Johnny "Football"

Well....if you are a sports watcher like my family then you couldn't help but notice the trouble Johnny Manziel - quarterback for Texas A&M - got himself in to.  If you are reading my blog then you probably already know what I am about to say but I'll say it any way :)

In a sense, I agree with the fact that he's just a kid, won't be perfect and shouldn't necessarily have to live up to the standards other people put on him....HOWEVER, as a coach I believe he has to know that there are eyes everywhere watching him!  Some little boy, in some small Texas town like the one he came from is watching him, mimicking him wanting to be him.  And whether he likes it or not, because of what he does and who he does it for, there are little boys everywhere, not just in Texas,  that look at him, see him, read about him and want to be JUST LIKE HIM.  What you do, athlete or not, is a direct reflection on you, your family and any organization you are associated with.  Even to the girls I coach (not near the same caliber as Texas A&M) I stress the importance of what they do off the court is just as important as what they do on.  And if it is negative it reflects negatively on me as a coach, on our team and on our school and on their own families.  This can be anything from how they talk, how they dress, where they go and who they hang out with.  

I disagree with the fact that he's said I'm just 20 doing what every other college student is doing. WRONG! Some athletes are so goal focused knowing that any of that stuff (drinking, clubbing, etc) could and probably will be detrimental to what they hope to accomplish!  The fact is, if he was drinking then it was wrong anyway because he's not 21, so technically it would be illegal.  

Charles Barkely once said, "I'm not a role model...Just becasue I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."  And I've heard people say this now, in this case.  However, someone needs to guide this young man, lead him and show him the positive way to influence the people in his realm....and his realm is quite larger than most.  Someone please step in and be this kids mentor! I admire the Alabama quaterback for his comments on the whole situation.

Our time here on Earth is so short and even shorter will be Manziel's football career - even if he does go far.  Is this really how he wants to be remembered...as the quarterback who won the Heisman, had so much potential but couldn't handle the limelight or wasn't a positive role model for young people?  (or just did't care :/.....)

Updates:

Summer is quickly coming to an end and we have had lots of changes around here.  In May, after much thought and prayer, David and I decided insurance was not the route for us nor the one God wanted for us.  Don't get me wrong - he was GREAT at it and enjoyed helping people BUT he really felt God tugging at his heart to get back to coaching and mentoring kids.  So with all of that, the job search began.  We tried Avinger first because we KNEW we wanted to be at the same school.  That didn't work out- they didn't have openings and if they did David would have had to coach for free.  Two places popped into mind....Chapel Hill and New Diana.  On a whim, I sent resumes to both.  Within a week, both schools posted openings that fit us to a tee!  By God's timing and planning, Chapel Hill is where we will be next year.....again.....but this time as an entire family!  David is the head girls basketball & track coach as well as the girls coordinator and I am coaching freshmen vball, bball and track. I will be teaching English and he will have PE and athletics for the girls. WE ARE SO EXCITED!  The more David has gotten involved with the staff and kids, he truly has a peace about this is where we are supposed to be!  Our kids loved it the year we were there and I made some really good friends at the high school.  God's timing is perfect and his ways are better than mine!

A few other big news items....

This one got baptized....

This one got accepted into the GT program.....

And this one turned 8!!!

They are growing up WAY to fast but I am so thankful that I get to be their mama!  

One other big news item- David and I celebrate 15 years of marriage in a couple of weeks!  

Hope all is good with everyone - you'll be seeing more of me on here... :)  hope you join me!

Greatness

There has been a tv commercial running lately that I have really liked.  The coach in me actually paused it, rewound it and wrote down exactly what it said.  It is RG3's commercial about greatness.  The opening line goes something like this "Greatness is not given, it's taken..."  At first, I was like that is so dead on.  The coach in me thinks how true, that no body is going to give you anything - you have to work to achieve any and every goal that you have. 

While that may be true...I really began thinking about what it said ...I now believe this statement could not be more wrong. Greatness is given...God given.  Any and every talent a man or woman has is a gift GIVEN from God.  I could go out everyday and do RG3's workout and I would never be as good as RG3.  

Also, sometimes, success is all about being in the right place at the right time.  That's God's hand on your life.   I know for a fact I would not have played college ball had I not played AAU.   Right place...right time.   

Third, to have a desire to work hard or be the best comes from somewhere.  Whether its self-motivation or an outside factor - it comes from somewhere...something somewhere inspired you...given not taken.  

