Archive for the ‘Teamwork’ category
October 11, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. October 11, 2017
Last night I met with four other men who I will be coaching alongside this coming high school basketball season. During the course of the evening we talked about offenses and defenses, practice plans, try-outs, and schedule, but we spent the most time talking about what the foundational characteristics were that we looked to teach our players. More than just teach, to model for our players!
Twenty years from now when I meet a former player for a cup of coffee what is that I hope to see his life rooted in? What will I be overjoyed about as I talk to someone who has turned 35?
There are a lot of coaches who have been entrusted with opportunities to speak into the lives of their young athletes…who are simply scoundrels! Being a high school basketball official for years I’ve seen how their teams have often taken on their personalities…bad attitudes, sour disposition, arrogant, prone to temper tantrums.
So the men I’ll be working with are committed to emphasizing the development of character in our young players. Last night we talked about four foundations:
Integrity
Selfless
Reliable
Gracious
All four go against the flow of our culture. “Integrity” seldom makes the headlines. Scandals and conspiracies draw larger audiences.
“Selfless” gets applauded, and yet we live in a time of entitlement. During a recent sports season I had a couple of players who had missed significant practice time because of injuries. When it came to preparing for the last game of the season both of them wanted to be the running backs again. In practice I positioned one of the players at Offensive Tackle. He didn’t like it. After a few plays he asked to be subbed out because he needed to do some more stretching. The other boy kept, who had missed the previous three games, kept asking me “When am I going to run the ball?” Both of them had exhibited actions and attitudes that communicated that they did not understand concept of team. The result was they caused more trouble than they were worth. As I begin this new basketball season the character quality of “selfless” will be the first foundation I emphasize.
“Reliable” is a word that we used to take for granted. An employee was expected to be at work…and working! My son, who is a chef, often talks about his frustrations with workers who just didn’t show up for work. The effect of such an absence puts more pressure and work on those who are there. There’s a lot of people who float in and out of our lives who can not be relied upon. “Dr. Phil” makes a living out of telling life stories of people who aren’t reliable, and the ripple effect of such.
“Gracious” goes to one of my favorite words…grace! I’ve encountered a lot of players who stepped out of line when grace was being handed out. They criticize and demean their teammates. Wouldn’t it be awesome to play on a team where there is a recognition of everyone trying their hardest, committed to a team effort, and recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and needs the grace of their teammates? Grace, on an athletic team, means picking someone up off the ground instead of making them want to sink into the ground.
So this basketball season we’ll seek to lead our teams to victories, but we will also seek to lead them on a path towards being young men of character.
I’ve been out of high school for…Good Lord!…45 years now, but I still remember the people I went to school with who were jerks. Perhaps they’ve changed since 1972, but since I now live five states away I don’t know. My impression was etched in my memory a long time ago. I will strive to take my players on a journey this season that will help lead them towards young men of exceptional character.
And then when we sit at table in Starbucks in 2037 sipping some medium roast together I’ll attempt to hold back tears of gratitude over who this young man has become!
Categories: children, Christianity, coaching, Community, Freedom, Grandchildren, love, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: basketball coach, basketball coaching, basketball officiating, basketball players, character, coaching young men, entitled, entitlement, grace, gracious, high school basketball, integrity, lack of integrity, modeling behavior, quality charcteristics, reliable, selfless
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October 8, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. October 8, 2017
Carol and I visited Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico yesterday. Since we now have our National Parks’ Senior Passes we’re on a mission to check off the parks in the coming years. As we checked in at Carlsbad yesterday the ranger asked to see my ID. Obviously, she couldn’t believe I looked old enough to have a Senior Pass…or something like that!
We explored the caverns for about three hours. Incredible! Mammoth Caves in Kentucky is another national park that we need to visit, but I wonder if Mammoth is kind of like going skiing in Michigan after you have first skied in Colorado?
