Jan 1st is nigh!

Fodder for outstanding resolution making!

Only a fool would not heed the requisite respect for the evils that one may fall prey to when utilizing the Internet, but this old fart has found that there are some real gems of enlightenment mixed in with the scary stuff. Case in point, I did not write the following section in italics, and I’m not sure who did, but WOW does it speak to my heart!!!

Absolutely well worth the read! Don’t wait to read it later!

Barely the day started, and it's already six in the evening.
Barely arrived on Monday, and it's already Friday.
... and the month is already over.
... and the year is almost over.
... and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed.
... and we realize that we lost our parents, friends, family.
... and we realize it's too late to go back.

So ... despite everything, 

Let's try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time...
Let's keep looking for activities that we like...
Let's put some colour in our grey...
Let's smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.
Let's continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. 

Let's try to eliminate the afters...

I'm doing it after...
I'll say it after...
I'll think about it after...
We leave everything for later like ′′after ′′ is ours.

Because what we don't understand is that:
Afterwards, the coffee gets cold...
Afterwards, priorities change...
Afterwards, the charm is broken...
Afterwards, health passes...
Afterwards, the kids grow up...
Afterwards parents get old...
Afterwards, promises are forgotten...
Afterwards, the day becomes the night...
Afterwards life ends...

And then it's often too late....

So, let's leave nothing for later!
Because waiting to see you later, we can lose the best moments, the best experiences, our best friends, our best family ... The day is today... The moment is now!

Most of my friends and I are no longer at an age where we can afford to postpone that which needs to be done right away. 

My New Year's resolution for 2024 just got easier!

Unexpected pathways

When you supply these days, you have to not only be flexible with your assignment expectations, but also with your presumptions about the physical tools of the trade and preparedness of the lesson. Many a time I have accepted a position for a friend or colleague under the presumption of subject X, only to discover on arrival that it has changed to subject Y, more often than not well exceeding my scope of expertise. If one wishes to survive in today's classrooms, Uber flexibility in anticipated behavioural norms, resource access, and motivation levels are par for the course.

Case in point, I returned to my little country school to help out in a senior science class that I've previously visited numerous times this fall, fully expecting a period of exam review as per the teacher's supply notes ... YES, they still write exams in this class but they take place in December under today's structure ... but the class discussion circuitously segued into a debate about the ethics surrounding the proper cooking technique of lobster, the mouth-watering holiday anticipations of a student in the class.

Author's Note: The overwhelming favourite manner of preparation for whole, live lobster is steaming, for a few reasons: you're less likely to overcook lobsters when steaming, the entire cook time is shorter and the process of cooking and removing the lobsters from the pot is a lot easier. Lobsters and other shellfish have harmful bacteria naturally present in their flesh. Once the lobster is dead, these bacteria can rapidly multiply and release toxins that may not be destroyed by cooking. You therefore minimize the chance of food poisoning by cooking the lobster alive, but it is generally agreed that electrical stunning before killing of lobsters is the most humane and effective method as it renders them immediately insensible before death which then occurs within seconds. Plunging them into boiling water, freezing them or 'drowning' them in fresh water would be considered inhumane to many.

Not to be out done by the Great Lobster Debate, the conversation astoundingly leap-frogged into the oft postulated mountain plane crash scenario, with its ethical conundrum surrounding the consequences of survival if the crash didn't cause your demise. Of course, it makes perfect sense to leap from the delicacy of lobster to the horrors of cannibalism, doesn't it? Want to take a deep dive into the consciousness of today's teen? Get them talking about a subject that will quickly form dissension in the ranks and let them have at it. Bearing in mind that most of the class is yet to reach their "I can vote now" age, they have some profoundly deep and passionate opinions about ethical issues, and some profoundly brilliant arguments revealed themselves.

In case you're wondering, the straw vote tallied on the side of doing something unpalatable in order to survive long enough for help to arrive ... easy to say when you're sitting in a warm classroom in Ontario!

In the end, I'm not naive enough to think that this was all thanks to my pedagogical brilliance bringing out their divergent thinking skills, but rather their thinly veiled attempt to avoid doing that exam review their teacher left. Rest easy, that didn't stop me from having an enjoyable afternoon with kids that I've come to enjoy. 

As I've stated so many times since retiring, "I truly love teaching, but I simply can no longer stand education, and supply teaching lets me do exactly what I love!"

#ieducate #lifeisgood #nuffsaid

Worth a 2nd thought

I've written previously about returning to "the Stripes" after an almost 20 year vacation, so it won't come as a surprise when I say that I officiate basketball because I dearly LOVE the sport, and feel really good about myself when I give back to the game that has treated me so fondly. I have literally hundreds of acquaintances from my many years involved in the game, be it as a player, coach or official, so it's not uncommon to arrive at a gym to find the upcoming game will involve a long time friend, a parent or a former player. 

