Behind The Scenes of College Athletics - CAA Women's Track Championship

I came across a photo I took from the 2015 CAA Women's Track & Field Championships at William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. 

I love this photo and it's one of the few favorites I have from my cell phone.  The benefit of cell phone photos is that you can capture awesome moments quickly and spontaneously.  It takes effort to have a DSLR out all the time. 

I took this picture at the team hotel after Elyse, Shelby and Haylee had finished their respective long distance races on the first night of the championship.  They ran 3.1 and 6.2 miles respectively for their races, plus many more miles in warm-ups and cool downs.  They could eat whatever they wanted and they proudly did and that's why I loved the photo.

So often females in sports that don't require power as much as endurance or flexibility, fret over every calorie that they eat, to a point where it is destructive.  So often it happens in distance running and gymnastics. 

This photo proves that it's ok to cheat and eat whatever you want.  You have to reward yourself and you should after you work hard.  You also should enjoy what you are eating. That's what I love about this photo.  It sends a positive and healthy message to all runners and athletes that struggle with not eating enough.

The second part of this post will be devoted to the accommodations I experienced on some different trips.  There is a HUGE difference between traveling with a Mid-Major Olympic Sport and a BCS School Olympic Sport.  HUGE difference between traveling with a major sport and an Olympic sport. 

Earlier in the year I traveled on a sleeper bus with Women's Basketball to the CAA Championship.  The hotel we stayed at was impeccable.  It was the Gaylord National just outside of Washington D.C.  It was on the National Harbor, near shopping and restaurants.  The hotel had a stream running through it, awesome breakfast, and a state of the art fitness facility.  The food on the trip was amazing.  I'd say that traveling with Elon Women's Basketball was similar to traveling with UConn Women's Soccer.  A Mid Major, major sport, gave me similar accommodations as a BCS School, Olympic Sport trip. 

With Track, it was slightly different.  It was more like scenes out of the movie Major League with Charlie Sheen.  The Holiday Inn that we stayed at was special.  It had probably been fifteen other hotel chains before.  The Fitness Equipment was well, broken.  The elevator weights were on the opposite side of the building from the elevator.  We were no where near shops to walk to and the common areas of the hotel were dark and dingy.  Instead of going out to eat at nice restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory, I ended up eating at Olive Garden.  The breakfast consisted of options that were less than continental. I still can't complain about the free meals, but it was definitely different.           

Random Homecoming Thoughts

When I left UConn, one of the questions I remember asking myself is, "How could I actually care about another school as much as UConn?"

I just figured nothing would be the same once I left.  I remember Mags telling me something that I wasn't sure I believed at the time, but now I know to be true.  Of her time at Hartford, which is not a Division I Powerhouse, like UConn is, she said you forget about the school you are at and you really just enjoy the team and student-athletes that you have.

She was completely right.

As I think back to Homecoming at Elon this weekend, I came to a very simple realization.  I'm much closer to the athletes at Elon than I ever was at UConn.  I had a much greater impact on the lives of the student-athletes at Elon, than I did at UConn. 

Time has a way of showing you who is and is not important.  I certainly still have UConn athletes, mostly Women's Soccer players, that I keep in contact with.  The list that I communicate with monthly is probably just two.  When I went and caught up with a few former players this summer in Storrs, there was some initial awkwardness.

I still encounter some of that awkwardness with Elon athletes now.  I went from meeting with them everyday, to seeing them for a few minutes once a month.

This is more of a stream of consciousness type of post.  I'm studying for the Series 7, so there is no need for me to really organize this when I need to be studying too.

One thing I am so grateful for and humbled by is the genuine delight that I seem to get from all of the people I run into at Elon.  Some of the students I work with really light up when they see me.

I had a big old lineman give me a huge bear hug, and pick me up in September.  I'll never forget when Dakota did that. 

I will never forget when Doane, Greg and Chelsea drove a couple of hours to see me and get dinner on my way home to Massachusetts from North Carolina.  I honestly had so much fun having dinner with them.  Everyone was laughing and smiling.  I did something right, because I was there academic adviser, not their friend.  That meant a lot to me.

Kim sent me a text message when I graduated with my MBA that is very special to me.  It means the world to me. 

Sydney and Espo and a few others wrote nice cards when they graduated, which I very much appreciated.  I treasure those and still have them.  They taught me a lot about myself.  Sydney taught me how much just caring makes a difference.

Shay left a nice note when I left too that I appreciated.

Having the throwers come to my MBA graduation and having Shay there was special.  My parents were in shock that I had such a loud cheering section and they are so proud of it. The three Bry, Bri and Bre are all nice and loud.  They love pointing out the cheers to those they show the video to.  It also meant a lot to me that one of the last things I did before walking towards the stage and getting my degree was to look up at Shay and Liggs.  Two students I advised.  They weren't there for just me, but it still meant a lot to me to see them there. 

Des and Lauren did something I will never forget either.  Both of them gave me hugs after they won the CAA Championship.  Those hugs were some of the biggest highlights I had doing my job.  I just felt like I did something right for them to want to celebrate with me when they won. 

I'm ending this stream of consciousness here.  It needs to end for now.  So many other stories and people should be written about.  Maybe I will. 

My last UConn thought is simple though, so before I forget, let me just say how happy I am that the UConn Women's Soccer program has such a great social media presence.  It's changed so much since I left. Yet I like to think I helped start the great student help that they now have.  I think I took things to another level and I'm glad people picked up what I started and ran with it.  The Instagram with video of goals is AWESOME! 

My Idea for the American Conference to Expand (A 2016 Post!)

The BIG 12 may make news on Monday by adding two schools.  They also may not add any schools, and that scenario is a scenario that I find intriguing. 

College athletics is a business.  Where the BIG 12 doesn’t see an opportunity is a place where the American Conference should look for one. 

The American Conference needs to grow their revenue and become a better known brand in college athletics.  They need to be taken seriously by winning Championships in anything and they need to show that they can bring value to television and media companies.  They also need to win in big sports on the national stage.

While they bring in revenue less than their peers, and will for a long time, they will also need to help schools cut expenses.  With this in mind, I advocate that the conference, and it’s leading schools (UConn, Cincinnati, Houston, South Florida, Central Florida, Memphis, Temple, East Carolina) come up with a plan together.  They should come up with opportunities for the future, ways to cut expenses now and invest in schools and sports of the future.

I think that idea should be for a conference that is 16 teams.

Criteria that should be important include: Geography, Rivalries, Public Schools, Scheduling that allows for RPI Opportunities and Non-conference Flexibility. 

The geography of the American Conference is actually pretty good.  Think about it, it has schools in established cities and growing places.  Tampa, New Orleans, Orlando, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati & Philadelphia give the conference some geographic advantages that other conferences don’t have.  UConn gives the conference a hand in New York and Boston and East Carolina adds the growing state of North Carolina.  Adding schools that are in growing cities and states is a plus for media rights money and potential for growth in those area universities. 

The sports that matter in college athletics are obvious.  They are Football, Men’s Basketball & Women’s Basketball.  Men’s Ice Hockey matters and so do Softball, Baseball and Men’s & Women’s Soccer.   The American should look at adding schools that can help compete in all sports, not just Football and Basketball.  Football may not be as popular in 20 years, and that is an opportunity that the Conference must exploit.  I’d expect Soccer and Lacrosse to gain in popularity.  Schools with little value in basketball or football, but lots of value in Men’s Soccer, is a school I’d consider for entry.      

