It happened again.....

So I guess once you get a reputation as a "soft touch", it's all over in the world of youth sports. This time, one of the former T-Ball parents "volunteered" me to coach the Y-Basketball team....so many issues:

#1 - You've seen me, do I look like I had a big basketball career? I am 6' tall in my dreams and have never played any type of organized basketball, at all....ever. I know baseball, love baseball, PLAYED baseball, so there's a foundation there for baseball. Basketball is Uncle Eric's sport, not mine.

#2 - Due to #1 above, I know absolutely nothing about basketball (other than what is required to watch it on TV), let alone how to impart that knowledge (again, not that there's any there to being with) to Kindergarteners for God's sake.

#3 - This means that due to the guilt that my Mom and Auntie Sue imparted in me while growing up (between them and the Catholic church - I am a fountain of guilt) that all things must be equal bewteen siblings, I now have to coach both Tanner and Faith in Basketball too.

#4 - Related to #2, basketball is confusing to teach....and there's a lot of stuff involved; traveling, double dribble, 10 second violations (yes, for kindergartners)....plus the whole "mob the ball" mentality to diffuse.We had our first practice last night, and even explaining some of the rules to kindergartners, I had the feeling like they were looking at me a saying, "What you can't be serious, look what a ridiculous concept that driblling is"...and..."you look like 

a moron with the whole pivot foot thing going".

I don't know, baseball is just so much more of a "Here's a ball, hit it with this stick" kind of thing. 

But anyway, now that I'm doing it, I'm doing it. We have practice once a week in the gym at Jake's school, and games on Saturdays. Plus there are a couple of cool tie-ins with the NBA D-Ball team in town. We get to go to a team practice, and the kids get discounted tickets to the season opener and get to go down on the floor and high five the players during introductions.

So it will work out fine and Jake and I will have a great time, just like we did for T-ball. When hockey season rolls around, I'm hiding under a rock until after the games start.