Month: August 2013

Good Bad Practice

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G’s coach was putting the girls through drills that involved new challenges and techniques, novel patterns of decision-making and agility. All the kids were struggling, but G was uncharacteristically spacey. Missing assignments, repeating mistakes, mind a’wander.   There was some consolation in her knowing she stank. She came off the field pissed off, complaining she didn’t get to play enough. Complaining about the weather, the drill, the practice and the team.

I’m a technician, about skills and approaches to skills.   Obvious mistakes scream at me, the loudest shriek coming from G’s shitty attitude.   Frustrated with watching her and not being able to square her away during practice, cranky from having a laptop roast my junk at 105 for an hour, my initial reaction was anger.   But that was too self-indulgent; coaching is about the player, not the coach. Its such a difficult lesson to embrace, but G’s professional coaches do it everyday. The loudest shriek coming from my shitty attitude.   G is so coachable with comfort and dialog,

I told her she ran hard, she had some good plays, let’s talk about what you did well — you didn’t get beat physically, and you learned the scissors. She nodded. I told her she missed a few turns cause she was spacing, got beat quickly not paying attention to the flow of the game, i told her she was part of the problem, and she was cool with that. she says ‘i’m really hungry‘.

We both nod, talk about snacks and bars i’ll stow in her pack, a simple problem we’ll solve together. Genevieve appreciates more about hunger, thirst, mindset and preparation than many adults. Trust and coachability too. She is years ahead of where i was as an autonomous athlete. The moments she shows she gets it…are so utterly unsurprising, so expected. She knows she needs to eat, she knows needs to drink, she puts on sunscreen and steps on the shade in her bare feet. Its only afterwards i am stunned at her adaptability.

She stopped thinking about her failures and started thinking about what she did right. She wanted to show me the moves she learned. We spent 15 minutes going over drills, then I asked her to repeat what lessons she learned today.   I did this on long solo rides from Phoenix back to Tucson —   squirreling away a few nuggets of improvement to pay the ante, to be better tomorrow.   She was   totally stoked on the idea and feeling great about practice.

2 hrs later, i only had to help her with spelling.

lessons1a

Brovet

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Entirely different than last year as line work was almost negligible. I think I was in worse shape, but 8.75 hours and 7500 vf almost-alone will do that to you. At 80 miles I reeled thinking of 3 more hours. I ate everything i had, didn’t quit only cause there was no alternative, still surprised i didn’t just topple over empty.

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The ground was lush. The big climb at mile 53 started at 93 degrees, but was 63 at the top as a thunderstorm roiled before us.   We waited 10 min for it to blow past the road we hit 10 min later, and continued to skirt storms for 6 hours, the worst we got were spray off the roads and a little sprinkle.
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Weekends In Hell: Finale

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Summer went by so quickly. Instead of a giant vacation to slow our focus it was day-in-day-out pools and playdates, rock walls and restaurants. The Monsters don’t want it to stop, I can’t wait for a return to structure, to not be sitting on a pool deck in 105 with a laptop cooking my balls and children possibly drowning.

We booked a weekend in Flag and I took 2 more days before they start school together.

*sniff*

Up north Saturday morn at a civilized hour for coffee and cereal. A short hike on Veit Springs trail up on the mountain. Short by my standards, perfect and challenging ups and downs wandering round rocks and mushrooms for 2 little girls.

then into the Lava Cave.

The entrance was intimidating, ~50 feet down a grinning rockfall with slippy lowhanging ceiling. On the way to the trailhead, down a graded gravel road, we passed a guy in a 4WD going 8mph.  Several of them. WTFF? Were we in the right place?   The pitch leveled, but the floor was never easy. It was fat-biking the reef in Rocky Point, walking a thick streambed, picking your way through the desert.   Even in light, you had to watch and adjust every step. Not double black, but definitely blue. We had 2 petzels, and 2 failing disposables.

I really didn’t want my girls in this clusterfuck, stressing to not be that dipshit Peenixan medivacking his kid out of a moonscape in total darkness, relying on fat tut-tutting Peenixans to help us.

It says we went 3/4 mile each way, it felt about 2x as much. Who knew? We resurfaced about an hour later, ish.   The Chollaballs typically make ~3mph on flat ground, so…yeah i guess so.   The darkness messed with my cues. The ceiling smashing me in the head messed with my cues. Changes for next trip: boots instead of running shoes, a proper light and reliable backup, cargo pants instead of a camelback cuz no one was thirsty anyway, and not being able to have a safety break.

