Team Player

When I was a little kid I would say 4th or 5th grade best I can remember. I would play baseball all summer.That was my thing baseball I loved it and I was pretty good at it. Little League was a big thing to me. Then in the spring of the year our school would put a little team together and we would play all he other schools around our part of the city. Now by this time I had been playing ball for 4 or 5 years and I knew the game and was good at it. Yes I was a prima dona I was the best I knew it all and no one could tell me anything. Now we are playing a school I use to go to my first 3 years of school and I knew most if not all the players at that school and I wanted to win bad. Because it would not be long till the Little League Season would start and I would see all these kids over there and I wanted bragging rights. Well it wasn't going good our pitcher was terrible he could not get the ball over the plate and when he did they hit it out of the park I was getting frustrated mad. I am thinking what is this coach doing keeping this kid in as pitcher he sucks. Myself I always played catcher on every team I played on. so I am behind the plate. So I started throwing the ball over the pitchers head then I would throw it to him in the dirt. That's when the coach called time out and took me out of the game and I said why are you taking me out he is the one who sucks. Then they started the game back. The coach sit there and told me he is our best pitcher he just gets to nervous in the games and can't perform. We have to put him in there long enough to settle down and relax and get some confidence he needs our help. He needs your help then I started feeling bad that I acted so selfish All I could think about was winning. I wasn't thinking about the game or the players or the coaches the fans all I was thinking about was my self and winning. That is when I first learned about being a team player. And we came back and won that game. But it did not matter because from then on I was a team player. And thinking about the game trying to make the right decisions thinking about he players on both sides the fans the coaches that's being a team player. A real player. You know looking back that is the only game I remember from those days and It is not because we won it's because I learned a life lesson that day. The name of the coach the players I can;t remember any of them. But it was a day that changed my life and that is the beauty of sports. And I was lucky to have a coach who could see past winning. And show me all the other aspects of the game Thanks....... That is why I like to coach a little kids team now. To show them there is no black and white just different shades of gray. Try to look at the whole picture..... 




                     

Young and Stupid

Young and stupid is a dangerous combination. That is right and most of us are sufferers of this condition in our lives yes being young and stupid can be a tragic problem. You know a 16 year old kid gets a brand new pickup truck to go back and forth to school next thing you know they are driving on a country road with a bunch of kids in the back and showing off the kid drives a little to fast and rolls the truck and kills some of the kids in the back. Didn't mean to do it was an accident none the less it happened and people are dead for being YOUNG AND STUPID.
 Girl is driving down the road texting on her phone early in the morning she takes her eye off the road for a second and she flips her vehicle and is dead. I wonder if it was a important conversation to lose your life over. Another case of YOUNG AND STUPID.
 I don't think anyone is immune to this condition but according to Insurance Mortality Tables you are a whole lot more likely to be infected before the age of 25. After that age for some reason the condition starts to go in to remission somewhat until one reaches the age of 40 and it is almost completely gone.
Anyway I my self suffered from this problem in my youth for some reason I was attracted to pool halls and all the things that congregate there. The Alcohol the Gambling the easy girls as a matter of fact if you meet a girl in a pool hall her name is probably Easy. Or at lest her disposition is. OK on with the story I was about 14 when I went in to Town with a half ass friend of mine one night by the way night is when these places start to jump it is the only time worth going and getting in to shit. They are the clubs for  kids to young for bars.So I am with this guy at a place called Pete's Pool Hall and we are just shooting a game of pool  looking around  for any girls that we hadn't already been with. Funny when you are young you want to have relations with every girl you can. I think it is another symptom of YOUNG AND SUPID.Well there we are doing our thing and all the sudden A guy comes running in with a gun in his hand yelling and screaming I am going to kill you bitch and you to you Motherfucker. It was a couple at the pool table right next to us apparently this was his girl friend and her boyfriend and he was not the sharing kind. He was loud telling them the boy and girl what he was going to do to them. Then all the sudden this guy I was with walked over and told the guy with the gun if you are going to shoot someone motherfucker shoot me and the guy said I don't have no problem with you so Charles just reached out and grabbed the gun and hit the guy in the head right between the eyes blood went everywhere then he turned and said look T that is what some people called me back then  I got a new gun and we ran out of there as fast a we could got in his car and went to another pool hall. YOUNG AND STUPID. I did not go to the pool halls with Charles anymore it wasn't long after that he had to do ten years in the pin for armed robbery and I think I know where he got the gun. YOUNG AND STUPID.                  

