Raising my sports-minded boy is really a time-consuming thing. I can already see that I'm going to have way too much time on my hands when he graduates High School and heads off to college.
Last night, I put him and a friend through a basketball workout. They're both pretty athletic, but there are some fundamentals in basketball that aren't that intuitive. For instance, doing a proper layup. I can teach a person how to do it, but I can't actually do one, myself.
With basketball, it's truly a case of those who can't do, teach, at least with me. His friend's dad watched the workout and complimented me by saying I could coach one of the youth basketball teams based on what he saw me having the kids do. I think I could, but with the Navy, I'm gone one weekend a month. So, it's hard to make that committment.
Logan really seems to like the workouts. Like most kids his age, he really needs to learn ball handling. His shooting is actually pretty good, but that's what kids like to do. They don't do dribbling drills unless somebody is guiding and encouraging them.
As I mentioned in another post, Logan didn't make the Junior Cats, which is the best city team he can play for. He'll play rec this year. Another parent of a kid who didn't make the team thought there were some politics involved in the selection process, but I disagree with that.
I have several thoughts on this:
1. Some folks say they like track and field and swimming because those events are not political in any way. It's just the athlete and a stopwatch and that's it. That's pretty true. There are other sports like this. For instance, golf comes to mind. These are individual sports where the score is based entirely on a person's individual effort.
2. I saw the basketball tryouts and personally I would not have put Logan on the team. He was not out of the question. I figured that he and about 8 other kids were in the running for the last 4 spots on the team. However, I would have put him towards the bottom of those 8 kids. Although it went against my boy, I think the coaches made the right call.
3. I also hear a lot of the same griping about the way the Mavericks are selected. (Logan's travel baseball team.) Now, with the Mavs, they select two teams. The A team, which my son plays on, is the heavy travel team and plays a longer schedule, with more out of town tournaments. It consists, at least in theory, of the top 12 kids in the tryout.
The B team consists of the next 12 kids. So, in theory, our worst player should be better than their best player.
I remember the first time our team scrimmaged the B team. I and a few other dads were a bit nervous. What if some poor kid who really belonged on the A team got shafted and put on the B team by mistake? What if our boys really weren't better than the B team kids?
Well, any doubts as far as this sort of thing goes were put to rest in the scrimmage. I think we beat them by about 25 runs. We played them a handful of times throughout the season (twice in the regular season and twice in tournaments.) Our average margin of victory was about 25 to 1.
This was the team where, in order to get out of the inning, our coach told all our kids to bat left-handed. When the kids then had 6 straight hits and scored another 5 runs, the coach told them to not only bat left-handed, but that they had to swing at every pitch.
The difference in ability between the teams was astounding. This is not to say that we might not have a player or two who could be on the B team, or that they don't have a player or two who could play for us. However, generally speaking, the selection process was fair and the better kids made the A team.
I don't know if I'm just more objective about this, or that I'm better at ego-divorcing myself from what I'm seeing, but when I see the kids in the baseball tryout, it's pretty easy to see who is a little better than the other kids.
It works in Logan's favor in baseball. In basketball, I saw the same thing, but again, I didn't think Logan was in that tier that was a cut above. So, it didn't work in his favor there.
The bottom line is that team sports are frequently subjective. The example I like to use is a kid is fielding a line-drive. He doesn't make a clean play on the ball. He gets a glove on it, though, keeps it in front of him and makes a throw that gets the runner out, but it's not a strong throw.
How do you judge that? Do you say he should have made a clean play and a sharp throw? Or do you say he did a great job getting into position, keeping the ball in front of him and made the throw in time? Was the ball a hard one to handle cleanly? Did it take a bad hop? All of those things are things that are subjective judgements that an experienced coach will usually, but not always, make correctly.
Just like bad calls by the umps, I tell Logan all the time that the officials are part of the game, just like the ball and your shoes. If you can't live with the occassional call that doesn't go your way, you can't play team sports.
In the same vein, if you can't deal with the fact that coaches are making decisions and that occassionally, they don't see things the way you do, you can't play team sports.
In any event, I am still kicking myself for not-preparing Logan better for tryouts in basketball. In my defense, I only heard about them a week or two before they happened. Still, I could have done a better job of prepping him.
If my judgement is correct, Logan was in a group of 8 kids who were duking it out for 4 spots. He did pretty well considering I didn't really prepare him. I spoke with Logan and told him the truth: that he has the potential to be a basketball player, but that things are way more competitive now than when I was a kid. If he wants to play basketball, he'll have to start preparing himself and doing a little bit of work pretty much year-round. (The only exception would be during the travel baseball season, where the schedule is so intense, I really don't want him to be trying to squeeze in another activity.)
If we work on it, I see no reason why he wouldn't make the Junior Cats next year. If we don't work on it, he won't. Simple as that. He's on board and as long as he shows an interest, I'll do what I can to help him.
Unlike baseball, where my ability to coach him pretty much ended the day he stopped playing rec, I can probably coach him in basketball at least up to the middle school level.
Also, not to make excuses, but because of his birthday, he will be pretty much the youngest kid at any tryout based on his grade. He's going to have to work to overcome that.
In baseball, it wasn't a factor so much, but literally, the kid worked at baseball almost every night from the time he was 3 or 4 years old. Basketball? Not so much.
On the baseball front, there is a series of pitching clinics I'll have Logan do here soon as well. We'll miss one of them, but the guy putting on the clinics says we can substitute a general skills session for any missed pitching sessions. I like this coach. He's doing a great job on drilling the kids on skills.
As I mentioned in another post, Logan is still one of the better baseball players in his grade. I'd like to introduce him to pitching this year. His hitting technique is very, very good and I just have one more tweak to make in the off-season.
(The same tweak his hitting coach has him working on. He's transferring too much weight to his front foot during his swing.)
We'll try to do some skiing this year if I can afford it. I also want him to pick up golf one of these days. I think that'll be a good thing to have him into once he's older and staying home by himself in the Summer. If business improves, I'd like to re-join the country club and then he can golf pretty much every day.
However, this is the phase of his life where sports will probably never end. As I've said before, basketball was the first sport where it got hard to even make the team, when I was a kid. Looks like it's tougher than ever, now.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The "not quite so depressing" blog post...
Oddly, I feel pretty good today. Strange. I was up half the night thinking about the biz. So, not only was I stressed out last night, I didn't get much sleep.
I think half my problem these days is just fighting my moods. I've got a business that's struggling, in a state that's struggling, in a region that's struggling, in a country that's struggling.
I try to remind myself that all things considered, I've got it pretty good. I'm relatively healthy. I have a fantastic little boy who is also healthy.
