Ok, so for every father in the world there has be that moment where you realize your kid/s can do something you can't do. Something that forever had been in your realm of accomplishment, and it's now in there's. Something that you ALWAYS knew you'd be able to do better than your kids.
I'm fortunate. Aundrea and Tristan are still pretty young, I'll wait till T-ball (and probably not much further) to see the almost sure likelihood that one of them "outshines" pops on the diamond. Or simply enroll Aundrea in piano to realize that she'll have more musical ability in her fingers than in my entire body.
For my dad, life has always had many unforgiving moments. However in those moments there have typically been shades of grace. For instance, dad was not a baseball player. So at my age of 11, his age of 37 there wasn't to much pride damaged when his glove was a little low on a high heater that caught him in the face. Nor was there much pride damage at his age of 40 and my brother's age of 17 when on water ski's my brother seemed to be able to absolutely master ski's on one foot or two. Dad eventually was able to relive his child hood and get himself out of the water! Ok, so he did a great deal of boating growing up and we did very little in comparison, but when you hit forty and find there's more surface area around your middle nobody expects a whole lot in the water! Except that perhaps you can float for hours in a pool without the assistance of a life preserver.
I think this last week finally brought dad to his knees about his strengths potentially becoming his kids strengths and that maybe they can do one or two things better than he.
As I said before, dad wasn't a baseball player so there weren't many expectations there. Dad wasn't a basketball player so he needs to just stick with his patented "granny shot". Dad did briefly attempt football but again realized that it wasn't for him. Although I wouldn't say that my athletic prowess wasn't overly inspiring (and Christopher's certainly wasn't), we still knew that there was an easy win in it for us when we took on dad.
There were a few things that dad could absolutely call his own. Tear apart a motor and put it back together- dad. Look at an empty room and see it fully finished off and the steps it takes to get there- dad. Ride a motorcycle- dad.... or is it?
This past week dad thought that motorcycles were still undeniably HIS thing. He chuckled when I told him that on the written test I had missed the most allowable but still managed to squeak by. He belly laughed when I complained about the difficulty of the skills test and my passing even though I missed nine points.
So on Tuesday Dad put his "legacy" on two wheels to the test. First was the written test. Remember, this is the guy that passed all "138" CDL written tests with the efficiency of a Yale Law student taking the bar and asking for a few extra questions "just for fun". The motorcycle test proved to be slightly different for the old guy. Basically it took two rounds! In round one he missed so many the computer laughed at him! On round two he squeaked by so close that the computer recommended that he get a better life insurance policy!
So with testing complete, dad moved outside. Much more confident in his skills. Besides that, two women were administering the test... how hard could it be? On the first of six skill measurements dad did well, so well in fact that you could feel him getting cockier by the second! However all forms of arrogance deflated quickly on round two when he was asked to weave around several cones (I missed 8 points here... BUT I STILL PASSED) Dad on the other hand made it through three of the cones and decided that the last two were to menacing! So he rounded the bike and came back to the start as if to say "I need to give it another shot". Both ladies had the look of being somewhere between bewildered to having just heard the best punch line of the night at a comedy club. The one arrogantly walked over and informed the old man that in his haste to restart the skill he missed 13 points and had subsequently failed the test!
Wow! If you could have seen the poor old guy. He looked like he'd just got hit by a Mack truck! For the next two hours I heard about how the test was rigged and impossible! I've had a joyous time reminding him that I passed it! It's bothered him so much that he has even lost sleep at night trying to strategize how he might be able to pass next time. He's even sought out someone who may have a smaller bike (or a moped) for him to test on. I have responded with a few belly laughs of my own. However, I have also learned (maybe) another important thing... it's best not to poke an angry bear that just lost his pride over a motorcycle skills test!
What dad would look like on a Moped.In other news, Samantha, the kids and I where in Rapid City yesterday to watch TBC take on South Dakota Mines for a 1:00 game. Overall the game was reminiscent of the four years I was an assistant on the sideline. There were however a few positives in my observations of the game. First, it was great to see some of the players that I helped bring to Ellendale finish out there careers with a great deal of pride and strength. It takes a lot to play there four years and remain confident that you can get better every year. It also takes a great deal to remain injury free during those years. Second, there's a wealth of young potential on the team. They have several outstanding offensive players that if they stick around, the program is heading in a very positive direction. On several occasions they put together some impressive plays/drives that picked on the few weaknesses in their opponents. Lastly, from watching the game I have no doubt that the program's future is bright. Trinity currently has a great deal of financial weight and burden around it's neck, however I and others, have always felt that the football program (and the athletics program in general) could help to be the answer, not part of the problem. There were two coaches remaining with the program from when the Slivoskey era ended, they along with a new head coach and his additions, seem to be very motivated in improving the program. I am very hopeful at where they will be in five years.
People often ask me why the football program at Trinity is indeed so poor. They often believe that it's management, lack of dedication by the players or even a combination of both. I can say that the issues present at Trinity are actually somewhat complex. Money has a great deal to do with it. It's also amazing at how a program can loose so much ground over a few years of poor coaching.
Shawn Fury penned a 2005 book "Keeping the Faith: In the Trenches with College Football's Worst Team." Yes I have always believed the title to be harsh, but in reality he's on par with the truth! Throughout the book Fury's synopsis of the program and college is exactly the truth! In many ways he was much kinder than he could have been. He could have told "the rest of the story" on occasion but refrained, fortunately! I still occasionally keep in touch with the author, I am still awaiting his next book. I think he'll always remember the six weeks he spent with us in Ellendale!
In other news, I have accepted my first coaching position since leaving Trinity. It is with Gillette's Legion Post. In Michigan, Legion baseball is small potatoes, out here Legion ball is big news being that there is no high school baseball. They've hired me to be the head coach of the "Rustlers" which is equivalent to a JV program (14-18 year olds). We'll play 50-60 games next year between the middle of April and the beginning of August.
Check out the website. Overall I am very excited and maybe a little nervous! We'll begin in December for about 1-2 nights per week. I am excited about the travel schedule in the summer as we'll get to see a few new places. They have also given me permission to bring Samantha and the kids on road trips, which was an important part of me accepting the position. I'll keep you posted on this throughout the upcoming year!