This and That

This Sunday Summer and I have a meeting with the other Mob coaches to pick a all star team and get our tournament brackets Shoot I didn't even know there was a all star team. I am in a fix I should have been paying more attention to the players on the other teams instead of my own. I don't get to vote for players off of my team. I think I have two all stars for sure and maybe one more has an out side chance. I don't really understand it why they pick a team when they have know place to play after it is over they are going to split the players in to two groups and play a game. They should keep them together and play the four AAU tournaments this June as a Mob all star team.. Just my opinion.
  Now to Monday's game here in Shallowater they are playing Trinity. Here is a little back ground. There is a team in Lubbock called the Ice an AAU team that is made up of girls from Frendship, Cooper and Trinity. Now our girls have never won a game against the Ice. But this year they won against Frendship and Cooper but lost by 3 to Trinity. So this Monday is the big game for district and everyone is excited about our  chances. I just told Summer to go and play her game and have fun it's no different from any other game. Just play your best and let the winning and losing take care of it self. Next year it will not matter who won and who lost it will just be one more of a bunch of  memories from your basketball career. So relax and have fun.




    

Mob

Last night was our last Mob game it was not much of a contest. We won by a score of 32 to 8 we were asked to stop pressing at the start of the 4th quarter. Because unknown to me they were a team with problems. In the hall before the game the coach of the other team and one of his parents got into an argument
apparently they were talking about playing time and who was a better player and who should play more at one point the parent said something very rude and made a little girl cry. Then went on to say how his daughter was the best player in Lubbock and the coach was not playing her enough. And that is why they were not winning. This is what happens when you make winning your priority. I am sorry to tell you this but winning is not the reason for playing games. Learning to play the game and have fun is the number one reason .Next is developing your skills getting better. Then Sportsmanship how to win with grace and how to lose with dignity. And keep your head up at all times. I tell all my teams I coach there are two reasons we play basketball Number one it's Fun And number two we are good at it. And there is only one way to coach young kids here it is you educate  and motivate you tell them what you what them to do then you tell them how good they are doing it. And that is it there is no room for a critic or a fault finder. Fault finders need not apply. When someone is doing there best and trying there hardest there is only room for praise. I heard a coach tell a girl in one of our games that is not your shot you don't take that shot you are to far out. Well the girl was short and could not shoot inside she would get blocked. So when she got outside she shot the ball
and the way I look at it a missed shot is a good pass when you rebound. Don't look at it as a missed shot see it as a good pass. Knucklehead look at the whole game and missed shots and rebounds are a big part of it. So if you take this approach to coaching and everything is positive you will have a better re pour with your players and with your parents. And parents can have unrealistic expectations about there children's athletic abilities. Just try and be fair and supportive.  I was lucky this year I got a group of great girls and nice parents..And like most things in life there are a few bumps along the way no matter how smooth the road is.
So if you sign your kid up for Little League or Little Dribblers just be sure to take it with a grain of salt and remember your kid is probably not going to be the next Tiger Woods, Michael Jordon, Sheryl Swoops if you were not a great athlete chances are your kid will not be either. But that does not mean they can't have fun playing sports. And be good school players...






