European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday july 16, 1988 the stars and stripes commentary a a Post nil life More than just a Shell the rookies report sunday the veterans thursday and by next weekend the Pittsburgh steel or training Camp will be oozing with football players. For the first time in 14 years Donnie Shell won t be one of them. Gary Fencik and Walter Payton won t be in plat Neville wis., with the Chicago bears. Don t look for Dan Fouts at the san Diego Charger Camp. They Are among the former nil players who for the first time in maybe two decades find they Are not getting ready for a football season. The scene at the Steeler Camp in Latrobe pa., is a familiar ritual that is routinely resumed each july in towns like Suwanee ga., where the Atlanta Falcons pitch Camp and san Marcos Texas which hosts the Houston oilers. From la Crosse wis., where the new Orleans saints Are gathering to Carlisle pa., where the Washington redskins prepare to defend their super bowl title and a Host of map Dot towns in Between the nil returns. On every practice Field coaches with clipboards Check wind sprints in one Corner and oversized individuals attack blocking sleds and tackling dummies in another. Playbooks Are distributed and digested. The whole football practice operation snaps quickly into place. And yet each year some players must adjust to the culture Shock of not doing what they have always done not being a part of that scene. They retire and suddenly july becomes football s toughest time a time to begin doing something else with the rest of their lives. Shell went to training Camp with the Steeles 14 Summers the first one As a free agent Strong safety hoping to make the team the last one As the team s defensive Captain with 50 career interceptions More than any Man who played the position. This july As the Steeles College training Camp in Latrobe Springs to life Donnie Shell is staying at Home in Columbia . He is at age 35, retired. In my Case i was kind of unique Shell said. I played so Long and i accomplished every goal i had set. I be done what i wanted to do. Now it s Over. You miss it though. After doing that for 23 years from High school to College to the pros and then suddenly you re not doing it you miss it. There s no question about most of All Shell said he thought he would miss the camaraderie the relationships with men who had been almost like Brothers to him. You re living to Gether he said. You re winning to Gether and losing to Gether. You establish feelings for each other. You lean on one another and you pull for one Donnie Shell Eric Margenau executive director of new York s Center for sports psychology and consultant for a number of professional sports franchises understands Shell. Certainly retirement is a big adjustment and Shock for the successful athlete he said. It s a Little hard to describe. Most of them Don t know How big an adjustment it will be until they re into it. In some ways it s comparable to having a child. Nobody can Tell you ahead of time what the stress and Strain will be. You can t know what it s like and How profoundly it will affect your life until you re into it. Football is a player s life from Early age. It s a part of them. To be without it can leave them Anft emotionally. The ones who do better Are those who anticipate retirement and plan for it Well ahead of Shell Falls into that category. Sure i look at my super bowl rings sometimes and there Are great memories he said. But i can t do anymore than i did in football. I m satisfied. I m a realist. I planned when i d be getting out. We knew a couple of years before i did it. That makes it was planning included going Back to school for his master s degree in guidance and counselling. He has launched his pwn business in Columbia called sports counselling service to provide help for other thinks More and More athletes Are approaching retirement the Way Shell did with a next career game plan. That reduces the tension that the opening of training Camps might otherwise trigger. It also makes it easier for Shell to do a Cameo week in the Steeler Camp helping coach defensive backs. There will be no temptation for him to stay. He has a business to go Back to in Columbia. The Days of players who go fishing in the off season is largely gone Margenau said. They Are aware of the potential dynamic of retirement. So they create off season careers for themselves. The change in salary Structure has helped in that Effort. They invest Money in a business that can involve like Shell Alan Page welcomed retirement. He played 15 years in the nil one More than Shell. It was was t a Jolt for me said Page who will be inducted in the pro football Hall of Fame june 30. When training Camp time came around i was Busy doing other things. I had a Law practice i was trying to get was a different feeling though because i did t have to go and do All the things you Don t look Forward to doing. I was ready anxious and looking Forward to my retirement to the Chance to spend the summer with my other thing that helped was that 1 was still physically Active. Retiring did t mean a hah for that. I still was Able to Page added a Little irony that makes the transition easier for every retired player. In fact he said. I was Able to run More. And i ran when i wanted to run not when they wanted me to run.". You can be sure 100-degree Days in july were not included on the associated press Boston rejects signing Parrish Dpi photo by the associated press one of Joe Morgan s first actions As manager of the Boston red sox was to veto the signing of designated hitter Larry Parrish. Parrish 37, hit 32 homers and drove in 100 runs for Texas last season but slumped to .190 with seven homers this year and was Cut earlier this month by the rangers. Boston general manager Lou Gorman thought Parrish s right handed Power could still reach the left Field Wall but Morgan wants to go with youth. This is not the Joe Morgan you re familiar with. The new red sox manager is 57 years old not the one time great second baseman with Cincinnati. For years bos ton s Morgan has been getting mail for the two time National league most valuable player. In fact Boston s Morgan even got Bills for Cincinnati s Morgan. Several hours after the red sox fired John Mcnamara the Philadelphia Phillies dismissed batting coach Del Unser and third base coach Dave Bristol. Usually the coaches go with the manager but the Phillies extended Lee Elia s con tract earlier this month. Bristol must be shaking his head. He was fired As manager of Cincinnati in 1969, Milwaukee in 1972 and Atlanta in 1977. Now he s out As a third base coach. If Morgan does t make it in bos ton the red sox Are still interested in talking to Joe Torre. Torre who is Auri Puiu to Ait w a smooches Benny Distefano during wednesday s minor Teague All Star game. Broadcaster could have had the san Diego padre Job but turned it Down. Fred Lynn is being shopped around by the Baltimore orioles. The Minnesota twins in need of pitching help Are inter ested in Texas knuckle Baller Charlie Hough. New York manager Davey Johnson says he expects the mets main Competition Down the stretch to come from Montreal instead of Pittsburgh or Chi Cago. The expos who surprised everyone last year got off to a slow Start caused by numerous pitching injuries. Johnson also said Darryl Strawberry should have had 70 Bis at the All Star break. All Star numbers Dave Winfield hit his seventh double in tues Day s game to extend his All Star record. Winfield has hit in seven straight All Star games to tie Mickey Mantle and Joe Morgan. The Al has won the last two All Star games played in my Parks Houston and Cincinnati. The Only other time that occurred was 1947 at Wrigley Field and 1949 at 1-Bhots Field. Sometime in the next Century another All Star game will be player at Cincinnati s riverfront stadium. The stories be fore the game will still recur use about Pete Rose and Ray Fosse in 1970. And of yes the Allstar game was played there again in 1988. The night after the Cincinnati game Buffalo held the triple a All Star game. The americans beat the nation als 2-1