USF & UCF and Houston & SMU can have natural geographic rivalries, and that is good for a conference.  UConn and Cincinnati don’t have close rivals.  Neither does Memphis or East Carolina.  Solving that problem or some of that problem should be a goal of conference expansion.

Adding teams can dilute the product of the American Conference even further.  The conference doesn’t need to have too many bad conference basketball etc. games.  They need enough games to get the big anchor schools to visit other cities and give every geographic part of the conference a chance to watch the best of the best come to town.  They need too little to give schools the chance to schedule marquee non-conference match-ups or their own out of conference rivalries. 

The sport of basketball will be key in keeping RPI up for the conferences best schools.  In order to do this you need to make sure that they best teams in the conference get to play each other as much as possible.  I envision a structure that has two eight team divisions. 

You borrow two ideas, Soccer’s relegation and the NFL’s scheduling of those in other divisions that finish the same place as you. 

10 conference basketball games come from home and home games against teams from where they finished in the standings the year before.  Teams that finished 1-4 in your division play home and home games against each other.  Same goes for those that finished 5-8.  The two teams in the other division that finished 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 play home and homes as well.  This gets you to 10 home and home games against what should be similar competition level.  Then you play the rest of your division alternating home and away games each year.  That gives you 4 more games.  The last four games include 3 alternating home and away games for the other division and one rotating game in your own division.  Confusing, probably.  The point of it is to give schools stuck in the bottom a chance to claw out of it and in to the top tier of play.  The good thing to me about this format is that it limits travel to far away places (because divisions will be split up based on geography) while insuring that travel to far away places is limited to schools that are usually similar in competition level to you.  Less travel keeps student in class and keeps travel expenses down. 

This sort of RPI inflator for the best teams in the league is important too, as it should prevent too much dilution in competition from the adding of more teams.  I’d hope that other sports in the league could adopt a similar structure to suit the needs of their sports. 

The next important thing is to invest in some sports.  Every school needs to get Men’s Soccer.  East Carolina doesn’t have it.  I assume some of the other southern schools don’t.  The American Conference should bet that it can be one of the premier Men’s Soccer leagues one day, and that being one of those conferences will pay off one day.    Football could very well be at its peak.  Boxing fell off in popularity, so did Horse Racing.  It could bet that concussions, less youth participation, sexual assault and this years decline in viewership is the beginning of a decline in football.  Is it a risky bet? Absolutely, especially when you know you won’t make any money on this soon.

Now lets move to the fun part.  Schools and Divisions.

Let’s start with the current teams and splitting them into divisions.  (This could change depending on schools being added, but I’ll go with my scenario).

I envision a Stars and Stripes division for sports.  It builds on the “American” theme.

Stars Division: UConn, Cincinnati, Temple, East Carolina

Stripe Division: Memphis, SMU, Houston, Tulane, Tulsa, USF, UCF

Now in my scenario, obviously the Star division has a lot of schools to add. 

The first school I would add would be UMass.  UConn needs a geographic rival.  It’s Boston College to many, but it still needs one in it’s own conference.  UMass and UConn have history in Men’s Basketball, and UMass will add a respectable basketball program to the conference.  It’s football program is new and while it will probably not deliver the Boston TV market, it is still the state university of Massachusetts.  That should count for something.

East Carolina does not have a natural conference geographic rival in the conference either.  Fitting with the theme of growing southern cities and a respectable Men’s Soccer program I’d advocate adding Charlotte.   Charlotte is a great city (Very biased as I am writing from the city now).  It has a good Men’s Soccer program and gives East Carolina a local rival and travel partner.  College athletics are big in North Carolina and having another team in the state and the ability to have a rivalry in the future should be seen as an opportunity. 

Side note - Charlotte is another American Airlines hub that would be added to the conference.  Added to Philadelphia (Temple) and Dallas (SMU) already.  Maybe that can be leveraged into a sponsorship or at least reduced travel expenses.  American Conference and American Airlines does go together pretty well! 

Tulane doesn’t have a travel partner, and apparently Hattiesburg, MS is a two hour drive away.  Southern Miss would bring the stripe division to 8 teams and would add another team in the south for the conference.  It gives Tulane a geographic rival.  Southern Miss is also a good school to add for football and their baseball is pretty good from all that I know.  

What is more American than Army and Navy?  Not much.  This is by far the part of this scenario that I am most unsure about.  I am not sure if there would be issues with them joining a conference that are beyond my thought process right now.  I’m struggling with the, “What is in it for me (or should I say Army and Navy?”) question.  They do however fill out the Star division well.  They are both geographic fits and both national brands.  It also would make the annual “Army & Navy” football game a conference game which would be good for the conference (The conference should let Army and Navy keep every penny that the annual game generates from CBS.  It should just be happy to have free publicity on major network television every year).  Additionally, it can’t hurt that the conference already has Veteran and Military friendly states such as North Carolina, Florida and Texas represented in the conference.

Final Division Lay Out

Star: UConn, Cinci, Temple, East Carolina, UMass, Charlotte, Army, Navy

Stripe: Memphis, Houston, SMU, Tulane, USF, UCF, Tulsa, Southern Miss

Football: Let the coaches and AD’s decide on eight or nine conference games.  I prefer nine, with you playing your entire division, a game against the team that finished opposite in the standings in the other division and a random team from the other division to insure that everyone plays each other on occasion.   Obviously, there would be a championship game.

Possible Travel Partners

UConn & UMass

East Carolina & Charlotte

Navy and Temple

Army & Cincinnati (Not that great, but best I could do. Wish I could find a better school for Cincinnati. Xavier would be perfect, but they don’t have football and there is no reason for them to leave the Big East.)

USF & UCF

Houston & SMU

Tulane & Southern Miss

Memphis & Tulsa (Let’s just pretend Arkansas doesn’t exist)

Other Schools Considered (Seriously or in passing):

Marshall, Coastal Carolina, James Madison, App State, Bowling Green, Liberty

Now, hopefully other people can come up with some better ideas from this.  However, should the BIG 12 decide not to expand, this may be the best realistic option for the American Conference and it’s members.  Generate some rivalries, reduce travel costs, and be in a conference that should allow you to maximize your RPI.  Invest in growing cities and sports. 

It’s certainly not going to result in a cash windfall like your school ending up in the BIG 12 would.  However, in my eyes, it’s probably the option that gives everyone the most hope for a better 20 years from now, if the expansion merry go-round skips over them.       

Madison Holleran

Its sad that I've already forgotten about Madison Holleran, a track freshman at Penn who jumped to her death in 2014.  She was a perfectionist.  Despite being seemingly perfect to the outside world, it seems as if she didn't share those feelings about herself. 

Here is some reading about it, including the note that she left.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2920310/Parents-share-tragic-suicide-note-Ivy-League-track-star-19-jumped-death-parking-garage-left-gifts-friends-family-members-nearby.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20894428,00.html

I need a picture of her in my office to remind me of her.  I'm part perfectionist.  Many of my student-athletes are perfectionists.  In fact I know of one who is researching perfectionism in cross country athletes as part of their education.  I have another who chose that same topic to write a paper on. 

I see perfectionists every day.  It's easy to dismiss them as being overly nervous and stress balls.  But these people need outlets.  They need reminders that they really are perfect.  They need to know that they are doing the best they can and that they should be proud of what they have accomplished. 

