The Dog Ate My Homework

It’s been a fairly quiet day in the life of Parmasters Waterloo Region. I started with a good workout, and added a to-do item; a web search for tips on the proper form when bench pressing with a Smith Machine. Proper form on the bench press involves keep ones elbows in – much like a good golf swing, coincidentally. Since I don’t have a spotter at home, I use a Smith Machine, rather than a bench press with free weights. I’m finding it very difficult to keep my elbows in.

The remainder of the day has been spent on office work, reading, yet another hockey game and touring a few potential locations for the business.

Over lunch, after the game, I asked my son what his coach covered in his post-game talk. Apparently, the coach told these young men that it was all the refs’ fault that they lost! I was absolutely astounded!

“All progress begins by telling the truth.” -Dan Sullivan

Blaming a loss on the refs is one of the major problems with minor hockey specifically, and minor sport more generally. Coaches are teaching children that they don’t have to take responsibility. They’re also teaching them that they cannot and do not control their own destiny. How debilitating!

“I was late because of traffic …”
“The dog ate my homework …”
“The other team cheated …”

Who cares? Suck it up. Deliver results.

“If it is to be, it is up to me.” –unknown

After a bit of a rant similar to above, I asked my son if the coach also noted the many calls that should have been made against their team but were not. For example, what about the two off side calls that were missed. And consider the blatant tripping infraction that wasn’t called, and the hook that drew no attention. Apparently these non-calls were not mentioned.

Lastly, aside from this post-game talk that I strongly disagree with, these coaches are doing a great job. Kudos to them for volunteering their time and efforts to coach these young men. I honestly and truly appreciate their efforts. (And yes, each year I volunteer to coach, and each year there are more than enough incumbents to fill all positions. It’s tough to break into the club.)