And then we stayed around for the “bat show”. Each evening around dusk the Brazilian free-tailed bats exit the caverns and take flight for a night of finding moths and other bugs to feed on. One of the park rangers tells the hundreds of people gathered in the “bat amphitheater” located by the entrance to the caverns what is about to happen, gives some interesting information about the bats, and, if the bats haven’t exited yet, answers questions.
And then it happens! Without any alarms or horns sounding the bats begin emerging from the cavern entrance…and it is incredible. Bats use sonar to guide them. As they exit the cave they use a swirling motion, almost like a tornado, to exit and head off into the sky. the number of bats that call the caverns home is as much as 1.2 million. When they exit the cavern it is an event that goes on for 30-40 minutes. The quieter the crowd the closer they will come to the people sitting there. Carol and I stayed until the end. By then most of the audience had cleared out, and we noticed that the bats got closer and closer to where we were sitting by the end.
They were quiet…kind of! When we cupped our hands behind our ears we could hear the faint sound of their wings flapping, and little squeaks. Mostly, their presence was announced by a scent in the air that was a bit nose-wrinkling.
It is encounters such as this that causes me to praise the Creator. The care and concern that God had for…bats, for how they live, how they survive, how they help the environment. It reminds me of Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:26-27 about God carrying for the birds of the air. God’s hands of care seeks to take away some of the worries of life that bring chaos of our day.
Categories: Bible, Christianity, creation, Jesus, love, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized
Tags: bats, Brazilian free-tailed bats, Carlsbad, Carlsbad Caverns, creation, Creator, God the Creator, God's Care, God's love, Mammoth Caves, Matthew 6:26-27, national parks, Senior Passes, The Creator
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October 5, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. October 5, 2017
The past few weeks have found me in several different middle school classrooms teaching in a substitution role the subjects of science, social studies, health, and physical education. I’ve taught lessons on the digestive system, sea sponges, insects, and the Hammurabi Code.
I’ve also been teaching seventh graders how to say “May I…?”
Seventh graders are infatuated with the words “Can I?” It comes as naturally out of their mouths in interactions with teachers, parents, and coaches as breathing. For many middle school boys the words “May I” are as unused as the showers in the boys locker room. And so my contribution to their education is to lead them onto the straight and mannerly road called “May I?”
It goes something like this!
“Mr. Wolfe, can I go to the restroom?”
“Listen, Sam! You’re in seventh grade. I don’t know where you fell off the tracks in your life education, but by seventh grade you should be able to go to the restroom.” Sam looks at me with confusion radiating from his face.
“So…can I?”
“”Well, let’s talk about what will happen if you don’t go to the restroom. We just talked about it in class. Remember…the digestive system…what goes in must come out! So if you don’t go to the restroom there could be some unpleasant consequences.”
“Okay!” He starts to exit.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“To the restroom.”
“Did I give you permission?”
“You said I could.”
“I said you had the ability to go, but that’s different than permission.”
A whisper comes from the side of him. I faintly hear the words, “Say may I!”
The point of our discussion suddenly hits the light switch in Sam’s mind. “Ohhh…may I go to the restroom?”
“Yes, you may!” Three other students who have been listening snicker in the background. As my days of being saturated with seventh graders have continued the number of students who have revised their “Can I” language to “May I” continues to mount. They may not be able to remember what “cilia” and “flagella” are, or what the Code of Hammurabi is all about, what they MAY very well learn to say “May I?”
Categories: children, coaching, Community, Freedom, Humor, Parenting, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Can I, Code of Hammurabi, learning manners, manners, May I, middle school, middle school boys, middle school students, middle school teachers, middle schoolers, Seventh Grade, seventh graders, substitute teacher, substitute teaching, teaching manners
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September 29, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 29, 2017
This week’s news about a number of college basketball assistant coaches being indicted for bribery and other forms of corruption after a two year FBI investigation rocked the sports world. Four assistant coaches at four NCAA Division 1 institutions were arrested for taking bribes. The shoe company, Adidas, is also involved in the corruption schemes that were made public, as are a couple of financial advisors. In all, ten different people were indicted.
