Coach

Coach: You need to do a better job of getting to the field on time before the game.
Player: Not me. I'm always early.
Coach: I was referring to the collective "you."
Player: Why didn't you just say "Ya'll"?

Tournament Weekend Recap

The U-18 team I coach successfully won its first tournament that we competed in this fall. This is a big milestone for us since we just bumped up one competitive level and picked up a bunch of new players. Being able to start out with a success like this one is a great tone to set for what is left of the fall season and in preparation for the state cup in the spring. The weekend definitely had its ups and downs though. We had to come back in two of our 4 games. In fact, in the final, we were down 2-0 and then came back to tie it up 2-2 in the second half. We ended up winning the game on penalty kicks. Obviously, being able to pick ourselves up after being down 2 goals is one of the "ups." That kind of character is what you look for as a coach.

I need to figure out my defense. Historically, we are a team that is very stingy on giving up goals. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment and I am not sure if that is simply because we are playing a higher level of competition or if some sort of adjustment needs to be made. I'll be working on it as soon as we hit the practice field again.

I gave the guys Tuesday off and am camped out at the airport at 4:30 this morning on my way to DC for a couple of days. Our next tournament is a local Lafayette one and I think it will prove to be extremely difficult.

The Avett Brothers - Murder In The City

I picked a slightly more upbeat Avett Brothers tune for the latest mix (she looks back, you look back). This one almost made the playlist. After seeing this video, I like this one even more. Makes me think of my brothers and father. Great tune.

she looks back, you look back

1. Give ‘em Hell – Hearts of Palm
2. Buttons – The Weeks
3. High Heeled Stomp – The Figs
4. Where & When – Hayden
5. Okay – KaiserCartel
6. Stuck for the Summer – Two Hours Traffic
7. Second Chance – Liam Finn
8. Swept Away - The Avett Brothers
9. No Water – Hearts of Palm
10. Heima (Studio Version ) - Sigur Rós
11. Rocky Took A Lover – BellX1
12. Your Love Is Strong – Jon Foreman
13. 5 Years Time – Noah and the Whale
14. Modern Mystery - Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
15. Soft Rock Star – Metric
16. Jezebel – Two Hours Traffic
17. Jigsaw Falling Into Place – Radiohead
18. Omaha - Tapes 'n Tapes
19. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River
20. Caroline - Old Crow Medicine Show
21. Compacto - Curumin

Better late than never, it's been a crazy long month with some high highs and low lows. Know a friend who might want one? Shoot me an email. Share the mix.

Do people in Alaska really talk like that?

Ugh. Maybe I just don't like the accent. Am I supposed to be impressed by politicians talking down to me?

Front Door

I've taken to letting Jozy out the side and front doors to see if she can catch the squirrels in our back yard. So far, she misses them by a little less than a foot - which must be around only a couple hundreds of a second.

Black Out

I've passed out (or almost passed out) 3 times in my life:

1. At my confirmation in 7th grade I was convinced that God would deem me unworthy during the critical part of the ceremony. When the "laying on of hands" occurred, I was sure that was the moment when judgment would occur. Sure enough, the next thing I remember was being outside and someone giving me water. Talk about a guilt complex.

2. A Jewish friend of mine died when I was a teenager. The funeral included a ceremonial rite that had the participants, myself included, fill the grave at the end of the ceremony. For anyone who has not experienced this, it basically consists of contributing one shovel full to the grave. This caught me completely off guard, was followed by me imagining my friend being buried alive, and then I was out.

3. This past week - I was at a walk in clinic for my wife, who had a really high fever (she is better now). At some point, the doctor was showing her x-rays of her chest to show that everything looked ok. For some reason, similar to people's reaction to the sight of blood, I started to pass out. In the end, I did not, but it was damn close! Not sure what it was. I hadn't eaten any real food that day and I've been exhausted as of late...so maybe it was just the combined factors. Who knows. Funny thing though.