i hadn't been back to my high school since i graduated. but when i got the message from my hs coach to come back and help out, i didn't hesitate. i'll be there for camp coach b. i still call my coaches coach, that's the kind of respect i have for them. life always comes full circle, and to come back to where it all started, you realize how much these people have molded me, have given me that stable foundation, that positive upbringing that is deeply rooted in how i am today.
"we're proud of you alex...we knew you still had a ways to go after school, but we're proud of where you are today" - coach b, coach regan.
either i blocked out high school from my memory, or i don't really remember everything that clearly from that phase in my life. but coming back to visit brought back so many waves of memories...that that quote meant a lot to me. coach baskind just so happened to be and still is the dean of students at friends academy. he did a lot for me during those few months of turmoil, he wanted nothing in return for his love and care and support. he just told me to "pay it forward". it made me realize the good in people, the purity in teachers especially i had an asian mom barking her logic that contradicted all of that...
it's funny (and expected) that my family issues are still ongoing and when my coaches ask me about family, we just wink and laugh as nothings changed. i've just matured and been better at handling it. they saw my whole family situation so long ago, they know the situation clearly...they sent their best to my dad...they told anecdotes about "mrs. chin". they seem to remember me and my senior class very clearly because we were the only ones to be conference champs and go to the playoffs. i was an athlete. i guess people can't see that the way i am today.
i work out. my body is pretty resilient. i drink too much, but im still relatively active. i run, i swim, i bike, i'll do mma, i snowboard in the winter. active life doesn't consume me as much as social life, but with no training, i do half ironmans. i finish. other than being unprepared, i finish ok, im not in pain and when i think back, it all comes back to those days on the football field. those days training as a student athlete. nothing is impossible. i never thought i couldn't do it. i never quit. just do it. push yourself. finish hard.
life in high school is different. life at my old high school is different. its a rich school that got even richer. to a point where rich out weighed academics. where the doctor breadwinner household with more modest living standards and a deeper rooted family structure has stepped aside for gossip girl status. facebook and twitter have taken over school settings and sensitivity has coddled a generation that no longer understands work ethic. and its quite befuddling when its for something fun, like sports. it's not homework you're doing, it's playing football which you love and you just want to get better.
we came out of middle school undefeated. so when we hit high school, we were ready to go. i played varsity as a freshman. by sophomore year...most of us were starting on varsity. our junior year we pressed hard to get better...but when the team became ours again as seniors, we started the year with our catskills trip, committed to 4 practices a day at camp. brutal runs pre and post practice. gassers with quack that i'll never forget. with a full academic courseload boasting an avg SAT score above 1300 for our offensive line. those were the days. and what i see on the field today, is not that. i've become that guy...
many assistant coaches were ex players. the oldest one graduating college in 2009. i was probably closer to the players parents age. and i felt shy and timid around people i didnt know, i felt soft spoken to be given a coaching title when i was very hesitant to teach and preach. i hated being preached to, i hated being patronized as a student. so its very hard for me to do the same to students. when we broke up into groups, i had a better time working with individuals, teaching them long snapping and shotgun. 3 point stances. pass protection etc. but kids need to be told what to do. kids need solid direction, instruction. and in sports, that cliched emotional "one family one goal" lines work. they build commradery, they build teamwork.
this entire coaching experience, i hope i was a good impact on the kids, but moreso it was a big learning inflection experience for myself. i learned a lot about myself coming full circle. learned a lot about kids, a lot about life. i could see how some of my peers could be really good teachers and mentors because they are so sure of themselves, sometimes to a fault. yet that kind of instruction is exactly what kids need to hear. my kind of waxy waning, logical, figure it out for youself type of assessing the situation in a very macro type of guidance...does not work. tho that's the kind of instruction i wish i had, as maybe i had the instruction that was too stubborn. i never believed one way was the right way and found other options to be equally effective. i wanted to work for the net result. and work towards ones strengths, rather than to force the unecessary.
i coached camp for a week. i felt proud of myself. i will ask to do it again next year.
=)
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"we're proud of you alex...we knew you still had a ways to go after school, but we're proud of where you are today" - coach b, coach regan.
either i blocked out high school from my memory, or i don't really remember everything that clearly from that phase in my life. but coming back to visit brought back so many waves of memories...that that quote meant a lot to me. coach baskind just so happened to be and still is the dean of students at friends academy. he did a lot for me during those few months of turmoil, he wanted nothing in return for his love and care and support. he just told me to "pay it forward". it made me realize the good in people, the purity in teachers especially i had an asian mom barking her logic that contradicted all of that...
it's funny (and expected) that my family issues are still ongoing and when my coaches ask me about family, we just wink and laugh as nothings changed. i've just matured and been better at handling it. they saw my whole family situation so long ago, they know the situation clearly...they sent their best to my dad...they told anecdotes about "mrs. chin". they seem to remember me and my senior class very clearly because we were the only ones to be conference champs and go to the playoffs. i was an athlete. i guess people can't see that the way i am today.
i work out. my body is pretty resilient. i drink too much, but im still relatively active. i run, i swim, i bike, i'll do mma, i snowboard in the winter. active life doesn't consume me as much as social life, but with no training, i do half ironmans. i finish. other than being unprepared, i finish ok, im not in pain and when i think back, it all comes back to those days on the football field. those days training as a student athlete. nothing is impossible. i never thought i couldn't do it. i never quit. just do it. push yourself. finish hard.
life in high school is different. life at my old high school is different. its a rich school that got even richer. to a point where rich out weighed academics. where the doctor breadwinner household with more modest living standards and a deeper rooted family structure has stepped aside for gossip girl status. facebook and twitter have taken over school settings and sensitivity has coddled a generation that no longer understands work ethic. and its quite befuddling when its for something fun, like sports. it's not homework you're doing, it's playing football which you love and you just want to get better.
we came out of middle school undefeated. so when we hit high school, we were ready to go. i played varsity as a freshman. by sophomore year...most of us were starting on varsity. our junior year we pressed hard to get better...but when the team became ours again as seniors, we started the year with our catskills trip, committed to 4 practices a day at camp. brutal runs pre and post practice. gassers with quack that i'll never forget. with a full academic courseload boasting an avg SAT score above 1300 for our offensive line. those were the days. and what i see on the field today, is not that. i've become that guy...
many assistant coaches were ex players. the oldest one graduating college in 2009. i was probably closer to the players parents age. and i felt shy and timid around people i didnt know, i felt soft spoken to be given a coaching title when i was very hesitant to teach and preach. i hated being preached to, i hated being patronized as a student. so its very hard for me to do the same to students. when we broke up into groups, i had a better time working with individuals, teaching them long snapping and shotgun. 3 point stances. pass protection etc. but kids need to be told what to do. kids need solid direction, instruction. and in sports, that cliched emotional "one family one goal" lines work. they build commradery, they build teamwork.
this entire coaching experience, i hope i was a good impact on the kids, but moreso it was a big learning inflection experience for myself. i learned a lot about myself coming full circle. learned a lot about kids, a lot about life. i could see how some of my peers could be really good teachers and mentors because they are so sure of themselves, sometimes to a fault. yet that kind of instruction is exactly what kids need to hear. my kind of waxy waning, logical, figure it out for youself type of assessing the situation in a very macro type of guidance...does not work. tho that's the kind of instruction i wish i had, as maybe i had the instruction that was too stubborn. i never believed one way was the right way and found other options to be equally effective. i wanted to work for the net result. and work towards ones strengths, rather than to force the unecessary.
i coached camp for a week. i felt proud of myself. i will ask to do it again next year.
=)