The business has been discouraging, but technically, it will post a profit this year. A modest one, to be sure, but it will probably post a profit.
The issue isn't so much "will the business survive?" Within limits, it can grow or shrink to whatever size it needs to in order to accomodate business conditions. The question really is, "will I survive?"
I mean, the business, technically, is viable if it posts a $35,000 profit. However, that doesn't make for much living on my part.
I keep reminding myself that this is a lot like the end of my first year of business. Things really took off from there. First and second years were draught years. So, just like this past year, revenues were hard to come by because of the weather.
We did $207 and about $330 those first two years. This year, we'll probably be at about $500 or so.
At $330, we were really profitable, but that was because we were adding staff to accomodate growth. Meaning, we were virtually never overstaffed.
The ride down is a lot bumpier because you're overstaffed almost all the time. So, this year, despite not-dismal sales numbers, profits took a big hit.
The silver lining to all this is that we can probably handle about $50-60,000 a month in revenues with our current staffing. So, as we build sales volume, we should be back in the land of impressive profitability.
We also have infrastructure and equipment, now, that we didn't have before. We have a lot more trucks and equipment. We don't have to worry about that aspect of growth for a while. We're well poised.
In the mean time, I have to get us ready to fight another day. We just let go of one employee. It was 50% due to business conditions, and 50% because the employee was an imperfect fit and we didn't have anyplace else to put her.
I posted an ad for an office manager trainee on Monster and good lord. I'm getting about 6 resumes an hour.
We did get a phenomenal sales rep trainee from our ad there. I can see I'll have a great bunch of candidates to chose from for an admin.
Monster has a way to post for certain jobs for just $99. Worth every penny. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier.
We should get a renewed marketing effort, and that candidate seems to have a lot of runway ahead of him. Could be a future GM.
I'm determined to get a cracker jack office manager. We haven't had one since Stacie left 2 years ago. The position is just too critical to have somebody who isn't awesome in it.
Next year, even if it were a repeat of this year, things should be a lot better. A more realistic, but conservative estimate would put us at about $600K in revenues if the weather cooperates at all.
If we get our normal weather patterns, we should be up over $800 again. If that happens, my finances get healthy all in one fell swoop.
It could happen, and I've seen similar turnarounds in this biz before. Our sales increased by $330K between year 2 and year 3. We increased by $220 between years 3 and 4.
Really, in the grand scheme of things, my business' profitability is the only thing in my life that's going poorly. Perspective is in order. Even if the absolute worst-case scenario were to play itself out, I went broke and declared bankruptcy, I still have a lot of talents and opportunities.
It wouldn't finish me. It would make life hard in a lot of ways, but nobody ever said that life was supposed to be easy. Really, if you took the entire population of the world right now, or the total number of people who have ever existed, the number of people who wouldn't trade places with me right now is almost statistically insignificant.
I'm a lucky person and I need to never lose track of that.
I heard this poem when I graduated basic training. The distinguished graduate read it to everybody. I always liked it and it has held meaning for me at so many times during my life:
Don't Quit
Anonymous
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
I think half my problem these days is just fighting my moods. I've got a business that's struggling, in a state that's struggling, in a region that's struggling, in a country that's struggling.
I try to remind myself that all things considered, I've got it pretty good. I'm relatively healthy. I have a fantastic little boy who is also healthy.
The business has been discouraging, but technically, it will post a profit this year. A modest one, to be sure, but it will probably post a profit.
The issue isn't so much "will the business survive?" Within limits, it can grow or shrink to whatever size it needs to in order to accomodate business conditions. The question really is, "will I survive?"
I mean, the business, technically, is viable if it posts a $35,000 profit. However, that doesn't make for much living on my part.
I keep reminding myself that this is a lot like the end of my first year of business. Things really took off from there. First and second years were draught years. So, just like this past year, revenues were hard to come by because of the weather.
We did $207 and about $330 those first two years. This year, we'll probably be at about $500 or so.
At $330, we were really profitable, but that was because we were adding staff to accomodate growth. Meaning, we were virtually never overstaffed.
The ride down is a lot bumpier because you're overstaffed almost all the time. So, this year, despite not-dismal sales numbers, profits took a big hit.
The silver lining to all this is that we can probably handle about $50-60,000 a month in revenues with our current staffing. So, as we build sales volume, we should be back in the land of impressive profitability.
We also have infrastructure and equipment, now, that we didn't have before. We have a lot more trucks and equipment. We don't have to worry about that aspect of growth for a while. We're well poised.
In the mean time, I have to get us ready to fight another day. We just let go of one employee. It was 50% due to business conditions, and 50% because the employee was an imperfect fit and we didn't have anyplace else to put her.
I posted an ad for an office manager trainee on Monster and good lord. I'm getting about 6 resumes an hour.
We did get a phenomenal sales rep trainee from our ad there. I can see I'll have a great bunch of candidates to chose from for an admin.
Monster has a way to post for certain jobs for just $99. Worth every penny. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier.
We should get a renewed marketing effort, and that candidate seems to have a lot of runway ahead of him. Could be a future GM.
I'm determined to get a cracker jack office manager. We haven't had one since Stacie left 2 years ago. The position is just too critical to have somebody who isn't awesome in it.
Next year, even if it were a repeat of this year, things should be a lot better. A more realistic, but conservative estimate would put us at about $600K in revenues if the weather cooperates at all.
If we get our normal weather patterns, we should be up over $800 again. If that happens, my finances get healthy all in one fell swoop.
It could happen, and I've seen similar turnarounds in this biz before. Our sales increased by $330K between year 2 and year 3. We increased by $220 between years 3 and 4.
Really, in the grand scheme of things, my business' profitability is the only thing in my life that's going poorly. Perspective is in order. Even if the absolute worst-case scenario were to play itself out, I went broke and declared bankruptcy, I still have a lot of talents and opportunities.
It wouldn't finish me. It would make life hard in a lot of ways, but nobody ever said that life was supposed to be easy. Really, if you took the entire population of the world right now, or the total number of people who have ever existed, the number of people who wouldn't trade places with me right now is almost statistically insignificant.
I'm a lucky person and I need to never lose track of that.
I heard this poem when I graduated basic training. The distinguished graduate read it to everybody. I always liked it and it has held meaning for me at so many times during my life:
Don't Quit
Anonymous
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Family and Friends
Okay, first news, Logan didn't make the Wildcats. This one sort of snuck up on us, though. I only found out about tryouts or even that the team existed, about 2 weeks prior to the tryouts.
Only a couple of weeks before that, I heard about the Sylvania Celtics, which Logan will be playing for. So, this year, basketball caught us sort of unaware. I remember basketball being the first sport that got pretty competitive just to make the team. Fewer spots to fill. Lots of good players.
