Veterans, thank you for your service! Today is the day we celebrate those among us who stand or stood tall in defense of our country.

I spent over twenty-five years in the Navy and retired in 1992.

My father served over twenty-five years in the Navy. He served in WWII for a time, was discharged after the war ended. He enlisted again during the Korean War. He retired in 1970 and passed in 2002.

My brother, Cletus, entered the service during the Viet Nam War. He was a Gunners Mate Gun and spent considerable time in the Tonkin Gulf on an oiler. The ship refueled others. We spent time together in Hawaii when the ship was in port. He was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2002.

My brother, Paul, was drafted during the Viet Nam War also. He didn’t spend much time in the service, but should be honored for responding when called. We lost him in 2003.

These are not the only family that has served. My Uncle Wilbur was killed in action in WWI. My uncle Hugh served in WWII and was a prisoner of war. My Uncle Bernard made a career in the Air Force. I apologize if I miss anyone or slight their contributions.

And, I married a woman whose family has many relatives who have or are still serving in the military. One, her uncle David J. Green served and met his wife while stationed in England. Read his story here.

I first met her cousin Donald Hanna in Germany, where he was stationed. David McWha, the husband of my wife’s cousin, served in the Air Force. As with my relations, I apologize for not noting others who served or are serving.

We are just a few of the many who served the nation in its military branches from the Revolutionary War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thank you and God bless those who served and those who protect us today—be they Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force.

Dwane’s Grandparents and Parents

A long time ago, Elizabeth Midkiff and James Frederick Harris had a beautiful daughter named Mary Ruth in Owensboro, Kentucky. The date was 23 January 1927. Almost two months later, Johanna Mae Elder and Hilary Oswald Knott had a handsome son named Francis Leo. It was 17 April 1927, and the place was Browns Valley, Kentucky. Mary and Francis, who everyone called Leo, are my parents.

Mary and Francis married on 17 August 1946 in Owensboro. I was born in October the next year. My brother Cletus James was born on 9 June 1949 and the twins, Mary Paula and Joseph Paul, on 3 December 1952. The four of us born in Owensboro. Early in 1952, the family moved to Peoria, Illinois.

We lived on NE Adams street in an apartment until my parents bought a house on Vohland Street in Beverly Manor, Illinois. We moved in the summer of 1953, in time for me to begin first grade at St. Patrick’s Elementary School in Washington, Illinois. Cletus and the twins followed when they reached school age.

Lori’s Grandparents and Parents

A long time ago, a beautiful daughter was born on 27 July 1933 to Mary Elizabeth Neubauer and Robert Joseph Green in Donna, Texas. They named her Virginia Louise. James Alexander, Jr, a handsome boy, was born to Margaret Sarah Sherlock and James Alexander Cameron, Sr on 31 July 1929 in Minot, North Dakota.  Virginia and James Jr. are my wife’s parents.

Virginia and James met in Corpus Christi, Texas, and were married there on 29 July 1950.  They had three children born in a Corpus Christi hospital. Colin James was born 24 July 1951,  Flora MacLeod (Lori) in January 1954 and Heather Jenny in November 1967.

Virginia and James bought a house on Rosedale Street sometime before Colin was born and lived there all their lives.

I hope you enjoyed the brief glimpse into our family history. Questions or comments are appreciated and enjoyed.

Be safe in this trying time.

Missing you

What does ‘missing you’ mean? My wife would say it means not being able to make the call to her Mother when she has a concern. Or when she wants to brag on one of her seven grandchildren. Or being able to take a vacation and sit together talking about the cares and joys of life.  They talked almost daily for the last 30 years. Daily life will never be the same for her since her mother passed Feb 2016.

My wife would say it is not being able to go fishing with her brother. Or sit with him talking cars, guns, grandchildren, work, people they knew or hundreds of shared experiences growing up. He passed April 2016, about 10 weeks after her mother.

At the cemetery

I sat with her today at the cemetery. We sat on a bench monument at the head of her brother’s grave. We overlooked her mother’s grave to the headstone for her parent’s. We shared stories, but mostly I listened. When she cried, I tried to comfort her. I found myself tearing up.

The time came to leave. We stood, said goodbye to her brother and approached the parent’s headstone. My wife leaned over and rubbed the picture of her mother engraved there. “Happy birthday, Mom.”

It is cliché to say “They will never be gone as long as we hold them in our hearts.” The cliché is supposed to make us feel better. But it is a poor replacement for seeing the smile, hearing the laugh, or holding the loved one. It can only soothe the hurt in ‘missing you.”

Me, it has been twenty years since my mother passed. I lost two brothers and my father between October 2002 and October 2003. My sister passed in 2011. Some days, when I am experiencing a success, I find myself reaching for the phone to share it with my mother. To this day, ‘missing you’ touches me.

May they all rest in peace knowing we are “missing you.”

Are you missing someone? Use the comment form to tell me about them.

If you are considering a soccer club for your player, think PSC.

The Pipeline Soccer Club (PSC) is presenting the opportunity for boy and girl soccer players to earn a place on a club team. Current rostered team members and players seeking a place should attend tryouts. All skill levels are welcome.

Players undergo testing as I mentioned in last week’s post. The club’s expectation is the child will work hard and show his or her best skillset. The coach’s evaluation of how the child performs will affect the offer made to the child.