The investigation revealed that athletes were being paid to, first of all, sign with a certain financial advisor, and second, to sign with certain colleges that have contracts with Adidas. The family of one high school junior was demanding a certain payoff for their son to sign with University of Louisville. A couple of other parents of two Auburn players were also receiving payments as a way to get the players to sign with a certain financial advisor.
The whole story stinks of entitlement, greed, and a total lack of ethical behavior. The FBI also hinted that there may be more indictments coming. That prompts the question, “How wide spread is this pattern of seeking to gain advantages and wealth by not following the rules?”
One of the principles we were taught was that cheaters never prosper. Well, obviously they prosper at least for a season! The purity of college athletics has long sense disappeared. Now, however, the smell has filtered down into the high school ranks. Even high school coaches are getting involved in the odor of sports’ underbelly.
There’s enough blame to go around. Parents push their kids into club sports to the point that a number of athletes are burned out by the time they are high school juniors, and others robe themselves with a thick layer of entitlement. College coaches know that their job is based on how many wins they chalk up and, therefore, many are willing to edge outside of the legal lines to gain a few more victories. College athletes want to be paid to sacrifice their bodies and hours to being a part of that success. Receiving a full ride scholarship to that university no longer seems to be enough for a number of players. Others steroid up in order to be more dominating, and still others practice academic fraud in order to stay eligible.
Sports is turning into a pastime for cheaters, because cheaters kinda’ prosper! We would be naive to think that this scenario started just recently. I was raised in Bluegrass Country, listening to Kentucky basketball on radio in my growing up days. Although it was shortly before I was born, the history of Kentucky basketball still has the distant scar of the 1952-53 point-shaving scandal. UK’s basketball season was canceled that year due to the scandal in which four players were implicated.
Sports has worn expensive suits with stains for a long, long time! Hopefully, the recent evidences of what has spilled out from it will cause people to steer back towards doing what is right and what is good, but I’m sure there will also be other people who will simply seek to be sneakier in their addiction to prosperous cheating.
Categories: children, coaching, Community, Freedom, Nation, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Adidas, assistant basketball coaches' bribery charges, bribery, cheat, cheaters, cheaters never prosper, cheating, cheating in spots, Chuck Person, corruption, doing what is right, entitlement, FBI investigation, NCAA investigation, payoffs, Rick Pitino
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September 26, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 26, 2017
Like children sticking out their tongues at one another professional football players and our president keep spitting towards the other side with no saliva involved. The National Anthem has become like the battlefield of the sports world.
It has also caused millions of people to be conflicted! Countless people voted for our president, but they also worship NFL football players. Countless other people didn’t vote for him…and they won’t let us forget that!
History is the best clarifier of the present. The National Football League rakes in more money from its starry-eyed fans and television networks in one year than some nations’ gross national income. It includes owners who are deeply involved in their communities and other owners who are always looking for a better deal in another city. (Most recently St. Louis to LA Rams, San Diego to LA Chargers, and soon-to-be Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas Raiders! Some NFL owners are not adverse to ripping out the hearts of their team-jerseyed fans!)
It includes players like J.J. Watt whose heart went out to his city (Houston) in the midst of the recent flooding from a hurricane, and other players passionate about contributing. But it also includes players who are all about themselves with egos as massive as Mount Rushmore and a sense of entitlement simply because they are physically gifted and intimidating.
On the other side is our president who someone needs to man-up to and take his cell phone away from. I’m sure that there will be a book published someday entitled “Trump’s Tweets!” Our president is the same hard-nosed egotistical man who hosted The Apprentice for serval years. Empathy is not one of his strong suits, although it showed recently in how he responded to the Florida and Texas hurricane victims.
And the focus of this fight between a bunch of stubborn alpha males has settled on an anthem that is a tribute to the never-say-die attitude of our nation!
