Okay, the Jets didn\u2019t win today so much as they, um, lost.\u00a0 But it was an exciting run and it was the culmination of some sports activity this weekend.\u00a0 Obviously I am including lying on a couch, somewhat ignoring my kids, and shouting at a team that can\u2019t hear me as a new sport.<\/p>\n
Actually, yesterday we went out to NJ to see my nephew play basketball (his team had a similar experience to the Jets) and watching all these game 12-year olds playing so earnestly, got me thinking about a future where I get to troll the sidelines of my twins\u2019 various t-ball, soccer and\/or little league games.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a \u201cyeller\u201d really, so I might not have much of a future in the world of tween athletics, but I have nothing but good memories of all the various leagues I was in when I was a kid.\u00a0 As a side note \u2013 and excuse the braggin\u2019 – my mom was the first female little league coach in our town (circa 1973) and won the championship.\u00a0 The health benefits of playing sports from a young age are pretty obvious, but the lessons I learned about teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship have certainly helped shape my character to this day.\u00a0 Plus playing sports got me a nickname. \u00a0More on that later.<\/p>\n
Recently, the coach of my high school soccer team back in the aforementioned 70s passed away.\u00a0 His name was Al Butler and to this day, he feels like the classic image of a high school coach.\u00a0 A sparkplug of a guy, he yelled at you, cajoled you into doing better, and slapped your ass when you did well (back in a time when a coach could do that).\u00a0 He was also an incredibly warm individual who took great pride in his job and the mentoring aspect especially.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry to say I lost touch with Coach Butler over the years, but I was so pleased to hear that he was coaching soccer long after I left. \u00a0He left a long wake of lucky kids.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Although I didn\u2019t achieve my then-goal of becoming the chubby Jewish re-incarnation of Pele\u2019, I consider myself very lucky to have had the learning experiences I did both playing on that soccer field and sitting on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Coach Butler also gave me that first nickname \u2013 Rudy.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He later gave it to my younger brother and now its been passed on to his son, my basketball-loving nephew.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard a lot of yelling yesterday on the court; “Rudy” this and “Rudy” that. \u00a0It brought me back.<\/p>\n
Some nicknames are inevitable – and since I’m a big guy, I’m pleased to have avoided “Tiny” as an ironic nickname – but I’ve always been able to trace “Rudy” back and say it started with Al Butler.<\/p>\n
The Jets loss was just in my head at the beginning.\u00a0 I guess today I really wanted to tell you a little bit about Coach Butler. \u00a0I bet you would have really liked him too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n