"I got you Coach."

At the Junior High dance, adolescents court one another by sending out their friends as ambassadors to inquire about potential two steps. The primary reason for employing said ambassadors is avoiding face to face communication and potential confrontation and/or rejection. It's a coping mechanism of immaturity. In those Junior High hallways, ANONYMOUS notes are passed through a gauntlet of mutual friends. Sometimes the notes are passed in courtship and sadly, other times they're vehicles for bullies. It's the protection of being ANONYMOUS that empowers ANONYMOUS authors to write the ridiculous. Yes, another coping mechanism of immaturity.
Luckily, most of us get through those awkward years with valuable lessons learned. Most of us learn that when you've got someone or something on your mind, it's best to speak for yourself. It's best to be your own person. Don't send ambassadors to skew your personal message. Don't sign letters ANONYMOUS. Own your words.

I coach. I am a Coach. I've coached multiple sports at all imaginable levels. Hockey, Soccer, Football, Basketball. 5 year olds. Pre-teens and teens alike. I even coached college Freshman and Sophomore women. I've been a Coach for more than 10 years. Deep down I know that the good days far outnumber the bad. I smile when I think of Grayson hitting that game winning, last second shot and then running full steam and leaping into my arms. I remember late night hockey practices at BSU's John Glas Fieldhouse we wished would never end. Pride consumes me knowing that my own kids have learned with me as their Coach to think about passing before shooting - that making their teammates better serves a higher purpose. I wish I could relive the only basket Jonathan scored his entire 7th grade season because we all worked so hard for it.

But today was rough. Today I was blindsided with the ANONYMOUS - a coping mechanism of immaturity.

Without specifics, I'll tell you about - A letter - No Name - uninformed and poor examples - and personal attacks on my integrity. Bottom line - I'm offended and hurt.

That is, until I talked things over with my super cute and super smart wife. She readjusted my perspective. Feeling better about things, I logged onto Facebook and was again pleasantly reminded why I endure the bad times in coaching.

A former student of mine that ended up being the strength of the only undefeated 7th grade basketball squad I've ever coached had an interesting Facebook status. He wrote -
“Football teaches you how to handle adversity. Adversity is a reality of life. You are never really sure when it will come or how long it will stay, but the way human being handles the situation in his life is a direct reflection of the character he possesses. The real test of a person doesn’t come when everything is going well. The real test comes after adversity has struck and he overcomes and conquers it”
As I "LIKED" his status, I commented - "Thanks kid. I needed that today."
To which he responded - "I got you Coach."

I got you Coach

FOUR words from a 6'1" 245 pound, 20 year old, Sophomore LineBacker -leading the Concordia University Golden Bear defense in all imaginable ways. FOUR words from a skinny little kid that I so vividly remember, selflessly assisting his younger wheel chair bound brother through difficult and demanding swimming lessons. FOUR words from a young man that I know has made some difficult life decisions but has always done so with the best intentions. FOUR words from a kid that I know has character that we all can be proud of.

And I never got lucky enough to coach him in football.

Doesn't matter. When I did have him - he listened and learned. And today, he picked me up.
"I got you Coach."
Thanks #36.

SIGNED: Paul Kirby
Teacher, COACH, Marine, Christian, Husband and a Father

Weekend in Duluth!

This past weekend we took our annual trip to Duluth and the waterpark.

 The weather was wonderful!

The waterpark was wet!

Mr. Logan checking out the little slides....

Then he was off to practice the ropes.

Emma worked on her basketball and volleyball skills.

Nice hair Emma roo!

Logan with his happy smile.

Tiki Tina, Tiki Tom and the kids.

We enjoyed ourselves at the hotel and the waterpark. It's so much fun to see how much your kids have grown over the years.  This year was the first time that Logan could be somewhat independent and Emma of course, was all over the place doing everything on her own.  We were all pretty water logged after two days.

We did spend some time down at Canal park. The snow was gone, the sun was out and we enjoyed the lake and scenery and of course lunch at Grandma's.



First year in the books.....

Today was Emma and Logan's last day of hockey.

It's been a fun year I have to admit.  

The kids learned how to skate, stop, turn around, skate backwards, pass, shoot, you name it, they learned it. 

I'm so proud of them. 

For the last practice, the coaches invited the Tiger from RC to show up and the Dragon from PC.

Here's Logan in action. 

He was so excited to play against the parents/ME, that he wouldn't even talk to me during warm-ups. 

 Emma in action as well.  She too didn't want to talk to me during warm ups, she was serious about beating the parents. 

As you can see below, I have MAD goalie skills......that's right, only Logan scored on me. 

 I'm so proud of Emma and Logan. Not only did they learn the game and skills of hockey, they made new friends and learned the importance of teamwork and being un-selfish. 

 And then there's this guy.....

Goes from coaching 14-18 year old boys in the game of football to coaching 11-12 year old boys in basketball to coaching 4-7 year olds in hockey. 

He loved it and there were 43 Mite D players that loved him. 

I'm proud of Coach Kirby too.

As it turns out, even volleyball players can become hockey players. 

End of the year awards were given and Emma received "Best All Around Player" and Logan received "Mr. Play maker."  I asked Logan if he was proud of his award and he said he didn't know what a play maker was. I explained it to him and watched a slow smile spread across his little face. 

Until next year.....

Go Wild!

Thanks to an AWESOME xmas gift from Gma Judy and Papa Joe...

We went down to the Xcel to watch the Wild play the Bruins. 

GREAT GAME!

