And They Call It a Woody: Station Wagons and the Danger of Looking Back
When I was 10 years old we were stationed at
Yokota Air Force Base near Tokyo, Japan.
We had 2 family vehicles.
One was a 1968 sky blue VW Bug that would become my
first vehicle when I got my drivers license 6 years later.
The other was a nondescript black 4-door sedan.
My father had purchased it off some guy he knew.
It had no distinguishing features. It wasn’t cool or sexy.
It was simply…a car. I called it plain car.
Having served 4 years in Japan, it was time for us to return
to the...
Potty Training, Guided Discovery, and Individual Freedom
In the spring of 1993, I was in my last semester of Physical Therapy school
in San Antonio, Texas.
I spent nearly every waking hour studying, so my wife,
Kathy had to manage our household and provide most of the care for our son,
Ty, who was 2 years old.
Even though it was a stressful time, Kathy and I
made sure we carved out time to be together as a family.
Every day after dinner we would walk to the tennis courts in our apartment complex,
and Ty and I would toss a tennis ball back and...
Born To Be Wild! Why Objective Measurement is Crucial
When I was 8 years old I lived on a military base just outside of Tokyo, Japan.
It wasn't safe for us to go outside the gates of the installation
without our parents, but inside the barbed-wire lined fences
all the military brats roamed free and had complete run of the place.
During the summers, we would leave our houses at 8 am and cruise
around the entire base on our bicycles like a preadolescent motorcycle gang.
We had a television, but all the shows spoke Japanese,
so when the sun came up...
Hydraulic Toilet Seats and the Law of Unintended Consequences
About eight months ago, I came home from work
and was greeted at the door by my lovely wife
who was clearly beaming with pride and grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
She gleefully proclaimed, “I have solved the problem! Life is good.”
She grabbed me by the hand and walked me to each of our three bathrooms
and showed me her new discovery:
Hydraulically lowering toilet seats!
My wife lives in a world of testosterone.
We have 3 boys, ages 22, 18, and 15,
and she is severely outnumbered in our...
Hey Pitcher! Does Your Game Need a Boob Job?
When I joined the US Air Force in 1986, I was 23 years old,
and I was a Missile Launch Officer.
Basically, I was trained to launch nuclear weapons
that could end the world as we know it.
How comforting is that?
Those who know me the best are probably shuddering as they read this.
The first requirement was to spend 4 months in training
at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
During my initial 3 weeks of training I became very good friends with another
Second Lieutenant named Gene...
Just When You Think You Know It All: Why Every Player Deserves A Coach’s Best- Always
About 12 years ago, my son's little league team needed a coach
so I volunteered.
I had just completed 2 books, which have since heavily influenced
my coaching career: "Positive Coaching" by Jim Thompson and
"Championship Team Building" by Jeff Janssen.
I was eager to try some of the fresh ideas.
Anyone who has been around Little League knows the tryout drill.
3 fly balls, 3 grounders, 5 swings, and run the bases.
They give you a spreadsheet to grade each player on a 1-5 scale.
The columns...
Myelination Nation–More on How Pitchers Learn
In the winter of 1988 I was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force,
assigned to Francis E Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Here’s the number one thing I remember about Wyoming:
IT WAS COLD!
Very cold.
In fact I’m pretty sure there was snow on the ground 8 months out of the year
--paradise for a guy with and incurable baseball addiction.
In December, my little brother, Tim, came to visit.
He was 17, strong, athletic (all state soccer goalie,
national champion knee...
The Words Get In The Way-Pitchers Learn Through Feel
A few years ago I was seeing a 75 year-old physical therapy patient
with Parkinson's and early Alzheimer's.
We'll call him Bob.
I performed the visit in his home,
since he was completely bedridden and homebound.
According to his family he hadn't been able to stand,
walk, or talk for over a year.
Parkinson's causes an erosion of motor skills, and Alzheimer's
degrades cognitive abilities, so Bob had a bad combination.
As he lay in the hospital bed in his living room
I could tell he was a big...
Uncommon Effort = Uncommon Results
It was the fall of 1984, Saturday night in Charleston, South Carolina.
I had just finished a grueling baseball practice.
No workouts the next day,
so I wanted to go out on the town and blow off some steam.
I got showered and dressed in the required Citadel "out on the town" uniform.
Gray polyester slacks,
light blue Oxford button down shirt,
navy blue blazer and Citadel tie.
I was looking....well…as good as I could.
My friend Greg Styles joined me for the evening.
We were dressed exactly...
Chicken Bowl! Objective Measurement Accelerates Learning
IF WE’RE NOT KEEPING SCORE, I’M NOT PLAYING!
I love competition. I compete at everything.
I mean EVERYTHING.
Here's an example:
I'm a notoriously fast eater. It's something I learned during my first year at The Citadel.
Mealtime at a Military Academy is a stressful event for a first year student.
It's the time when upper classmen typically seize the opportunity to harangue and harass
the plebes, knobs, or rats, or whatever freshmen are called at that particular institution.
Have you...