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was first sung at a sporting event back in 1918 during the World Series in Chicago. Believe it or not, the Cubs were playing the Red Sox. Babe Ruth pitched Game 1, a 1-0 Red Sox win. The game, played at Comiskey Park because it held 30,000, was quiet until the seventh inning stretch. At that point “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played. The third baseman for the Red Sox, a furloughed Navy sailor named Fred Thomas, snapped to attention. Other civilian players followed suit and placed their hands over their hearts. The United States had entered into World War 1 about a year and a half before that. The moment was a recognition of national pride and unity. The Cubs continued the playing of the song the next two games during the seven inning stretch, and when the Series moved to Boston the Red Sox also incorporated it, but moved it to part of the pre-game festivities. The next season other baseball clubs began singing it.
The National Anthem has been a part of the national pastime for almost a century. The National Football League was late arriving at that anthem-singing party.
Both sides of this fight have good points that neither side wants to hear. Instead of being a catalyst for unity the National Anthem has become the rock that is being thrown back and forth, seeking to embarrass, insult, and divide.
I wonder what Fred Thomas would think about it. The Red Sox went through multiple third basemen that 1918 season before asking the Navy if they could borrow Thomas for a couple of weeks. What if one of those other third basemen had been sufficient? If that had been the case Fred Thomas would not have come to his salute posture that September afternoon in Comiskey Park…and, it could very well be, the song we sing before almost every sporting event I attend would not be part of the program.
Interesting that a type of inadequacy paved the way for the National Anthem to arrive. Perhaps this time a realization by all parties involved in this recent dispute might once again pave the way for us to realize that we are inadequate without one another! In a time when our country and area of the world has endured devastating hurricanes and a terrible earthquake aren’t there more important things to deal with? Fred Thomas had that thought in 1918, because he knew the war was bigger than a baseball game, but a song had the potential for a few moments to focus a crowd of people on what was really important!
Categories: children, Community, Freedom, love, Nation, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Fred Thomas, JJ Watt, national anthem, national pastime, NFL players, President Trump, professional football players, singing the national anthem, Star Spangled Banner, Trump's Tweets
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September 21, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 21, 2017
I wiped the cobwebs off the golf clubs and went, along with my friends Mike Oldham and Reggie Fletcher, out for a stroll around the golf course this past Monday. None of us were going for our PGA tour card. In fact, even though it was September 18th it was the first round of the year for all three of us.
None of us were on our game. When you play one round a year you don’t have “a game”! I was hitting the ball okay, mostly keeping it out of the rough, sand, and water. You need to understand something about my golf play. I don’t get upset if I hook it, splice it, miss it, or even hit a shot off the tee that doesn’t make it past the women’s tee. I also don’t get that excited about a good shot. I just enjoy the experience, the sunshine, and the fellowship.
The interesting thing, however, is that all three of us had a hard time putting the ball in the hole. The little white ball- or, in Reggie’s case, pink ball- went to the right of the hole, the left of the hole, rimmed around the hole, and short of the hole. To putt the ball in the hole was like trying to get a Cleveland Browns’ quarterback to throw a touchdown pass! Or, I should say, a professional quarterback of any Ohio NFL team!
We laughed at our ineptness. It wasn’t that we were trying to miss, but missing was the only thing we were consistent in doing.
And it hit me that the mission of the church often goes that way as well! The mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed. It’s as simple as seeing the hole on the seventh green, and yet the simplicity of the mission is complicated by our ineptness in hitting it. We veer to the left to focus on discipline problems in church members, or we veer to the right to emphasize a sub-point of a doctrinal belief. The church hits a budget issue and pulls up short of the mission. It misreads a downhill slope and winds up twice as far from the hole of the mission.
I kept asking myself how I could be on the green of a four hundred yard hole in just three strokes, but then have to putt the ball three times before it went in? How could I come so far so quickly, but then fail so easily?
In terms of the church hitting the hole of its mission, the closer it gets to completion the greater the chance of having the mission derailed. In my years of pastoring churches I experienced this multiple times. It might be rephrased as “gaining momentum”, but it seemed that as we headed towards the hole of the mission something or someone would cause us to veer to the side. Squabbles, crises, disagreements about the music we were singing in worship, arguments about the children’s ministry, division about how much ministry should be done outside the walls of the church compared to ministry within the walls…there always seemed to be something that took our ball off course.