Kids today have a much more competitive atmosphere in sports than I had to deal with. A lot of kids who made the team back when I was young might have trouble these days.
Now, though, we're forewarned. I don't think Logan is a basketball prodigy, but he shows remarkably good skills. If he works at it, I think he could play in middle school and high school. Basketball, I know a little more than I do about baseball.
So, having a warehouse where I can put up a portable hoop will give me exactly what I need to get the kid ready.
Today, I set up some chairs and we worked on dribbling with both hands. Worked on crossover dribble. Worked a little bit on teaching the proper way to do a layup. Reinforced squaring up the shoulders for the shot.
If we had been doing this for a few months prior to his tryout, I think he'd have made the team. We didn't, and that's the way things went. However, from here on out, we'll be ready.
I played him in a little 1 on 1 game. He did a great job of shooting. I still, in my life, have not seen a kid as coachable as my son. You tell him something and he does it. He was working on all the fundamentals we drilled on. I know I'm pretty biased, but coaches who work with him really notice this. In baseball, his coach will use him as an example of the proper technique to field a ball. He isn't the best fielder on the team, but he hustles, gets into position and has impeccable form.
At the end, we did a tabata workout where we just jumped into the air (like going for a rebound.) 8 sets of 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest between sets. We missed one of the sets due to a phone call, but 7 was plenty. I don't want to wear the kid out.
I told him that doing this will let him jump higher. Immediately afterwards, he tried jumping to see if it worked. I had to explain that it'll take a few days for it to show up.
I do love spending time with my son and teaching him things. I've loved every minute of that kids' life. I've never understood about parents who think their kids are a pain in the butt or who can't wait for school to get back in session so they'll see less of them.
It's probably because I had to wait so long for my boy. I wanted kids pretty much my entire adult life, and was lucky enough to finally have one. I couldn't have asked for a better one.
I must have had some down-sounding posts because a friend called me today to make sure I was doing okay. Gotta love good friends. I am fine. Just sorta bummed and feeling a bit worn down. Wistful for the days when I was rich. Those days will come again. Right now, this feels like year one in my business. However, we're poised for much faster growth than we had the first time out. We've got the equipment and the people.
It's just hard to think of a time when buying $1,000 worth of baseball bats in a month wasn't even something that I thought twice about. Plus, belonging to the country club was really nice. I was only a member for a year and a half. It was awesome, though. I'd love to get back to that point.
It also sort of sucks because I want to start other businesses, but that's hard to do without cash. Right now, I need to make sure this business gets going to fund any future businesses. I am hopeful for a day in the future when I have multiple sources of income, preferrably ones that may work counter-cyclically to each other. If I can diversify with several businesses, I won't have to suffer so much when one of them takes a downturn.
Things are still hairy right now. However, if it were easy, everybody would do it. Surviving times like these are what will allow me to cash those biggo checks again someday without feeling any guilt over it.
In the mean time, all the Melancon and Gibson guitars are gone. I just sold a gun and will be whittling down that collection, too.
We'll also be selling off a lot of stuff at work. Whatever it takes to survive. Whatever it takes to be in the game when the tide turns.
I choked on one section of the Arabic test, but I asked another smart girl from the class and she did, too. Maybe the prof will curve this one. If not, no biggie. There are about 1,000 points possible in the class. We've completed maybe 600 of them and even if I get zero points for that question, I'll have about 580 out of a possible 600 points. Well on track for an A. If I get an A or B, I'll be happy.
Only a couple of weeks before that, I heard about the Sylvania Celtics, which Logan will be playing for. So, this year, basketball caught us sort of unaware. I remember basketball being the first sport that got pretty competitive just to make the team. Fewer spots to fill. Lots of good players.
Kids today have a much more competitive atmosphere in sports than I had to deal with. A lot of kids who made the team back when I was young might have trouble these days.
Now, though, we're forewarned. I don't think Logan is a basketball prodigy, but he shows remarkably good skills. If he works at it, I think he could play in middle school and high school. Basketball, I know a little more than I do about baseball.
So, having a warehouse where I can put up a portable hoop will give me exactly what I need to get the kid ready.
Today, I set up some chairs and we worked on dribbling with both hands. Worked on crossover dribble. Worked a little bit on teaching the proper way to do a layup. Reinforced squaring up the shoulders for the shot.
If we had been doing this for a few months prior to his tryout, I think he'd have made the team. We didn't, and that's the way things went. However, from here on out, we'll be ready.
I played him in a little 1 on 1 game. He did a great job of shooting. I still, in my life, have not seen a kid as coachable as my son. You tell him something and he does it. He was working on all the fundamentals we drilled on. I know I'm pretty biased, but coaches who work with him really notice this. In baseball, his coach will use him as an example of the proper technique to field a ball. He isn't the best fielder on the team, but he hustles, gets into position and has impeccable form.
At the end, we did a tabata workout where we just jumped into the air (like going for a rebound.) 8 sets of 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest between sets. We missed one of the sets due to a phone call, but 7 was plenty. I don't want to wear the kid out.
I told him that doing this will let him jump higher. Immediately afterwards, he tried jumping to see if it worked. I had to explain that it'll take a few days for it to show up.
I do love spending time with my son and teaching him things. I've loved every minute of that kids' life. I've never understood about parents who think their kids are a pain in the butt or who can't wait for school to get back in session so they'll see less of them.
It's probably because I had to wait so long for my boy. I wanted kids pretty much my entire adult life, and was lucky enough to finally have one. I couldn't have asked for a better one.
I must have had some down-sounding posts because a friend called me today to make sure I was doing okay. Gotta love good friends. I am fine. Just sorta bummed and feeling a bit worn down. Wistful for the days when I was rich. Those days will come again. Right now, this feels like year one in my business. However, we're poised for much faster growth than we had the first time out. We've got the equipment and the people.
It's just hard to think of a time when buying $1,000 worth of baseball bats in a month wasn't even something that I thought twice about. Plus, belonging to the country club was really nice. I was only a member for a year and a half. It was awesome, though. I'd love to get back to that point.
It also sort of sucks because I want to start other businesses, but that's hard to do without cash. Right now, I need to make sure this business gets going to fund any future businesses. I am hopeful for a day in the future when I have multiple sources of income, preferrably ones that may work counter-cyclically to each other. If I can diversify with several businesses, I won't have to suffer so much when one of them takes a downturn.
Things are still hairy right now. However, if it were easy, everybody would do it. Surviving times like these are what will allow me to cash those biggo checks again someday without feeling any guilt over it.