Not sure what prompted this but thought I would share :)  

What would James Naismith think?

I found this on my computer - something I wrote a while back - a good reminder for the upcoming season...

From a simple game created out of peach baskets to give his students something to do in the winter months to total humiliation and embarrassment of another team.  Where did it, or better yet, where did we go wrong?  At what point did it become acceptable to teach young people that beating and annillating another team 100 to 0 was honorable and something to be proud of?  Now don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe in winning, but at what cost?  If it’s just a game than why keep score, right?  Again, at what cost?  The beauty of it all is that it actually is more than “just a game.”  Being a coach is more than just winning and losing!  Being a coach is being a teacher of “life lessons”.  I pride myself in teaching my athletes that hard work does pay off, that you do have to be accountable for you actions, that you have to put others before yourself and that a team is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal.  I cannot fathom the idea that a team’s common goal is to humiliate another team, no matter how bad or terrible they are at a particular sport. What good comes from that?  What lessons are learned?  How is that helping these children prepare for life?  I have been on both ends of the spectrum, and now being a small bit wiser; see how it truly affects people.  And after all, that’s all we’re dealing with - people.  That’s why we do what we do – because we love people.  I heard a coach recently defend himself of his actions like these (beating a team 40 to 4 in the second quarter and still full court pressing) by saying “it’s just what we do!”  I’d hate to be there when he gets his – because what goes around comes around.  And somewhere, someday – he will get his.  I am a firm believer in that we will all have to answer for the things we’ve done.  Maybe not to anyone that matters in this world but one day to a higher power!  Many times, the students we play against now will one day be coaching against you – do you think they will forget?  I understand that in the grand scheme of things none of it really matters but I just hate to think that this is what we’ve become.  This is what we amount too.  Those peach baskets mean so much more than just putting the ball through more times than the other team.  There are valuable lessons to be taught and learned.  Humiliation and embarrassment are not what James Naismith had in mind.    

Starts and Ends...

Our move to Avinger has been a little frustrating...not in the school, but in the response we get from people when they find out where I am teaching and that my kids go to school there.  I really don't like the looks people give me and its starting to annoy :)...

Avinger is tiny...120 kids in the entire school...my class sizes are 12, 9 and 7 and I love it!  It is so manageable and they get all my attention, as opposed to having 22 in class and only dealing with the toots.  My kids are doing work that is challenging and they are in a small school environment where I can walk down the hallway or into the gym and I get to see them...EVERYDAY!  The people are friendly and accepting.  Yes, they are behind the times a little but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing (watch today's media or entertainment and you'll know what I am talking about).

When people judge or make faces it makes me more determined to put that school on the map!  Kind of like when I had certain teachers in high school ask me why I was in an honors class...I so want to prove people wrong...I'm sure that comes from my father :)

David and I STRONGLY believe education starts and ends at home.   Even as a teacher, I can't teach every kid everything they need to know in the 45 minutes I have them.  Parents have to help some too and that's what we do.  Our kids will be smart because of:
1. what God has blessed them with
2.  what we talk about, watch and listen to
3. what we expose them to (travel, etc)
4. what our expectations of them are (not going to college is not an option..even if they were to be drafted by a profession team of some sort, college would still be on the list for them)

I've seen kids at the "best" schools who are idiots (in more than one way) and I've seen kids come out of not so great schools who end up being neurosurgeons...so you tell me - where do they get it?

I have never made a single decision about where me or my kids would go to school without prayer.  God has been faithful in guiding us each and every step and we don't regret a single place we have been to.  We have made not just friends but family in these schools and lasting memories.  Is it hard sometimes to start over..yes of course...but we adjust and adjust well.

So, if you are reading this and you have made a face - please know that I noticed and that I am asking you to please not judge us any more.  We like Avinger!  We plan to stay at Avinger for a while!  We plan to put Avinger back on the map!

If you are reading this and you haven't judged, than thank you!

Have a great week!  God is good...all the time!

