As all of you know, I fancy myself quite the bad ass. The fact that I just used the word "fancy myself" probably negates that last comment, but I think I've had my share of bad assery. Ok, so getting locked out your house while wearing booty shorts and no bra may not qualify, but rescuing a matador in distress from a charging bull does, and I plan to focus on the latter experience. Now, I played 8 years of league softball and a slew of other sports when I was younger, so I would consider myself an athletic person. I also like to bike ride and hike, and I try to do outdoorsy things when I can. I love watching sports, which is a result of having grown up in a family of sports fanatics. I also try to keep on top of everything so as not to embarrass myself with comments like, "Yeah that Aaron Hernandez is gonna have a monster year; I think he's gonna KILL it." Being a sports nut has also made a huge difference throughout the years when it comes to bonding with my students. I had a kiddo my first year of teaching who started behaving when he found out that I liked football. As a rewards incentive, he and I would occasionally eat lunch together in the classroom and talk about the games that week. Although he never met him, he idolized my brother Jordan and would tell everyone that he was going to play football at Yale when he grew up. Let me give you a moment to mop up your melted heart..... Okay, back to business. Like I said, being sports savvy has helped me not only earn the respect of my kiddos, but it's allowed me the chance to talk to my students about things that we both care about, besides the Roman Empire of course.
So, El and I are knee-deep in trying to save up some moolah to buy a house. We LOVE this area, and we would like to settle here, but who knows where our jobs or lives may take us. For now, we are saving our pennies as if we are going to settle in DC. So what does that all entail, besides the obvious budgeting? Well, for one thing, El joined the Air Force Reserves at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria. The job is a good career move for him, as they are the headquarters for logistics in the Department of Defense. He'll work one weekend a month in the mornings and will be home by 2:00 that afternoon. It's not a bad gig, and the extra money each month pushes us towards reaching our housing goal.
The second way we are generating extra income is by me taking on coaching assignments at school.
I coached two seasons of softball before we moved to Spain, and it was a fun experience to be a mentor in ways other than teaching. The stipend for coaching is great, and the hours aren't bad at all, so it's win-win. That is, as long as I can lead our team to a dub-yah every now and then.
A few weeks ago, Rich, the Athletic Director, sent out an email looking for coaches for the fall sports. Rich is awesome and always first offers the coaching to the staff members before recruiting off-site. The sports offered were Middle or Upper School soccer, Middle or Upper School cross-country, and Upper School flag football. Soccer was an immediate no-go, since the only soccer I've ever played was in Mrs. Frazier's gym class in grade school. That, and I'd probably pull a groin trying to demonstrate a kick. Cross-country was also out, unless the job of the coach was to yell at the kids to slow down so I could catch up. That left flag football for the high school. There aren't any school football teams for charter high schools, but there's a contact flag football league in which our school plays. The rules are pretty much the same as regular football: playing on a 100 yard field, kick-offs, punting, and blocking. There are a few other differences, the most obvious being that there is no tackling in a flag football league.
Now, I've never played a down of football in my life, besides the two Powder Puff games my junior and senior year. I had an interception in my senior year game, but nobody got more than a few minutes playing times since we had so many girls come out. We were coached by the football players, and the only tactics they gave us involved tearing each others' shirts off and wrestling in mud. Jk, they just told us to "get the ball and score". Getting topless and wrestling in mud probably would have been better advice. My point is, I've watched plenty of football in my day, both of my bros played high school ball, and my youngest brother played college ball, but I'm as clueless as a nun in Amsterdam when it comes to strategy and play-making. So signing up to be the Head Coach would not be in the best interests of the kids or the school's reputation. But I'm hella good at following directions, and I can offer a lot of insight on mechanics and strategy, and the Assistant Coach I became.
There was no news of a Head Coach in the weeks that followed, and I was starting to panic that I'd have 18 high school boys and girls looking at ME for wisdom and guidance. I'd be like Goldie Hawn in the ending credits of Wildcats: a deer in the Friday Night headlights. I made a contingency plan in case it was just me flying solo that consisted of asking my brothers for advice and forcing Elliot to help me out at games. That, and channeling the spirit of Hurricane Ditka.
