Tennessee's Pat Summitt sticks to game plan in Alzheimer's fight
Pretty much everyone who wanders into Pat Summitt's office or visits her basketball practice these days has learned to fear the iPad. The coach keeps her tablet filled with brain-wrenching games.
Crossword puzzles and Sudoku. Math quizzes and memory tests.
"When people come by," said Tyler, her son, "she gets them to sit down and try one of those things."
It was seven months ago that doctors diagnosed Summitt with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, an incurable brain disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior.
Summitt chose to go public with her affliction and now the Tennessee Lady Vols, who face UCLA on Saturday, have become much more than a sports story.
Think back to when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV-positive and fans expected the worst. Something similar is happening with the 59-year-old Summitt.
This is an iconic figure, a pioneer of women's athletics who has 1,077 victories on her resume, more than Mike Krzyzewski or Bob Knight or anyone else in the college game. People are watching to see if that famous stare goes vacant or her razor-sharp mind turns dull.
Maybe that's why Summitt delights in challenging them to a computer game.
"Yeah, we've played," said Holly Warlick, her long-time associate head coach. "She kills me every time."
The game plan
Facing the fight of her life, Summitt has chosen to focus her energy on basketball and health. That means no interviews for the time being, but she encourages friends and family to speak for her.
They say the early signs of dementia might have gone overlooked because the preternaturally busy Summitt had always misplaced her keys or forgotten where she parked her car.
But then her jam-packed schedule — meetings and practices, booster club speeches and news conferences — became too much.
"She just wasn't multitasking like she used to," Tyler said. "She was doing four things at once instead of seven."
Her staff noticed that she would forget some small detail about a high school recruit they had discussed the day before. That might have been understandable with another coach, but not Summitt.
"Pat was always a machine," assistant Dean Lockwood said. "Normally, she would remember everything we talked about."
Last May, a trip to the Mayo Clinic confirmed the worst. Not surprisingly, there were a few days of anger and denial. Then came another predictable response.
"She always has a game plan," said Billie Moore, the former UCLA coach who has been Summitt's mentor and friend for many years. "She thinks that if she follows her game plan, she can control whatever's going on."
Summitt has attacked dementia with the same tenacity that fueled her career, from Tennessee farm girl to college and Olympic athlete, from 22-year-old rookie coach to living legend.
Crossword puzzles and Sudoku. Math quizzes and memory tests.
"When people come by," said Tyler, her son, "she gets them to sit down and try one of those things."
It was seven months ago that doctors diagnosed Summitt with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, an incurable brain disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior.
Summitt chose to go public with her affliction and now the Tennessee Lady Vols, who face UCLA on Saturday, have become much more than a sports story.
Think back to when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV-positive and fans expected the worst. Something similar is happening with the 59-year-old Summitt.
This is an iconic figure, a pioneer of women's athletics who has 1,077 victories on her resume, more than Mike Krzyzewski or Bob Knight or anyone else in the college game. People are watching to see if that famous stare goes vacant or her razor-sharp mind turns dull.
Maybe that's why Summitt delights in challenging them to a computer game.
"Yeah, we've played," said Holly Warlick, her long-time associate head coach. "She kills me every time."
The game plan
Facing the fight of her life, Summitt has chosen to focus her energy on basketball and health. That means no interviews for the time being, but she encourages friends and family to speak for her.
They say the early signs of dementia might have gone overlooked because the preternaturally busy Summitt had always misplaced her keys or forgotten where she parked her car.
But then her jam-packed schedule — meetings and practices, booster club speeches and news conferences — became too much.
"She just wasn't multitasking like she used to," Tyler said. "She was doing four things at once instead of seven."
Her staff noticed that she would forget some small detail about a high school recruit they had discussed the day before. That might have been understandable with another coach, but not Summitt.
"Pat was always a machine," assistant Dean Lockwood said. "Normally, she would remember everything we talked about."
Last May, a trip to the Mayo Clinic confirmed the worst. Not surprisingly, there were a few days of anger and denial. Then came another predictable response.
"She always has a game plan," said Billie Moore, the former UCLA coach who has been Summitt's mentor and friend for many years. "She thinks that if she follows her game plan, she can control whatever's going on."
Summitt has attacked dementia with the same tenacity that fueled her career, from Tennessee farm girl to college and Olympic athlete, from 22-year-old rookie coach to living legend.
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