I know of kids who get four or five hours of sleep...and maybe some others who get less than that...because they are freaking out about a test and their GPA. 

One of the hardest thing about my job is figuring out the balance point for working with perfectionists.  For the most part I let them do what they do, stay positive and reassure them that they really are as great as they want to be.  It's hard to know how far to push them to succeed.  Do I push them to attain that goal of a 4.0?  Or would not accomplishing such a feat make them depressed?  Would they over do it to reach that goal? 

Knowing when, how and if to push perfectionists is one of the hardest things about what I do. 

Quote of the Day

I should post funny quotes that college athletes say.  Here is my favorite one from all-time.  I will just say that they are a male cross country runner.

"I'm just like Plaxico Burress, I like to shoot myself in the foot"

You can't get any better than that.  You really can't.  Rick Reilly would really appreciate that one. 

Running Photo

Pictures speak a thousand words.  Some can relate to millions, like this photo that I took.  It's a runner on his way to the finish line. 

In this case it's after busting his ass up a hill for the last two-tenths of a mile of a 5k.  Most people look like this after an eighth of a mile. 
 
I can't count how many runners that I have seen that look like this at the finish line.  I have seen some with their eyes rolling in the back of their head.  That's not fun to look at.  You sort of wonder if they are headed to the hospital. 

Others look like they could run for another five miles.  Some sprint to the finish.  Others waddle back and forth with pained looks on their faces as they pray that Tonya Harding comes out with a baseball bat to take out the person chasing them down. 

In any event, it's time for a post.  And maybe I'll put up more photos, because I really have no place to put all the ones I take.




 

Inspired Again

This past weekend I ended up in Winston Salem to watch the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

I watched both Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed the free food and amenities that came with my pass.  I chatted with the students I work with during the week that weren't competing and got some time to speak with coaches when their kids were not competing. 

Cross Country and Track athletes are not the most extroverted athletes you meet.  They are the most like normal college students among college athletes.  They generally lay low and stay out of the limelight. 

I love track and cross country because it's so simple.  You run as hard as you can until the race is over.  The fastest time wins.  You can tell how much effort went into preparation easily.

I don't think track and cross country get enough respect for all that they do.  They can't ever get satisfied or complacent.  They always need a new P.R.

The best part of Saturday was the 3,000 meter race and it featured one woman who I was rooting for named Ally. 

Ally is a senior and is the fastest girl on the team.  She's also a New Englander, which I love.  She was wicked fast. She ran a 9:34:97 to complete 3,000 meters that day.  Her quickest time ever by  about six or seven seconds.  She had finished in the top two or three many times in various events before, but had yet to win a championship. 

As the race unfolded I knew Ally would do well.  I knew she should finish in the top three runners.  I hoped for better.   I started watching from one of the turns.  As the laps were winding down and Ally was in the lead pack I decided to move myself, and my camera, towards the finish line. 

I just had an inkling that moving towards the finish line would be a good idea.

I was proved correct.

With a few laps left Ally was solidly in second.  She maintained a consistent gap between herself and the leader.  You got this feeling that Ally would pull it off and win.  Then she lost some ground.  All of a sudden some doubt entered into my mind.  Could she pull it off?

She answered any doubt quickly.  She charged back and then on the back stretch made a convincing move towards the lead with a lap or two to go that she would not relinquish.  

The best part of everything was that she was smiling as she was finishing her race.  I saw this all through out my camera lens.  It was awesome to see and great to capture.   There was a happiness and joy on her face as she finished that reminded me of why I do work in college sports.  It was a form of pay. 

It's hard not to get excited by a performance like Ally's.  One in which she wins her first individual championship.  One in which she flashed a huge confident smile.  It was an expression that seemed to show that she had given it her all and won. 

I may have read her expression wrong.  She of course was happy, but I won't ever know what exactly made her so happy. 

I do know that her winning gave me energy and enthusiasm.  It was a shot of adrenaline and a great reminder of why I do the job I do.  I'm so glad I was able to support her and watch and capture such a great moment. 

2014

I should probably write something this year.

I have a new laptop, but I'm strangely not using it now. 

I actually went the entire Bowl Season this year without watching a bowl. I didn't watch the National Championship.  I watched nothing.  I just didn't care.

Increasingly I stay away from ESPN as well.  I love the channel.  I flip to it a lot, but I get bored quickly and easily with redundant stories about things that don't really matter.  I just want highlights, not obscure debates about the historical significance of every other news story.

My favorite station is CNBC.  It's free of B.S.  It gives business news, which is really the news that matters.  I want to get better at finance and accounting.  I want to understand how people buy and sell bonds.  I love American Greed and The Profit.  I just love CNBC.  It's my favorite channel by far. 

The older you get the more important money becomes.  Money does not buy happiness.  I believe that.  But Money does give you power.  Money gives you options. 

My professor in my MBA class, (yes I am a student again) made the point that status is shown differently in different cultures.  Sometimes it's not money, but the amount of people that work with you.  The similar thing is that all status symbols help show power. 

Back to money.  Money allows you to travel and fly to see friends.  It allows you to retire and enjoy life.  Allows you to afford to have kids and to buy a home.  Money is important.  The things that affect it have become increasingly important to me.

Instead of watching a bowl game, I read a book on Hetty Green.  She was a fascinating and strange women.  She was once the richest women in the world, and was known as the Witch of Wall Street.

 I'm trying to work on reading about Rockefeller right now.  It's a great read, but it's hard to find time to read 700 pages while working and in class.

I love working in sports.  It's rewarding to help students in the classroom and to start their careers.  There is a part of me that wants to help myself though.  I think that this year will be a good year in the sense that I think that I can finally afford to live.  I won't need to feel guilty about getting away or going out. 

I love track and field.  I wish I could run again though.  This plantar fasciitis sucks, although I think I'm starting to recover.

I was happy to go home for a little bit for the holidays.  I felt really cold weather again.  I even tried ice-skating for half an hour on our pond when it was negative one.  I also did a fair amount of cross country skiing.

I'm alive and rooting for the Seahawks in a match-up that doesn't evoke much passion to me.     

Fire Extinguisher...

I woke up on Sunday morning at 6am to this popping noise in the hall way.  It happened to be coming from our heating unit.  I got up immediately and saw what looked like an orange glow coming from the heating vent.  I also smelled smoke.

I did two things.  Turned off the heater and called 911. 

Although the smoke got a little worse, there was no fire.  A motor in the heating system blew out and tripped the circuit breaker.  Thankfully no fire occurred.  Thankfully I was here when it happened.

What I learned from this experience was the importance of knowing when to call the fire department, such as in a situation like this in which you have a problem with a heating unit and smell smoke.

The other two important take-a-ways is to make sure you have a fire extinguisher and know where it is.

The second is to make sure you know how to use a fire extinguisher like second nature.  Yes it seems pretty self-explanatory but you don't want to have to think, read directions or you tube a directions video when you feel the need to use a fire extinguisher.  Local Fire Departments must offer safety classes and how to use extinguishers etc.  I'm going to look for one and attend one.  You never know when you might need to spring into action.  The last thing you can afford to do is waste time and think.  You need to make instant reactions and go off of instinct and experience.  

Turkey Trot 5k On The XC Course

I did another 5k this past Friday.  I had a blast.  Once again I placed in 4th place, but this time it was out of over 200 people. 

I will say this with a caveat...I probably would have finished top 12-15 if the cross country runners that ran the race had actually ran the race like a normal one.  They had to let other people cross the finish line before them per NCAA rules.  So no, I am not really faster than an All-Southern Region runner.

