I wrote this two weeks ago. Somehow I f#$@ ed it up. So here it is.
We have been working hard in the hot sun with the senior football team at the high school I teach at. We have had seven practices this week. One more tomorrow and then its the long weekend. Three full days off. They need it and so do I.
We have a great group of coaches and the kids we have are making progress. Not enough of them came out for the team, but that’s a problem all youth sports are having. The social media and video game plague has reduced participation in all kinds of things from sports, to homework, to dating, to smoking, even sex and drugs. Weird. All we can do is work with what we have and try to encourage these young guys to be, instead of seeming to be. (A phrase I really like.)
We are going to Detroit next week to play a non-conference game against a US high school at Wayne State Stadium. We played them last year and they handled us pretty easily, as expected. There is no comparison between the two programs really, but their coaches understand, and we get their second and third stringers most of the game. The level of excellence young men can achieve is what we want our guys to see. That and the competitive edge they play with. They come right at you, little school from Canada or not. When the Yanks want to be good at something, they are good. (Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix are all US companies obviously) And the pageantry piece is kind of cool as well, with the band and the cheerleaders and the boosters and the stadium full of fans. We don’t get that experience very often and we can't wait.
Reading this right now: The Professional: A Spenser novel by Robert Parker
Listening to this song a lot right now: I Took a Pill in Ibiza (haunting and cool)
A poem I wrote about riding the bike on the county roads
Grey lines into the distance
Riding time and space on a childhood dream
Verdant life in towers and tangles
Dipping, turning, waving
Patiently edging inward