Thursday, September 25, 2003

MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID I FELL IN LOVE TOO EASILY

The way my mother looked at me when I talked about a girl always told me exactly what she thought about said female. She did not need to meet them to know them. My father just wanted to know what their fathers did for a living.

One of my worst habits as well as a recurring mistake I make as coach is that I fall in love with my players. I think I am not the only coach that does this. Being in love can often make the truth invisible, however. This can make things complicated for hyper-sensitive me. Many players are capable of having great "moments". All players are also capable of having bad days or an injury or whatever. I need very much to PAY ATTENTION. Be here now, and all that. I must be true to my mantra, "If you build IT, they will come".

While thinking about hopes and expectations for a season to come, I at times overlook certain crucial aspects of "reality". I’m working on it, but at 51 it is getting to be about time that I quit doing the same thing over and over, while expecting the outcome to be different. This is pretty much basic Tony Robbins 101 stuff.

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID or KISS ME, YOU IDIOT

One of the best personal parts about coaching CSU lacrosse last year was that I tried not to put individual expectations on anyone, except perhaps for Mark Plonkey. With him, though, that’s how you push the button. I would be not using him correctly if I did not attempt to "put more" on him. At the same time I need reins for him at times, too. He is a maniac. The brink is never far away from the brilliance, and I need to work hard on that.

This coaching thing is not exactly easy you know, especially with constantly high expectations and no real money to do the extravagant kind of things that we have to do in order to compete.

Anyway, I started projecting little things in my mind over the summer. These things were possibility at best, and no more than that. As I said in my last entry, I was ignorantly prepared to pick up where we left off last May. I see now that we are so NOT that team. This one must build a whole new identity before we can even call ourselves an actual team. It’s not the players’ fault we are where we are. It is clearly mine. They deserve better coaching.

POP QUIZ

Things eventually sort of came together last week so we could get some kind of a game. We had a scrimmage this past Sunday. I could not get refs to Fort Collins, so I donned the striped shirt. Great! I was the Lone Ref, and my team of 50 guys is standing over there without a coach at all. This was far from my dream scenario. We did have a startlingly large crowd of spectators. I was somewhat embarrassed all in all.

We faced off against a pretty good opponent. They were hardly a team, but they were certainly a group of pretty good lacrosse players, all post-collegiate stars. We won something like 12-9. I was not happy for many reasons. We practice every day. Half of the other team had probably never seen one another before. This is always a tad discouraging for me, the TEAM coach.

The "Spot" team led quickly. I think it was tied at 4 by halftime. We started to play better in the third quarter, and the "Clubbers" eventually ran out of gas, but this was hardly the Débutante Ball I had hoped for to showcase this young team.

We were playing Helter Skelter. We were undisciplined and we looked as though we had never been coached as a team. We looked skilled then sloppy. Regular Club stuff. We also did not fight in a way that I guess I have come to automatically expect. It was semi-depressing. That’s what we do. We fight. We never quit. Blah, blah, blah.

NEW HOPE

Then, I woke up Monday, and I knew that we are still at the beginning, and with new there is always hope. I "came of age" in a town called New Hope (Pennsylvania). I always loved the name, and I will always search for its lights on the horizon.

THE BOSS

I have never seen Bruce Springsteen live. I'm not sure I ever wanted to before. Now I feel like I HAVE to go. He was my inspiration in St. Louis last May. I probably haven’t been to this kind of a concert for 20 years, but I’m going with 50,000 others tonight.

I HATE MEETINGS AND UTAH DOESN’T DO THAT MUCH FOR ME EITHER

I have to go to SLC, Utah for league meetings tomorrow and Saturday. For me, this is pretty much like going to get my wisdom teeth taken out, but then they don’t give you the pain killers afterward.

Sunday, right after I get back home, we play a completely re-energized alumni team, one with dreams of kicking our youthful butts (many alums were there last Sunday). September is way too early for me to be this concerned about a game, especially one with the alumni. Oh well, at least it’s fresh and it pumps my blood.

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