I had
recently read this year was supposed to be colder than normal during the winter
months and, if it’s true, we got an early dose of it in Wichita this weekend.
Some very
chilly weather occurred during our weekly 6am Friday morning workout and with
our weight room not available for another week or so (because of remodeling), we
had an outdoor session. It’s interesting
how you can be cold and shivering when you start warming up but 30 minutes
later be down to a t-shirt or tank top in 40 degree weather because you’re
sweating so much.
I’ve had
a few people ask me how our workouts are going and how the team looks. My usual response is, “I think we’re pretty
talented but we have a long way to go before we figure out if we’re any good.”
One of
the reasons I say that is because we’re lacking in seniors. This might be hard to believe but I have 28
athletes (men and women) in the sprint/hurdle group and only two seniors. While this means we should have a heckuva
group for the next few years, an area that I worry about is leadership.
Seniors
bring a special kind of leadership to a team.
Seniors usually become less selfish and less interested in their own
goals and more focused on the team than juniors and sophomores. This type of thinking lends itself to terrific
leadership over the course of their final year.
Those seniors become desperate to win championships and will do
anything, including motivating their teammates, to win.
Don’t get
me wrong, there are always great leaders from younger members of the team, but
the desperation isn’t there because they know they still have at least another
year remaining. I was the same in
college. I was a captain at Kent State
for my junior and senior years and I was a much better leader as a senior
because all I wanted was to win a MAC title.
I’ve seen
some of the younger members of my group show some early signs of good
leadership but it is something I will be concerned about throughout the
year. It takes a lot more than putting
together some talented athletes to win a Missouri Valley Conference track and
field championship.
Shocker Track Club
I’m
fortunate to be part of a non-profit organization called The Shocker Track Club
(I’m the head coach of the Elite Team and on the board of directors). This weekend the STC hosted their annual
master’s and open meet at WSU’s Cessna Stadium.
There were almost 100 athletes in competition who were beyond their
“prime athletic years” and it was awesome.
Athletes
up to their 80’s from all around the country were there running, jumping and
throwing on the same facility that hosts thousands of college and high school
athletes each year. I only had a small
part in the hosting of the meet but it was definitely inspiring seeing how much
spirit was in these tremendous athletes!
We had many of our new athletes work the meet as officials. Hopefully they came away inspired as well!
For more
information about our organization you can visit www.shockertrackclub.com.
“C” Movies
This is
the third of a 24 part series (maybe) where I list movies I own by letter (I
don’t have any movies that begin with Q, X or Z but I do have some that start
with numbers). I currently own a small
collection of 150 movies (and growing most weeks) on DVD.
Most of
the movies I own I had previously seen and enjoyed immensely. Some are movies that I had not seen but was
curious about. Some were gifts from
people with bad tastes in movies.
Here is
the list of my 8 “C” movies from best to worst …..
Movie Name (year made, length,
MPAA rating, IMDB rating, Box office)
Caddyshack (1980, 98 min, R, 7.4, $39.8m) –
Most every male over the age of 30 has seen it and can recite at least a dozen
quotes. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and
Rodney Dangerfield are in the primes of their comedic lives, “so it’s got that
going for it, which is nice.”
Coming to America (1988, 116 min, R, 6.9, $288.7m)
– Seeing Eddie Murphy at his funniest when you’re in the eighth grade just
isn’t fair. I laughed the entire time
and was amazed at the end when I realized he played an old, white Jewish
man. I know I’m the only person in
Kansas who owns a Randy Watson World Tour T-shirt.
Clerks (1994, 92 min, R, 7.9, $3.1m) –
The movie that made anyone think they could make a movie because Kevin Smith
only spent $20k making it with a bunch of his friends. You don’t watch this movie to see how well it
was made; you watch it to be inspired about what can be done with so little. And to laugh at crude jokes.
Crazy Heart (2009, 112 min, R, 7.3, $47.4m) –
This is a terrific movie about the “over the hill” side of country music
starring Jeff Bridges. I’ve always been
intrigued by what happens to talented people when their popularity is gone. Colin Farrell is awesome as well. Who knew an Irish guy could play a country
music superstar?
CB4 (1993, 89 min, R 6.1, $17.9m) –
Being from a totally white place growing up, I was intrigued with rap music in
high school and this Chris Rock movie came out during my senior year. It still holds up quite well and is one of
Rock’s best movies. So many funny quotes
that can’t be spoken in this public forum.
Eddie Murphy’s brother Charlie was hilarious as Gusto!
Casa de mi Padre (2012, 84 min, R, 5.5, $8m) –
Even though it didn’t really come off as successful, I am very proud of Will
Ferrell for making a movie where he speaks Spanish the whole time and he knew
wouldn’t make any money. Most people
won’t like this movie because they don’t realize it’s supposed to be bad.
The Campaign (2012, 85 min, R, 6.2, $104.9m) –
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis running against each other for public
office. I’m a sucker for good old
fashioned dumb humor and this one is high in that category. ”Because Filipino tilt-a-whirl operators are
our nation’s backbone.”
Cold Mountain (2003, 154 min, R, 7.2, $173m) –
One of those “gift” movies that I think I watched once when I got it. It’s not really that bad of a story about the Civil War. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were at the
height of their romance I believe. Easily forgettable.
Once
again most of these (except the last one) earn high marks for me. I own 15 “D” movies so next week look out for
movies that start with Dazed, Death, and Django!
Go
Shocks!
