Crazy Schedule Outlined

For those of you that may have wondered just how crazy my schedule as a recreational soccer coach really is, here goes:

Mondays -
--1st Monday of the month KSA Board Meeting

Tuesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Wednesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30 or 6:00pm U11G practice

Thursdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice (and this week U6G practice at the same time)
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Fridays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U6G practice
--5:30 - 6:30 or 7:00pm U11G practice

Saturdays -
--any combination of 4 teams playing scattered from Lake Worth to Lewisville, TX
--2 hours of voluntary field monitoring as a part of my service on the Board of Directors
--possibly refereeing games when needed

Sundays -
--no games, no practices, merely rest (well, and a lot of meetings)

How do select coaches function? Sure they get paid but I've known guys that have 9 teams. When do they eat and sleep? I enjoy this game, and my schedule is bursting but I can't imagine much more than what I have. If you're a select coach reading this, drop me a comment. How do you do it?

Scheduling My Schedule

Do you ever get so busy that you have to schedule time to schedule? I'm not quite there but rather quickly approaching it. Between work projects, family life, church duties, coaching responsibilities and board duties I'm thoroughly shot on free time. Part of the reason I asked for my iPhone was to help me organize a little better and have information at my finger tips. Well, the info is there but the organization is falling short because I actually need to schedule time to schedule.

Speaking of scheduling, this next week I'll be getting teams' schedules in working order just in time to start their season in less than 2 weeks. Coaches are anxious to find out when they play and I'm sure there will be plenty of backlash once they come out as everyone has the best reason to reschedule though no one is willing to offer those up prior to the scheduling, even when requested. So I find it ironic that yet again, I'll need to to schedule time to schedule, just in a different sense.

Life when it's busy is exciting, overwhelming and thoroughly exhausting. Two things I have to be conscientious of doing when I'm in this mode are: 1) exercise to mitigate exhaustion and stress and 2) focus meaningful time with my dear wife. So dear wife, if I fail to schedule either, please do me a favor and knock me over the head with either a kiss or my running shoes; either way I'll get the point ;)

Soccer Inequality Season

For those of you that know me, soccer is somewhat a passion but it's also an adventure in time management and equality for the recreational players. Yes, I'm competitive-minded and while I want my teams (4) to succeed, I do not educate/train my players at the expense of the recreational credo: have fun. I've grilled it into my player's minds that "my #1 rule is everybody has fun."

Yet for some reason, this season I've started off with somewhat of a concern as I begin to analyze the new players on my teams. I see such a wide disparity among players, from my U6 girls team to my U13 boys, that I haven't seen in many other seasons. Maybe my perspective is clouded by last season's road to glory with my boys' teams and their incredible journey and victories. But this season I see so much that needs to be improved with handicaps that block that progression.

Through all of this I keep reminding myself that the heart of the recreational purpose is to have fun and develop the player, and collectively the team, not to rack up victories. While winning is always fun, it should never come at the expense of the individual regardless of skill set.

So to any player's parent that may keep up with this blog, rest assured your child will play, will receive a fair shake this season, and most of all will be given all opportunities to have fun. Will I work them hard? You betcha! Will we strive to perform to the best of our abilities? Certainly. But I will not let my teams, nor myself, lose sight of our goal: "Everybody has fun!"

What's Wrong with this Picture

What's wrong with this picture? Who is at fault?

Soccer Season Stresser

We've only had 1 full day of practices and things are already starting to break down in the Hanson home. Unbeknown to me, my dear wife has been stressing about the upcoming soccer season, the full days of games and weeks of practices for the last 3 weeks. Stress is not always are good thing in our lives as it can turn nasty in the blink of an eye. But it can also be a positive impetus to perform at a higher level of quality and produce greater than normal results. Time will tell how this will turn out.

What is required of this husband and father to make soccer related stress a positive producer? I need to step up more at home and make a greater effort in creating a more orderly atmosphere. Occasional dinner preparation probably wouldn't hurt either. Clear communication is essential and keeping our world in order prior to the Sabbath day is key, according to my wife.

With the 2nd day of practices kicking in today, we'll see how I perform for the betterment of the family.

R, hang in there and keep me up to date on stress levels.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the crazy schedule? Please hit the comment link below and let me know.