Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Halloween

Well, one of the biggest children's holidays of the year is upon us. What's not to like if you are a kid? You get to dress up in a costume and people give you candy. My oldest son by the end of the night had a candy bag that weighed the equivalent of two bricks. And that's really not exaggerating. They are getting to that age where they don't really want Mom or Dad coming up to the door with them. So you have to remind them about saying "Trick or Treat" and using their manners before they go up to the door. The other part though is how much candy to take? I tell them that if the person giving out the candy doesn't say anything then do not take more than two. Problem is we have some neighbors that either just say "take as much as you like" or just dump handfuls in their bag. What kid is going to control themselves and say no to that? It is certainly a challenge. And the "Honor Bowls"? I use the same rule of two but then you get signs that say "take seven or less". Seven or less? What kind of cap is that? No wonder the thing was empty by the time we came around.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

JV Mites - Weeks Five, Six, Seven

Well, the trip to Italy cost me two games. It was a great trip, don't get me wrong. But I really did miss the team. I got reports sent to my friend's Blackberry. Though they won Week 5, they gave up one TD. I threaten to fly back to discern what happened to my string of shutouts. But after a glass of red wine, I relaxed and nixed that idea. The boys got back on track in Week 6. The toughest game to that point in the season, a very large Plymouth team with a very good program. Thunder scored twice and the D got back to their shutouts.
My first game back was Week 7. We knew going in that this team we were playing was struggling. So all week we put players in new positions. Two new QB's, two new backfields, and two new offensive lines. Kids who hadn't carried the ball yet got to play RB. We ran them through plays all week and it paid off. The second time we got the ball, the offense went on a 10 minute drive and scored the games only TD. It was fantastic. I could really see that what we taught the kids had gotten through. In my opinion, our best game of the season.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Resistance Is Futile

Demi and I just got back from 10 days in Italy. No kids. The boys stayed with my folks. Let the re-assimilation begin......on both fronts. As much as we missed the boys, you get used to not having to be responsible for anyone other than you, after a bit. And the boys got used to life at the grandparents. Let's just say they saw more TV in 10 days than they usually see in a year. Although, it wasn't all cake and ice cream. Caz especially got a taste of different rules and saw that the grass is not always greener on the other side. He didn't get his way much and was ready to come home after the extended stay. We are almost 4 days into the reintroduction to normal life. I will let you know how it goes.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

The Devil Went Down To Duxbury

Driving to football practice, with Thunder and Lightening (Caz) in the backseat, I had the radio going. Charlie Daniels was playing his classic, Devil Went Down to Georgia. The kids were rocking out. I knew how the song ended. I figured that since it was on regular radio that it would be the radio edit version ending with "son of a gun." Yeah, not so much. The station played the full SOB ending. Well, the kids new they heard something they shouldn't have heard. The giggling did not cease until we got out of the car at the field. It was like an old episode of Beavis and Butthead, where they alternate chuckles back and forth. Ah well, so much for playing the odds.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Glass Houses

There was a lot of talk today about the Red Sox, winning the Division. But it was not centered on the fact that they won, but in the manner they celebrated it. Some of the talk was about the Rally the team was having today. That was quickly put aside when it was determined that MLB mandated it for all teams. Do you think that shows that it's been over a decade since winning the Division?
People debated if the celebration was too much. Champagne and beer on the field. Players half dressed and in jocks. Hey, you put a TV camera in a locker room and what do you expect? You have to know you are taking your chances. The Sox couldn't win. If they did nothing, they would be blasted for not caring about the fans. Did they need the booze? Fine by me. They certainly weren't the only team dousing fans with the bubbly.
One caller stated that her 3 year old witnessed all this and had to explain why grown men were drinking, dancing, screaming, and in their underwear. Better question.....what is a 3 year old doing up after 11 PM? I am way older than that and I had been dozing on the couch. That stuff just kills me. Put your own house in order before heaving stones.

JV Mites - Week Four

Well, the Defense is still progressing nicely. The Iron Curtain recorded another shut out this past weekend. The visiting team was clearly over matched, as we were up 26-0 by halftime. We created a third string QB on fly. At this point, we need to keep the kids from getting big heads. Managing the game was tough, as we had to keep the big kids (about 6) off the field all of the second half. We know why that has to be, but explaining it to 8 year olds that just want to play can be tough. Be as a good show of character, they took it in stride.

I was very proud of Caz. Not because he scored a TD. But because he finally let go of his cautious nature and ran as fast as he could. Hit kicked it into that extra gear I always new he had. And I told him, the run was nice. Scoring the TD was icing. The fact that he showed his potential and went full out was priceless.