You can imagine my immense relief when Jason, the Upper School Dean and English teacher, came up to me at faculty meetings two days before our first scheduled practice and said we'd be coaching together. THANKS BE TO ZEUS! I tried to contain my inner squeeing and casually replied, "Really? That's cool..." when really what I wanted to say was, "Oh holy hell, thank God I'm not doing this alone!!!!" It was like in high school, when that super hot senior asked you out, and you acted like you already had plans. Except that never happened to me, and if Nick Lacny even burped in my general direction I probably would have swooned. Wha wha. Anyway, Jason and I chatted over plans for practice that next day, and I relaxed a little for the first time since I signed up to be a coach.
At our first practice, Jason introduced me as Coach Bones to the kids, something that he said he was going to do. I honestly have no freaking clue how he came up with that nickname, especially since I was wearing a t-shirt that had Betty White's face on it that said, "Who's your Betty?". Which is EXACTLY the type of t-shirt you'd expect from someone named Coach Bones. I liked it though, and I had to suprress a laugh every time a player called me by my new name. Even the seniors, my students five years before, started calling me Bones. They probably just were humoring me and thought it was ironic that the dorkiest teacher they've probably ever had is going around calling herself "Bones". Pat me on the head and say, "Okay, Ms. Farrell, you go ahead and call yourself Coach Bones" while chuckling as they walk away.
The kids on the team are awesome, and I taught a good number of them back in the day. Fortunately for me, I had shared my football knowledge with them when they were my students, so I didn't have to prove my worth as a football coach. I also wasn't the only girl there, as an 11th grade girl I had taught four years ago came out for the team. This girl is AWESOME, and I have mad respect for her going out for a male-dominated sport that she'd never played before. To the credit of the boys, they didn't go easy on her and considered her a teammate worth respecting. It says a lot about the type of kids at my school, and it makes my heart grow three sizes thinking about it. I had to laugh though, because a few of the boys cursed, and Jason yelled at them that they need to "watch their mouths because there are ladies present!" This guy clearly doesn't know me that well. I worked to further earn my stripes throughout the next few practices, leading the team in drills and correcting their mechanics as we practiced. Hopefully they now know that it's worth it to listen to me, which makes my job as coach a heck of a lot easier.
The other day, Coach had to leave practice early and left me with a sheet of plays to have the team run. The handwritten notes were confusing, but instead of manning up and asking for clarification, I felt like I had to prove my cajones or something and said, "No worries. I got this." I ended up coming up with some route options and let my QB's take the reins with the play calling. Somehow it all worked out, and we looked pretty damn good. Next time I'm confused though, I'm going to ask for clarification. You know, just in case lightning doesn't strike twice.
Our first game is on Tuesday, and I'm feeling pretty good about our odds this season. Regardless of how we do, I'm having a blast coaching, and the kids are learning, working hard, and having fun. That's all a coach can ask for, I guess.
Oh, and one of the kids finally asked how I got the nickname "Coach Bones". I told him that was all that was left of my students after they took my class....
So, El and I are knee-deep in trying to save up some moolah to buy a house. We LOVE this area, and we would like to settle here, but who knows where our jobs or lives may take us. For now, we are saving our pennies as if we are going to settle in DC. So what does that all entail, besides the obvious budgeting? Well, for one thing, El joined the Air Force Reserves at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria. The job is a good career move for him, as they are the headquarters for logistics in the Department of Defense. He'll work one weekend a month in the mornings and will be home by 2:00 that afternoon. It's not a bad gig, and the extra money each month pushes us towards reaching our housing goal.
The second way we are generating extra income is by me taking on coaching assignments at school.
I coached two seasons of softball before we moved to Spain, and it was a fun experience to be a mentor in ways other than teaching. The stipend for coaching is great, and the hours aren't bad at all, so it's win-win. That is, as long as I can lead our team to a dub-yah every now and then.
A few weeks ago, Rich, the Athletic Director, sent out an email looking for coaches for the fall sports. Rich is awesome and always first offers the coaching to the staff members before recruiting off-site. The sports offered were Middle or Upper School soccer, Middle or Upper School cross-country, and Upper School flag football. Soccer was an immediate no-go, since the only soccer I've ever played was in Mrs. Frazier's gym class in grade school. That, and I'd probably pull a groin trying to demonstrate a kick. Cross-country was also out, unless the job of the coach was to yell at the kids to slow down so I could catch up. That left flag football for the high school. There aren't any school football teams for charter high schools, but there's a contact flag football league in which our school plays. The rules are pretty much the same as regular football: playing on a 100 yard field, kick-offs, punting, and blocking. There are a few other differences, the most obvious being that there is no tackling in a flag football league.