I probably would have run faster had the girls that ran in it gone at full speed.  I would have tried to have kept their pace the whole way and if I had I bet I would have finished just slightly behind them and also 15 seconds faster or more them how I actually ran that day.

I had an assist on the run from one of the male runners that I advise.  He served as the "rabbit" that I chased after at the end of the race.  The men's team seemed very excited about me running and were glad I won.  It was nice being included in the team huddle before the race and I'm glad I didn't embarrass them.   

I finished this 5k with a time of 20:00.  I wasn't happy with my time.  I think I could have gone faster, but I hadn't been doing much running (just biking and only a handful of miles for the two and a half weeks leading up to trot) as of late because of plantar fasciitis, which is pain in the arch of the foot.  It's an overuse injury that I mildly have.  It's not debilitating at all as a matter of fact.  I ran without really noticing it, but I have needed to rest to prevent it from getting any worse.

I also must say that running a 5k on a course, with hills and on grass rather than pavement definitely slows you down.  I have run at a 5:56 pace before for a 5k in training and done a 5k in closer to 18:40-19:15. Running on the grass also tires you out more.  I couldn't believe how sore I got afterwards.  It's the worst soreness from running that I have ever had.

My time was good enough for 1st place in my category of runners, which would be male faculty/staff members.  Thankfully the Assistant Men's Cross Country coach didn't participate because he would have finished higher than I did.  I love my first place trophy and gift card to a restaurant.

I also loved the satisfying moment at the end when the awards were handed out and one of my cross country runners who happened to be working the event dressed up as the turkey mascot went "hey that's my academic adviser" when I posed for a picture with her and got my trophy.

As for the race I had a few take-a-ways.

YELLING AT CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS ON THE COURSE WHILE THEY ARE RUNNING IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL.  That's exactly what I realize I need to do as a spectator.  Anything for an extra boost is good.

I also went out really hard.  The cross country guys weren't going full speed, but I didn't quite expect to go a half a mile before they all pulled ahead of me.  I was relieved when they did because I was afraid I was doing an awful job of pacing.      

I had a lot of fun and need to run faster next year. 

Also glad that the runner I let train me way back during the summer can now say she coached someone to a first place trophy. 

http://jonesracingcompany.com/results-elon-turkey-trot-2013/

Trap Shooting in the Land of 10,000 Lakes

I should write something this month.

It's a busy month for me.

I visited my godparents for the first time in 12 years last week.  They live just outside of St. Paul. My godfather is an avid sportsmen.  In the past he has taken us fishing on the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers and Lake Elmo.  He had always wanted to take me shooting but that had never happened before.

However one of the things I have wanted to try is trap shooting.  It just so happens that my godfather is the treasurer of a local gun club, so this past trip was a perfect opportunity to shoot.

My godfather has quite the gun collection and unbeknownst to me when we went to a local sporting good store he had to actually by another gun for trap shooting.  I got to see all the paperwork needed to purchase a gun legally.  He doesn't mind the process and neither do I.

On a Monday morning we drove about thirty minutes from where they lived and went trap shooting.  He had arranged to have the director of the trap shoot there to give me some lessons and also the director of media for the club to participate as well.

Safety was extremely important.  I had to wear goggles, headphones and keep the gun pointed down and unloaded until I was at the station to shoot.

Having only shot a gun before once I thought I might have some difficulty.  As it turns out once I yelled pull, which was the signal to send a clay out, I enjoyed beginners luck and hit the first target.

Then my luck ran away as I struggled to lean far enough forward, holding the gun properly, timing and focusing on the target,  I ended up hitting an embarrassingly low 3 of 25 targets.  I had a tendency to shoot high. 

The next round I got more instruction from the trap director.  He helped me a lot with my timing and stance.  I also got instruction from the media director.  She was awesome at trap shooting.  I needed to follow the clay disk until I covered it up with the barrel of my gun.

As I got started I ended up getting great help with my timing.  I followed the clay disk and then my trap director would tell me when to fire.  This helped with my timing.  I hit all but one of the times when he told me to fire.  I started to really get the hang of it.  I had 7 of my first 20 targets hit, including two in a row going into my last station.  Sensing my improvement the director of media challenged me to hit the last five at my station.  (Five stations with five shots...sort of like around the world in basketball)  I hoped to hit a few but those words really worked for me.  All by myself I hit all five targets and ended up hitting seven targets in a row and 12 of 25 of my shots were hits.  Not bad for a beginner, although unfortunately it turned out to be a high water mark. 

The next two times I went I hit 8 of 25.  I got a little out of form, a little tired and a little less focused I guess.  Doing so well can just mess with your mind.  You start thinking you have it and then you miss a few and put pressure on yourself.  The disks were also coming at a different trajectory on one of the rounds, throwing my timing off.

The last 25 shots I used the trap directors gun, which I needed to be very careful with since it was apparently a $3,000 gun.  It was a double barrel shotgun, the one that breaks in half in order to load.  It was a bit heavier than my other gun and took some getting used to, but I loved using it.

All in all I had a great time.  My instructor, Ted, who had been a past state champion in trap shooting I believe was a great teacher who helped me start to find a rhythm.  I had so much fun trap shooting.  It's challenging and I would love to do it again.  I need some more experience in order to get that timing down!

Most Important Thing I Did With UCWS

Looking back at my time with Women's Soccer in Storrs, I only did one thing that was of any importance. 

I trained Eric to take over for me. 

It's the only thing I did that mattered.  

For some reason I started thinking about what I most wanted for the program when I first started helping.  When I started my job as a manager and Volunteer Director of Ops it was simply to give the program another person to help the coaches, and who did so with the same enthusiasm as those who gave back to the Basketball and Football teams. 

Eric will put his own stamp on the job he does, but I am happy that the goal that I had has clearly come true. Eric is great at what he does. 

So if you ask me what the most important thing that I did was, I'd say it was training Eric.  It wasn't making highlight videos or running after a ball in practice.  It wasn't being good at remembering people's gatorade flavors.  None of those things were important.  It was training someone else that was really important.   

TAIS - Personality Test

So I took a test that measures my personality and traits that I have.

I scored fairly similarly to a business executive, which is pretty cool.

Now to the wonderful part of the test.  I am apparently a control freak who is extremely self critical.

I'm not 100% sure that the control freak part is all the way accurate, although I prefer to be in charge.  I am certainly extremely self-critical.  I don't try to control other people.  I don't think the people I advise would ever accuse me of being overbearing.  If anything I don't give them enough direction. 

I am introverted.  I know that, a lot of other people may not.  I believe I am, and the test says I am, although I don't know if I am as introverted as it makes it seem I am.  At work I do tend to be more extroverted than what I would be.

I am much more physically competitive than intellectually competitive.  My physical competitiveness scored much higher than a business executive, and wanting to argue and speak about big concepts was less than a business executive.

I scored very high on a decision making test.  I knew whether to be enabling or forceful depending on the situation.  Granted it wasn't real life, but in theory I was very good at making good decisions.

My weakness is being too enabling if I make a bad decision.  I will give people too much lee-way rather than being too forceful, which does go up against my control score.  It's possible that I don't think I can control other people, therefore I don't bother trying to.

Although I was way too self critical, and on an extreme for that (So I guess maybe I should pat myself on the back every once in a while) I was also self confident.  Having both of these made the survey say that although I am overly critical, it's a good thing that I am also self confident because it meant that I had enough confidence to keep going.