It makes the energy, time and commitment all well worth the effort. 

At a recent local gym visit, I was blessed with a Sr Boys' high school double header that was passionate, energetic, aggressive, and just plain fun thanks to the challenge of being the best I could be in ensuring that the players remained safe, had a great experience, and showcased their skills. After the games were "in the books", I found an empty spot in the front row of the stands to change my shoes in preparation for the trip back home, when my silence was interrupted by a good friend who was running the tournament the games were a part of. When he prefaced the conversation with, "We've known each other for a really long time, eh?" 

I thought, erroneously, that some form of criticism was coming. Considering how often we officials are subjected to loud and hostile criticism, it becomes a knee-jerk reaction when approached after a game. The next sentence caused a stir of emotion that I was ill prepared for ... "I just wanted to tell you face to face that I sincerely feel that you've become one of the best officials in this area in a really short space of time." (I may have paraphrased this) To say I was first shocked, then emotional, then extremely humbled, goes without saying, and I tried my very best to shake his hand, look him straight in the eye, and attempted to find the right words to thank him for going out of his way to say something. 

What a wonderful early Christmas gift!

TBH, you can't be a competent official if you don't have great self-belief. Even though I can hear the comments often hurled my direction, I choose to let them slide off my awareness like so much water off a duck's back because I know that I've put in the work, am confident in my abilities, and am proud of the service I can offer back to the game. Having said all of that, it's really, really nice to get a compliment once in a while.

As if the universe was paying attention, after arriving home, getting settled, and catching up with my wife, I was scrolling through social media when I stumbled across the following words from a different longtime friend, his friendship also forged in the fires of education. Considering my day's events, it hit pretty close to home.

Sadly, I copied the message but not where he grabbed it from, but it was a post of a post of a post. If anyone reading these words knows who the author is/was, feel free to send me a message so I can give credit where credit is due.

Many people look at this shirt and just see a referee/official’s uniform. Very few people look at this shirt and see what it really is - pure dedication, strength, and nerve.

They don’t see what goes on behind the scenes. Days away from families and one’s home, countless hours of studying, analyzing and reanalyzing one’s own calls, reading and re-reading the rule book, countless hours on the phones with other officials to ask questions and mentor each other, hours and their own money dedicated to associations and trying to make the world of officiating a better place.

What people think they see: “a horrible official”, “someone who doesn’t know the rules”, “a biased official who “clearly” has it out for their team”, “someone who should never be able to be an official”.

To those people who sit in the stands or sit behind their computer screens or phones making these comments – I encourage you to try it. Sitting in the stands or on the couch and making the calls is the easy route. Because you have the ability to be right or wrong with no consequences. The official out there on the mat, field, or court has to be right all the time (which is subjective to your eyes, your team, and your desired outcome, instead of the rules). I encourage you take the official’s test. Take it and you will see that you didn’t pass because you don’t know as much about the sport as you thought you did. And when you do fail, use it as motivation to join an association, read and study the rule book, and then take the test again. After taking the test (probably multiple times), maybe just maybe you will pass. And if you do pass, then go ahead and put on the uniform, muscle up the nerve and strength to actually become an official and step out into the center mat, court, or field.

Every sport is in need of more officials. The number of officials and number of younger people wanting to be officials has greatly decreased. Why? Probably because it is an extremely difficult position to be put in, and all you get in return is constant hate.

To the fans – I am not asking you not to root for your team. Root and scream for your team! If you don’t like a call, boo it, and then move on! What I am asking, is please be more respectful in person or online.

Officials walk out to a game or match knowing that by the end of it they will have one side hating and degrading them. They are required to make the tough calls over and over again, calls that will upset one side or the other. It is a lose-lose situation regardless of the outcome. So why do they do it? My guess would be for the love of the sport.

Officials are humans, with families (wives, husbands, and children), with friends, with homes, other careers, and feelings. They are people. Real people. Who, after everything that they do, still have to listen and read horrible comments from people who wouldn’t dare or have enough courage or knowledge to step out into the fire. Yet these officials have enough dedication and nerve to continuously step out onto the mat, court, field, etc… over and over and over again because they love what they do and they love the sport. They are truly relentless. Are they always perfect? Probably not. They are humans, in a world of sports where rules are ever changing and evolving. They are dedicated, and every official that I know uses every call, match, game, and outcome as a learning experience, whether good or bad.

Officiating is one of the most difficult and thankless jobs that I can think of. So to every official out there – THANK YOU. Thank you for doing everything that you do so that the world can enjoy the thrill and excitement of sports. Thank you for the brotherhood and sisterhood that you provide each other, and for becoming each other’s lifelong friends and family. Thank you for giving up countless hours and days away from your families. Thank you for continuing to put yourself out there over and over again regardless of all of the negative feedback and comments/posts from spectators. Thank you for the time and energy that you dedicate into your craft, so that we, as spectators, can sit, watch, and enjoy the sports that we love.