Now, I've never played a down of football in my life, besides the two Powder Puff games my junior and senior year. I had an interception in my senior year game, but nobody got more than a few minutes playing times since we had so many girls come out. We were coached by the football players, and the only tactics they gave us involved tearing each others' shirts off and wrestling in mud. Jk, they just told us to "get the ball and score". Getting topless and wrestling in mud probably would have been better advice. My point is, I've watched plenty of football in my day, both of my bros played high school ball, and my youngest brother played college ball, but I'm as clueless as a nun in Amsterdam when it comes to strategy and play-making. So signing up to be the Head Coach would not be in the best interests of the kids or the school's reputation. But I'm hella good at following directions, and I can offer a lot of insight on mechanics and strategy, and the Assistant Coach I became.
There was no news of a Head Coach in the weeks that followed, and I was starting to panic that I'd have 18 high school boys and girls looking at ME for wisdom and guidance. I'd be like Goldie Hawn in the ending credits of Wildcats: a deer in the Friday Night headlights. I made a contingency plan in case it was just me flying solo that consisted of asking my brothers for advice and forcing Elliot to help me out at games. That, and channeling the spirit of Hurricane Ditka.
You can imagine my immense relief when Jason, the Upper School Dean and English teacher, came up to me at faculty meetings two days before our first scheduled practice and said we'd be coaching together. THANKS BE TO ZEUS! I tried to contain my inner squeeing and casually replied, "Really? That's cool..." when really what I wanted to say was, "Oh holy hell, thank God I'm not doing this alone!!!!" It was like in high school, when that super hot senior asked you out, and you acted like you already had plans. Except that never happened to me, and if Nick Lacny even burped in my general direction I probably would have swooned. Wha wha. Anyway, Jason and I chatted over plans for practice that next day, and I relaxed a little for the first time since I signed up to be a coach.
At our first practice, Jason introduced me as Coach Bones to the kids, something that he said he was going to do. I honestly have no freaking clue how he came up with that nickname, especially since I was wearing a t-shirt that had Betty White's face on it that said, "Who's your Betty?". Which is EXACTLY the type of t-shirt you'd expect from someone named Coach Bones. I liked it though, and I had to suprress a laugh every time a player called me by my new name. Even the seniors, my students five years before, started calling me Bones. They probably just were humoring me and thought it was ironic that the dorkiest teacher they've probably ever had is going around calling herself "Bones". Pat me on the head and say, "Okay, Ms. Farrell, you go ahead and call yourself Coach Bones" while chuckling as they walk away.
The kids on the team are awesome, and I taught a good number of them back in the day. Fortunately for me, I had shared my football knowledge with them when they were my students, so I didn't have to prove my worth as a football coach. I also wasn't the only girl there, as an 11th grade girl I had taught four years ago came out for the team. This girl is AWESOME, and I have mad respect for her going out for a male-dominated sport that she'd never played before. To the credit of the boys, they didn't go easy on her and considered her a teammate worth respecting. It says a lot about the type of kids at my school, and it makes my heart grow three sizes thinking about it. I had to laugh though, because a few of the boys cursed, and Jason yelled at them that they need to "watch their mouths because there are ladies present!" This guy clearly doesn't know me that well. I worked to further earn my stripes throughout the next few practices, leading the team in drills and correcting their mechanics as we practiced. Hopefully they now know that it's worth it to listen to me, which makes my job as coach a heck of a lot easier.
The other day, Coach had to leave practice early and left me with a sheet of plays to have the team run. The handwritten notes were confusing, but instead of manning up and asking for clarification, I felt like I had to prove my cajones or something and said, "No worries. I got this." I ended up coming up with some route options and let my QB's take the reins with the play calling. Somehow it all worked out, and we looked pretty damn good. Next time I'm confused though, I'm going to ask for clarification. You know, just in case lightning doesn't strike twice.
Our first game is on Tuesday, and I'm feeling pretty good about our odds this season. Regardless of how we do, I'm having a blast coaching, and the kids are learning, working hard, and having fun. That's all a coach can ask for, I guess.
Oh, and one of the kids finally asked how I got the nickname "Coach Bones". I told him that was all that was left of my students after they took my class....
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