Still breathing
Hi loyal readers. I apologize for the lack of posts in the past few months. Rest assured this blog is still alive and going strong. Unfortunately I don't have much to report these days - still applying for jobs.
Let's see what I can comment on.
I have secured a spot with the US Rowing Men's Junior National Team High Performance Camp again this summer. I am extremely excited to have been offered the opportunity to return. I thoroughly enjoyed my time last year, and I'm looking forward to meeting a new group of athletes this year, and spending more time getting my foot in the door of the system.
I have been offered a position with the Ashland Rowing Program run by the coach I'll be working with this summer. It's a combination job of helping coach juniors, masters, and volunteering with the Southern Oregon University club program that was restarted this year.
I have also applied for another position with a university and am waiting to see where that goes. The coach in Ashland has been incredibly gracious in allowing me the opportunity to see where things might head with this potential job before wanting a firm answer on whether I'll be coming down or not. We should all be so fortunate to have such understanding future bosses, and I am grateful not only for the opportunity he is offering, but his understanding with where I am.
In sporting news not related to rowing, how about that Super Bowl? I went into the game pulling for the Patriots, and spent a majority of the game surfing my phone, munching on a slice of cheese, or apple - the party I attended decided we'd fancy up and lighten up the food menu so rather than pizza, wings, and nachos, we had cheeses from France and Spain, sliced apples, French bread, and a roast beet/goat cheese/raw pepitas/micro green salad with a pomegranate gastrique, and some local ciders to wash it down. Delicious, and we all joked around that this is what a Super Bowl party in the PNW probably should be.
What a comeback by the Patriots, and what a heart wrenching finish for the Falcons. I know there's been much debate online: Did the Patriots win, or did the Falcons choke? And there's much debate over the play selection toward the end of the game by the Falcons.
My thoughts?
It's very difficult to find a balance between the, "Tried and true," methods, or old school some might say, and getting away from the usual, and "thinking outside the box." I know the sexy thing now is to bring analytics into play, break down what the statistics would say, etc.
Me? Finding the perfect balance between the two schools of thought is hard, and it only gets more difficult when the game is on the line. In many ways I am grateful for being a rowing coach in that once the boat leaves the launching area, there's nothing I can do but watch. I do imagine what rowing would be like if we could call timeouts at the 1000, or even every 500. "I don't like what I'm seeing here, let's try this instead," or "Man, we could use a timeout to gather ourselves."
The Falcons had an excellent season. Dan Quinn is an incredible coach, and I believe he's on his way to a highly successful career as the head coach in Atlanta. Brady and Belichick continue to prove why they are arguably the best in the business. The game was a tale of two halves - aren't they all - and unfortunately for the Falcons, they came out on the wrong side of history. But that shouldn't detract from what they accomplished, nor should we necessarily Monday Morning quarterback the decisions that were made. Afterall, that team, and those coaches made the Super Bowl. 30 other teams can't make the same claim.
Let's see what I can comment on.
I have secured a spot with the US Rowing Men's Junior National Team High Performance Camp again this summer. I am extremely excited to have been offered the opportunity to return. I thoroughly enjoyed my time last year, and I'm looking forward to meeting a new group of athletes this year, and spending more time getting my foot in the door of the system.
I have been offered a position with the Ashland Rowing Program run by the coach I'll be working with this summer. It's a combination job of helping coach juniors, masters, and volunteering with the Southern Oregon University club program that was restarted this year.
I have also applied for another position with a university and am waiting to see where that goes. The coach in Ashland has been incredibly gracious in allowing me the opportunity to see where things might head with this potential job before wanting a firm answer on whether I'll be coming down or not. We should all be so fortunate to have such understanding future bosses, and I am grateful not only for the opportunity he is offering, but his understanding with where I am.
In sporting news not related to rowing, how about that Super Bowl? I went into the game pulling for the Patriots, and spent a majority of the game surfing my phone, munching on a slice of cheese, or apple - the party I attended decided we'd fancy up and lighten up the food menu so rather than pizza, wings, and nachos, we had cheeses from France and Spain, sliced apples, French bread, and a roast beet/goat cheese/raw pepitas/micro green salad with a pomegranate gastrique, and some local ciders to wash it down. Delicious, and we all joked around that this is what a Super Bowl party in the PNW probably should be.
What a comeback by the Patriots, and what a heart wrenching finish for the Falcons. I know there's been much debate online: Did the Patriots win, or did the Falcons choke? And there's much debate over the play selection toward the end of the game by the Falcons.
My thoughts?
It's very difficult to find a balance between the, "Tried and true," methods, or old school some might say, and getting away from the usual, and "thinking outside the box." I know the sexy thing now is to bring analytics into play, break down what the statistics would say, etc.
Me? Finding the perfect balance between the two schools of thought is hard, and it only gets more difficult when the game is on the line. In many ways I am grateful for being a rowing coach in that once the boat leaves the launching area, there's nothing I can do but watch. I do imagine what rowing would be like if we could call timeouts at the 1000, or even every 500. "I don't like what I'm seeing here, let's try this instead," or "Man, we could use a timeout to gather ourselves."
The Falcons had an excellent season. Dan Quinn is an incredible coach, and I believe he's on his way to a highly successful career as the head coach in Atlanta. Brady and Belichick continue to prove why they are arguably the best in the business. The game was a tale of two halves - aren't they all - and unfortunately for the Falcons, they came out on the wrong side of history. But that shouldn't detract from what they accomplished, nor should we necessarily Monday Morning quarterback the decisions that were made. Afterall, that team, and those coaches made the Super Bowl. 30 other teams can't make the same claim.
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