In the mean time, all the Melancon and Gibson guitars are gone. I just sold a gun and will be whittling down that collection, too.
We'll also be selling off a lot of stuff at work. Whatever it takes to survive. Whatever it takes to be in the game when the tide turns.
I choked on one section of the Arabic test, but I asked another smart girl from the class and she did, too. Maybe the prof will curve this one. If not, no biggie. There are about 1,000 points possible in the class. We've completed maybe 600 of them and even if I get zero points for that question, I'll have about 580 out of a possible 600 points. Well on track for an A. If I get an A or B, I'll be happy.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof
Latest in the days that try men's souls is my car. Although I usually don't buy extended warranties, they had one through Chrysler called the "bumper to bumper wrap". It cost a chunk. (I think like $2 grand), but basically, it extends the manufacturers warranty forever. It's already pretty much paid for itself. I figured I would have this car for 5 years and probably 200,000 miles. So, I wanted to do what I could.
It had been leaking. Not much at first, but now, finally, enough that it's leaking onto driveways, etc. Everybody loves the guy who leaks oil on their driveway. So, I took it today to get it fixed. It only costs $100 for the deductible for the warranty, which is a fraction of the cost of the repair.
My rear brakes needed to be replaced, though. About $400 clams. Yikes. And they say the front will need to be done sometime in the not-too-distant future.
I put a lot of miles on my car, though. So, it only stands to reason that it needs maintenance. Still, I could find other things to do with the money, especially after shelling out $2 grand for a root canal and new crown. If it isn't one thing, it's another.
Work is going okay, but we're going to have to cut back to 4 day weeks here soon. I hate to do it. It really hurts some of the employees. Trouble is, the alternative is to lose their jobs, entirely.
I figure I've got some really hard weeks ahead as I try to keep the business going until the Winter gives us a bump. Again, the trouble this year is that last Winter didn't give us a bump at all.
Historically, we have had about 3 times a year where we have more business than we can handle. We have an employee we hired in Summer of 09, and it hasn't happened once for as long as he's worked for us. It's been a year and a half of unusually mild weather and although a lot of people are happy about it, it's just killing me.
We'll have to start selling things off. That will help us tide ourselves over for a little while. We do have some money coming in, too. In theory, we should pick up a little work. Though, in theory, we shouldn't be in this shape to begin with because in theory, the weather we've had has been exceedingly unlikely.
It's hard not to be discouraged. My house is all torn up and looks like crap. It's got one pretty major thing that need to be dealt with. As-is, it distinctly has the feel of a house that's being renovated.
I've been splitting wood the past couple of days ever since the electric company took down one of the dead trees in my backyard. The emerald ash borer has been killing all the ash trees up here. Bastards. So, they left the lumber and I've been splitting it, which has been a little workout and has been somewhat of a stress reliever.
Beyond that, if things get slow, my guys can work on my house, but the trouble is, I don't have much/any money for materials. So, they'll have to do a lot of painting, I guess. That's been a good luck charm in the past, though. Usually, right about the time they get things all torn up, we get some business.
I shipped off the last of my nice guitars today. I don't play much electric guitar, anyway. I still have my nice acoustic and would prefer not to sell it off. It's pretty beat up. Probably wouldn't go for much money.
It's getting a little discouraging these days. This area is so depressing. My house is depressing. My business is depressing.
I firmly believe that God never gives you more than you can handle but experience has shown me that God thinks you can handle intense agony for a very long time, followed by death.
Really, in the grand scheme of things, I'm still a very, very lucky guy. Just whiney. Things aren't so good right now, but I still own my own business and it still has great potential. Out of the past 5 years, 3 of them were great, 1 was okay, and 2 have been bad.
I wasn't in business long enough to build up some reserves to weather the bad times. I was also way too slow to react when things took a downturn. This will teach me a lesson for next time. I just hope I see some good months again here, soon.
In the mean time, I could really use a break.
It had been leaking. Not much at first, but now, finally, enough that it's leaking onto driveways, etc. Everybody loves the guy who leaks oil on their driveway. So, I took it today to get it fixed. It only costs $100 for the deductible for the warranty, which is a fraction of the cost of the repair.
My rear brakes needed to be replaced, though. About $400 clams. Yikes. And they say the front will need to be done sometime in the not-too-distant future.
I put a lot of miles on my car, though. So, it only stands to reason that it needs maintenance. Still, I could find other things to do with the money, especially after shelling out $2 grand for a root canal and new crown. If it isn't one thing, it's another.
Work is going okay, but we're going to have to cut back to 4 day weeks here soon. I hate to do it. It really hurts some of the employees. Trouble is, the alternative is to lose their jobs, entirely.
I figure I've got some really hard weeks ahead as I try to keep the business going until the Winter gives us a bump. Again, the trouble this year is that last Winter didn't give us a bump at all.
Historically, we have had about 3 times a year where we have more business than we can handle. We have an employee we hired in Summer of 09, and it hasn't happened once for as long as he's worked for us. It's been a year and a half of unusually mild weather and although a lot of people are happy about it, it's just killing me.
We'll have to start selling things off. That will help us tide ourselves over for a little while. We do have some money coming in, too. In theory, we should pick up a little work. Though, in theory, we shouldn't be in this shape to begin with because in theory, the weather we've had has been exceedingly unlikely.
It's hard not to be discouraged. My house is all torn up and looks like crap. It's got one pretty major thing that need to be dealt with. As-is, it distinctly has the feel of a house that's being renovated.
I've been splitting wood the past couple of days ever since the electric company took down one of the dead trees in my backyard. The emerald ash borer has been killing all the ash trees up here. Bastards. So, they left the lumber and I've been splitting it, which has been a little workout and has been somewhat of a stress reliever.
Beyond that, if things get slow, my guys can work on my house, but the trouble is, I don't have much/any money for materials. So, they'll have to do a lot of painting, I guess. That's been a good luck charm in the past, though. Usually, right about the time they get things all torn up, we get some business.
I shipped off the last of my nice guitars today. I don't play much electric guitar, anyway. I still have my nice acoustic and would prefer not to sell it off. It's pretty beat up. Probably wouldn't go for much money.
It's getting a little discouraging these days. This area is so depressing. My house is depressing. My business is depressing.
I firmly believe that God never gives you more than you can handle but experience has shown me that God thinks you can handle intense agony for a very long time, followed by death.
Really, in the grand scheme of things, I'm still a very, very lucky guy. Just whiney. Things aren't so good right now, but I still own my own business and it still has great potential. Out of the past 5 years, 3 of them were great, 1 was okay, and 2 have been bad.
