The F bomb...

The doc said that the nosebleeds are not stress related... though I am not sure I trust that. She said it was just because of dry air... oh well... if they continue she will send me to an ear nose doc.

My knee is screaming for some attention... I need to take time to do the strengthening exercises and need to go to the gym to at least ride the bike.

Woke up to snow on the ground after a few days of mild weather. It should be illegal to snow after March 1st.

I have to coach tonight. Middle school track. At practice the other day one of the girls dropped the F bomb... not realizing I was outside when she did... she was surprised when I yelled to her to come speak with me. She was honest that she did say it. I give her credit for not denying it. I told her that the last athlete that used that kind of language was suspended from competing for two weeks... and I told her that for her, I thought that taking her off the relay team this week would be her minimal consequence. (The relay is her passion!) Later in practice she came to me, apologized, and told me how much track and the relay mean to her. She told me she realized she had made a big mistake. So I asked her....Would you be thinking about this IF I hadn't caught you..... She said no... I told her that she has a lot of natural talent and some natural leadership abilities and that of she plans on continuing with track, she needs to use those skills in a positive way. [I should probably mention that I have spoken to her a couple times at practices when she and a few other girls are standing around chatting when they are supposed to be listening or running.] So, I told her it took a lot to apologize... and that her participation on the team for the remainder of the season would be dependent on a choice she needed to make. I told her that her mom, who I know from coaching an older sibling, would be learning about her daughter's language. I told her that her choice was simple, either she would go home and tell her mother about what happened, or I would call her mother in the morning ot let her know. She said she would tell her, and I said that I thought that was the best choice and that I would call her mom in the morning to confirm her confession. The next morning her mom called me, assured me that her daughter had filled her in on what had happened and wanted to make sure her daughter had not left out any of the details. She was also happy that I had removed her daughter from the relay, saying that there probably could not be any consequence more upsetting. She also asked me to put her daughter in a long distance event in place of the relay, but asked me to not tell her daughter it was her idea. Done! So that's that... no other suspension as long as this girl's behavior at practice improves...oh yeah... and at tonight's meet. She WILL be cheering for the relay team... loudly.