For the church to hit the hole of its mission a couple of things are important to remember. One is that it must read the green. Sometimes what seems to be the case is not the case. That little ridge on the right wasn’t seen, or that break on the left wasn’t probably diagnosed. I can remember a few times when I thought we had consensus on a certain direction only to have it derailed by a portion of the congregation who didn’t want to say anything to begin with, but then decided to speak up as the ball was rolling towards the mission. Some of those situations were simply because I didn’t read the breaks, or misread the situation. Others were because of a passive resistant group who simply wanted to stonewall the direction. When the church misreads the green it must recalculate the direction from a different point.
Second, the church must admit it missed and aim at the mission once again. In golf there is a definite difference between professional golfers and weekend duffers. Churches are kind of like that, also! There are churches that are better at reading the obstacles and distractions that will keep it from staying true to the mission, but there is not a single church that always reads the situation correctly. Since grace it vital to who followers of Jesus are, grace must be a part of the journey. When I putted my ball and it went three feet to the left of the hole I had to be willing to start from a different point and continue my quest. It’s the same for the Body of Christ. What needs to be changed to have the next attempt be better aimed at the hole of the mission?
The game of golf is the great revealer of failure. On Monday my frequency of failing was in abundance. Perhaps my once-a-year visit to the golf course had something to do with my game being haphazard! There may be a life lesson there for once-a-year worship attenders as well, but I won’t go there! I’ll just veer off to the left, so to speak!
Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Grace, Jesus, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: church drama, distractions, golf, Mission, mission of the church, staying on course, the focus of the church, the gospel
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September 12, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 12, 2017
I enjoy writing. It’s where I drink most of my coffee, while sitting on a stool at Starbucks at 7:30 in the morning…or at one of the lower level tables at our local library. I don’t know if it’s the caffeine that gets the words percolating or the comfortableness of the writing spot. My life is now a mixture of writing, coaching, substitute teaching, Sunday preaching, and grandpa-ing!
I recently completed the manuscript of a book I’ve been compiling for a while. Over the summer I was able to put more time into it and, finally, came to the words “THE END” about three weeks ago. A teaching friend, Marise DeKlerk, and a long-time friend, Diana Stucky, are doing editing of the manuscript for me and offering suggestions. Diana, especially, has given me some great feedback that has helped me to strengthen the characters and storyline.
The only thing is…I can’t figure out what to title the book! Titles make people take notice! I spend a lot of time at my public library looking for a new book to read. I survey the shelves that hold countless titles in numerous categories. The title draws me in…or not! I can only read one book at a time, and here I have a multitude of choices.
The book is about a boy named Randy who has moved to a new town, Fleming, West Virginia, with his family as he is about to enter his freshman year of high school. His father is a Baptist pastor coming Fleming to pastor the First Baptist Church. Randy has bright red hair that makes him stand out. He is a young man of great character and humbleness…who also happens to be a very, very good basketball player. He befriends Ethan, the seventh grader who lives across the street from him, and who is seen as being the weird kid in his class because of his thick eyeglasses and awkwardness. Randy’s basketball talent draws attention to him from around the state, but it never changes who he is…a person of character who understands that basketball is just a game, and there are more important things in life.
I could title the book simply “Randy”, or “Shots from Red”, or “New Kid”, or “New Freshman”, or “Bowman” (his last name!). I could go with location and title it “Fleming”, or “The Flame of Fleming”, do basketball specific titles like “Swish!” or “Roundball!”
None of those, however, really catch my eye! I’m stuck! I’m at a loss! How can I write a great story but be clueless about what to call it?
Categories: children, coaching, Community, Humor, Novels, Parenting, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, Youth
Tags: Basketball, basketball fiction books, book titles, book writing, books about basketball, Novels, novels aimed at young teens, plot, Red Hot Series, storyline, the end, the enjoyment of writing, W.D. Wolfe, writing, writing a book, writing spots
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September 10, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 10, 2017
Natural disasters seem to be frequent headliners these days. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis…they seem to be as common as a Bronco’s blitz! Carol and I have many friends who have gotten chummy with Hurricane Irma in the past couple of days. We’ve been watching Facebook to make sure each of them is okay. I’ll call a couple of my friends today to check on them.
