I love this time of year. It's the time when everyone starts being a little nicer, the weather is toned down, and fall colors are starting to creep in (commercially, and naturally). This is also the time of year when pumpkins are once again lifted onto a pedestal, and everything from ale to ziti is pumpkin flavored. It's a beautiful thing. I've been busy with work, and spending time with dear friends.
I've had a few people ask me how I manage it all, and I just can't help but think, "You make time for things that matter to you....God didn't make a mistake in putting 24 hours in a day. That's plenty of time to do all the things HE wants you to do...but maybe not everything you want to do." I've got 4 jobs, and a decent social life. I'm happy, somewhat healthy, and most importantly, I haven't missed a meal. Anywho, I'm excited about coaching a little league basketball team for the next 6 weeks. As some of my long time readers will remember, I learned quite a bit from coaching the soccer team. Let's hope I can say the same of my basketball babies. Just get ready to laugh, I'm sure stories will be coming soon!
My progress towards transitioning from pants to skirts/dresses is going, but not as quickly as maybe I'd like sometimes. I have noticed that I'll immediately go look through skirts/dresses in the store rather than look through pants. I can't help but wonder sometimes why women who like to be fashionable even bother with pants. Honestly, there's only so much you can do with pants. Skirts/dresses, on the other hand, are almost limitless in their possibilities. From fabrics, to cuts to styles, they are just way more user friendly.
I have more to chit-chat about, but I'll just have to save that for another post. Until then, my dearies....God bless.
Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
You just gotta laugh
Written 4/21/08
Saturday's game was...*sigh* full of passion, prayer, positivity. All 3 came from me. I think if the league season lasted a few more weeks, people would start coming to the games just to watch ME. I'm all over the place on the sidelines. I run just as much as the kids. I'm the kind of coach that runs up and down the sidelines as my team runs up and down the field. I'm the kind of coach that jumps up and down yipping not unlike a little dog. I'm the kind of coach that's as close to the white line as possible yelling/screaming/cheering until they practically pass out. Mind you, I'm not yelling out anything mean to the babies...it's all encouragement/directional stuff. It's just loud and frequent. They tune me out, though.
Now for the prayer. I'm quick to call upon the help of the Lord every time the other team is in our goal box...or we're in theirs. Lots of wrestling with major theological issues such as, "WHY!? WHY!? DIDN'T IT GO IN?" (predestination...it apparently wasn't meant to go in), and classics like, "WHY DID HE DO THAT, OH PLEASE TELL ME WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!?????????", "PLEASE LET HIM STOP THE BALL, O, PLEASE PLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE, LET THE BOY STOP THE BALL!!!!!"
You'd think with all the things I've said there would be no positivity here, but there is! I am positive each game ages me by about 50 years.
Anywho, here is a funny moment from the game:
So we had one sub, and he was sitting on the bench the last I'd checked on him. The other coach and I were standing on the sideline watching the game and doing some of the aforementioned encouraging/directing. Suddenly the ref blows his whistle and motions both teams to set up for a penalty kick (PK). Someone on my team had done something. A handball in the goalie box. I looked to see who'd committed such a HORRIBLE crime (we've dedicated several minutes talking about not touching the ball with our hands). Apparently the child that was supposed to be on the bench had gotten so impassioned/fired up watching the game that he'd left the bench, run onto the field, and picked up the ball because it was very close to our goal and he wanted to help our team. At first the other coach and I said, "No hands! You're not supposed to....wait...WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FIELD!!??? COME OVER HERE AND SIT BACK DOWN!!"
Saturday's game was...*sigh* full of passion, prayer, positivity. All 3 came from me. I think if the league season lasted a few more weeks, people would start coming to the games just to watch ME. I'm all over the place on the sidelines. I run just as much as the kids. I'm the kind of coach that runs up and down the sidelines as my team runs up and down the field. I'm the kind of coach that jumps up and down yipping not unlike a little dog. I'm the kind of coach that's as close to the white line as possible yelling/screaming/cheering until they practically pass out. Mind you, I'm not yelling out anything mean to the babies...it's all encouragement/directional stuff. It's just loud and frequent. They tune me out, though.
Now for the prayer. I'm quick to call upon the help of the Lord every time the other team is in our goal box...or we're in theirs. Lots of wrestling with major theological issues such as, "WHY!? WHY!? DIDN'T IT GO IN?" (predestination...it apparently wasn't meant to go in), and classics like, "WHY DID HE DO THAT, OH PLEASE TELL ME WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!?????????", "PLEASE LET HIM STOP THE BALL, O, PLEASE PLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE, LET THE BOY STOP THE BALL!!!!!"
You'd think with all the things I've said there would be no positivity here, but there is! I am positive each game ages me by about 50 years.
