Training for the Burpee Challenge

What you see in the video  may look like our family is running the bases at a minor league baseball game (Kane County Cougars)  It is actually Puppy training me for the Burpee Challenge.  You can't hear her but she keeps on repeating the words of  Herb Brooks, Coach of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.  "The legs feed the wolf, gentlemen!"   As Puppy tries to fashion our athleticism after the gold medalists, she finds it extremely important to imitate their training methods as well.  At the game she wanted me to do a burpee at home plate.  I refused.  Believe me her discipline was pretty similar to Herb's.

Video Shmideo

I am putting off my post about our recent trip to the zoo to share a few links to videos.

The son of an elder from my church, a home school student, has entered a contest that is hinged upon how many views his you tube video receives. This is an excellent video entitled Let's revolutionize higher education!. The idea presented here is revolutionary, and presented very ably. I encourage you to watch it and tell others about it.



The movie Star Trek Generations was on Hulu this week reminding me that I have it on videocassette. Charlie watched it last night and absolutely cracked up at a scene, that I had almost forgotten. We showed the scene to Emma and she just loved it as well. In the movie, the android Data is experimenting with an emotions chip. In the scene my children enjoyed he is asked by Commander Riker to scan for life forms. Here is the result.

Speaking of movies, I was reminded on the radio that today is the thirtieth anniversary of the miracle on ice. Yep, thirty years ago Herb Brooks and his US Hockey team defeated the Russians in the Olympics. Prior to the game coach Brooks gave the team a pep talk. Here is a rendition of that pep talk from the movie Miracle.


You may have already seen the you tube video of a 4 year old giving the Brooks speech. It's worth watching over again if you have. I really thought that was impressive until I saw him on Ellen. It is one thing to quote it in your living room, but something else entirely to recite it in fromt of t.v. cameras and a live audience.

Well that's all the footage I have time to present today. I hope you enjoyed it all.

Next Time: The Z Double O

A Great Drum

Hockey Lessons

Life Lessons from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

This is the first post that I am publishing in it's entirety on both my blogs. The idea speaks to me on both a sports and home school level.

Mark Pavelich was one of the three young men who played on the "conehead" line for Herb Brook's gold medal winning hockey team. Named the cone head line because of the unique perhaps alien style the boys played with as an homage to the popular conehead sketch on Saturday Night Live at that time.

The book "The Boy's of Winter" does an excellent job portraying Pavelich as someone who loves playing Hockey but not the notoriety that comes with excelling. Pavelich is one of 2 NHL players to score 5 goals in a game. 1

That fact notwithstanding, Pavelich was much more comfortable getting the puck to other scores than scoring himself. Most familiar with the Miracle on Ice are familiar with Mike Eurizione's game winning goal. It was Pavelich who got the assist. Pavelich also got the assist on his line mate Buzz Schneider's first period goal that knotted the Russians at one. How appropriate that a player who liked being behind the scenes made the first and final assists in the most important hockey game in his countries history.

As a NHL player Pavelich was known for his poise on the ice, his practical jokes in the locker room and his desire to be and completely comfortable in who he was as a person. Who he was off the ice was not a social butterfly or a clotheshorse. There are countless stories in "Boys of Winter." showing Pavelich's preference to be withdrawn and only comfortable outside of the rink when He was fishing, hunting or other outddorsy tasks. His New York Rangers teammate Nick Foitu described him thusly, "He dressed like a mountain man from the backwoods of Minnesota. Then he would come out on the ice and play his heart out." 2

Joe Devaney a close friend of Pavelich's summed him up this way . . . "He's completely happy and content with what he does. He marches to his own drum and it's a great drum." 3

I really liked that quote because it makes an important distinction for going against the status quo. Some people march to a different drum just to be contrarian. When they hear toe-may-toe they have a knee-jerk need to say toe-mah-toe. Unfortunately, being different just to be different doesn't usually make a difference.

Amy and I march to a different drummer when it comes to educating our kids. We home school our children and we don't do it to be different. We do it because, for us, homeschooling is a great drum. Like Pavelich, we are happy and content with our decision to homeschool.

As a parent I also see the quote about Pavelich as an opportunity to help my children find their drummer. All our children seem to be on their way to establishing their own paths. Emma, the literary giant and animal lover. Charlie, the scientist, explorer, super hero. Lucy, the 1 man wrecking crew/ballerina with an unusual take on about everything. I recently told her that over Christmas Break I wanted her to memorize three state capitols. I suggested Indiana, Iowa and Missouri as they border Illinois. She responded back that she wanted to memorize the capitols of Kentucky, Bethlehem and Arkansas.

As Amy and I help them find their drummer we realize it doesn't have to be the road less traveled, we just want the path they take to be a great drum.

