My friend Dennis...

Yesterday was the first day of basketball practice/try-outs here at the High School. It went like a first day normally does, some good, some bad, some pretty good, some pretty bad. We are working hard, and I will certainly talk about our guys more as the week goes on...but I have to share this story...

Dennis is a custodian here at the High School, a man in his mid to upper 40's is my best guess. Dennis works from 8:30-4:30 everyday, doing the custodial type of work. He also spends about every weekend, occasionally skipping a few, to go back to Chilicothe, Missouri to tend to his fathers house, since his father is ill.

I always bring the KC star to work. I will finish it by the time I have to move, and Dennis always would glance at it as I had it on my table. Eventually, I decided when I moved areas, I would just leave the paper in Dennis' area where he keeps his cup/jacket/keys. Still to this day, Dennis will thank me for leaving the paper for him to read, it always is a good part of my day.

Here is one that will stick with me though: Yesterday Dennis was sweeping the floor after lunch and there was a bottle cap that he picked up about 20 feet from the nearest trash can, Dennis threw it, and hit the trash can dead in the middle. I joked with him that we have try-outs today, and he shoots it better than any of our guys. Dennis then went up to his boss, and jokingly mentioned he was going to have to be off by 3 today, b/c "Chris invited me to tryouts". We all shared a laugh. Then during practice, about 4:30, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and there is Dennis' smiling, saying, "Hey, I am here". I died laughing. Dennis had just gotten off, and was getting ready to leave, but first came through the gym to give me a hard time.

I think it's a story that is better in person, better if you witness it, but I hope by writing it some of you get a picture of it.

Have a wonderful day...!

Post game celebration...

I was LOVING this last Saturday. After Cal won in OT, the all-everything back got in the cart and started driving it around the field...how epic is that?!?!?!

So, what if I...

So my kids in 6th hour have finally calmed down and realized I hate all the screwing around/loud yelling (although they are just talking across the table) that use to be.

So now that they have figured it out, I am left here with no one to yell at, no kid to write up, and no reason to get up and go tell a kid "either you dont pay attention, dont care, or dont get it, and the bad part is, I think it's all three"(true comment).

I just ate lunch, and the only thing I can think about doing is taking a nap...I am not at the head nod stage yet, but that could be coming fast...

Truth...

You don't have to worry about what you say as long as it's the truth...

New Book...

I finished reading Charlie Weis' book "No Excuses". I really enjoyed it, and it provided some interesting perspective. I will make sure that I root for Notre Dame as long as he is the head coach. He stands for what is right in the world of Coaching.

Now I am reading Winning the NFL way. It is five NFL coaches who got together and brainstormed(if thats a word) some leadership/motivation strategies.
In the intro it gives 7 attributes that surround winning:

1) Great teacher
2) Motivator
3) Picking/choosing the right people
4) Communicator
5) disciplinarian
6) Visionary
7) Excellent character

Let me know what you would add/subtract.

Tuesday, October 24th...

Believe is or not, we start our basketball season in 6 days. It seems like yesterday we were closing our season in Dallas. I miss certain aspects of KSU, but overall I am super happy where I am at.
We have the necessary talent to win at the high school level. We have a super skilled sophomore, 3 experienced seniors who can play, and a reliable bench. The only problem personnel wise is our point guard. We will have a senior who hasn't played Varsity, but is a terrific athlete. We will have to coach him up so he can lead our guys, b/c I am hopeful that we are busy until the first week of March here.
Hope everything is going well, email me, CoachMcCabe@gmail.com, or post on here. Would love to hear from you all (if anyone reads this).

Have a GREAT Tuesday...
Chris

Charlie Weis' "No Excuses"...

When I was in Eugene, Melynda was wonderful enough to buy me Charlie Weis' just released book. (Part of the proceeds go to his daughters special needs foundation as well, which made it more meaningful for her to buy it for me). Reading this has been super interesting b/c it's not a "Guide to coaching" but a story of his rise, with a few stories of coaching here and there...

"If you know what you're doing you don't feel pressure. Pressure is something that's self-inflicted. Different people handle it different ways. The key to not letting it get the better of you is preparation. If you're prepared and know what you're doing you should be able to handle the pressure because you should feel confident that you have the answers to the test."

