week two: day two

week two, day two. tired. sick. i've got a sinus infection, a pretty bad one. my doctor called in a prescription so i'm hoping i'll feel better soooon.

and the kids this week? well, we've already had two 911 calls (that the kids made as a "joke"), multiple asthma attacks, two group switches because of bad behavior, and one of my swimmers is stuck in his room at night because of bad behavior.

how much of that did we have last week? none at all.

the best part about this week? definitely eating in o-hill!!!!

other best part about this week? yup, it's true. $$ is coming back to UVa for his fourth year!

week one: complete

the first week has come to a close. phew. it was definitely tiring. and next week we've got 40 more kids coming in than we had this week. should be quite an adventure...

so, how'd i do in my first week? well, the head coach said to me on thursday, "you know? you're real good. we'll give you another year or two coaching age group, and then maybe you'll be ready to coach college athletes." niice. once again, how do you respond to that? all i could muster was "thank you."

all of my kids improved their times from sunday to friday. i even had one kid drop more than 30 seconds in his 200IM. how they all swim faster is beyond me. after being away from home all week (some of them for the first time), sleeping in unfamiliar beds, swimming 6 hours a day, staying up late, and eating cap'n crunch with chocolate milk in it for every meal, i'm surprised they can even walk. let alone swim faster. my first group was a fun one, and it's interesting to me how much you can learn and get connected to these kids in just one week. it was sad to see them go.

props?

so, day four has come to a close. lots of fun stuff today. my club team kids represented quite well in the camp springs today. we had the top 11-and-under, and one of the top 4 12-and-overs. and the 12-and-over happens to be newly thirteen. i was proud.

the dining hall food has been, well, pretty boring. basically pasta for every meal. if this continues, i think i'll be sick of pasta by the middle of next week.

my group has been tons of fun so far this week. lots of great questions that have really gotten me to think. and i have learned a LOT from the lectures. listening to some of the coaches on staff speak, for me, is really cool. we're talking about top level athletes and coaches that are telling me stuff that will really help me make a difference with my little guys back home. well, if i can get them to listen.

but easily the coolest part of today, and maybe of my whole life (well, at least coaching career...)... i was coaching my group of older (11-16) developmental swimmers. i'm talking kids that swim just summer, or swim year round who are, to put it in the words of my head coach at home, trifling athletes. anyway, i'm coaching them in the two lanes next to the coach who has coached 3 gold medalists, all-americans, world university games, olympic teams, and all that good stuff. he walks over to me and says, "you know what son?" me: "what's that, coach?" him: "you're one helluva coach." quite simply, i was floored. i can't even come up with an analogy for it. i got flustered, and all i could muster was, "well, thank you coach. that means a lot." him: "i mean it, i know talent when i see it, and you've got it." i'll take his word for hit. thank you, coach.

day 2?

tired. that about sums it up. i got up at 5:05 this morning (no, not 5:04, 1 extra minute!) and went over and swam at the AFC. yes, be jealous. and then be jealous i was swimming in the AFC at dusk with the lights out before anybody had arrived... kind of a cool scene.

pictures of hancock are coming, i took them, so it's a matter of getting them off my digital camera (yes, i have one) and getting them on the computer/facebook/blog.

and yes, i did have a puker in the first 3 hours of being at camp. the culprit? taco bell. a note to all the swimmers out there... it is definitely a bad idea to eat taco bell the afternoon before you have to swim a 200IM for time in an unfamiliar environment without your parent.

we were listening to the head coach give camp rules, and the puker walked up to me and asked if she could go to the bathroom. my response? "well, can you wait and hear all the rules?" and i don't know if you know, but kids get the "i'm gonna vomit all over you in 10 seconds" face. if you can't/don't recognize it, yah, you're covered in vomit. so, i got her to a trash can, which just so happened to be far enough away that it didn't disturb the meeting. hero! she felt better.

move in day!

wow, talk about deja vu! it is certainly strange being back in the dorm again after 6 years. it's still exactly the same as i remember it... hot as hell (regardless of the month of the year), the bathrooms still grungy, the floors still sticky, and the carpet still stained.

but, i'm here nonetheless. the campers don't start arriving until tomorrow around lunchtime, so i've got a little bit of free time tonight to get settled in. unfortunately, settling in doesn't mean on first-left. despite saying i'd fight for it, one of the UVa assistants has lived on that hall at swim camp for the 7 years. yah, i was SOL.

so instead, i lucked out and got a room in the basement! it's only about 30 degrees cooler down here, so definitely no complaints on this end.

it's funny to think about how much my life has changed in the 6 years since i've lived here. i guess 6 years is a long time, but it doesn't really feel like it's been that many years. but basically, my life as i know it now began six years ago in this dorm. what have i done since then? well, been in love (twice?), broken hearts, gotten my heart broken, had more money than i knew what to do with, made the best friends i'll ever have, drank way too much, learned a lot of important life lessons, rushed a fraternity, pledged a fraternity, depledged a fraternity, and then re-rushed/pledged a completely different one, totaled a car, bought the car of my dreams, graduated from college, drank more, moved to nebraska, moved back from nebraska, taught 5th grade, found the job i really love. phew, that's a lot. and that's really only the tip of the iceberg, even as far as highlights go.

so, at any rate... i feel like i'm in charlottesville so i need to get out of the dorm room and go out and, well, be in charlottesville.

details, details, details

as i was talking to a friend yesterday and explaining the excitement of my adventure to charlottesville, she reminded me of one small detail i had overlooked...

twin extra-long sheets.

seriously? i mean, who saved those after college? my mom didn't, justifying it by saying "who will ever need these again?"

thankfully, the roommate came through in the clutch, saving me from spending $50 on sheets for just four weeks.

and on another note, i saw knocked up last night. wow. the movie was hilarious, and everybody needs to see it at some point.

the hook!!

that's right, everybody. not only am i back on the blog, but i'm headed home. back to charlottesville!

i'm going to attempt to blog about my exploits as a coach at UVA swim camp for the next four weeks. the best part about the whole experience? well, besides the swimming part? hancock! i'll be back in my old dorm. talk about full circle. i think it will be quite strange, and i am prepared to fight the other coaches to get a room on my old hall (first left!).

but, in preparing to head back to the hook and back to good old hancock, i've started to freak out at the crazy list of things i need to acquire before i make the trip...

1. a mini-fridge. i might have to break into my parents house in the middle of the night.
2. a window fan. or maybe 2. back in the day, andy and i had 2 box fans in the window. one pushing air in, the other blowing it out. it worked well, and i'm hoping the second time is a charm. charlottesville in june/july? hot.
   
3. shower shoes! yah, i'm going to have to make a trip to old navy sometime this week and grab some cheap flip-flops. i mean, i'm a swim coach so i walk on dirty, nasty floors all the time, but for some reason, the hancock showers gross me out.
4. a shower carry-thingy. last time i had one of those? definitely 6 years ago.

after 6 years of non-dorm living, this should be interesting. i'm pumped. what have i forgotten? can you think of any obvious dorm-necessity? maybe a dry-erase board?

sadly, this time around, the britney spears posters will have to stay off the walls...

ahhh

hello, blog. i'm back.