PSC Tryout process

I was one of the coach assistants at last year’s tryouts. I observed boys born in 2008 executing dribbling and passing drills before placed in teams to scrimmage. Some boys received offers to teams at the level of demonstrated abilities. Players were notified if not selected to a team. The boys who accepted their offer received information on joining the club.

Those who rejected the offers created additional work for the coaches. Instead of a player the coach felt would integrate into the team, he faced taking a less talented boy.

Some parents scout multiple clubs with the object to get a top team selection. They will accept the offer from the club offering a spot on their tier one team. Besides inconsiderate, they don’t seem focused on great learning experiences for their child.

Deciding on the best offer – things to consider

The point is the parents should evaluate the clubs for the experience they will offer their child.  They should consider the overall package the club offers. What is the quality of coaches and how integrated into the training process are the Director of Coaching and technical directors?  Does the club have better prospects or overall access to elite competitions?  How integrated are the teams in an age group? Can players train or play with higher level teams in their age group?

PSC is one of the founding members of the US Youth Soccer National League EDP Leadership Council. It is one of the clubs with lower level teams that compete well in challenging leagues and tournaments as reflected by their results. PSC teams play in top tournaments such as Jefferson Cup and Disney. This year PSC had a National Champion. The experience is more important than the level of the team.

PSC pays for the facilities used to test the players. Its coaches commit many hours of their own time going over evaluations notes and creating the offers. Finally, PSC encourages coaches to make them promptly, within days of the end of tryouts. Parents should accept or reject offers with the same promptness.

I encourage you to comment using the form. Click the follow button to get a notice when new posts are available.

The 2018 tryouts for Pipeline Soccer Club (PSC) teams will occur in May. The child will show their soccer skills with the desire to be selected for a team.

PSC’s tryouts permit players with varying skill levels to be evaluated. The goal of every coach is to build a team of players with similar skills. Then the coach can plan a training schedule to benefit all team players. A team with players with dissimilar skills complicates training plans and slows a team’s progress.

PSC’s Teams Tier  Levels

 PSC’s top teams participate in the strongest leagues and tournaments. The second level teams play at a lower level. The third level teams play a level down from the second team.  All teams are expected to be successful at the level they compete.

Current PSC teams have a roster of players and are competing in leagues and tournaments this season. The coach of these teams continually evaluate the soccer skills of their players. Whether proficient or needing improvement, all current team members are encouraged to attend tryouts.

Pipeline Soccer Club Tryouts Process

At tryouts, coaches for the age group have the children perform several warm-up drills followed by technical drills and scrimmages. The children are encouraged to perform at their best in each exercise.

Following tryout, the coaches discuss the participants and identify those they will offer team slots. The parents can accept or reject extended offers.

The coach’s immediate task is nearly complete if the offer is accepted. If rejected, the coach looks to his alternates list. The process continues until the team is full or the list of alternates is exhausted.

Why would one reject an offer?

The coach may have offered a place on a team not meeting the parent or child’s expectations. Some parents expect their child to be selected to the top team and look elsewhere if the offer is to a lower level team.

Or the child receives an offer from another club. Many children attend tryouts for several clubs and will take, what the parent considers, the best offer.

Sometimes the child attends PSC tryouts; yet, the child decides to remain with friends on another club or school team.

Regarding the first reason, some parents have difficulty recognizing their child’s abilities compared to others in their age group. Their child may be the star of their recreation, school, or current club team but not be at the level of top players at PSC.

Perception that selection to a PSC second or third level team guarantees a player to receives less than quality training and not participate in challenging leagues and tournaments. This perception is false. All PSC teams receive quality training, participate in leagues and tournaments to challenge their abilities.

If your child attended a tryout and not selected to the top team, what would you do? Tell me in the comments.

It is interesting how parenting is similar to coaching a young sports team.

Parents guide their children to prepare them to be successful in life.

Coaches provide guidance and training to the team members to prepare them to be successful in competitions.

Common Objective

One commonality is the parent and coach try to inculcate the desire to learn into children. How to instill this desire is the challenge.

Parents have advantages over coaches. There is the unique relationship between parent and child, often loving. The parent provides subsistence and shelter. The parent also provides access to entertainment. Finally, the child and parent co-exist in an environment where contact will be regular and often.

Coaches have limited contact with players, usually during practice sessions. These sessions occur a limited number of times a week, but only for a few hours each session. Unlike the parent, the coach does not provide subsistence or shelter (unless it is a canopy when raining!)

Limitations

Parents and coaches have limits on how they can respond to children disinclined to listen and learn. Both can play on the child’s love or respect for them should it exists. This may not be enough though.

Parents can restrict access to entertainment and some types of subsistence such as sweets. Physical punishment may be an option if it is acceptable to the parent and complies with local and federal laws. Regardless, abuse is never proper.

Coaches are limited to what can be done during practice or during the game. This includes appealing to the player’s affinity for teammates, individual endurance training, and removal from training drills. Lastly, the coach can limit playing time during competitions.

Child’s Responsibility

The endgame is parents and coaches have goals for those in their care. However, it is incumbent on the child to take the initiative to make use of the experiences and knowledge parents and coaches provide.

How much responsibility for success do you think lies with the child? I would enjoy learning your thoughts on the relationship between parents, coaches, and the child. Comment form provided for your input.