I wasn't in business long enough to build up some reserves to weather the bad times. I was also way too slow to react when things took a downturn. This will teach me a lesson for next time. I just hope I see some good months again here, soon.
In the mean time, I could really use a break.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Money from Strange Places, Deployment and Man Meets Moment
It just dawned on me the other day that self-employment has led to some pretty wierd money coming from some strangely unexpected places. I've remarked a few times that now that I own a business, it seems like people just mail me checks now and then for no apparent reason.
I am going to explain this in the context of the fact that I earned less than $30,000 for most of the first years of my career. Pretty much from 1991 thru about 1995. In 1995, I got a couple of raises and took a transfer and promotion, and that put my salary in the $40K range, where I could afford to buy a house and eat something other than $2.00 meals at McDonald's. Before that, though, I didn't make much money. Not in the Army, not in school (though I did pretty well, all things considered) and not for the first few years as a computer programmer.
So, when it comes to wierd money, the first is the money I get from participating in the Navy Reserve. All told, it will probably mean about $8,000 this year. This, by the way, is not entirely different than the total amount of money I made as an E-5 during my last year in the Army.
Granted, I could have served in the reserves all during my adult life, and sometimes I wish I had. However, it is very, very hard to do so and to keep a demanding career going. Although employers wave the flag publicly, military reservists are discriminated against for promotion and hiring in the real world. I doubt I could have risen as far and as fast as I did if I had been serving in the reserves at the same time.
The next big chunk is from credit card rewards programs. Conservatively, I spend about $200,000 to $250,000 a year on credit cards. If I get a 1% rebate on this, that, alone, is $2,000.
Third, I get a rebate on my royalties paid to Servpro if I attend their convention. This is based on how much I pay in royalties, but on the low side, I get maybe $3,500. On the high side, almost $6,000.
So, even when my company is doing poorly, I can get maybe $15,000 a year just from serving in the reserves and getting rebates.
Granted, I couldn't live on that. However, it's not an insignificant chunk of change. I used to work 50+ weeks a year to get maybe $25,000. So, relative to what I used to have to do to earn my living, I am still more than a little impressed that a part time job and a handful of rebates can be so substantial, financially.
On the deployment front, I just saw a short-fused (meaning they need somebody to pack up and leave right now) opportunity that looked great to me. It was for an assistant supply officer for a seabee regiment. I would love to have volunteered for that. However, there were a few things that didn't work out.
First, I'm not sure the commander of my current unit would approve it because it would delay me getting my DAWIA (military contracting) certification. Also, I am supposed to be deploying as a contracting officer, not a supply officer. I think I could talk him into it, but that's one reason against it.
The second reason is that the business really needs my attention right now. I'm putting in longer hours than I have since year two. I'm also doing things (like finding money) that I really can't delegate. I need to be standing in the middle of this thing if we're going to weather this storm.
Third, I want to wait one more year before deploying. At that point, I will be an O-3, which is a difference of about $20,000 a year if deployed. Granted, money isn't the reason I'm in the reserves, but if I'm going to spend a year away, $20,000 is a not-inconsequential chunk of change.
Funny, but I really could use the money right now because business has been so slow. Yet, that's the exact reason why I shouldn't go. I need to be here to get the business through this rough spot.
It's funny how life is hard to read while you're in the middle of it. It's hard to recognize moments for what they are until years later when you have the luxury of hindsight. Every day, people are bringing out their inner hero to address problems they face.
Years from now, when I'm rich again, I will look back on this time the same way I look back on my first year of business: a trial by fire that separated me from those who failed.
In the mean time, it's not much fun, but this is what I was born to do. I was born to own and run a business, and so long as I have the ability, that's what I'm going to do with my life. I have had many minor callings, but this is the life that has always been on my mind for as far back as I can remember.
Now, things are tough and this is where the really capable guys distance themselves from the folks who were just along for the ride.
Granted it takes a certain talent to run the business in the environment I was in from 2005-2009. I took sales from $0 to over a million. I joined the country club and had money to spare every month.
Now, though, things aren't like that. There's just nothing to be done about that. You play the hand you're dealt.
The fit has hit the shan. I need to be the best man in the garbage can right now.
The survival of the business, the jobs of my remaining employees, and the future prosperity of both me and my son depend on it.
The good news is that, again, this is what I was born to do. I can't guarantee I'll succeed. I can guarantee that I stand a better shot than most.
I am going to explain this in the context of the fact that I earned less than $30,000 for most of the first years of my career. Pretty much from 1991 thru about 1995. In 1995, I got a couple of raises and took a transfer and promotion, and that put my salary in the $40K range, where I could afford to buy a house and eat something other than $2.00 meals at McDonald's. Before that, though, I didn't make much money. Not in the Army, not in school (though I did pretty well, all things considered) and not for the first few years as a computer programmer.
So, when it comes to wierd money, the first is the money I get from participating in the Navy Reserve. All told, it will probably mean about $8,000 this year. This, by the way, is not entirely different than the total amount of money I made as an E-5 during my last year in the Army.
Granted, I could have served in the reserves all during my adult life, and sometimes I wish I had. However, it is very, very hard to do so and to keep a demanding career going. Although employers wave the flag publicly, military reservists are discriminated against for promotion and hiring in the real world. I doubt I could have risen as far and as fast as I did if I had been serving in the reserves at the same time.
The next big chunk is from credit card rewards programs. Conservatively, I spend about $200,000 to $250,000 a year on credit cards. If I get a 1% rebate on this, that, alone, is $2,000.
Third, I get a rebate on my royalties paid to Servpro if I attend their convention. This is based on how much I pay in royalties, but on the low side, I get maybe $3,500. On the high side, almost $6,000.
So, even when my company is doing poorly, I can get maybe $15,000 a year just from serving in the reserves and getting rebates.
Granted, I couldn't live on that. However, it's not an insignificant chunk of change. I used to work 50+ weeks a year to get maybe $25,000. So, relative to what I used to have to do to earn my living, I am still more than a little impressed that a part time job and a handful of rebates can be so substantial, financially.
On the deployment front, I just saw a short-fused (meaning they need somebody to pack up and leave right now) opportunity that looked great to me. It was for an assistant supply officer for a seabee regiment. I would love to have volunteered for that. However, there were a few things that didn't work out.
First, I'm not sure the commander of my current unit would approve it because it would delay me getting my DAWIA (military contracting) certification. Also, I am supposed to be deploying as a contracting officer, not a supply officer. I think I could talk him into it, but that's one reason against it.
The second reason is that the business really needs my attention right now. I'm putting in longer hours than I have since year two. I'm also doing things (like finding money) that I really can't delegate. I need to be standing in the middle of this thing if we're going to weather this storm.
