basketball, broken arms, and multiculturalism!

Hello again, blogfan!

Well, another busy week in the books! My 7th graders came on strong again this week and took a lopsided 64 - 31 victory over another team that I've never been able to beat! Looks like it's going yo be a good year! I told them Thursday that putting that kind of whooping on someone has pluses and minuses. The big plus is that teams in the district see the same scores we see and it adds a little fear factor to us walking in the gym. The big minus is that other teams see the same scores we see and it puts a big bulls eye on us! Oh well; I'd rather be where we are than where they are!

I told one of the parents the other day (who was bubbling because of our early-season success) that I've coached this bunch pretty much the same way I've coached every other team I've ever had. The difference with this bunch is that they're actually going out and executing the things we've worked on!

You can go from idiot to genius in about two nanoseconds in this business! Coaches with good athletes are geniuses by and large and the ones without them are idiots (or so it would seem!).

This Wednesday we have our first home game. The team we play is one that is always tough but I've managed to get wins over two of the last three years. Their coach is pretty well schooled in the game and always has his teams prepared for us. I say we've beat them two of the last three years; we've beat them in the tournament at the end of the year despite losing our regular-season game against them. This year I'd like to get the regular-season game and let the tournament take care of itself!

It's a strange year so far! 5 of the ten teams in the district are undefeated at 2-0 and 5 do not have a victory! STRANGE!!! I'm glad to be one of the teams at 2-0! It's hard getting motivated when you know your season is already over with only two games in the can!

Toward the end of our game this week, a kid from the other team fell down and broke his arm. From all appearances, both the radius and the ulna were pretty much snapped in two, though the skin was not broken. Despite that, there was MAJOR deformation (it was UGLY!!!) and naturally, a lot of pain! Having been trained for 15+ years as an EMT in my former career, I went to see if I could help and wound up doing the splinting. The young man was able to hold the clipboard (all they could find for a splint was a clipboard) without a sling, so we tucked it under his arm and off to the ER he went (mom was at the game, thank goodness!!!). Thursday, I sent an e-mail to the opposing coach and asked him how the young man was doing. The coach e'd back that he was set to either have surgery or get the bone set that day and that the ER doctor was very pleased with the job I'd done with the splint. He also passed along gratitude from the mother who was very happy that her son had been efficiently and professionally taken care of in his time of need. Then the phone started ringing; the 7th-grade AP called and left a message with a voice mail from the mom in question attached. She had called my school and left a very nice message praising the work I'd done on her son. THEN the school principal called and enclosed the same message! THEN I got down to the coaches office and our AD played it for me AGAIN!!! WOW!!! It's nice to be appreciated!

Meanwhile, I hope the young man is doing okay; he did not cry during the whole ordeal despite what must have been excruciating pain and he exhibited a great deal of courage!

My thoughts on multiculturalism probably ought to go on a whole new entry, but here's the gist of it; pride in America is waning because we have inculcated in our youth that what we honor is NOT the country that allows us the freedom to celebrate our cultural differences, but the country from which those traditions arose. Put simply, we need to make sure our young people realize a few things; America is the greatest country ever to grace planet Earth! The constitution of this country allows people to be different while still being Americans! That said, if you live here, if you draw your sustenance here, if you make your living here, you need to honor and pay tribute to the country that allows you the freedoms you enjoy! Try NOT honoring China in China! Go to Mexico and tell them that America is WAY better than Mexico and see what happens to you! Have pride in your heritage, but realize that you're an American now and America is the country that needs and DESERVES all of your allegiance and pride both now and in the future!