," he said. "Maybe I expected too much."
Lagan said it was understood that Preston would continue getting treatment, that he would work his way back onto the team gradually and that the "coaches wouldn't push him to do more. The coaches would just coach when he was available."
"It was sort of a maiden voyage," Lagan said. "But I didn't ever see anything like a reluctance to deal with it."
Said Beamer: "There was no uncomfortable part with me. I think he's been a valuable person on our football team; I would love to see it work out for him. It was going to be a two-way street."
Preston admitted he could have rescheduled the appointment, but said he didn't because he thought he would have to pay for missing his session.
The Martinsville native left the team Aug. 26 after a series of physical tests couldn't determine the cause of the gagging, brought on by physical activity. Preston, who started at linebacker for three years, was asked if this separation is final.
"I think it's finished for good," he said. "I'm really tired of messing with it."
Preston, a senior whom teammates elected one of four captains this year, tied for the team lead in tackles last year (89) as an outside linebacker. When Tech adopted a new defensive scheme, the 6-foot-2, 223-pounder from Martinsville High School was switched to free safety but didn't take to the new position and would have begun summer practice as a defensive end.
Just days into summer practice, however, Preston could not perform because of the gagging sensation that, on at least one occasion, caused him to vomit. Porter determined Preston had gagged during physical activity once or twice when he had the flu earlier this year; after that, he said, it became a conditioned reflex that occurred whenever Preston exerted himself.
Porter said he taught Preston a form of self-hypnosis combined with a visualization technique that controls the symptom. Porter said in cases such as Preston's, the return of the symptom is expected; Preston practices the visualization technique twice a day so he can get rid of the gagging when he feels it coming on.
It wasn't enough, however, to allow Preston to play again. Lagan said Preston did "fine" during his brief return to the team, but added: "I'm not sure P.J. ever got comfortable with . . . his symptoms. I'm not sure he ever felt totally free."
Preston philosophized about the end of his collegiate athletic career.
"A year ago, I never thought I'd be in this situation," Preston said. "But I'm a strong believer in God. I believe He does everything for a reason. . . . Maybe He's trying to tell me something."
Preston said he is 12 hours away from graduating with a degree in sports management and said he wants to be a sports agent or a coach.
by CNB