Some people see situations such as Irma and the earthquake in Mexico and see only the downside of it. I’m sure there will be several people this week who will equate the rash of recent disasters as evidence of the second coming of Jesus.
I take a different view entirely! Perhaps the ravished areas of the world are an opportunity for people to experience the sharing of their resources, love, and compassion.
I called my friend, David Volitis about a week ago to wish him a happy 60th birthday! We were able to talk for a few minutes, but he told me he was in Corpus Christi helping with the recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey. He had celebrated his 60th birthday by working a fourteen hour day clearing debris. It is an example of the good of people emerging in bad situations.
One of my favorite books is John Ortberg’s Who Is This Man? It tells of the unpredictable impact of Jesus upon the world. Ortberg tells of an epidemic of smallpox that broke out in Rome in AD 165. Between a third and a fourth of the population perished from the disease, including Marcus Aurelius, the emperor. People responded in panic. At the first sign of illness a person was pushed away from their family, throwing them into the street before they were dead. But a community in that city who followed a man who would touch untouchables cared for the sick and dying. They were even willing to be infected by others with the disease in order to be caregivers for the Caregiver. And as a result of their sacrificial giving the Jesus movement spread.
In essence, the way Christians responded to the needs of a community that confounded people’s understanding of the limits of love and sacrifice ended up drawing others towards Jesus.
Any time there is a disaster such as Irma and Harvey people will be confused and devastated. We experienced that a few years ago with two major fires in the Colorado Springs area, Waldo Canyon and Black Forest, that burned down over 800 homes. From that an organization emerged- a coalition of faith-based and secular organizations- that developed a partnership for responding to tragedy. It took two consuming fires to make that happen. Good can come out of bad.
It’s like the story of Jesus’ life and death. Resurrection happened in the midst of the pain of death. It happened with the adulterous woman that Jesus encountered. Forgiveness and cleansing came out of guilt and shame. It came to a boatload of disciples being tossed to and fro in a fishing boat. Jesus woke up and calmed the waters. Peace and assurance came in the midst of a storm.
A number of people in Texas, Florida, and Mexico have lost everything they own…and there will be those who will come alongside them making sure that they will be okay.
Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Death, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Jesus, love, Nation, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: caring for one another, early Christians, earthquakes, emergency work, good our of bad, helping one another, hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Marcus Aurelius, relief work, smallpox epidemic
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September 9, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 9, 2017
Even though I’ve coached middle school football for thirteen years my family is a soccer family. I’m a soccer dad. All three of our kids played soccer through high school- our son was a part of one undefeated state championship team and a member of the state runner-up team the year before that. Our two son-in-laws play soccer. Their wives (our daughters) still play on indoor teams and an occasional outdoor team. Our two oldest grandchildren play soccer. I took up the game later on and played in an “older than dirt” league for men. I coached two of my kids’ teams when they were younger.
So, as you can tell, we’re a soccer family!
With the growing concerns about concussions in football I’m seeing more kids start with soccer and stay with soccer. In our nine year old grandson’s soccer program the boys aren’t allowed to do headers yet. That doesn’t become legal for another year.
What amuses me are the number of football dads who now frequent soccer fields but don’t quite understand the game yet. They bring football terminology and football philosophy to another sport that is more about finesse than brutal power, more about speed and touch than holding a block and running over someone.
And a lot of the dads are having a hard time making that transition from what was to what is! My high school in Ironton, Ohio was, and is, a football town. Kids start playing just after they’re conceived. Our high school teams became dominant in the 70’s and 80’s. Ironton High School still does not have a soccer team. You have to enroll your child as a student at Ironton St. Joseph if you want him to kick a round ball.
But Ironton is the exception, the one who has been slow coming to the dance! They have been resistant to the transition from what was to what is. To change would mean learning a whole new sports language.