Third, I want to wait one more year before deploying. At that point, I will be an O-3, which is a difference of about $20,000 a year if deployed. Granted, money isn't the reason I'm in the reserves, but if I'm going to spend a year away, $20,000 is a not-inconsequential chunk of change.
Funny, but I really could use the money right now because business has been so slow. Yet, that's the exact reason why I shouldn't go. I need to be here to get the business through this rough spot.
It's funny how life is hard to read while you're in the middle of it. It's hard to recognize moments for what they are until years later when you have the luxury of hindsight. Every day, people are bringing out their inner hero to address problems they face.
Years from now, when I'm rich again, I will look back on this time the same way I look back on my first year of business: a trial by fire that separated me from those who failed.
In the mean time, it's not much fun, but this is what I was born to do. I was born to own and run a business, and so long as I have the ability, that's what I'm going to do with my life. I have had many minor callings, but this is the life that has always been on my mind for as far back as I can remember.
Now, things are tough and this is where the really capable guys distance themselves from the folks who were just along for the ride.
Granted it takes a certain talent to run the business in the environment I was in from 2005-2009. I took sales from $0 to over a million. I joined the country club and had money to spare every month.
Now, though, things aren't like that. There's just nothing to be done about that. You play the hand you're dealt.
The fit has hit the shan. I need to be the best man in the garbage can right now.
The survival of the business, the jobs of my remaining employees, and the future prosperity of both me and my son depend on it.
The good news is that, again, this is what I was born to do. I can't guarantee I'll succeed. I can guarantee that I stand a better shot than most.
Looking Forward to the Weekend...
There's some sort of burrowing animal that's digging next to my house. I probably will call a pest control type person to take care of it. Whatever it is, it's displaced a large amount of dirt. Not sure that it's harmful, per se. I just know I don't want it there.
I can't believe how busy things have been these past couple of weeks. It's just been one thing after another. This is the first time since I went into business for myself that I can remember not having enough time to get around to things.
The cable guy didn't finish yesterday until noon. That was a huge chunk of my day. Though the house really needed it. The money pit is depressing enough as it is, but without cable or internet, it's really bad. Now, I have cable and Netflix on demand.
Of course, while I'm in this Arabic class, that's the last thing I need. I have a quiz I need to take tomorrow. Our 2nd test is coming up on Tuesday. I need to figure out what I'm going to do for my project. Other than that, our teacher is pretty good about grades. If you're putting in the effort, you can get a good grade.
I think all I need is a B or C for the Navy Culture program. That shouldn't be too hard to do. Right now, with bonus points, I actually have more points than I need to have 100% in the class.
Being back in school has reminded me just how little I like being in school. It's not that it's bad, but working and going to school is the pits. I remember when I was young that people would always talk about how working and going to school made the whole experience so much more valuable.
I remember a lunch I had with some executives back in my corporate days. The subject of working your way though school came up. One of the executives said, "I know it's supposed to teach you hard work and time management. Mostly though, it just taught me how to be tired."
I totally agreed with her. Ironically, my business requires more attention right now than it has in years. So, having one more thing on my plate is not something I need right now. It's amazing how utterly inconvenient a night school class can be as far as a person's schedule.
On a tangent, I have decided to start selling off some of the older equipment at the business. It needed to go, and I should have sold it off years ago. Now, there's a bit of necessity behind the decision. We paid off one of our vans early (it wasn't due to be paid off until December), and will be selling that, soon.
Really, all this stuff needed to go. The van is 6 years old, and has had a lot of hard use. The other equipment we're selling is useful, but getting outdated. If I hang on to it for much longer, it won't be worth anything at all.
I also should probably move forward on hiring a marketer. I get resumes every day, but the first guy to apply has been the best fit so far. At the least, I should call him in for a face-to-face interview.
Project e-bay is going really well. My original intention was to find $10,000 worth of stuff that I haven't touched in a year or more and see if I can e-bay it off. So far, so good. The first guitars, oddly, felt like the 10 days of the action just flew by. Now, 10 days seems like a long time. Maybe because, at first, I didn't want to part with my stuff.
Now? I am actually a little relieved to be simplifying and cutting down on all the junk in my house. I am a pack-rat and a collector. If left to my own devices, I'd be filling warehouses with stuff that I never touch.
Then, after a while, I sit and think about all the junk I have, with no need for it, and that I never actually even touch, and wonder what the heck I was thinking when I bought all the stuff.
Not such a big deal when you're rich, but when times are tight, it's time to simplify.
The other day, I figured I'd be able to get through this economic crunch. Someday, I'll be rich again. Building from zero last time took me about 2 years to do it. Now, the business has the basic structure. We can add people as we get busy again.
It's times like these where you pay your dues, and that means you don't have to feel guilty about how well things are going when times get good again. Next year could be a totally different ballgame.
I am looking forward to the weekend. Need to get rested and caught up on things. It's been a busy, busy few weeks.
I can't believe how busy things have been these past couple of weeks. It's just been one thing after another. This is the first time since I went into business for myself that I can remember not having enough time to get around to things.
The cable guy didn't finish yesterday until noon. That was a huge chunk of my day. Though the house really needed it. The money pit is depressing enough as it is, but without cable or internet, it's really bad. Now, I have cable and Netflix on demand.
Of course, while I'm in this Arabic class, that's the last thing I need. I have a quiz I need to take tomorrow. Our 2nd test is coming up on Tuesday. I need to figure out what I'm going to do for my project. Other than that, our teacher is pretty good about grades. If you're putting in the effort, you can get a good grade.
I think all I need is a B or C for the Navy Culture program. That shouldn't be too hard to do. Right now, with bonus points, I actually have more points than I need to have 100% in the class.
Being back in school has reminded me just how little I like being in school. It's not that it's bad, but working and going to school is the pits. I remember when I was young that people would always talk about how working and going to school made the whole experience so much more valuable.
I remember a lunch I had with some executives back in my corporate days. The subject of working your way though school came up. One of the executives said, "I know it's supposed to teach you hard work and time management. Mostly though, it just taught me how to be tired."
I totally agreed with her. Ironically, my business requires more attention right now than it has in years. So, having one more thing on my plate is not something I need right now. It's amazing how utterly inconvenient a night school class can be as far as a person's schedule.
On a tangent, I have decided to start selling off some of the older equipment at the business. It needed to go, and I should have sold it off years ago. Now, there's a bit of necessity behind the decision. We paid off one of our vans early (it wasn't due to be paid off until December), and will be selling that, soon.
Really, all this stuff needed to go. The van is 6 years old, and has had a lot of hard use. The other equipment we're selling is useful, but getting outdated. If I hang on to it for much longer, it won't be worth anything at all.