The kids meeting Nordy before the game...

Some good lookin' Wild fans! 

It was a fun game and the kids had a great time. 

It was the first game for me, Emma, Logan and our family friend Nathanael.

Lots of popcorn, cheers and hockey!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to my favorite people!

I love you all!

(even if you drive me crazy every once in awhile)

My 'ode' to turning...gulp....35.

 It's my birthday today. I started this post on Sunday and yesterday I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to have enough time to get it done.  Then today arrives with a sick Emma which means I now have the time to finish the post.  Funny how things work out sometimes.....

This week is my birthday. I've decided that I would write down 35 of my favorite memories of my life so far to help me remember how blessed I am, how lucky I am and how much life I have left to live and learn.

In no particular order.......

1. Going to college.  Being the last of 4 kids, I was a rather independent child and going to college was something I was more than ready to do.  I still remember being dropped off at BSU and meeting my new volleyball teammates and saying goodbye to my parents (who, in the following day, filed for divorce.)  I was so excited and throughout those 5 years........I become a mother, a college graduate and an adult.

2. Giving birth to Tyler when I was 19.

3. Giving birth to Emma when I was 28.

4. Giving birth to Logan when I was 30.

5. The last 3 points are wonderful memories-each with their own story and awesome ending of bringing a child into the world.  Every year on their birthdays, it's such a treat for me to go back and remember their story on their birthday.

6. Learning the difference between a boyfriend and a future husband.  Oh the  mistakes I made along the way but I remember finally figuring it out and being so happy that Kirby was by my side.

7. Of course, my wedding day. My Dad was so nervous he could barely walk me down the isle, Tyler was a wee 5 year old boy (with a red powerade moustache and his top lip) and then actually saying "I do" to Kirby. What a fun day!

8. Our honeymoon to Cozumel.  The sites, the sounds and traveling with Kirby.

9.  Buying our first house!  Wow-we had no idea what we were doing but it's still our home today and it may not be the biggest, grandest house.......but it's our home and I love it with all it's quirks and needed repairs.

10. The day that Gunner came flying through our door. Literally!  Kirby was on his way home from a fishing weekend and I remember hearing the truck pull in the driveway, the door opened just enough for an orange lab/retriever/new foundland mix to come flying in.  Tyler and I looked at each other and then fell in love with this puppy who is now our guard dog and family member with fur.

11.  The loss of my Grandmother who was 100.  I have tons of memories of her and my Grandpa and the trips and holiday spent with them.  If I live to be 100....I promise to write another blog post.

12.  Our many family trips to Warroad. Sshhh, don't tell Kirby, but I've fallen in the love with that town but ONLY during the summer!  Fishing stories, swimming, walking around town, catching paper plates out of a plane flying over the point, ice cream, fireworks, the wall, jumping off the wall, etc, etc, etc.

13.  Casting for muskies and actually seeing one follow my lure....scared the be-jezus out of me!  That was during one of my dates with Kirby.  I was so flippin' scared and he just laughed.

14. Roller skating with my Dad at the rink on Sunday afternoons.

15. Going to Kmart with my Mom. Being the youngest, I got to a lot of  'ride alongs' with my Mom for errands while my brothers and sister were at school.

16. Friday night wrestling with my brothers and sister while my parents were out for the evening.  My oldest brother Jeff would set up a ring with fake blood and we would wrestle!

17. Getting my drivers license.  Oh the freedom!

18. Driving to Jackson Hole Wyoming with our best friends Brent and Becky with Tyler in our rented mini-van.  It was beautiful.

19. Ice fishing in Warroad right after Kirby asked me to marry him.  I caught a nice size walleye with his Dad at the same time.  The fish came up the hole with two hooks in his mouth, one was mine, the other was Tom's.

20.  Our engagement proposal.  I was sooooo crabby that day. If you want the whole story you'll have to come over for a visit.  Just note that on the day Kirby wanted to ask me to marry him, I was soooooo crabby.

21.  Our family  trips to Valleyfair growing up.

22. Our family trips to North Dakota every summer.  Too many good memories to list them all.

23. My brother Jeff getting married. Wow-thought that was never going to happen.  Never expected to see my brother get married but he did and he married a wonderful gal who we all love and adore.

24. The day that Kirby got offered his first teaching job!  Never thought that 11 years later he would still be there!

25. My freshman year of HS.

26. My freshman year of College.

27. My first year after graduating from College.

28. Sitting at the airport with my Dad watching the planes take off and arrive. It was his favorite thing to do and I, of course. tagged along.

29. Going out to breakfast or dinner with my Dad's parents.  Grandpa Jacob was a tall, grumpy looking man but he loved to flirt with the waitresses.

30.  Going for walk with Grandpa Jacob and him telling us to look for money in the streets.  We were always amazed to come home with a few pennies or nickels in our pockets.  It was many years later that I figured out it was him dropping them for us. Duh!

31. Watching Tyler grow up.

32. Watching Emma grow up.

33. Watching Logan grow up.

34. Continuing to go through each day with Kirby and learning new things, getting used to the old things and working on building a good life. We've made some pretty awesome kids who we are so proud of.

35. And last but not least, finally figuring out that God has an important place in my life.

Happy Birthday to me!

Hockey update....

 Hockey is going well.......

Here's Logan looking to pass the puck out in front to Emma and Merrick...

Emma and Logan skating down to score.

Emma getting some coaching from Coach Daddy.

Logan and his pre game skate by....to make sure I'm watching him. 

Goal!