The kids did better than us, lower and lighter, as long as i kept yelling watch your step, which they did with a remarkable sense of self-preservation. I shall claim credit for training them well.   The climb back out i was very concerned about Alana, but dayum our little whinyGirl primmaDonna physicallyDisinterested headInaJar focusOfaGnat is more natural to climbing and gymnastic moves than any of us. Last week she taught herself to do a backflip off the pool deck, and I kinda feel like i should let her keep doing it.

leave the SLR behind, there are better pics online.

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Sunday we rolled 418 to Bismark Lake again. ferns vs. aspen, another wonderful season in Flag.

Amanita Muscaria. Poisonous and hallucinogenic!.
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If you want the ultimate thrill, you gotta be willing to pay the ultimate price.
I just quoted Patrick Swayze.
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Monday morning we drove back down into Hell, napped, then enjoyed the free air-conditioned NFL TRAINING CAMP!!!!!!!!

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Kidzone football drill obstacle course!
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G: are they monsters?
Me: no they’re cool fun,  like gym teachers
G: *blink blink*
Me: freakishly big and strong gym teachers.

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G was nervous, around all the boys. I told her she was likely faster, and after 20 seconds getting fired up she did not stop bouncing off the walls for 20 minutes.Which amped up the littlePrincess too.

7 years went under the bridge like time was standing still.
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touched you once I touched you twice i won’t let go at any price.
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I need you now like i needed you then
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I dunno who these guys were – players or ex-players or PRs hired to look like players – but they were awesome with a steady flood of kids for 3 hrs.   Any gender concerns were GONE for the rest of the afternoon. We were here to get stoked on sports! Well done, Cardinals.

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Alana as expected wanted to run stairs and change seats more than watch football. I was ready, had her dialed, a list of bullet points to pitch as distractions.   Shwag, a walk for autograph cards, and time alone from bigSister with her doting father — ammonia sniffs after getting snot-bubbled. WE’RE AT TRAINING CAMP, BITCH!!!! I let G do her own thing for 30 seconds or 5 minutes, to let her be her or Alana be Alana, getting Monster the Lesser away from Monster the Greater, or me away from both of them so I can throw money at another 6 minutes of entertainment.

They both loved it. They love to join in, they love the jumping and screaming and cheering.   I pointed G to #11, explained QB\WR drills, 7v7, 11v11. Soccer and Ultimate and practice and flow, hard work and perfection and the HOF. She nodded, and watched transfixed. Larry Fitzgerald is the best football player i’ve ever seen, he makes insane catches during drills, constantly.

G, Alana…meet Larry and Tirran. Shoulda given G the camera.

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my GPS said 27 miles back east around the megalopolis, to the MMR Swim Team banquet. Another night winning the party, they got home bout 10.

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Tuesday we met everyone’s teachers, went to the zoo, and went to soccer practice. The byline of this is Desperate Houselife, but it was a special evening.   We 3 were so dialed to eachother, so relaxed and energized from a great day, days.   G started her season practicing with her got to play with her team, had a meltdown, and then played harder after i hugged her.

I turned round to find Alana riding towards me, strapped herowndamnself with gloves and helmet, asking WTF did you leave me over at the playground? She’s had 2 sessions without training wheels, and resisted another try so fiercely til she saw G going hard and getting all the approbation. I didn’t play them against eachother, exactly, just set up a situation where Alana would be well motivated.

She did 3 or 4 spins then bailed, 3 or 4 spins then bailed. Jumped off safely, put her feet down safely, over and over til i got so frustrated with her denudedness. She was so close, but didn’t want to put it all together, didn’t want to commit, to trust. So different than G and I. A good coach makes it about the player. I left to check on her sister, genuinely in need of a hug facing her tougher new baseline, which Alana did not like one single bit.

In 1 hr she got it. Flopping to spinning, through my shouts of ‘keep pedaling’ til she did, and rode 100 yards at a time …5 times in a row. It clicked so fast its only fed all my deepest mistrusts about her “laziness” or “bad biking.” She can’t pose anymore.

 helmet hair!!!!
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Girls ready for school.
Ish.

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