A while back now, in that space when the blog died, I made a decision to limit my responsibilities to as little as I can possibly do and still be happy with the amount of ‘life’ in my life. I felt that the limitations allowed me to place more energy and time into the things that matter. I wouldn’t be scrambling for time to accomplish X,Y,Z, Z3, etc. One of the hardest choices I made was the choice to continue coaching for one last season. I felt I owed it to my eldest boy to be his tackle football coach at least once. He’s played multiple seasons of tackle–twice on championship teams and once on a team that couldn’t win a single game. This latest defeating season pushed him out of football for a while. It wasn’t the losing as much as it was the awareness that the coaches didn’t really have a plan or sense of cooperative spirit–basically anything going on that made the season feel like something worth participating in.
I don’t even think he took his trophy.
That season I coached the mid-kid and later I coached the ‘baby’. Now, despite understanding the workload, I decided to coach him. It is going to be a herculean task to coach a squad of 19+ 12 year olds, most of whom have no tackle experience. Somehow I need to turn that situation into success.
My role in the endeavor is as offensive coordinator. I teach the plays, mostly call the plays, and work with the HC on a system to get the plays on the field. This is my first time in that role and I decided to play it smart and use a pre-developed offensive system that has been ‘grass-tested’ enough to work for kids like the ones I am dealing with. It is going to be quite a challenge.
I hope I am ready.
Some Thoughts:
- I used to wonder how I would handle the blog once it got up into the high thousands. It is cumbersome to say 10,083. I can’t use the stardate-esque 1.634 anymore given the reboot. I may just go with the ‘k’ shorthand.
- At least I’m expecting the blog to get there. After last night I just appreciate the fact that I’m here to blog at all. I woke several times shaking with fear and convinced that someone was tugging on my blanket. Hard. Fortunately there was nobody there–not physically and it didn’t feel like there was anything else present in the space either. I’m going with ‘it was just a bad dream’
- I will not be able to make the solar eclipse. Next one is in 2024. I’m extremely hurt by this, especially given that the love of my life will be there.