I'd say being self critical does get in my way sometimes.

When it comes to paying attention to things my relative strength is awareness.  In other words I score best at being observant and knowing what is going on.  Something that Policeman need to be...and my great great great grandfather Palmer was one.

My middle score was for being conceptual/in my mind.

My relative weakness was in terms of focus.  This doesn't mean I can't focus.  In fact I scored highly on my ability to do all three things, but when I am relaxed and comfortable I prefer to be aware of what's going on and not being completely focused on one small thing.

An example that illustrates this came up at work when a soccer player came in to an office I was in.  They started having a conversation about something and during a pause in the conversation I went completely off topic and asked about the t-shirt they were wearing that announced it was game-day.  I wasn't focused on the conversation, but I did notice what shirt they were wearing.

In other words I prefer the bigger picture.

What I learned in class, and this is true, is that it's important to know when to have type of attention style.  In other words some situations call from different styles.

A doctor performing surgery better be focused.  They fix your heart during surgery regardless of whether or not there is a fire going on outside of the room.  You don't want them aware of things when they should focus on surgery.   

Atleast it seems like I can use all three styles if I have to.

In ethical situations I worry not about being just, but more about being win-win and avoiding risk. 

It has been fascinating learning about me.  You have to know thyself.

I need to know my strengths, and work on my weaknesses. 

Climbing Mt. Monadnock

Every year I keep saying to myself that I should climb Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey, NH.  It's a big mountain about 25 minutes from my parents house.  It's the most climbed mountain in the United States actually. 

I had thought about doing a trail run or a half marathon around there that weekend but balked at the thought of paying to do so.  I did however just make a spur of the moment decision that this year would actually be the year I climbed the mountain. 

I went with my sister and wasn't sure what to expect.  I'd hiked Mt. Watatic, which is five minutes from our house, before.  I'd actually ran to the mountain and ran to the top and back home once.  It wasn't all that difficult of a hike, although the first time I did it I kept thinking I was near the top.

Monadnock seemed to be a great idea with the weather being so nice and clear.  It wasn't too hot, and I actually was dressed in long sleeves.  I definitely drank more water than I thought I would and ended up running out of it before I reached the top. 

Now Monadnock was my first real hike, but I didn't know how much more real it would be than Watatic.

Monadnock actually involved rock climbing...not the straight up vertical kind, but more vertical than I had ever done before.  It was this sort of challenge and rock climb that made me find the hike challenging and different. 

I have to admit that it took forever to get out of the tree line, which I knew meant I was making progress. 

I also remember going, we have to be close, maybe 75% of the way there and then I saw a sign that practically screamed back at me, "Hey buddy, you are only half way there." 

My fitness was fine of course, I was getting to the top no matter how long it took, I just was hoping it wasn't quite so far.  As I kept going higher the trees got thinner and thinner and there were several times when I saw no trees and just blue sky ahead of me above what had to have been my final ascent.  I thought to myself "Wow this is it, we are finally there" only to find another steep rock to climb up when I arrived at the top of the previous one. 

As I was climbing I thought of those rocks as a metaphor for life.  You keep thinking you have reached the summit, and where you want to go, but in reality there is still more to climb. 

I heard a young couple say that this is where most people typically stop.  Buoyed by that I of course said to myself that I'm not going to be like the poor souls who are 3/4 of the way their and decide to turn around. 

I might have been annoyed to see that I still had 30 minutes of climbing bare rock left, but I was full speed ahead. 

I finally reached the top about two and a half hours after I began.  I stopped and took some photos on the way and when I reached the top I made sure to both enjoy how beautiful the scenery is, to tweet from the top, and take photos.  I could see Mt. Watatic, Franklin Pierce University and about where our house should be.

It was a great hike in a really pretty area and I am so glad I did it.  The rock climbing was more challenging and I loved the metaphor with life.  Just keep climbing.  Eventually you will get there. 

The way down was pretty easy by the way.  Sometimes I had to slide down, but it was only about 90 minutes to get back down the mountain. 

This is crazy

Here is video of my sister's friend/boyfriend...

I don't want to define the relationship here...

Anyway, this helps explain why he is often breaking bones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOF-rGKkw4g

This is crazy.  I want to ride rail trails...the whole idea of jumping in the woods is not quite so appealing to me.

My cousin also does this sort of riding.  He is a former Marine and is obviously much tougher than I am. 

Bike Ride

 I love bike rides for charity and I found this one through a former UCWS player who posted it on facebook.  

http://pedalaide.com/blog.html

One day I want to do a charity ride.  I think people can choose a few leisure sports.  Cycling is certainly one of mine.  I've realized that I probably can't make time for Cycling and Golf etc.  So if I choose to put time and money into one, it will be cycling.  I think I'd love to figure out how to get involved in something like the Wounded Warriors. 

Pay vs Afford

I'm amazed by some people when it comes to money. 

I just wanted to write briefly about something I think is really important.  The difference between what you can pay and what you can afford.

If you spend money thinking that, "yes I can pay for it" chances are that you are thinking about things on a paycheck to paycheck basis.

If you spend money thinking about whether or not you can afford it you probably have more of a plan.  Afford is different than pay because afford takes into effect what you are giving up in order to get something. 

Pay doesn't take that into consideration. 

Smart people realize that you have to take into account whether or not you can afford something.  Can you sacrifice going on this vacation over paying for your child's college education? 

Or on the flip side, can I afford not to go see my parent who is dying in the hospital?  You need to sacrifice by taking out a loan because the time with a loved one is about to come to an end. 

Can you afford to take the time to do something?  Time is also something we sacrifice when we purchase things some time. 

Can you afford to do something is the right question to ask yourself.  It shouldn't be that you simply can pay for it. 

Why Working In Sports Sucks

Funny article someone shared on facebook.  If you work in sports these things go through your mind.  It may not stop you from doing what you are doing, but it does make you think twice.

http://postgradproblems.com/10-reasons-why-working-in-sports-sucks/

This should make sportscenter

Someone brought this article to my attention today.  It's about a man who is running across the United States to help raise money for clean water in Africa.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130219/news/702199944/

GRE Scores

So I looked at my GRE scores recently and amazingly it was my writing that scored the best.  Thankfully they don't score what I write on here.  I'd be on the precipice of my scores being invalidated if they read all of my useless drivel. 

But I'm impressed I used precipice in a sentence. 

An Ironman

I also read a book called "You Are An Ironman"

It's about the paths six amateurs took to complete their first Ironman Triathlon, which is a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run.

All of that needs to be done in 17 hours. 

Book was fascinating. 

Most all of the people who completed it also had something in their life that made them want to accomplish this feat.  They either had life threatening disease, were sick or out of shape or used working out to overcome something. 

The book certainly makes me want to think about doing one.

Now I just need to learn to swim.

Interchangeable

I am reading a book about Gould, Rockefeller, Morgan and Carnegie right now.  It also talks about the American Economy after the civil war.  One of the things it talked about was the race to get guns to be interchangeable. 

Interchangeable also seems to me to be efficient, and in the business world efficient matters.

I am not going to write much but I would think of it this way.  An employees goal should be to be as non interchangeable as possible once they get a position.  It's in a person's best interest to be unique in irreplaceable. 

It's probably in management's best interest to make someone as interchangeable as possible.