What a great day it turned out to be!

#lifeisgood

Post Covid woes

I think that we can all agree that this post-Covid world is significantly different with profound impairments effected on the most vulnerable of youth thanks in part to the lack of development opportunities at pivotal periods in their mental and social growth. While I'm no expert in child development, nor do I wish to be seen as such, I do have 30+ years of interaction with kids ranging from age 6 (Gr 1) to 19 (Gr 12 Victory lappers). In fact, the only grade I don't have extensive experience with is age 9 (Gr 4), other than the coaching I've done.

Covid's impact was front and center a little while ago when I was refereeing the Intermediate Girls County Basketball championships up in Midland. Although I had also refereed a few of the regional tournaments, and it was not a surprise that a few of the schools competing in them displayed profoundly weak skill progression and game sense abilities, I reasoned that were a school to earn a spot at the county championships, it would be expected that a certain level of ability would be on display.

Sadly, not so much in general, or at least the games I was involved in, and that's no shot at their kids or coaches.

If you've been around school athletics in Simcoe County, you'll be well aware that some elementary schools have volunteer coaches that get the job done with regularity. When you look at the schools involved in any county championship, regardless of the year, it would raise eyebrows if familiar names weren't on the draw sheet. Sure, there's always the potential for a small blip of athletes to go through any one school, spurring that school's success rate for the season, but even if they were playing in mismatched tees, anyone with experience in this area would immediately recognize the skills, game sense, team work, and game strategy directly linked to a handful of the area's competent coaches.

Sadly, despite their effort and influence, the overall level that was on display in front of me was significantly lower than I would have expected, and I feel strongly that can be attributed to the 2 year shut down thanks to the anti-Covid effort. 

Basketball is a game that requires significant skill development to be able to play at a speed that would be considered proficient. The act of dribbling a ball while looking up the court PLUS making appropriate decisions with corresponding actions is not a natural ability. While any half-way coordinated individual can occasionally have movements and strength line up to be able to propel the ball through the air and successfully through that orange ring, to youngsters do it with regularity, under duress, in an exhausted state, with elevated expectations of a county championship is a skillset that requires time and perseverance. Whether it was a 2 year delay to the start of a player's basketball journey, or a pause on the already initiated preliminary development, it goes without saying that the time lost has a significant impact on today's execution.

What was on display before me, even by those traditionally strong programs, was indicative of younger athlete development in a pre-Covid world, resulting in this old fart being prompted to intervene with whistle tweets of increased regularity for violations and foul play. IMHO. This would be largely due to the action's speed being beyond the performance abilities of the participants. Let's put it another way; if you've been involved with athletics, perhaps even at an elite level, it's a generally accepted concept that the 'game slows down' as the skills and decision making accuracy increases. The proficiency on display was indicative of athletes in grades 5 or 6, not 7 or 8, and I'd wager the game was happening quickly from their perspective!

This is NOT because the coaching level has dropped!

I can attest to their competency firsthand, based on the messages they broadcasted to their players as the game unfolded, and that coupled with the look of frustration crossing their brow, I could surmise their side of the equation remained consistent. I also want to make it clear that I don't fault the athletes! The efforts being expended were obviously at the outer edges of their conditioning, the look of exertion and exhaustion evident on their sweaty faces. For me, the only explanation has to be the missing portion of that fabled "10 000 hours mastery" lost to the Covid shutdown. Having said all of that, in the end somebody had to win. 

Or, more appropriately, somebodies had to win. 

Those programs that survived the pool play demonstrated they had the 'right stuff' to seek the cup, and they weren't unfamiliar with county championships.

The 4 standouts to qualify for the semifinals were Barrie's Algonquin Ridge, Minesing Central, Collingwood's St Marys, and Guthrie. In what I am told were 2 hotly contested games, Algonquin Ridge captured the 2023 crown over Minesing Central in the final by a slim 5 points. Not to be outdone, Guthrie outlasted St Marys to win by 3 in the consolation final. My friends that officiated the final games felt that all four teams were to be commended for their efforts and execution.

Congratulations to those players and their coaches for a terrific season!

Fortunately, young athletes are the epitome of resilient! Be it an injury, a disappointment, or an obstacle, I've seen hundreds of examples of athletes who overcame the adversity they faced. Those affected by the Covid stoppage that are TRULY passionate about their sport will make up the ground and excel, but that nasty little virus has thrown the proverbial wrench in the gears of our global village, forcing us to make some changes that will require efforts out of the ordinary. 

After it's all said and done, it was a pretty awesome way to spend a Tuesday morning!