Snakes in the building

This week was a first for me.  As my class and I were  coming back from the library, we stumbled upon a guest in our school that did not belong...a snake.  He was headed into MY CLASSROOM!  A student accidentally kicked it and that's how we discovered it.  Well, needless to say, we were on a mission to get rid of it.  I got the teacher across the hall out of her room and then we decided the AG teacher would be the best person for the job, seeing as how he has tools and such.  One of my students ran, and I mean ran, to get him.  We kept the snake corralled while we waited.  And then here he came, Mr. Watson, with shovel in hand.  He ever so gently and calmly began scooping the snake towards the door.  He wasn't trying to kill it or hurt it just get it out.  Well, when we got to the door, the snake did not want to go outside (I guess bc it is so hot) and he started to put up a fight.  Mr. Watson had to do the inevitable....kill that snake, chopped it right in half.  That was a beautiful moment for me because I HATE SNAKES!  The entire time he was scooping it I was whispering in his ear, kill it, just kill it, kill it please.

The next day, the kids found two more in the surrounding buildings.  Luckily, I was not near them nor did I see them.  The beauty of working in a small country school.

Anyway, this got me thinking.  This is kind of like our lives.  The snake enters, tries to go un-noticed.  Once we realize he's there we try to shoo him away, taking baby steps to eliminate the problem.  But you know what...sometimes....you just have to cut that snake in half and kill it!

I've recently learned, not that I didn't already know - but I guess just assumed it would happen to other people - not my family - you all know that feeling - that Satan will attack in ways you never thought possible.  Be prepared...all the time...shovel in hand!

     This week, we finished our first week at a new school...again.  Hopefully...this is the last time.  I know I have probably confused some people or let them down (especially my family) about the fact that I decided to get back into coaching.  The reason I got out was to be with my kids more - however, this past year didn't quite play out like I thought.  I taught high school English at a 2A, had 120 students and 3 preps.  EVERY Sunday was spent grading essays or preparing lesson plans.  Not coaching was taking up just as much time as when I did coach.  Another factor in my decision was the fact that I did not get to have the same kind of connections with students like I did when I was coaching.  I believe we all have gifts/talents and I definitely feel mine is having those connections to hopefully inspire or change young girls in a positive way.  I'm not saying that every athlete I ever had liked me or looked up to me, but I know this - coaching and teaching - is what I am supposed to be doing.  I get to see my own kiddos at random times during the day which I love!  They are so excited about being coach's kids again (however I must admit that James Bowie spoiled us by giving them pretty much whatever they wanted from the concession stand during bball season so now they are expecting that again :O)  As parents, David and I did not anticipate how much it would affect our kids not being coach's kids.  We didn't think about the fact that having that title was all they had ever known.  They were used to having instant friends and having people know who you are.  So last year was an adjustment for them - not sure if it was a positive one.
     We have moved to a small 1A Division 2 (which is like the smallest of the small) and so far...we love it.  The only sports they have are cross country, BASKETBALL, tennis, golf and track.  For a family of basketball junkies it is perfect.  I have 12 girls in junior high athletics and 12 girls in high school athletics. B has 11 kids in his grade (not class but GRADE), K has 8 or 9 and R has 11.  They are getting great one on one attention and have already brought home some challenging homework assignments.  I am teaching 7th and 8th grade reading and writing.  The 7th grade has 7 students and the 8th grade has 9.  It has been great!
     David is super busy selling insurance!  He is on the road a lot, which is good because it means he is meeting new people which he loves doing.  They doubled the size of their office this summer so they are growing the business which is great.  I, under the persuasion of the above named insurance seller, got my  insurance license as well.  I have no interest in selling - EVER - but thought it was a good idea so that I could help (in the summer) if need be.  I hope the need never be :)
     A lot happened at the end of the year and this summer.  1. B competed in a group called Destination Imagination.  We weren't sure what it was, went to a competition in Dallas, place 2 and advanced to the state level in Corpus Christi.  Well...we won there and advanced to the Global level in Tennessee.  It was wild!  They competed against kids from 17 different countries and like 150,000 students.  THEY PLACED THIRD OVERALL.  It was so cool and such a great experience for him.  With that being said, I am also the GT teacher at Avinger and will begin the Destination Imagination adventure with those kids - so excited!
     The kids all did great in school - all A's, all six weeks! So proud of them!  We traveled to Branson, MO and loved it. It was so family and God and country oriented!  Definitely want to go back.
     We got a new niece this summer and are expecting another nephew in December (Stephanie had baby #6 and Keith and Mer are execting #2).
     I will try to update  more regularly (not as good as older sis #1, baby sis is like me and never posts and sister #2 just started a blog so we'll see how hers goes!)  Super excited about this year and everything God has in store for us.