Now in the business world I'd argue that this happens more frequently with low skilled positions.  Those positions management wants to be interchangeable. 

With professional trades it's probably difficult to have that happen.

Heather Buck

Heather Buck gets a shout out.  I'm not at UCONN anymore, but I can tell she is a great person.

First of all, I somehow ended up with a free ticket to I believe the Oakland game this winter courtesy of her and my connection to a former manager.  She put me on her ticket list.  I can't help but thank her.

I also facebook creeped recently on a friend and saw her pose for a picture at graduation with an older fan.  She made that fans day or even year I bet. 

She also I noticed showed up in a picture at graduation for her team managers, which is really nice to see, because her team managers gave so much to her team.  She didn't have to support them, but it was cool to see that she did. 

I can tell she is a great person.  I was so happy to see her score that last basket in the National Championship game.  It was really cool to see.  She was so excited, and as a UCONN fan, it was so exciting to see her emotion. 

Jailbreak 5k

So I ran my first 5k yesterday in Belknap County, New Hampshire which is pretty fitting.

I love New Hampshire, and most people that know me, know that.  The LIVE FREE OR DIE state is like a second home to me since we vacationed up there every year during the summer.  As a matter of fact in order to get rid of my nasty post-race smell I went in to Lake Winnipesaukee (Which means Smile of the Great Spirit to the Native Americans who named the Lake) for the 24th straight year.

So when looking for a place to run a 5k it only made sense to do it near Lake Winnipesaukee.  I knew I could run and exercise in the morning and then have fun all afternoon and then go to my favorite places to eat.

Plus I first decided to eat better, and be more conscious of taking control of my health in New Hampshire.  One vacation I just decided to eat half as much as I usually ate and before I knew it I got to a healthy weight.  I was very overweight until 8th grade.  Knowing what it's like to be out of shape makes me want to avoid ever going back to being unhealthy.

I had several motivators for the 5k.  A big one was my coach.  Another big one was doing it for the cross country and track runners that I work with.  I push them to be better (hopefully) so in return I wanted to push myself to be better in an area they excel at.  Another was just wanting to see how well and far I could push myself.   One is that a marathon is on my bucket list.  Baby steps first! 

The 5k I did benefited the Sheriffs Department of Belknap County.  I have a cousin who is a police officer on Martha's Vineyard and my great great great grandpa was a police officer in New York City.  It's good to help those who help ordinary citizens for a living.

The night before my 5k I got instructions from my coach on what to eat for breakfast and how to prepare.  I was smart enough to ask about nutrition because I knew my favorite of Maple Syrup with Waffles wouldn't really help me do well.  I was instructed that oatmeal and banana's would work.  I added some apple sauce and cinnamon pita chips and grapes as well.  As for stretching I used my foam roller before I left.  As for warming up I ran starting about 15-20 minutes before the run.

Thankfully I knew where I was going, since I had driven past the complex for Belknap Country for years. It made the drive a lot less stressful since I knew I didn't need to worry about traffic.  I arrived about an hour early, registered, hydrated and stayed in my car or in the shade to stay cool.

After a little while more people showed up and since it was my first 5k I didn't know what to expect, mainly, where the heck would I be running?   I didn't expect to be in the back and just following people.  I hoped to be near the front.  I expected to get around 19:30 and to finish between 3rd and 7th.  So finally I asked some guy and got an idea of where I was going.

Just before the start of the race I took a piss, knowing I didn't want to have to pee in the race.

I had no idea where to start, but I sensed that I shouldn't be too shy, and shouldn't be too far from the first runners.  In retrospect, I should have been in the first row of people.  I was probably in the second or third.  As the gun went off I was just antsy.  I weaved in and out of a few runners before settling in with the top few runners.

Before long the first two guys checked out on us.  After going up a hill, which I tried to charge up, even if only in the first few moments of the race, I ended up getting to third.  I was hoping to keep that up, but I started to realize that I was going a little too fast.  I kept wondering if it was halfway yet. Then I realized that I hadn't seen the half way point water break.  I decided to back off a little bit.  The guy in fourth place and the girl in fifth place both passed me and I ended up in fifth.  As we kept going I finally got to the water break.  I thought about how I would handle getting handed water.  Do I stick my hand out?  What if the water falls out of my hand and I lose time?  Then I realized the runners in front of me didn't get water to drink, just thrown at them to deal with the 80 degree heat.  I took a splash and kept going.  The man in third place kept getting a little farther away, and I settled in with the women in fourth.

For the last mile I would say, I was neck and neck with the women running before I finally got to the point where I was ready to give everything I had.  At this point I put a small amount of distance in between her and I.  I also had my eye on a man behind me.

I kept running hard through the end and was happy to finally hit the homestretch, where I just gave it my all.  I ended up getting a 19:28 and held on to fourth place by three seconds over the women racing near me.  I also beat all of the Law Enforcement in the race, so it's proof I can outrun the cops.

The first thing I did after the race was try to find a place to lie down.  I got a Gatorade from my sister's boyfriend and just enjoyed that and a bottle of water.  The man who finished in third place was nice enough to congratulate me.  I told him it was my first 5k, and he informed me that I ran a long 5k, a 5k that was 3.2 miles.  So I really run this much faster than my training run on Tuesday that I did in 19:36.  Now he was amazed I ran a full 5k on Tuesday, saying that wasn't a lot of recovery time.  I casually mentioned something about that to my coach over a text and she didn't kill me, but realized I took her meaning of a hard workout literally.  Let's just practice for the 5k by doing one!  I guess I got that wrong.   

All in all I had a great time.  I was happy to benefit New Hampshire Sheriffs, to run past the shores of Lake Winnisquam, and then head over to Lake Winnipesaukee for some fun.

My post race meal, which actually occurred a few hours after the race, because I wasn't hungry right after, was a hot dog, with onion rings and french fries.  A healthy breakfast called for an unhealthy lunch I guess!

I now just have to find another race to do...and maybe it's getting closer to the time I start thinking about triathlons.  

And I used Richard as my name...from Ashburnham, MA

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/nh/Jul6_Belkna_set1.shtml

Interesting Football Recruiting Article

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/top-recruit-commits-south-carolina-because-classes-where-091739231.html

Interesting article.  The job of academic help centers should not be to prevent someone from failing, it should be to challenge them to be their best, and in my view, most importantly, prepare students for life in the working world. 

I believe that the habit of working hard and persevering and doing your best is what needs to be rewarded.  If you make a habit of doing that in the classroom and on the field you will succeed, regardless of the outcome on either place.  Winners keep trying and keep trying to do better.  Losers complain and take shortcuts.  You need to make being a winner if everything a habit if you want to be the best you can be.

Apathy towards watching sports...

I have to admit to becoming really apathetic towards watching sports.  It's strange, but this feeling is existing in me. 

I don't know if I am hyperactive or what, but I just can't sit and watch sports like I used to be able to.  I used to watch EVERY METS game.  I wouldn't miss a game.  Now I've had enough after an inning. 

I rarely turn on television and hope to find a sporting event on.  Occasionally I do, but I have lost interest in just watching sports because it's on television. 

I can't figure out exactly why this is buy I have some ideas. 

Part of it is overload.  There are just too many sports and I don't feel like watching them all. 

Part of it is a feeling of, this is work, this is all I ever do, let's please watch something else. 

Another part of it is being afraid of turning into a 40 year old super-fan who still regularly wears a jersey to games.  Mature adults are too busy to spend their time obsessing over games. 

