It's Sunday afternoon and I am "multi-tasking". Time to update the blog, but so much other stuff to do as well! The television is showing "The Seige" (an anti terrorist flick starring Denzel Washington, Annette Benning, and Bruce Willis). Real interesting - very realistic - and frightening. Redskins and Packers are on Fox and CBS Sports has a halftime show on right now too. The radio is tuned in to the Marshall University Thundering Herd, hosting the Terriers of Boston University. Herd's up 18-13 early in the game.
This is that special time of the year when there is more college football and basketball and NFL football than I can personally keep up with. NBA is in full swing too, but I'm just not much of a fan of pro basketball. My favorite high school teams are winding down their football seasons deep into the playoffs, and my son Benji, is ready to begin his high school basketball coaching career as an assistant coach of the Russell (KY) High School Red Devils.
Ben is our younger son. He is in his third year as a teacher at Russell Middle School. I'm not sure of his exact schedule this year, but he has been teaching a mixture of Social Studies, English, and Arts and Drama these past three years. I was very thankful that he found a full time teaching job his first year after graduation from Morehead State University, but it was strange to see him at Russell. The Red Devils were great rivals to the Ashland Tomcats, for whom Benji played high school football and baseball several years ago.
Ben enrolled in Marshall University directly out of Ashland's Paul G. Blazer High School. We are a "Marshall family" but Ben primarily went to Marshall to take advantage of their H.E.L.P. program for students with learning disabilities. He made excellent grades in high school but mysteriously had difficulty in reading. It wasn't until his junior year in high school that a special battery of testing identified a "visual perceptive disorder" similar to dyslexia as the root of his reading problems. H.E.L.P. gave him the opportunity to get his feet on the ground in college by allowing him to take tests orally, get special counselling, toutoring, and generally build his confidence in making the academic jump from high school to college work. After two years in college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps for four years which took him to Kosovo, during the hostilities there. Returning from the USMC just after the birth of his first son, Ben continued pursuing his teaching degree, first at Morehead State, then Ohio University Southern Campus, then finally back to MSU.
He was an above average athlete in high school. He gave up basketball after his last year of middle school to focus on baseball and football. Coach Vic Marsh expected all of his football players to be in the weight room year round, and baseball (which was Benji's love) began in February and continued on through the summer, so there just wasn't much time for roundball. He was a solid football player who began as a running back in middle school. As his height increased they moved him to wide receiver on the freshman football team, and then to tight end. Eventually, as he filled out and bulked up in the weight room, he was moved to tackle for his junior and senior years. He finished up as an honorable mention selection on the all area team his senior year.
He had been playing baseball since he was an 8 year old, and he played right on through high school and summer ball. Not blessed with great speed, but quick as a cat, Ben played all over the field. Shortstop was probably the only position he didn't play. He had great hands and quick reflexes and was good hitter with a great eye for the strike zone. Those qualities along with his ability to hit the long ball, landed him at first base on all star teams at every level of play. He was also a spot starter and relief pitcher in high school with a wicked side arm delivery that often had right handed hitters bailing out of the box. I guess his most memorable moments in high school baseball came during the district tournament in the spring of his junior year. He had two great games against Lawrence County and the hated Boyd County Lions, batting in the winning run in both games including a grand slam home run against Boyd County, and defensively finishing off a double play that killed a Boyd County rally. He was named to the all tournament team and received the big trophy as the Disrict Tournament Most Valuable Player.
I guess that is why I always assumed that if he had opportunity to coach, baseball would be his sport. He was a good player who understood the game. In his first year at Russell he got the chance to do so. The high school baseball coach at Russell was Mike Martino, who had coached Benji at Ashland and in summer ball for three years. Mike offered Benji the opportunity to assist with the Red Devils and to be the coach of the junior varsity baseball team. He did a good job with the kids, and they enjoyed a trip to Florida, but the magic just wasn't there for Benji.
Now, when Ben had gone to work at Russell Middle School, the principal told him she needed a sixth grade basketball coach and offered him the job. He hadn't played high school basketball and had never coached it on any level, but the idea was appealing to him. They got off to a rough start with a loss coming at the buzzer of his first game. However, he ended up that first season with a record of 21-4 and won three of the four tournaments the "little" Devils played in. The next year his new group of sixth graders also had a good year, going 19-6. I saw several of the games both seasons and was impressed at how he coached and taught the kids. I was most impressed with how he quickly learned to manage the clock, change defenses, and run players in and out.
When he told Coach Martino that he was going to pass on baseball his second year, I was shocked. Benji explained to me that his heart just wasn't in coaching baseball, but he loved working with the kids in basketball. He liked the strategy and the fast pace of the game. He liked having his hand in the action.
When an opening came up this year for an assistant on the high school basketball team, Ben applied for the job and Coach Steve Dodd hired him. So now a new journey begins. My family doctor (who is the team physician for Russell) jokingly told me, "I see your son has lost his mind!" Maybe so, but I do know that he loves what he is doing. He also has a great teacher in Coach Dodd, who has coached at both the high school and college level. I wish them much success this season.
After being a Tomcat Booster for all those years, and serving on the Ashland Board of Education, it's going to seem strange rooting for the Russell Red Devils, but we've got to support our son. Right? And besides all that, grandson #2, who goes to school at Russell Primary, is getting a lot of time in as a "gym rat" the past three years. Who knows, we may be rooting for the Red Devils for a long time to come!
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