I pulled out the Sugar Ray Leonard and Laila Ali boxing workout DVD I have. I hadn't used it in awhile, and I forgot that it is a tough workout but a good one. I've been exercising several days a week at home since the beginning of the year. I could work out at the gym, but circumstances don't always allow for that.
For example, the first day of the spring session yesterday was busy. But it was not well populated as I predicted. It was raining while I was driving to work; it was a given that most would not show up due to weather conditions. Four of the twelve kids registered for the 12 and under class showed up, including little Diego, whose sister Mareli is in the teen class. I really like Diego. He's a cute kid and is very respectful. More parents than usual came to that class. Mareli and Diego's parents, Yamina's mom, Jameiron's parents, and Tony's mom. I was on my feet for most of the time as I gave the parents chairs to sit and observe.
Sahia and Noel were extremely helpful when it came to the kids. I was so appreciative that they were there (Rachey had another engagement, and Mikela was recovering from a dental procedure). Sahia thought she saw Malik in the building. "He was here a moment ago asking about when the City-Wide Tournament was going to take place," I responded. As usual, Malik was a day late and a dollar short. I fail to understand why he was asking about it when I had made it clear Malik was not going to be in the tournament -- which was last week -- due to not training for it. Once again, Malik gave no indication whether his grandfather was going to sign him up again for the teen class.
I was also asked about where were the other kids. When I gave a response along the lines of, "I have no idea", Sahia asked, "Did you call them?" "I do one courtesy call at the beginning of the session, but that's it," I answered. "Well, something could be going on at home," she said. Yes, something could and sometimes, it is. I also know that I can't spend 20 to 30 minutes every day on the phone asking where people are. The youths tend to make quick decisions about whether or not they want to continue with the class. I'm not going to chase people who appear to be uninterested. I announced to the class that there is an attendance policy, and they need to adhere to it.
An adult, Jada, showed up in the middle of the class wanting to register. I was irritated as once again, staff upstairs failed to recognize that I was in the middle of a class, and on the first day of the session at that. Luckily, I remembered that Sahia is now a volunteer, so I took Jada back upstairs. However, she only had cash, and Steve had left for the day so I couldn't put it in the safe. She said she would create an account with the park district to register and use her debit card, which she had left at home. If that didn't work, I told her to come to the field house earlier so I could properly deal with the cash, if necessary. Later, I told Coach James and Walz, "For the umpteenth time, please don't send people to me when I'm in the middle of a class." James said something about staff not being able to register people for boxing without my approval (letting me know that perhaps he was the one who sent Jada downstairs). "You can put them in the system, and enter them in the class later," he said. I've already had at least one adult some time ago who expected me to put her in the system so she could show up for class and maybe pay later. I don't think so. Besides, people register online all the time for that class, despite it being advertised that they should talk to me first. Some staff has also registered people for boxing whether or not I was on the premises to give permission. I was ticked, but I didn't feel like continuing to argue. Nor did I bother to say that I have a volunteer in the gym now so I can come upstairs to register people if needed. But I'd rather not disrupt coaching classes to do that even with a volunteer present.
Darren, who is an accountant, was the only one who showed up for the adult class. Sahia had to leave early, and Doneisha said she would sign up later. I told Darren, "Math was the subject that always brought my report cards down in school. I wish I had a skill for numbers; I still struggle with them." He chuckled at that. Darren didn't stay the full time, but he did get a good workout in.
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