Next Time: Christmas Eve at the Bowling Alley

1. Wikpedia article on Pavelich

2. The Boys of Winter. Coffey, Wayne. p. 167

3. Boys of Winter, P. 169

Three Things This Thursday

I am a bit of a procrastinator. Thursday is almost over and I am just getting to Three Things This Thursday. Today is supposed to be a themed edition of 3 Things This Thursday entitled 3 Gifts This Thursday. If my tardiness hasn't put too great a damper on the proceedings I will tell you about 3 gifts I have received in my life time and give you an opportunity to do the same.



Gift 1. When I was in the fourth grade my parents gave me a book called Chippy Chipmunk. It was a fantastic read and I read it over and over. When I think back to my formidable years and my life love long of reading I often think of that book.



Gift 2. A few winters back Amy gave me a fantastic book about the 1980 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team that surprised the world and wrested the gold medal from the perpetual clutches of the Soviets. The name of the book is The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey. I have used it as source material for a segment I do here at the blog called Hockey Lessons.



Gift 3. Most Christmases and birthdays my Dad gives me a bit of money with the general instructions don't spend this on the mortgage or use this to buy something you generally wouldn't. When my Dad this in Christmas of 2004, Any and I saved it for a few months until we figured out best how to use it. One day a co-worker gave me the White Sox group tickets order form. She worked in the mail room and had received it and knew our company wasn't going to use it and thought I might want to look at it knowing how huge of a Sox fan I am. Most of the plans were untenable financially but there was 1 plan the Minnie Plan named after White Sox legend Minnie Minoso. The Minnie plan was for 9 home games. It still seemed like a lot of money to pay for tickets when we generally only went to 2 to 3 games a year.

Amy was adamant, she said we had the money from my Dad's gift and she knew how much I would enjoy it. So I stepped out of my comfort zone and spent the big bucks on an extravagance.

I am really glad I did. It turns out that the year that I attended my most Sox games was in fact the year they won the World Series. We bought 2 tickets to each of the nine games. I was able to invite friends and family and even if the Sox had not won it all the memories of the time spent with loved ones watching my favorite sports team would be worth every penny my Dad spent.

So those are my 3 gifts this Thursday. What gifts do you remember? What meaning do they have? link on to Mr. Linky below and tell us all about it.






Next Time: Library Week

The Goalie on the Bench.

Hockey Lessons

Life Lessons from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

Why doesn't life go as planned? The answer to that question often gets back to who is doing the planning. No one ever plans on being born, but once they get here, boy do they want to be in charge of the planning!

People often see the design in their lives in retrospect. Such is the case of Steve Janaszak. By 1979 Steve had already been goalie of two national championship teams at the university of Minnesota. He had just been voted Most Valuable Player of the 1979 squad. His coach, Herb Brooks, had just been selected to helm the U.S. Olympic team. Most pundits figured Herb would choose Jany as his starting goalie for the U.S. No one expected him to be an MVP again, not when going against the vaunted Soviet Union and other hockey powerhouses, but no one expected him to be an asterisk either.

Twelve hockey teams represented their countries in 1980. Twenty players per team, 240 in all. 239 of them played in the Olympics. Only Jany rode the bench the entire event. Coach Brooks had prepared him for this eventuality, that Jim Craig was going to be His only goalie for the Olympics. On the face of it this did not make sense, many of the games were very close, but there were some games that Jany could have easily got some time in.

Janaszak took the entire situation as a pro. Early each morning he took practice shots from his assistant coach, so he would be ready if called upon. Instead of being bitter, aloof and distant from his teammates, he remained positive. Off the ice he bonded with his teammates going to the Olympic Village, hanging out and watching movies together. On one such occasion he encountered an interpreter working in the complex. That interpreter eventually became his wife.

Imagine if it was too much for the NCAA MVP to play the part of back-up. Or if he just went through the motions, and kept to himself at the Olympics hiding in his room, feeling sorry for himself. He might not be the contented husband and father of two daughters that he is now. Janaszak, states in retrospect there is no question what he would rather have the personal glory or the family he has been given. It may have been different if things went as he had planned.

I think there is a little in the Janaszak's story in many how did you meet your spouse stories. I would love to h ear yours. If things went by my plans I would have already been on the mission field by 1990 and not still in college. This means I would have not met my wife in 1990. At least not in the student union of Western Illinois University. Some people call it luck, others a happy accident. I call it the providential hand of God. Just a reminder that life does go as planned. Especially when we're not the ones doing the planning.

Next Time: Free

Five Minutes At a Time

Hockey Lessons

Life Lessons from the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team

In the 1980 Winter Olympics in the semifinal hockey game between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Jim Craig, the U.S. goalie had what many, including himself, call the best game of his life. He played his best hockey when his country needed him to most. A mentally tough young man from North Easton , Ma. his approach to every game was the same no matter the result. Instead of trying to focus on the entirety of the game he would divide the game into bite size chunks of 5 minutes.