Football dads still bring the mindset that any kick or punt needs to be launched into space, the longer the better! You’ll hear a football dad yelling “Kick it! Kick it!”, and then shouting in celebration when the soccer ball is booted down the field…even though it’s kicked to someone from the other team. With football dads distance is over-valued.
Ironton usually used a tight offensive formation. Power football over the guards. Soccer is about spacing and anticipation, weird concepts for an Ohio culture that grew up with the Woody Hayes’ philosophy of “three yards and a cloud of dust”!
At our six year old granddaughter’s soccer game this morning I heard a couple of dads talking about game situations. One had been a soccer dad for about a year and the other was making his rookie dad debut at a soccer field. Several times I heard the soccer dad begin a statement with the words “That means…”, and then explain the unfamiliar concepts to this new parent in a foreign land.
To be fair, Americans football is still more ingrained in our culture than soccer. No one gets together at Buffalo Wild Wings for Fantasy Soccer Draft Night, but BWW sells a lot of wings to people who gather there for Fantasy Football Draft Night. In fact, they even have a draft kit for each fantasy league commissioner. Yesterday at the middle school where I coach it was “Favorite Team Day”. Students could wear the hat or jersey of their favorite team. I think I saw about…two soccer jerseys, both of teams in the English Premier League, and about a gazillion professional football jerseys!
Football is ingrained in us and, therefore, I expect to hear more statements at the soccer fields in the coming week like “That was out of the end zone!” and “Why aren’t they huddling?”
You’ve just got to be patient sometimes and bring some football dads along slowly.
Categories: children, coaching, Community, Grandchildren, Humor, Nation, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: Buffalo Wild Wings, coaching soccer, English Premier League, fantasy football, Football, football coach, football dads, football players, football terminology, Ironton, Ironton football, kicking, punting, soccer, soccer dads, soccer moms, soccer parents, watching soccer
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September 6, 2017
WORDS FROM W.W. September 6, 2017
I’m heading towards my second “experience” teaching Kindergarten Physical Education. The teacher who usually presides over the flocks took a European vacation for a couple of weeks…but promised to come back!
Six thirty minute classes…twenty students in each class! After a while I realized I was the student and they were the teachers. Here’s what I learned:
Do not ask kindergarteners if they have any questions!
ME: Are there any questions? Yes, Ella!
ELLA: Ahh…I…ahhh….my brother goes to school here.
ME: Great! Other questions? Yes, Sam!
SAM: My mom gave me a snack this morning to bring to school and it’s in my backpack in the classroom. Do you want to know what it is? (Suddenly the question asking has been subtly reversed and I’m the one asking!)
ME: Sure!
SAM: Graham crackers!
ME: Great!
I now notice that there are about fifteen hands in the air that want to ask me questions that aren’t really questions.
LEARNING: Kindergarteners don’t know what a question is yet!!!
I led them to the great outdoors…of the turf football field! The turf field that has all those little pieces of rubber that get into your shoes…those little pieces of rubber that a kindergartener realizes can be picked up and tossed at his neighbor!
We played a game where two students were the taggers. That’s when I learned a second thing!
Kindergarteners feel that it is an injustice if everyone doesn’t get a turn to be it!
“But I haven’t been it yet!”
“Yes, I know! But most everyone else hasn’t had a turn to be it either, and it’s time to go back in!”
“But that’s not fair!” It is at this point that I can present this child with a dose of reality and say, “Life’s not always fair! Deal with it! Suck it up, buttercup!” OR I can defer!
“We’ll play this next week and you’ll be the first one to be the tagger, okay?”
“Okay!”
LEARNING: With kindergarteners always defer and hope they forget!
And after today maybe, just maybe, they’ll forget me! However, they know my last name is Wolfe, and have already learned to howl when they see me. That is not easily forgotten!
Categories: children, coaching, Freedom, Grandchildren, Humor, Parenting, Story, Teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth
Tags: five year olds, kids, kids' play time, Kindergarten, kindergarten physical education, learning as a teacher, physical education, teaching children
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Words from WW Blog 