      

Football Playoffs

So you got some extra money and it's playoff time and your thinking I can lay down a few bets and clean up because this year it is pretty easy to pick who is going to win.  Wait wait wait back up asshole yes you can probably pick the winner but can you beat the spread it is almost impossible to beat the spread anymore they have computers running stats and prognosticators putting in the human factors. So yes Green bay is hot but at 3 points and playing in Chicago that is a dead heat my friend. If you want to gamble just go to a alley somewhere and play dice or flip a coin with a bunch of drunks. This is not the game to put your kids thought college on forget about it. Personally I think Green Bay is hot and has the momentum going in and both are outdoor cold weather teams so know advantage there. And believe you me Chicago is one cold place this time of year I know I spent a year there when I was young . It is miserable in the winter unbelievably cold.
But that is where both teams play and both have outdoor stadiums. So this is to close to call. that is why its at 3. But it's Green Bay all the way.
  Next The Jets vs the Steelers this could turn out to be a great game. Yes I said great I know defence wins championships and everyone knows the steel curtain and this will be the difference Big Ben will do his job
and Sanchez will do his. It will come down to stops and I think the Steelers make more stop than the Jets
Third down and five the Steelers stop them more time than the Jets do. It;s that simple. Now what do we got well I will tell you The Steelers and Green Bay in the Super Bowl in Dallas. That does not work on so many different levels Being from Texas and a Dallas Cowboy fan and to see the super bowl played in Dallas and who are the two teams please  I hate both of these team and cities and population and to have these dam Yankees down here playing the super bowl in Dallas it could get ugly. I would not watch this game if you payed me money. And if by chance it is the Jets and Chicago well I don't hate them as much just a little I mite watch some of that game really not a chance who cares. No one out west cares about the large ant beds back east that is right we don;t cares about there Football or Basketball teams. So this year is a wash for people out west. My opinion




       

Money and Power

You know its not a big world anymore as a matter of fact it is a small world. That is right it use to be the world was huge hard to get around different cultures religions peoples skin colors all making for suspicions
and distrustfulness and exploitation of people who are not the same as you they are not as human as you they don't deserve your respect or consideration. That is the way it use to be and to some it is still the same. They don't respect different people hell some don't even respect there own kind. They will exploit there own population just as readily as anyone else. For what money and power that is right people don't care about your God the color of your skin the culture you were born in to. All people care about in this world is Power Power to travel Power to live in a large house with lots of servants to do everything for you Power for your children do as they please. Power to posses all the toys that make you think you are happy. The Cars the boats the airplanes the house at the beach the house in the mountains The house in the city the house in the country.Go to the mountains to ski after the first snows Then down to the Islands to be warm in the winter.
Keep moving so you don't get bored or God forbid fall in to a rut or a routine.
 Most people who live like this are empty in side that is why they keep moving and buying to fill the hole in their soul. Until there is no new place to go and no new toy to buy. Then they become bitter and cruel to there servants. And try to get pleasure through someone else is pain. This is the sick fate of rich people all because Greed is their God. Their food does not taste good their sex is unfulfilling their relation ships are warped and twisted All about using their money to manipulate. So the world has not gotten smaller but there are a lot more of these praises moving around on it use way more resources than they should. And lets face it. It has been this way scene time began. With slavery in the past and now economic slavery. Every person on this planet should be entitled to live life and be happy and not a slave to someone else be it physically or economically there is enough resources if you eliminate the greedy people Get rid of the Greed System the POWER of MONEY. A horse wants to run. A cat wants to hunt. A bird wants to fly. A man wants to do what he does. WE need to evolve past Money. This is just my opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 




         

How to lose

Last night was not a fun time for the 8th grade girls They had such a big week last week winning the biggest tournament of the year for them. Then the big party at Tatum's house Saturday no sleep an all night-er.Then after school today they have to ride 60 miles in a school bus to Lamesa and play another game.I knew they would be flat. But they defeated Lamesa by a lot of points the first time they played and I assumed they would beat them again. But this was not the case. Right before the game the coach told them that Lamesa had beaten Trinity the week before and Shallowater has never beaten Trinity. That planted a seed in their minds this must be a good team this year even though they beat them by 15 points a month ago. It was never close. What you think is what you get if you think they are good they will play you that way. Maybe this is just what they needed to focus next week on Trinity if Lamesa can beat them. They can. Sometimes a loss is better than a win if it makes you focus and see things in a different light. And you can't be so confident you play sloppy and out of control. You have to run your plays and be disciplined on and off the court. Well we will see if they learn from this loss?????? Winning gives you the big head  Losing tells you you have to work harder and that is the only way to get better.