A hockey game is made up of 3 20 minute periods, so Craig would try to shut out the opponents 12 times a game. Striving for perfection 5 minutes at a time. If a goal did score he would shake it off and attempt a new 5 minutes of perfection.

At times life comes at us quicker than the offensive juggernaut that was the Soviet hockey empire of the 60's 70's and early 80's/ Crises bounce off us like so many hockey pucks trying to get past us and getting in the way of our goals.

As a home school teacher, I often feel totally out matched. It's some time in the morning and I am making my way to the table to sit down with one of my kids and on the way I spy the mess my 3 year old made. While I am cleaning that up my 9 year old calls me because she needs help with her computer based instruction. By the time I make it to the table my student is no longer there and so on through the day, you get the picture.

I think we can all learn from Craig's example. Here are some ideas of how I am trying to tie in his goalie philosophy into my life. I hope they help you bring your a-game as well.

1. Come to the game prepared.

In our house we all have a morning routine. Each part of my morning routine is pivotal to my having a productive day. On days I start without completing it, I often get distracted or disheartened much easier. By coming to the table game ready, there is an enormous benefit for both me and my children.

2. Leave your troubles in the locker room.

From 9-1 I have a policy not to answer the phone. I have a nice outgoing message explaining that we are doing school. The problem is that I always answer the phone when it rings. 15 years in the customer service industry has taken it's toll on me. I am almost always disappointed and frustrated when I answer the phone. Especially when it's a telemarketer or a phone survey. I am going to discipline myself to turn the ringer off on school days.

3. Take breaks between periods.

At about 10:30 we have a snack break each day. I am teaching the kids that this is a break for all of us. I try to use that time to re energize myself and get ready to get back in the game.

4. Keep your eye on the puck.

I sometimes try to extend my breaks by taking a peek at my e-mail or my blog comments or my face book page during school time. As well as I can justify this, it is always a recipe for disaster. Again, it takes discipline, but things always go better when I avoid distractions.

5. Do your best to keep to the game plan.

In theory I try to get 1 0n 1 time with each of my kids each day. It seems some days that I flit from crisis to crisis and never get quality time with any of them. By doing my best to keep to the game plan I have a much better chance of not over stretching myself or short-changing them.

6. Develop a short memory for failure.

While it is important to learn from your mistakes, bringing them back in the game with you is never a good idea. Philippians 3: 13b+14 would be excellent to add to our play book: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. If there was hockey in the first century, Paul would have made an excellent coach.

To see what other home school "coaching" is out there go to this weeks Carnival of Home Schooling hosted by Andrea Hermitt the Atlanta Homeschooling Examiner.

Next Time: Star Trek on Purpose.

Hockey Lessons

My Three things this Thursday are: hockey lessons, lost update, and a give-away.

1. Hockey Lessons.

I recently completed reading a book about the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team entitled The boys of winter by Wayne Coffey. It's a perfect companion piece to the film "Miracle." Although, I have never played hockey, there are many valuable lessons to be learned from these boys. I will be posting some of them here in the near future.

Speaking of hockey, on January 1, 2009 there was a Hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks. This is not unusual in itself, as these teams being part of the original 6 teams in the N.H.L. have skated against each other hundreds of times. What made the game a spectacle, is the venue, It was played outdoors at Wrigley Field the friendly confines of the Chicago Cubs. Which brings us to ...

2. Lost Update.

I was at Wrigley last night to watch the Cubs take on the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs lost 0-3.

I went with my son, Charlie and my brother in law, Mike. Throughout the ballpark there are signs advising to be alert for foul balls. Charlie and I had brought our gloves but nothing came our way. At the gift shop I saw a 8.5 by 5.5 replica post card of the sign for just a buck. I told Charlie that I'd buy it for him and we'd hang it on his wall. His reaction: "When I get my Blog, I am going to post it there!" You guys know how 7 year olds get excited about blogs and stuff.

It was nice to spend some time with Mike. He has spent much of the past year being the primary care giver for my father-in-law and helping him recuperate from various illnesses and injuries. It was good for him to get a respite from all that and catch a game with us.

Speaking of respites, that brings us to . . .

3. Give-a-way.

In my most recent post, I talked about the importance of taking a break or helping someone else take a break so you or they can be re energized. I also announced a give-a-way of a c.d and a book. The book is Unsung Heroes by Michael Kelly Blanchard. Blanchard is a singer/songwriter best known for writing "Be Ye Glad." The c.d. by Point of Grace is called How You Live. Point of Grace is the Christian Pop quartet that has recently become a Country Trio.

To register for the give-a-way which ends on April 30th leave a comment at my original post.

Those are my three things for Thursday April 23rd. Go to Psalm 104:24 to see what other trios of things are out there for your perusal.

Next Time: Where's the Carnival?