Nice welcome

I just walked in the door from my first game as coach in 2008. My Novice B boys played a team that was essentially equal to ours in the standings: the same record of 6-1-0 and virtually the same goals for and against. This team provided the third goalie on our all-star game and a player I think just may be the best in our league. I found out when I read the rosters that this skater, however, would be absent today. Still, I prepared my team for a tough game.

We won 10-0. Despite the score, my proudest moment was when the players responded to the coaching staff's request to stop celebrating goals with the traditional high-five pass by the bench.

Child Three felt a little out of shape by the last period, but he made some nice positional plays.

The team had won yesterday 5-1 against a weaker team in my absence, a game I had expected us to win. But today was a surprise that puts us into first.

I missed yesterday's game because I was on the road between Albany and Montreal. We'd flown out of and into Albany because the tickets to Houston were several hundreds of dollars less for each of us than they would have been from Montreal. It makes the three-and-a-half hour drive more than acceptable.

I spent my last day in Houston (see pic of three kids somewhere in that city, above, because I've made too many image-free posts lately) catching up with two people I wanted to see. The college friends I keep in touch with tend to be those who have stayed in Houston because those are the ones I get to see. Mike and I have spent many years making each other laugh and, in one case, throw up. We played College Bowl together through to an ill-fated trip to the national championships. I'm still embarrassed that in one game I called Jeanne Sauvé speaker instead of Governor General. Yeah, I was in there to handle the CanCon.

Mike and I had a nice lunch at, yes, Goode Company and we talked airplanes and politics.

Earlier that morning, I also talked airplanes, with Brett, fellow scribospherian, airplane person, and sports coach. We spent 90 minutes chatting about writing and writers, airplanes, airplane people, and sports. I think Brett has shrunk. He was a good eight feet tall in my memory.

We're home now, the Wii is set up, bags remain to be unpacked, and we're going visiting friends for dinner and to pick up the guinea pig and rabbit.

Work wise, things are under control. I have story issues to wrestle with and a class to conjure by Wednesday, but that's lots of time. The students believe anything I tell them. I love teaching.