My daughter's school has long had an annual special day called Grandparents' Day. But this being a coastal city on the far edge of a continent, many of the kids are lucky to see their grandparents once a year, usually on a trip back east, at best.
So a few years back, the school added "Special Friends" to those who could visit on this day.
Thus "Auntie JuJu" got to host one of her nephews, her infant niece and one of her sisters and her father today. We were her special friends.
Later, her 16-year-old brother coached her soccer team's final practice before their playoff games begin tomorrow. First he led them through the stretches and the sprints and the light passing exercises.
After a few somewhat more demanding drills, he broke them into two squads for a 45-minute scrimmage. As I watched him roam the sideline, stroking his chin, I suddenly had a vision from the future, perhaps a decade or more from now, when he begins what I suspect will be a successful coaching career working with kids.
After practice was over, it was time to drive him over to a field near Japantown, where he had a game of his own to play in. We talked on the way over and also on the way back, after he his team had played to a 1-1 tie in a match shortened by the City's maddening mess-up in not turning on the lights as the sun went down.
"It's really hard to coach girls," he told me, "Because I don't really understand what is going on with them."
Amen, son, I'm with you on that one. I don't understand them either. I used to think I did, but that was just a mirage. In the long run, it's probably best to coach boys instead, frankly. At least then, you know that everyone is trying to learn how to play the game as we understand it, as opposed to whatever it is the females of our species may have in mind.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment