McDade pushes limits of sports
By Bland Clark
Staff Writer

ISSUE: 05/01/07 > Sports > McDade pushes limits of sports

Photo by bland clark Physical education adjunct professor Walter McDade, involved with health classes at Belmont for 16 years, practices what he teaches, having competed fiercely in everything from high school wrestling to racquetball in the "oldest" division.

There are things that we see every day that have connections to each other in some way, shape or form. Can you see the connections between these classes: racquetball, Wallyball, hiking, heath and fitness concepts? Your immediate answer may be that they are all health classes. But there is another connection – Walter McDade, an adjunct professor at Belmont, has a link to every one of them.

McDade is a pro racquetball player who spends his extra time teaching health classes at Belmont. He got his start in extreme sports in high school. Sure, he played sports like baseball, wrestling and gymnastics, stating, “I was a ring man and a bar man.”

But he also started racing go-karts around the country where, he admitted, he “won a few races.” In fact, McDade said, he won races to the point that he and his racing partner had unlimited funds for engines and parts. He even raced against some current and retired NASCAR drivers.

About the time McDade was involved with racing, he was also doing a bit of water skiing. “Any sport I get into, I get into head first, I saturate myself with the sport.”

As you observe McDade’s lust for extreme sports and adventure, it is sobering to learn that his livelihood was nearly sucked out of him by a series of tragic accidents. McDade went to Lipscomb on a gymnastics scholarship as a parallel bar and ring man. While in college he married his high school sweetheart and they had a son, who developed cancer while he was an infant. After about seven months of treatments, the child died. Not long after, the McDade family had a second son. About a year later, the family was involved in a car accident. A young woman, who had been drinking heavily that da, hit the McDades’ car head on. Mrs. McDade died in the accident.

“For the next 10 years I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants,” McDade said. During this time, he got into racquetball.

He spent some time tracking down people who could help him get better at the sport. In talking about his time playing, McDade said, “I ran around the country looking for teachers and was playing open-level racquetball in three years.” (It usually takes about six years to get to open level.) He has been sponsored by most of the top companies in the business including Spalding, Head and Wilson. McDade is also a 7-time national champion.

Last year, he played the 19+ doubles division with his son at the U.S. Open, where 26 countries were represented. The McDades won the tournament. “It was really cool to win, especially playing with your son.” He was also the oldest person in the division.

About the time McDade started playing pro racquetball, he started teaching clinics at various schools in Nashville. Then, 16 years ago, he started doing exhibitions and clinics for Belmont, and was later hired as a racquetball pro to teach health classes. He went on to introduce wallyball, inline skating, bowling and hiking.

McDade warns that racquetball isn’t just a sport for sissies, that you shouldn’t follow in his footsteps unless you’re prepared for physical risk and you always wear eye protection.

“Besides the fact that it’s a rule of the game,” McDade said, “the balls are hit at 100 mph. If that ball hits your eye socket, it will act as a plunger in a toilet: your eye will pop out of its socket.”

Now if you’re thinking hiking is an easy class, you might want to think again. For this class, McDade takes the students out to Percy Warner Park and walks them through the park as fast as possible.

Not too long after the introduction of these classes, Dr. Bill Bandy, the former department head of Health and Human Sciences, had McDade start teaching his first lecture class. Lifetime Fitness, now known as Health and Fitness Concepts, is a class where he basically teaches from life experience. Sure, there is a textbook, but as Dr. Bandy had pointed out to McDade, his own life is the book they use.

“(McDade) has the better stories,” Bandy said. “Anything you need to know about a lifetime of fitness, ask Mr. McDade.”

McDade added, “My ultimate goal in teaching is to be a positive influence to students, even if it’s just one.”