Month: March 2015

Categories
Uncategorized

“Religious Freedom” Law

I usually steer clear from conversations involving politics or religion, especially on social media. But I am making an exception today. My comments below refer to Governor Mike Pence (Indiana) signing into law the RFRA act on March 26, 2015.

I am the oldest of 5 children and as such I was expected to fill some very specific roles within my family as I was growing up. Starting at about age 11, one of those roles was to watch out for my brothers. This role encompassed many things. I made sure they completed their chores as well as the extra tasks that mom and dad assigned each of us every day. I made sure they ate breakfast and lunch. I made sure that the two older boys included their younger brother when they went out to play. I also made sure that whatever my brothers did in any given day couldn’t be misinterpreted by anyone who might see or hear about it. That meant that when my brothers were outside playing I was thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead of them to ensure that the stay-at-home moms on our street (and there were several) would only have good reports to give my mom and dad every evening about the things that went on while they were at work.

So, if I knew at age 11 (almost 12) that I had to play the role of making sure that what my brothers did was understood by our neighbors and not misinterpreted, it seems to me that someone in our state government has the role of making sure that our legislators actions are understood by those in our state as well as all of our neighboring states. Just like the original intent of my brothers behavior was up to the interpretation of the neighbors who saw it, the actions of the Indiana legislators are up to the interpretation of those who have seen or heard about it.

I can’t believe that no one in our state legislator could have predicted the fallout from signing this bill into law. So, the next logical assumption is that our governor was informed about the fallout and chose to sign the bill anyway. It defies logic that any governor would want to portray the people of their state as ignorant, backward and intolerant. And it certainly defies every ounce of common sense that I have ever possessed to think that a governor would do something that would so negatively impact the economic situation of their state when countless entities refuse to travel to or have conferences and conventions in our state.

How can someone like a governor, with countless aides and assistants and other people whose sole job it is to make sure the governor looks good, not understand what I was able to comprehend as an almost 12-year-old child?

Categories
Coaching Volleyball

Update – 5 matches complete

My boys volleyball team is 1-4. Veteran coaches tell me that already having a win under our belt at this point in the season for a first year team is great. In these first 5 matches we have only seen 3 different opponents and both coaches we have played twice say that my boys have shown good improvement. For all of this I am grateful.

And while I do appreciate the win we got over Lawrence North and the set we managed to take from Zionsville in our home opener, what has struck me the most over our first 5 matches has little to do with wins and losses. It has to do with the boys themselves. I have two senior captains, neither of whom have ever played competitive volleyball, who are working really hard to make sure that all of the boys remember that they are part of a team and that everyone has a role to play. They only let me go into one match without a prayer, before they politely pointed out my oversight. Now we pray before and after every match. And both captains have things to say in the pre-game and post game huddles. They have taken responsibility for “their” team, something I didn’t think I would find in this first year of the program.

Another thing that I was not expecting to find in this first year of the program, is respect for the different roles that individuals play and a true appreciation of the fact that everyone has to be doing their respective role well, in order for the team to be successful. And that all jobs require talent and athleticism. I have been pleasantly surprised by how appreciative my hitters are of the role that my passers have to perform. In fact, during one recent match I asked the middle hitter who was currently on the bench if he could play a few points on defense for me, he looked at me like I was crazy and (politely) asked why? I told him that the libero needed a couple of minutes to collect himself. My middle hitters response was priceless, he moved to the edge of his seat and repeatedly gave extremely positive encouragement to the libero. He looked at me a few points later and explained that was the best way he knew to support his teammate.

I did not expect to have to inform a freshmen that his grades were not good enough for him to play for at least the first 4 weeks of the season, but even that has turned into a positive experience. That young man has continued to practice with the team and attend the matches. He is able to see the game from a very different perspective and has been asking a lot of really good questions. He is extremely positive from the bench and goes out of his way to encourage his teammates regardless of the score. He could have simply given up and quit, but instead he has chosen to remain engaged with this team and his teammates. Yet another thing I did not expect to find in this first year of the program.

And finally, I have been blessed with some really great parents as well. I hardly have a need articulated before I have at least two parents offering help. Sometimes they are so pro-active that I haven’t even realized there is a need until after they have already handled it for me. Guess it shouldn’t surprise me that I have great parents, great kids usually start from great parents. Here’s to a great start of the boys volleyball program at CRHS!!

Categories
Coaching Family

Prepare and Plan and then prepare to plan again!

Be Prepared – this motto of scouting has application in many aspects of life. Athletics is no exception. I pride myself on being prepared and I consider it a personal quality in which I excel. I have worked very hard at instilling this value in my children as well. So, it should come as no surprise that as a coach I prepare practice plans. In fact, I usually have a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan B is typically an easier version of Plan A. In the event that things are not going well at a given practice, I can shift gears without having to give it too much thought.

What I have learned over the past 7+ weeks is that when you are a coach in your inaugural season of a sport that is also in its inaugural season at your high school, the real key is to prepare to have to prepare and plan numerous times because there are so many things with which you have no control. And because it has now gotten to point where it has become comical, here is a short list of things where I concede that some one else is in control:

1. The weather – in a 3 day period in MARCH we have had 8 inches of snow and freezing rain and flooding – go with the flow.

2. The listening abilities of 14-18 year olds – no matter how many school announcements, school call out meetings or parent meetings you have – you will have at least one athlete ask if they can try-out, the day after try-outs or four days after try-outs.

3. Non-emergency medical procedures – while I will admit that 2 weeks before the first competition is better than 1 week before the first competition, it is still problematic when attempting to meet the minimum 10 practices in 12 calendars days requirement.

4. And did I mention that the 10-minimum practice rule was a requirement, not a suggestion?!

Okay, perhaps that last one I could have had more control over. I guess I should not have scheduled a competition on calendar day 12. Now I know better for next year.