I also should probably move forward on hiring a marketer. I get resumes every day, but the first guy to apply has been the best fit so far. At the least, I should call him in for a face-to-face interview.
Project e-bay is going really well. My original intention was to find $10,000 worth of stuff that I haven't touched in a year or more and see if I can e-bay it off. So far, so good. The first guitars, oddly, felt like the 10 days of the action just flew by. Now, 10 days seems like a long time. Maybe because, at first, I didn't want to part with my stuff.
Now? I am actually a little relieved to be simplifying and cutting down on all the junk in my house. I am a pack-rat and a collector. If left to my own devices, I'd be filling warehouses with stuff that I never touch.
Then, after a while, I sit and think about all the junk I have, with no need for it, and that I never actually even touch, and wonder what the heck I was thinking when I bought all the stuff.
Not such a big deal when you're rich, but when times are tight, it's time to simplify.
The other day, I figured I'd be able to get through this economic crunch. Someday, I'll be rich again. Building from zero last time took me about 2 years to do it. Now, the business has the basic structure. We can add people as we get busy again.
It's times like these where you pay your dues, and that means you don't have to feel guilty about how well things are going when times get good again. Next year could be a totally different ballgame.
I am looking forward to the weekend. Need to get rested and caught up on things. It's been a busy, busy few weeks.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Basketball Tryouts Day One...
I got to Logan's house a few minutes later than I thought. Pulled in and his mother's car was gone. She took him to basketball practice.
I realized once the tryout started that she sent him in long pants with nothing to drink. Thank god she at least remembered to bring the basketball shoes I bought him last night.
Suffice to say that this sort of thing is an open sore spot and I really don't want to get started...
Logan did just fine in the tryouts. This is how it breaks down near as I can figure.
15 kids, total. 3 of them stand no chance at all. 4 of them are absolutely already on the team.
8 kids, total, will make the team.
Meaning that there are basically 8 kids fighting for 4 spots at this point. Honestly, I didn't see that much difference between those 8 kids.
This could go either way.
Logan is already signed up for rec league basketball. So, worst case, he'll be doing that.
So, a few thoughts:
1. Logan never did like sports like soccer and hockey, both of which he played for a couple of years. He was okay in them, but it was clear something didn't quite click.
I think he doesn't like the fact that you sort of have to get in there and swarm and fight and that once the game is going, you have positions, but for the most part, you get in there and just make things happen.
I used to say that Logan was simply too polite for games like soccer and hockey. He waits his turn. He doesn't push his way into the middle of things.
Basketball is like that, too. A fluid game. So, it already is one that I can see he might not like as much as baseball and football.
2. A few times over the Summer and in the Fall, I asked him if he wanted to go shoot hoops. He said no. In the Spring, I got him to go to the playground and shoot around once or twice. Basically, he didn't put in much work on this in the off season.
The 4 kids who will certainly make the team? They obviously did.
So, now, there will be context next year when I ask if he wants to shoot around. He's going to be able to make the connection between work in the off season and success at tryouts. If he still doesn't want to, that's fine. If he wants to, I'll be there for him.
4. I did get a little overbearing on him. Didn't mean to, but I often forget just how sensitive he is. For some reason, on defense, instead of crashing the boards for a rebound, he was just standing at the top of the key. I kept telling him, "rebound! rebound!" See item #1. It was like he just didn't get it. Might have been that he was smothering in those long pants. His hair was damp and I think he was overheated.
So, afterwards, I told him he did well, but pointed out some things to work on. First, that he needs to square up his shoulders before shooting. The level of competition in this tryout is tougher than anything he's seen and he let people put him in awkward positions making bad shots.
Next, I told him that he can't just stand around the top of the key when the shot is being made. He has to crash the boards. I told him he'd never make the team if the coaches see him standing outside when others are going for the rebound.
I tried not to be too harsh with him. Though, I think I was still a little angry that he was there in long pants and it probably crept into my tone of voice.
He thought I was angry. I could tell that he was feeling a little hurt, and I said, "Logan, I'm not saying this to give you a hard time. You did fine. This is just something you can do to be a little better for the next time."
Looking back, it's been a horrible, frustrating few weeks at work and I'm probably letting it seep into how I talk. I apologized to him later. He was clearly a little down and said that he was a little sad because he thought I was angry. Told him yet again that I wasn't mad. Reiterated that I thought he did just fine. Was just trying to help.
He said I sounded angry and I said that was my fault. I shouldn't sound angry, and I really wasn't.
I try not to be one of those hockey-dads who is always browbeating their kids when the kids are trying to play sports. It's especially not needed with Logan. He's a sensitive kid and is totally coachable. You don't need to yell at him. You tell him, and he does it.
I feel guilty because I should have been working with him on this all year, not trying to cram prep him the day of the tryout. Again, though, I made myself available to him. He didn't want it. I've never considered sports to be something that kids should be forced to do.
5. As Logan goes along in sports, I hope his age becomes less and less of a factor. As I've said before, he's 2 weeks away from the cutoff for his grade. He was also 2 weeks preemie, which means by his insemination date, he's absolutely the youngest he can be for his grade, or the oldest he could be in the next grade.
It didn't make sense to hold him back. He is just fine academically. He's also darned good in sports. However, at this age, some of the kids are 9, 10 or 11 months older than he is. This means that he's playing against kids who are as much as 10% older than he is.
There is a lot of development that happens at these ages. For instance, when you see the 5th graders, it's like they're not even from the same planet as the 4th graders.
Granted, he can usually overcome the age issue, but not always. It may very well be that he doesn't make this team, but if he were competing against kids the next grade down, he'd be absolutely dominating them.
As he gets older, it won't be such a factor. When he's 15, some kids might be 5% older, but at that point, age, alone, won't confer quite the advantages that it does, now.
So, he has one more day of tryouts. He may make the team. He may not. Hard to tell at this point. I'm ready to accept it if he doesn't.
6. Next year, I am absolutely going to put my foot down that Logan won't be at any Fall baseball workouts. Last year, it was ridiculous. The kids were practicing like crazy all through the Fall and Spring. This year, I think the coach got some pushback from some of the parents, and he cut back to one or two scrimmages per week. However, Logan should have been concentrating on football and getting ready for basketball tryouts. A couple of nights a week isn't the end-all-be all, but honestly, I want the kid to have the opportunity to breathe. So, once you get to where you're doing 2 nights of baseball and 2 days of football, I really don't want to try and cram one more sport in there for the other 3 days. He's got homework to do, and he has friends in the neighborhood to play with.
