chatter from the Library Monkey

Where have I been

I started this on May 11th, but wrote nothing and didn’t even open it since then and it is early May 15.

The Tigers continue to lose and frustrate me. They are frustrating lots of fans as well

Weird thing happened at baseball practice today, a parent apologized to me. Not 100 percent why he did that, but it was appropriate. I guess he was at the game I was not and had the kids whipping around the bases on a team that they were thumping 20-0. He told me people were getting mad at him and his philosophy was to score as many runs as possible because he knew the pitcher in the last inning would give up 10 runs (not sure he knew how the pitcher would do)

I thought it was a pretty good practice, we worked on scenarios… (If you are playing third base, what do you do if the ball is hit to right field.) There are a couple kids that always know what to do, but never do it. Our best pitcher is like that. Last Friday he was playing third base and a couple times kids stole the base and he didn’t position himself right. I talked to him after the first time; he said he knew what he should do and gave me an excuse why he didn’t do the right thing. The second time he did the wrong thing.

I am glad school is wrapping up. I applied for a job in a K-5 school that is about 40 minutes north of my home town.

Up late, but I had a nap. I skipped my weekly nap, I don’t feel comfortable there.

I should be able to finish up the Joyce Carol Oats book: “After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away”

Gratitude (3)

on the road soon

The Tigers are rolling now second victory over the yankers

Some of the slumping guys are doing quite well — like Gary Sheffield.

Been busy with the baseball team — that won again.… I got a kick out the coach was complaining — mostly about no matter what you do the players complain. It’s a never ending thing. The kid who catches for us wanted to pitch and he was whining about pitching and how he was only going to get pitch one inning because the game was being shortened because of the cold. We had a 14-4 lead, when the whiner got the final out (with runners on first and third) the score was 14-9

I’m off for a day after tomorrow. Going to the SLMS conference..

Gratitude (3)

Coaching the coach

Did another baseball practice — talking to the coach afterwards made me so mad. Not at the coach, but it is yet another thing my school does badly. I asked him about three questions each of them met with a sad answer that showed the unsupportive nature of my school.

When you have a home game (and our season starts at home) you have to give the umpires a voucher to fill out; two new baseballs; and a scorecard with your players on it. The voucher is so the umps can get paid, the balls for the game and the score card is in triplicate so you can give one to the umpire, one to the other team and one to keep. On the score card is your starting lineup, there is space underneath each player for subs and at the bottom is where all the future subs are listed.

No one has told him about any of these. I am not surprised, no one told me about any of these things when I coached softball. The difference, I asked. I asked several times. I had to ask if I could have a team hat — they gave me an old crappy hat. I know because the gym coach told me how he was buying expensive hats for the varsity team (not for the chump softball coach). I asked about what I needed to know several times and each time I got little bits and drabs.

This coach is now one day from his first game and he doesn’t have all the equipment he needs — the team doesn’t have helmets. I don’t know how a team can be prepared to bat if they don’t practice in the equipment they need.

when I coached I asked to have a coach meeting to separate out equipment and no one from the athletic department showed up. I talked to the varsity softball coach and he told me the stuff I had in a bag I could keep, then the varsity girls stole it. And when I caught them doing it and told their coach, nothing was done about it.

What is really bad is how bad the lower level coaches are at my school and seemingly they are receiving no assistance.

The Tigers win their second in a row. The hitting came alive and it all looks good.

Well too scattered

Gratitude (3)

the misery might be over

Kind of sore from volleyball, which is almost over. I need to pump up the ibuprofen.

I offered to help the modified baseball coach to help him, probably a mistake on my part. The guy isn’t a coach, he is a facilitator. He let a couple of the older boys hit the ball which is always a mistake:

I see the same thing happening with the guy in the classroom.

The one thing the kids in my school DON’T need is more chance to be disrespectful — which is what happens when you don’t take control of a team or class

This coach was asking me who I would play in the outfield from what I saw. I felt like I couldn’t really put it in a good prospective. For one thing at the modified level (basically middle school) everyone has to play. For the second thing I was not able to watch the other kids play. This is a coach that believes the outfield is where you put your bad players. To me you put them out there if you want the kid and the team to get hurt

In general the kids were out of control and worse the kids knew they were out of control and enjoy it. The AD’s son is the softball modified coach, I am assuming he is just as bad a coach as the baseball coach…and the Athletic Director instituted a new thing where he reviews the coaches… like to see that review.

Kind of scattered here, but I am tired.

The Tigers win today, sounded like a pretty good game..

Gratitude (3)