Another part is being healthy.  It's healthier to be outside and be active. 

Maybe the biggest thing is that I have realized that I can do great things when I am busy doing things.  I can watch other people do great things when I watch them do so.  Maybe I want to be a character instead of an observer. 

It's so strange to me, but I just don't watch any extra sports than I need to.  I have to admit to this.  The majority of what I watch is sports related, but I just don't turn on television and put on hockey or basketball or Sunday Night Baseball because I am bored. 

There is some apathy involved.  I don't think it's killing my drive to work in sports.  I do think it's making me think about how I can spend my precious time during life.  We shouldn't spend all of our lives watching others.  We need to live too. 

Athletes Have To Be Careful

Example of why athletes have to be careful...

They met a girl at the club and then they go to their hotel room and then all of their valuables are missing from their safe...

Some athletes are targets, and that's sad.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/9438573/woman-arrested-thefts-new-york-giants-dt-shaun-rogers-victim

Now the football player isn't blameless.  Why anyone would have so much money tied up in necklaces, bracelets and watches, I'll never understand.  When you carry that much around it's easy to not only have it stolen, but accidentally lose it as well.   I also am too good of a Catholic boy to just bring someone that I just met to my hotel room.   You might want to develop some trust first. 

Aaron Hernandez

I don't know where to start.  I don't get it.  Why would you be involved in gang activity or shootings when you are a successful pro-athlete, who seemingly has things all set.  You make enough money to not worry.  Right?

Maybe Aaron Hernandez didn't feel respected.   Maybe that motivated him to do something stupid.   Do people want money or do they want respect?

I think the idea of being disrespected is more of a motivator than money in many instances. 


Meanwhile, I was very happy to see that the Patriots are offering jersey exchanges for people who own Aaron Hernandez jerseys.  Jerseys are more personal than a team hat and it's obvious that people will not want to associate themselves with someone like Aaron Hernandez.  


One thing I feel bad for with athletes is the amount of money they get and the amount of people around them who feel like they are entitled to getting a cut.  Their will be women who are looking to attach themselves to them.  Their will be family members who need help, friends who have great business ideas.  It has to be hard to figure out who to trust, when they are viewed as stipend givers.  Can you imagine having your best friends and family members asking you for money all the time?  They know what you make in your contract.  It's publicized.  Can you imagine how hard it is to say no to family and close friends? 

Oops

I just realized I need to delete a couple of stories I wrote back when I had no expectations of being in North Carolina for another year...

Yeah, got to delete a few things to make sure I don't get in trouble.  Not much but a few.  My normal very good sense of don't hit send was completely over taken by the expectation that I'd be far far far away from where I will be. 

Life is Like Swimming

You swim under the water.  You come up for air and see how far you are from where you want to go.  If you don't like where you are, you change course, put your head down and go. 

Happy Father's Day

What can I say I have learned from my father? 

I mean I should honor him somehow, since my family never ever does anything fun for Mother's Day or Father's Day.  We have NEVER gone out to eat for these holidays to my recollection.  Mom maybe got flowers or chocolates and maybe home made breakfast...which she probably had to clean up. 

So anyway.  What has my dad taught me? 

Well nothing to do with sports that is.  Absolutely nothing.  He can't catch a ball more than 50% of the time.  We have never had the father and son catch.  We did have the father and son this is how you "clean the bathroom."

He does have a sense of irony.  We had the "talk" conveniently in Intercourse, PA.  It probably helped him bring up the subject.  Not sure why this made it in here but it did. 

I did get his wonderfully defined and muscular legs.  Those have definitely been passed on and developed by me.

I've learned to work hard and to expect more out of myself.  That's a big one.  Usually when he says you will understand when you get older he's right. 

I've also really gained an appreciation of the arts and history from him.  It is he who has widened my horizons in terms of movies that I have watched.  He has picked out ones with good messages and lessons in them.  Captain's Courageous is a good example.  We also both love Fargo and Airplane. 

History and my appreciation of it comes from him.  We both enjoy history and I've learned a tremendous amount from him.  History, and knowing it well, helps you predict the future.

I think I've developed some of his sense of humor, although I don't think he ever gets to see it when he is around.  He tends to see the quiet and more introverted side of me.  The laid back and passive one. Although he can press buttons and get me to react and I think he really enjoys doing that. 

I've gained important lessons and values surrounding the importance of people from him.  The importance of family and community.  Regardless of your beliefs, church is important on the micro level for the simple fact that it is a community and it brings people together.  I would argue it's more meaningful than just that, but you can't deny that it does that at it's basic level.

I've learned to track every penny and be organized with receipts.  You have to read everything you sign.  I've learned basic business and law from him.

I've also benefited from his friendships and family friends. 

He has taken my family on many wonderful trips and we have experienced many great things. 

I've learned basic economics.  It's not worth it to put this much work in for this little reward. 

He tells great stories, and I want to be able to tell stories like he does.

I have developed an appreciation for cars from him.  It was extremely painful to me that my dad was not with me when I bought my first car.  I wanted him to be there.  I always envisioned it, because he is a car guy.  He was involved from afar.  He test drove my car and the other car I considered, but he didn't get to see it when it was brand new and shiny and perfect.  I cleaned it up when I got home for Christmas so it would look as new as possible.  It meant a lot to me for him to see my new car then.  I'm very grateful he was able to atleast be involved and know I bought my first car.  His father, his father's father and his father's father's father didn't live as long as my dad has so I'm grateful he's still around.      

My love of Lake Winnipesaukee came from him.

I've recently learned to shut my mouth and just do things.  I just quit arguing, or complaining when I don't agree with things and just accept it and move on.  It's a necessary skill for the work place.

Don't talk, just do.  Great advice, and I've received it plenty of times. 

We are very different and very similar in many ways.  I can see a lot of myself in him at times.  There are also times where I try to do the exact opposite of what he would do.  I'm more of a risk taker than he is.  Maybe I should say he doesn't take risks, because I'm not known to be a wild and crazy guy even though I strive to be interesting and me.  I'm more athletic and more patient.  I'm more creative than he is, and he is more organized.   

I also don't have his sense of style.  He is known for saying that he doesn't follow trends, he starts them.  Thankfully I didn't join him on his quest of being branded the short shorts guy. 

I don't think I feel like he casts a shadow on me at all, but I feel pressure to do as well as he did.  I think I put that pressure on myself.  I put lots of pressure on myself.  More than you or he might imagine.

I guess I should be most grateful for the fact that he has allowed me to pursue my own career.  It doesn't feel like a blessing at times that I have to make my own way.  Sometimes you wish it was easy, and that you are like the kids who did nothing in school and then were handed well paying jobs at the family business.  Career wise I've had to go it alone.  Whatever I make of myself in my career, I did by myself.  I got lots of help, don't get me wrong, but Dad never knew someone who got me in on my name alone.   That's a blessing that many people in my area don't have.      

So anyway, that's a little bit on what I want to say about my father on this father's day! 

Who has been searched for?

Here is a favorite thing of mine to post.  The following people have stalkers...other than me.

I keed,  I keed, Just Kidding, but I couldn't resist and we all know you were thinking it.

Anyway the following people's names have been googled and people have wound up here.  So if you googled yourself...well sorry you now know you are really into yourself.  For those that didn't, someone cares about you.  

Cory Bildstein

Mika Bussey

Kelsey Komrij RN (So I'm assuming she is a registered nurse now.  Good for her!)

