First day of track and first assignment!

10 June 2013, Monday:
    My first Monday as a returning resident on the mainland! It was hot and "windy" (these people don't know what "windy" is until they've lived with the brunt of the Trade Winds hitting Windward Oahu) but otherwise a very beautiful day. I spent most of it asleep, waking up at 9:30am Hawaiian Standard Time. I took a bath. Oh, glorious, bug-free bathtubs. And I hardly had to wait for the hot water, too. Clean bathrooms, how I've missed you.
    At 3pm I had a meeting with Wayne and Cory over at the Parks Department Office. We talked about the track programs and some of the other programs that I may be getting involved with. Now that they have an idea for how many hours I need and what I'm interested in, they're looking for places that I can pitch in. I went to the Credit Union and changed my address, with a little tear :'( and got my payroll set up for coaching.
    Rebecca picked me up at 5:20 and we went out to the Taylorsville track for practice. I helped Rebecca out until Miranda needed to work with the relay teams, at which point I took over the sprinters. They love running bleachers, but after running lots of them in the heat, they were dead! Miranda and Rebecca had previously talked about how hard it is to communicate with them, as they just stare blankly at you when given instructions, so I decided I wouldn't put up with that. I made sure they yelled "yeah!" loud and enthusiastically when I asked if they were ready and had them yell "Aloooohaa" to get their attention. It worked. I've never worked with sprinters before, but I think I did alright for that last bit of practice. Something else I think we should work on is making sure everyone knows the boundaries before we start playing a game (only half remember out of the ones that were actually listening), which we can do by questioning them, I think. Also, when stretching, we're supposed to clap after "Spartans touch your toes" and not everyone is following. I think it's important that we keep them doing that so that they stay on task with stretching and pay attention. Something I really like that we do is during the butterfly stretch, ask what the kids are reading on their feet. I like that we encourage them to read, especially now that school is out. One last good thing--the sprinkler that the football team uses. The drinking fountain at the bathroom doesn't really work and not everyone remembers water bottles. Plus, they can get their heads wet or whatever to cool down.


11 June 2013, Tuesday:
    I got my first assignment from Wayne today! Because the summer camps and a volleyball tournament have started, the pickle ball players are going to be playing outside next week. I'm going in to the Rec Center on Thursday morning to see how the courts are set up and learn a little about the game so that next week I can pick up the nets and set them up at Germania Park. I'm pretty stoked.