Q&A With Athlete of the Week: Philip Batler

By Noah Whiting
Managing Editor of Sports

Up until seventh grade, he was just another soccer player who was growing increasingly frustrated with the sport. Today, senior Philip Batler ranks among the best in the country in track and field, after recently placing in the top twenty for the two hundred meter dash at 2016 New Balance Indoor Track Nationals. Last year, he was the New England runner up in the three hundred meter dash. Despite battling recurring injuries, Batler still manages to capture titles and elusive personal records season after season. This week, Denebola would like to recognize him as the first ever Denebola athlete of the week for his incredible accomplishments.

Denebola was given the chance to sit down with Phil Batler to try and understand what makes him one of the best runners in the country.

Why did you start running track?

“My sister was at South and she would always tell me about how great [the team was] when I was in seventh grade and she was a sophomore. That year the track team was doing really well. So she was always telling me, ‘You should get involved in it so by the time you get to South you can hop right in with all of their success.’ At the time I was getting tired of soccer so I thought it sounded like a good plan and it would be cool to be a part of a winning team when I got into high school.”

What are some special ways that you prepare or train?

“Every morning I get some time in on the bike and do hamstring exercises because I have dealt with a lot of hamstring injuries my whole high school career so that is just a daily thing that I do. I keep a notebook where I write to myself. If I have a big meet coming up I will write, ‘So I know you have this competition, but you’ve run these times and they’ve run [those] times so you know you can beat them. You have this in the bag and they don’t.’ I just basically convince myself, almost through a third person narrative, that I am able to win and that I have the ability to win. I also use that [journal] if I ever have an injury and I write to myself once a doctor or physical therapist has cleared me to be fine, I tell myself over and over ‘I’m fine. The muscle is not injured. It is fine.’ So that if I read it enough times, I can actually believe it and get out on the track and not be worried about any re-injury.”

Do you have any superstitions or special routines?

“Yeah… I don’t know if I should say this. I tend not to wash my uniform and compete in the same pair of socks. They are washed now! Don’t worry! I guess I have this one thing I do before I get into the blocks. I always do this thing that I saw Carl Lewis do. He is one of my idols because the way we race is kind of similar. With his right leg he always steps behind the block before going in. That’s just what I’ve always done because it is a routine superstition.”

What do you do to stay strong and healthy through two long seasons?

“Chocolate milk, definitely. I love chocolate milk. It’s supposed to be some miracle recovery drink but it’s just a normal thing. I keep in touch with a lot of different people to check in with me. I have the coach that I have here [at Newton South]. I have one of my old club team coaches that I write to a few times a week and we just talk back and forth about how my injuries and how my legs and blocks and all that stuff is feeling. Because of how many times I have been to physical therapy [for injuries], I basically have a team of physical therapists. I just use the same gym, so I’ve been in there for my back, my foot, and my hamstring. I keep in touch with them a lot and will just email them to say ‘Hey this kind of bothered me at practice today. What do you think?’ I [also] set a rule this year that I have to go to bed every night by ten because last year I didn’t do that and it definitely affected some of my performances or just practices where I couldn’t get a productive workout in because I was just exhausted.”

What do you plan to do in the future with track?

“I have committed to a school. I can not say where it is, but I am very excited about it. As soon as it is official, I will probably post everywhere about it, so you’ll know as soon as it’s official.”

Congratulations. Anything else you would like to add?

“Follow the outdoor track team! We have big things coming!”

Any bold predictions?

“I think we’ve got an All-State championship coming up. I mean I’ve always wanted the championship ring. I love to wear jewelry no matter what, so it would be nice. So we definitely want to try and get that title. We have a really strong group of seniors and a couple good milers so it is possible.”