Ally Mancino (Wasn't googled now, but actually I swear she is often)

Major Leagues

This sounds like something that would have happened during the movie "Major Leagues"

Sewage problems....

EWWW

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9393784/sewage-problem-puts-oakland-seattle-mariners-same-locker-room

This Is Awesome Reporting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBqINmUIoxk

Got to check out this video from a Phoenix Cross Country runner.  Funny, asking random people at Myrtle Beach about Gymnastics.

Great Tweet

This is one of the best tweets I have read in a long time.  Good job Shoey.  Good Job!

"Feeling crispy from this sunburn...could probably cook a sausage on my shoulders"

Sportscenter does this for Lebron.  

I think Shoey should be famous so I will retweet her great tweets.  

Artistic Inspiration

One day in maybe September or October I was inspired to take a photo of just some of my NIKE gear.  Some of which I bought, and some of which I was given while at UCONN.  I just thought it would make a cool photo. 

I don't know what to say other than that I remember just throwing random stuff all over the floor and then standing on my bed and taking photos of it.  I don't know how well it came out.  I thought it was unique and creative though, so I did it.

I think the idea came to me at 11pm and I probably finished with everything around 1am so this really did distract me.  I haven't posted the photo but this work shouldn't go unused. 

Backing Up

I'm going to talk about something really really useless.

Most people will probably go, "Well that's nothing new!"

I wonder how many people learned how to really use their mirrors when backing up their car.  I learned from my father and at the time he taught me I'm not sure I really appreciated it as much as I do now.

As we prepare to sell our house it becomes more and more apparent that I was lucky to have to deal with the pain in the... you fill in the blank... drive way that we have.  Up a hill and with a turn. 

I learned how to back up the driveway and back the car into the garage, from a difficult angle.  I am so comfortable doing it now as well.  I backed my dad's new car into the garage. 

Somehow I am impressed with myself because of this.  So learn how to back up your car using mirrors.  It's a useful skill. 

R.

I have to say I love that I put an R. in front of my name.  It makes it stick out and makes it more memorable. 

It's sort of like my brand.  I'm not Tim.  I'm R. Tim.

So as long as I don't do something stupid, which is hard for me not to do, I have a memorable name...and hopefully one that is associated with good things. 

Car Racing Thoughts

I just started thinking about car racing and Riley Racing.  The Riley's have done business with my father and they have serviced our cars at their shop.  In the past we have watched them race at Lime Rock in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Their son A.J. also went to UCONN.

I haven't been to a race in awhile but I randomly went on their website.

They posted some cool videos.

www.rileyracing.com

A.J. Riley is the only race car driver I know, so let's get a few things straight.  HE WORKS OUT ALL THE TIME.  He is always tweeting about track workouts and he loves cycling.  So yes, race car drivers can be athletic and often are in good shape.  They aren't all like Dick Trickle, who had a cigarette lighter in his car according to what I have read.   Trickle is the exception from what I can best tell...although there is no telling what goes on in some parts, which I learned from going to the Rodeo way back in October.

So in watching the videos I started to think about how different race car driving is then actual driving.  First of all, you need great reaction times.  I had to dodge a ladder on the road this year and that really tested my ability to swerve and avoid something on the highway while going 70.  It took an instant reaction, sharp to the right, sharp back to left and then snap back to the right with the wheel before I got going steady again.  You need quick reactions for hours. 

You also have to understand momentum and how to maintain it on road courses especially.  How you enter a turn is a big deal.  I know this from cycling.  When I know there is no traffic I can make a big swoop and accelerate through a turn and up a hill easily.  If I am forced to the inside because of traffic it becomes a lot more difficult.  Corner entry and exit is a big deal.

One thing I'd also love to do is try to control a car on old, worn and hot tires.  When we drive we are so used to a car doing exactly what we tell it to do.  That happens all the time for us, because cars don't go fast enough on the roads to be put to their limits.  When you race, cars don't always do what you want them to do.  Some sliding happens, the brakes get hot etc.  You have to learn to be able to put the car where you want it and when using more skill than what a normal driver needs.  Racing is so much more complicated. 

Coach I Peed My Pants

I won't say too much when it comes to the details because I think it would be easy to figure out who I was talking about.

I overheard a track coach discuss how her girls came to her to let them know that they peed their pants while running.

I guess it was some amazing accomplishment.  The way it was talked about made it seem like it was just normal.  It was almost as if it was proof that you were running faster and getting better.

Apparently you just go.  I don't know if it's because they are so hydrated or if it's because they are concentrating so hard on running that they can't control what else happens. 

I've also heard of people who have actually done that in a high pressure situation in other sports as well.  

I don't know that I will bring this up with any runner.  Not sure it's an appropriate topic of discussion, although I do know of some that would share these details.

I guess long distance runners and racecar drivers have a few things in common. 

Principal School Bus Racing

Now this event looks awesome.  I saw this via Darren Rovell's Twitter. 

http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/media/news/cabarrus-county-principals-face-off-back-back-school-bus-slobberknockers-during-rounds-one-two-jack-box-summer-shootout-series.html

Who would not want to watch principals race school buses? 

Seems like a unique event. 

People Who Have Influenced Me

There are a lot of people I look up to and try to emulate in some way and I thought I 'd write about a few of them.  I won't include all of the student-athletes who have a had a great effect on me. I'll leave out family as well. . 

I definitely look up to Coach Auriemma.  From watching and listening to him when I reported on women's basketball at UCONN I realized the importance of being myself, to chase perfection in order to catch excellence and to figure out what I do well and push to make myself better. 

I still haven't quite figured out what I am the best at, but I do know I need to make myself better. 

Another thing that I love about Geno is his sarcasm and ability to be charismatic and interesting.  I definitely try to stir the pot sometimes and be sarcastic. 

I look up to Coach Tsantiris because of how he approaches things.  I think he's a teacher.  He wants people to learn.  He also seems to me to be a man of many interests and is someone who understands the importance of balance.  You can work hard, but it's important to take a break and relax in order to be fresh. 

The other two things I admire in him are his commitment to academics.  He puts so much emphasis on the student-athletes doing coursework.  He is genuinely proud of his teams academic achievements and I think that's important and unique.   

Lastly I love his commitment to health and fitness.  He is a healthy eater.  I could learn a thing or two about that.  He is also active and I have so much respect for the fact that he can still physically play soccer with his friends. 

I look up to Mags because of how organized, structured and efficient she is.  She is very professional and I have a thing or two to work on.  I think she said it best when she said that I am mentally organized, but not always physically organized.  The older I have gotten the more I appreciate how she gets everything done. 

I look up to Rick Brooks.  He's a family friend, but he also taught me golf and waterskiing.  This man is a jack of all trades who is full of energy.  He's a great teacher who is also always curious about how to get better.  I haven't seen him for a while, but I learned so much on how to teach from how he taught me how to play golf and waterski.  I want to have as much energy and be as enthusiastic about life and about doing things as he is.  He makes me want to relax. 

My old personal trainer, Ali, is someone I look up to.  Most people have no idea how unhealthy and out of shape I was when I was in middle school.  I weighed a lot more then, than I do now.  I was so out of shape.  Ali got me to believe in myself and he made me a much better person.  He helped me become so much healthier.  I am so thankful for that. 

There are so many other people I could talk about here.  There are so many others that I have learned a great deal from, but I think that these are the top three people I have learned a lot from and want to emulate.