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An interesting nugget was buried in the New Orleans Times-Picayune's report that Peyton Manning is preparing to play another season. One could read this nugget to believe Manning is preparing to play many more seasons.
Manning has employed physical trainer Mackie Shilstone, who is a guru in players wanting to stretch the twilight era of their athletic careers.
Shilstone specializes in career extension. He's worked with hundreds of professional athletes over the years, including boxers Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins and most notably tennis superstar Serena Williams. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith acknowledged Shilstone in his induction speech and credited the trainer with adding 11 years to his career.
So who is Mackie Shilstone?
First and foremost, he is an athletic trainer for the rehabilitating/twilight-of-career star. Shilstone's work with Williams particularly grew his notability of late, as he worked in 2013 to help Williams come back from slumping world rankings and a sore knee and shoulder to take on championship-level opponents.
Shilstone told Williams if she was serious about training and ready to dedicate herself to putting in extra work following her tennis workouts, he would clear his schedule and train her.
"I said if we are going to work together, I need you to be focused," said Shilstone, 58... "I need to make sure you are focused on tennis and not any outside activities. I said it's very important that you give me a commitment and not a contribution."
Second, he's an extremist. Notes BoxingTalk.com -
Mackie is not just a strength and conditioning coach. He is a motivator, he is a strategist, and he is an extremist. Like the athletes he works with, when Mackie gets it in his mind that he wants to do something, he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the task at hand. Mackie's handle is unique, as he positions himself as the first "sports performance and lifestyle management expert" in the country. It seems that everyone who has trained under Mackie has nothing but praise for his work and the experiences they had with him.
Third, he's a noted TV personality. Shilstone regularly appears on New Orleans-area TV networks to give health and nutrition advice.
Fourth, he's an author. Aside from writing exercise and nutrition books like The Fat Burning Bible and this straight-from-the-80's Feelin' Good About Fitness, he also contributes to the Times-Picayune, which suggests how the paper was able to be the first beat that solidly reported the Manning news.
#SuperBowl2015: An @nfl player's game-day performance may depend on pre-game meal http://t.co/FXPtBOtfQB
— Mackie Shilstone (@MackieShilstone) January 30, 2015
Maybe Orlando Franklin just didn't eat his Wheaties before the Super Bowl a year ago.
Now, fifth, he's Peyton Manning's next best hope for a return to gridiron glory in 2015 and beyond. Many of the high-profile athletes who dedicated their efforts to Shilmore's training found success in the years to come. Hopefully his work with Manning will help him get over the playoff hump with the Broncos.
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