Anywho, here is a funny moment from the game:
So we had one sub, and he was sitting on the bench the last I'd checked on him. The other coach and I were standing on the sideline watching the game and doing some of the aforementioned encouraging/directing. Suddenly the ref blows his whistle and motions both teams to set up for a penalty kick (PK). Someone on my team had done something. A handball in the goalie box. I looked to see who'd committed such a HORRIBLE crime (we've dedicated several minutes talking about not touching the ball with our hands). Apparently the child that was supposed to be on the bench had gotten so impassioned/fired up watching the game that he'd left the bench, run onto the field, and picked up the ball because it was very close to our goal and he wanted to help our team. At first the other coach and I said, "No hands! You're not supposed to....wait...WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FIELD!!??? COME OVER HERE AND SIT BACK DOWN!!"
Bye Bye Baby
Written 5/3/08
Today was the last day of our little league soccer season. You gotta give it to my babies...they've been very consistent. We lost 4-0. The highlight of the game was when our goalie dove for a ball, and when it bounced off him, he crawled about 7 feet to get it. It was a hardcore we're-in-the-army-now kind of crawl. The ball was still in bounds, but his teammates and the other team were so fascinated by the site of his passionate pursuit of the ball, that they didn't go after it, but just stood and watched him.
We had the cookout and awards ceremony in the afternoon. After the ceremony, I hung out for a bit then decided to go. I found a few of my kiddos sitting w/their fams and walked over to say my goodbyes. As I was hugging them for the last time, it hit me how much I hate that part of ministry. I hate not seeing where the children I work with will be years from now. I hate not knowing the end of the story. I hate the idea that I may or may not get to see them in heaven one day. I want to see what they're like when they're adults...how they treat their own children. Anyway, I said goodbye to the boys (who were surprisingly sad...didn't expect them to be as sad as they were).
I went to say goodbye to one of the girls, and I knew it would be hard. She's the child who made me question everything in my life mentioned in one of the previous post. She looked up at me with misty eyes, and said "I'm really gonna miss you Coach Jen." I got a tiny bit misty eyed; it was like one of those scenes in movies where the adult says something like "Look deep in your heart, little one, I am always with you. " or something like that. I'm horrible with goodbyes. I always get too choked up to actually say anything. I wanted to share some last words of encouragement and comfort, but instead I said, "I know....I'll miss you too." and hurried off before I actually did cry.
So yeah, that's over. I'm considering helping with the basketball team in the fall. We'll see. I can't help but wonder why I work with children, and it hit me when I walked over to where some kids were playing today, and one of my babies was there. When he turned and saw me, his face lit up and he ran over saying "Coach Jen! Coach Jen!" and proceeded to dive into my arms. As we were walking to were the rest of the team was, he reached up and grabbed my hand...one of the sweetest moments in my life. It wasn't the first time he's done something like that...he did it during practice all the time, but at that moment when I was tired from trying to coral kids in an inflatable obstacle course and feeling frustrated...that was just what I needed.
Today was the last day of our little league soccer season. You gotta give it to my babies...they've been very consistent. We lost 4-0. The highlight of the game was when our goalie dove for a ball, and when it bounced off him, he crawled about 7 feet to get it. It was a hardcore we're-in-the-army-now kind of crawl. The ball was still in bounds, but his teammates and the other team were so fascinated by the site of his passionate pursuit of the ball, that they didn't go after it, but just stood and watched him.
We had the cookout and awards ceremony in the afternoon. After the ceremony, I hung out for a bit then decided to go. I found a few of my kiddos sitting w/their fams and walked over to say my goodbyes. As I was hugging them for the last time, it hit me how much I hate that part of ministry. I hate not seeing where the children I work with will be years from now. I hate not knowing the end of the story. I hate the idea that I may or may not get to see them in heaven one day. I want to see what they're like when they're adults...how they treat their own children. Anyway, I said goodbye to the boys (who were surprisingly sad...didn't expect them to be as sad as they were).
I went to say goodbye to one of the girls, and I knew it would be hard. She's the child who made me question everything in my life mentioned in one of the previous post. She looked up at me with misty eyes, and said "I'm really gonna miss you Coach Jen." I got a tiny bit misty eyed; it was like one of those scenes in movies where the adult says something like "Look deep in your heart, little one, I am always with you. " or something like that. I'm horrible with goodbyes. I always get too choked up to actually say anything. I wanted to share some last words of encouragement and comfort, but instead I said, "I know....I'll miss you too." and hurried off before I actually did cry.
So yeah, that's over. I'm considering helping with the basketball team in the fall. We'll see. I can't help but wonder why I work with children, and it hit me when I walked over to where some kids were playing today, and one of my babies was there. When he turned and saw me, his face lit up and he ran over saying "Coach Jen! Coach Jen!" and proceeded to dive into my arms. As we were walking to were the rest of the team was, he reached up and grabbed my hand...one of the sweetest moments in my life. It wasn't the first time he's done something like that...he did it during practice all the time, but at that moment when I was tired from trying to coral kids in an inflatable obstacle course and feeling frustrated...that was just what I needed.
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