The Wait

Waiting for a flight that is a little delayed is agonizing. You say "it'll get here soon and I can go where I need to go".

Do you really believe that, Cowboy?

Here I sit and mumble.

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

International Man of Mystery, SoulSlam has to go to the Great White North today for an overnight jaunt for work. First time ever. Be back Thursday night, so the pod-people will be hard pressed to take this red-blooded AMERICAN!
Some things you should know:

I hate Hockey

I don't like the cold

I feel we should consider taking over Canada, paving it and making it a giant parking lot for NYC.

Awesome. Flight at 3PM. Nausea at 2:30.

P.S. - hey wikipedia, give it a break. Commies.

Proud

So you regular ol' townsfolk who follow the man (SoulSlam) know I lost by one in a lackluster effort Friday night.

Played today and lost by 6. But I couldn't be prouder. We played as tough as nails and kept it close against a team that was probably more talented and definitely quicker than us. Great to see.

We did miss 22 free throws (THAT IS NOT A TYPO!) - so we had a chance, just didn't capitalize. Enjoy MLK DAY! Gotta go watch the Packers put a whoopin' on the Giants.

Lost by 1

This week, my 5th grade travel basketball team worked 2+ hours on defensive positioning, particularly on a full court press, how to "close the door" and what to do if you do get beat (get down the court faster than the other guy, use an angle to get to a spot where you can defend again.
So what happens when we play last night? It was like we never worked on any of it. Frustrating.
Lost by 1. Actually had multiple chances with less than 30 seconds to go but fell short. I have a team that wants to drive the basket as quick as humanly possible in the 1stQ of a game, but pass and pass and pass when 12 seconds are left. My fault.
So we play a team on Sunday (that is much better than the one we played last night) and see what we got. I think some players sat a little more than usual, so maybe that will be a wakeup. We are now 2-4 record-wise.
My in-town 6-8 grade boys team will look for 1st win today. As in many rec-type sports, you got the playas and the other kids. And since we are supposed to play everybody at least 1/2 a game, it becomes a juggling act as a coach. Wish us luck.

The Eternal ?

What you may ask?

Why do parental units have to interfere with their kids' athletic endeavors?

Everybody wants to yell things from sideline counter to what I teach, yet nobody has the time (or can make the time) to get involved and do something.

Frustration x 100 is the formula.

BTW, most (make that 99%) of kids wont be professional sports stars - so let them learn something, get some exercise and excel while they can. Here's a simple little bit of SoulSlam (unscientific) deductions:

On a travel (town-type) basketball team with 10 players, approximately 4 will be able to play HS ball. Less than one will play college ball. So that guy in my town that thinks his kid the center is going to be drafted (and will most likely top out at 6'3" with no ball handling skills) will be sadly disappointed.

On a travel baseball team of 12 players, about 6 will quit by time they are 14. Field gets too big to compete. Of the 6 left, 3 will start for their HS team. Less than 1 will go beyond to college or pros. Those parents who don't want little Johnny to bunt or do anything that makes baseball what it is are in need of a talk.

Common sense never prevails.

Sports Weekend!

Besides the NFL playoffs -

My travel baseball teams start winter workouts tonight at an indoor facility, so that is always sweet. I will work for 90 minutes in the tunnels with about 30 kids getting their swings back. I am dedicating myself to what I do best this season - HITTING! And take it from Coach; if you can hit, they will find a position for you!

Got a little in-town hoops with my 6-8 Grade Boys team tomorrow at 6PM. I have some strong players and some not so strong players. Gotta play everybody at least half a game, so it's how you rotate the boys that counts. First game.

Sunday my 5th Grade travel team goes to a neighboring (upscale) burg to play our 6th game of season, and hopefully get us to .500 with the W. We played Wednesday night against a team that beat us in December and put the hammer on them, winning 45-31. A real team win. I do have some parental issues now; a parent who shall remain nameless complained about my "yelling" at her kid. To be fair, I "yell" at all the kids. Whatever. I have a new rule. I don't talk to parents anymore, and your kid can sit the bench when he won't listen or do what I ask.

Audi.

Back to Work

After a nice vacation. Happy. I. Am. Not.