We'll see how it goes. I think one or two of the other baseball parents might have gone on a little protest strike because I swear there were a few of them who never showed up to anything. I'll be joining them next year if Logan wants to try out for this team again.
7. The last note is that maybe he just can't be the best at everything. He shows true talent at baseball. Has shown true talent at flag football. However, he also put a ton of work into baseball, starting at a very young age. Flag football is a rough analog of actual football, but things may change next year when he's in pads.
Although I want him to play as many sports as he can at this age, the reality is that once he gets to high school, he might very well have to pick just one sport and work at it year-round.
So, maybe basketball will be like soccer and hockey: games he did fine in, but didn't quite excel in.
Which would leave him with only baseball, football, skiing and swimming to keep him busy... and if I can get my business turned around, I want him to learn to golf one of these years.
I realized once the tryout started that she sent him in long pants with nothing to drink. Thank god she at least remembered to bring the basketball shoes I bought him last night.
Suffice to say that this sort of thing is an open sore spot and I really don't want to get started...
Logan did just fine in the tryouts. This is how it breaks down near as I can figure.
15 kids, total. 3 of them stand no chance at all. 4 of them are absolutely already on the team.
8 kids, total, will make the team.
Meaning that there are basically 8 kids fighting for 4 spots at this point. Honestly, I didn't see that much difference between those 8 kids.
This could go either way.
Logan is already signed up for rec league basketball. So, worst case, he'll be doing that.
So, a few thoughts:
1. Logan never did like sports like soccer and hockey, both of which he played for a couple of years. He was okay in them, but it was clear something didn't quite click.
I think he doesn't like the fact that you sort of have to get in there and swarm and fight and that once the game is going, you have positions, but for the most part, you get in there and just make things happen.
I used to say that Logan was simply too polite for games like soccer and hockey. He waits his turn. He doesn't push his way into the middle of things.
Basketball is like that, too. A fluid game. So, it already is one that I can see he might not like as much as baseball and football.
2. A few times over the Summer and in the Fall, I asked him if he wanted to go shoot hoops. He said no. In the Spring, I got him to go to the playground and shoot around once or twice. Basically, he didn't put in much work on this in the off season.
The 4 kids who will certainly make the team? They obviously did.
So, now, there will be context next year when I ask if he wants to shoot around. He's going to be able to make the connection between work in the off season and success at tryouts. If he still doesn't want to, that's fine. If he wants to, I'll be there for him.
4. I did get a little overbearing on him. Didn't mean to, but I often forget just how sensitive he is. For some reason, on defense, instead of crashing the boards for a rebound, he was just standing at the top of the key. I kept telling him, "rebound! rebound!" See item #1. It was like he just didn't get it. Might have been that he was smothering in those long pants. His hair was damp and I think he was overheated.
So, afterwards, I told him he did well, but pointed out some things to work on. First, that he needs to square up his shoulders before shooting. The level of competition in this tryout is tougher than anything he's seen and he let people put him in awkward positions making bad shots.
Next, I told him that he can't just stand around the top of the key when the shot is being made. He has to crash the boards. I told him he'd never make the team if the coaches see him standing outside when others are going for the rebound.
I tried not to be too harsh with him. Though, I think I was still a little angry that he was there in long pants and it probably crept into my tone of voice.
He thought I was angry. I could tell that he was feeling a little hurt, and I said, "Logan, I'm not saying this to give you a hard time. You did fine. This is just something you can do to be a little better for the next time."
Looking back, it's been a horrible, frustrating few weeks at work and I'm probably letting it seep into how I talk. I apologized to him later. He was clearly a little down and said that he was a little sad because he thought I was angry. Told him yet again that I wasn't mad. Reiterated that I thought he did just fine. Was just trying to help.
He said I sounded angry and I said that was my fault. I shouldn't sound angry, and I really wasn't.
I try not to be one of those hockey-dads who is always browbeating their kids when the kids are trying to play sports. It's especially not needed with Logan. He's a sensitive kid and is totally coachable. You don't need to yell at him. You tell him, and he does it.
I feel guilty because I should have been working with him on this all year, not trying to cram prep him the day of the tryout. Again, though, I made myself available to him. He didn't want it. I've never considered sports to be something that kids should be forced to do.
5. As Logan goes along in sports, I hope his age becomes less and less of a factor. As I've said before, he's 2 weeks away from the cutoff for his grade. He was also 2 weeks preemie, which means by his insemination date, he's absolutely the youngest he can be for his grade, or the oldest he could be in the next grade.
It didn't make sense to hold him back. He is just fine academically. He's also darned good in sports. However, at this age, some of the kids are 9, 10 or 11 months older than he is. This means that he's playing against kids who are as much as 10% older than he is.
There is a lot of development that happens at these ages. For instance, when you see the 5th graders, it's like they're not even from the same planet as the 4th graders.
Granted, he can usually overcome the age issue, but not always. It may very well be that he doesn't make this team, but if he were competing against kids the next grade down, he'd be absolutely dominating them.
As he gets older, it won't be such a factor. When he's 15, some kids might be 5% older, but at that point, age, alone, won't confer quite the advantages that it does, now.
So, he has one more day of tryouts. He may make the team. He may not. Hard to tell at this point. I'm ready to accept it if he doesn't.
6. Next year, I am absolutely going to put my foot down that Logan won't be at any Fall baseball workouts. Last year, it was ridiculous. The kids were practicing like crazy all through the Fall and Spring. This year, I think the coach got some pushback from some of the parents, and he cut back to one or two scrimmages per week. However, Logan should have been concentrating on football and getting ready for basketball tryouts. A couple of nights a week isn't the end-all-be all, but honestly, I want the kid to have the opportunity to breathe. So, once you get to where you're doing 2 nights of baseball and 2 days of football, I really don't want to try and cram one more sport in there for the other 3 days. He's got homework to do, and he has friends in the neighborhood to play with.
We'll see how it goes. I think one or two of the other baseball parents might have gone on a little protest strike because I swear there were a few of them who never showed up to anything. I'll be joining them next year if Logan wants to try out for this team again.
7. The last note is that maybe he just can't be the best at everything. He shows true talent at baseball. Has shown true talent at flag football. However, he also put a ton of work into baseball, starting at a very young age. Flag football is a rough analog of actual football, but things may change next year when he's in pads.
Although I want him to play as many sports as he can at this age, the reality is that once he gets to high school, he might very well have to pick just one sport and work at it year-round.
So, maybe basketball will be like soccer and hockey: games he did fine in, but didn't quite excel in.
Which would leave him with only baseball, football, skiing and swimming to keep him busy... and if I can get my business turned around, I want him to learn to golf one of these years.
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