More Unforeseen Challenges

I had just come out of the field house.  The building closed early because of the New Year holiday.  One of the kids runs up to me and asked if the gym was open.  There have been signs all around the field house with the holiday closing schedule up for weeks.  Apparently, no one but the staff has paid attention to them.  A couple of teenage boys went past me to go into the building.  "They're turning the lights off and closing up," I told them.  "We wanted to see if the basketball gym was open," came the reply.  What does "closing up" mean?  I guess the teens' minds were so stuck on b-ball that they didn't get what I said.

What I don't get is why it appears that no one -- youths and parents alike -- don't keep up with the field house schedule.  The kid who asked me about the boxing gym had just got out of his mom's car.  She could have avoided wasting gas money by making a simple phone call.  I don't know. . . .I grew up in a household where my late mother was on top of everything.

Then it appears that a lot of the kids don't know how to tell time.  I don't get that, either, considering most of them are playing on their cell phones non-stop.  Cell phones do display the time on the opening screens.  Some of the kids strike me as being a little too old not to know how to tell time.  Is that not being taught in school anymore?  Are parents not pointing out the clock to the kids at home?

Now that ropes are finally up around the ring, the youths are coming to me with more questions about what they can do in the ring.  I sincerely wish they'd stop watching professional wrestling and mixed martial arts matches on television.  I know boxing is not shown on network TV anymore, but it is shown on HBO, Showtime, Versus, and ESPN.  Most of the kids have told me they have cable at home, so why don't they watch the boxing matches and study those moves?  I'm preparing for the first time they lose a Chicago Park District Boxing Show fight and come crying to me.  "Coach Hillari, they gave the trophy to the other person!" the kids will cry.  "Didn't I keep saying that spinning back fists, jumping off of the top rope, hitting people while they are down on the canvas, doing drop kicks, etc., were illegal moves?" I'll snap back.