Have a good week...

Do YOU do this?...

In my trip to Eugene, I had time to observe many people/personalities in various settings. Noticing these people I came up with various things:

• Conversation skills: You ever asked a stranger a question? I asked a person standing in line "Is this the Flight 716 to Denver?" You would have thought I asked the gentlemen to recite the quadratic formula for me. He didn't look at me in the eye, muttered, so I had to ask him twice what he said to finally understand him. My first thought was, Do I do this?
• Public (cell) Speaking: Noticed two main things. 1) People have no problem explaining all their personal problems/issues/thoughts to the world. I couldn't do that. 2) Volume level. I would be embarrassed to speak as loud as some of these people talking about personal stuff. Watch for this, and watch the people AROUND the person talking. They feel more uncomfortable than the person talking. My first thought was, Do I do this?
• Doing a favor for a stranger: Melynda and I were waiting in line for the shuttle to Autzen Stadium. They charge a fee if you don't have a bus pass or student ID. Obviously I had neither and was ready to pay the fee. As we were approaching the bus, a nice gentleman from behind me asked if I had a bus pass. After I told him no, he responded by offering me his pass so I could save the money. Also, I was in Albertson's buying some items I couldn't travel with, and the cashier asked me if I had a "Discount card" with me. Responded to him that I was visiting, he then rang a generic card thru the register, saving me $2.20. My first thought after each circumstance was, Do I do this?
• The airline ticket taker at United was extremely abrasive and tried to let EVERYONE know that she was in charge. Raising her voice, being very demonstrative(sp) in her body language. Short answers, bad sense of humor. Then I asked myself, who am I to judge the character of her. (Although I think I had a pretty good assessment of her). So I asked myself three things, referring to the ticket counter 1) Do I act like her when I am in charge? 2) Do I judge based off what I believe is right, or standard. 3) What is "standard" and do I know it?

There are a million other examples, some of which I may post later.

As you can tell, I had time to think and observe many attitudes/behaviors/personalities of people. I really enjoyed doing such.

I tried to be very introspective with everything I witnessed. Whenever you see a behavior that makes you take notice, good or bad, maybe you should ask yourself, Do I do this? Then implement/discard it to make yourself the best possible person.

Trip...

(I'll add various things that came to mind during my travels and the visit itself as the week goes on, so check back in during the week)
Obviously, my trip to Eugene was too short. We had an absolute blast and were able to do quite a few things both of us enjoy doing together.
We ate extremely well. Went out to a Japanese steakhouse, and a homemade itailian place, to name a few, called Beppe & Gianni's. Both were terrific.
Also got to make it out to Mac court for the Volleyball game on Friday night and over to Autzen Stadium for the Oregon v. UCLA game Saturday. Cool atmosphere, absolutely BEAUTIFUL facilities there is a reason they have top flight athletic programs.
There is a million other things that I could write about, but those are what first comes to mind to share with you all.
As you could imagine, it was terrific to be with Melynda for that extended period of time. Those of you that know us, know how happy that we are together and that didnt change a single bit over this past week. She truly is the best person I've ever met.

Been a while...

It has been a little hectic lately and so I have not posted as frequently as I would like. Things are going well now, I had various meetings and obligations that I had to be at the past week/weekend and so now the dust has settled.

Yes, you're right, I do leave for Oregon tomorrow night. Fly out at 7:09 here, and land at 10:27 (12:27 central) there. As you could imagine, looking very much forward to it.

Once I get back, we have a coaching clinic/retreat that our staff is going on before we start our first practice, October 30th.

Our Fall league team won two games yesterday, to improve to 7-1. We beat the team that has handed out our only loss, so that was important for our guys. We have an enormous amount of work to do to get to where we need to be if we want to compete for championships, but we have a solid foundation in place.

Well, hope to hear from each and everyone of you soon, I will surely update you about my trip to Eugene when I get a chance, and plus, when my wonderful girlfriend is at class, Jax and I can only do so much, so I probably will post a time or two.

Take care and have a great week!

Incredible...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/061003

Bill Simmons does a great job normally, but this might be the best I've EVER read, please take the time to read this, it will make your day better...

In case you were wondering...

One week, and I'll be in Eugene...