The Fraternity of Coaches' Meeting

Only Earl, Jaylin, and TJ showed up for the kids' class today.  Earl kept whining because he didn't want to spar with TJ.  Jaylin had already said he didn't want to spar, and I wasn't going to spar with anyone.  Finally I told Earl that he wasn't going to be able to pick and choose opponents in the event that he has a regular match.  Earl and TJ went around for two rounds without either of them suffering any major damage.

The teen and adult classes were canceled out because I had to go to a boxing coaches' meeting.  When I think that I'm the only one having to deal with certain issues at the gym, it's nice to know that the other coaches have encountered those issues at well.  We help each other with suggestions as to how to handle those issues as they come up.

The parents as volunteers issue has always concerned me.  I appreciate the help, but they aren't official park district volunteers.  I let it go when the parents were helping their own kids, but that can't happen anymore.  Sometimes that turns into the parents helping other people's kids. . . .other parents might have an issue with someone around their kid other than the coach.  So I have to figure out a way to diplomatically request that parents stand aside and let the coach run the gym.  If the parents don't want to follow the rule, the only option they have is to leave the gym -- and perhaps take their children with them.

Actual park district volunteers can no longer run the gym when the coach is out.  Tommy, the head of the park district's boxing program, told us, "When you're not there, the gym is closed."  I used to open up Loyola Park gym when Steve was absent, and later on, for Alan.  In some ways that is good.  If something went wrong while the volunteer was in charge, the coach would also get blamed regardless of the fact they weren't there.  But on the other side, if the coach has to be off for whatever reason, the participants miss out on training because the volunteer can't run the gym in the coach's place.

Tommy gave all of the coaches boxes of T-shirts to give out to the boxing participants.  Thankfully, Alan kept my box in his car for me so I could pick it up from him next week.  Otherwise, I would have had to drag it home on the train.  I still have T-shirts from last year.  Not every participant received one; too few people showing up at the gym on a regular basis, and fewer than that actually competing.  This year, I might be able to give more of the T-shirts out.