Congratulations are in order

Coach has been demoted from his newly appointed 7th grade Head Football Coach position, and all are invited to come celebrate with us! This is great news! Why are we so happy Coach got the boot? Does this make sense you wonder? Well, the reason is basically because being appointed Head Coach was not a position Coach was seeking. He was chosen because there are other two coaches who only coach football so they can coach basketball (shhh, don't tell), and there are other coaches who were just recently hired. The principal of Willow Wood decided Coach would be the Head Coach sort of by default. Head Coach differs from Offensive and Defensive Line Coach (what Coach had been doing) in that, among other things, you call all the plays in every game (there's two 7th grade teams alone who each have one game a week) in addition to dealing with sometimes rabid parents who think their seventh grader is the next Joe Montana. Coach really didn't want to do those things. He already dealt with enough grief figuring out his offensive and defensive line. Seventh grade football around here is a big deal. There is a lot of pressure on the coaches. This is really true. The way you hear the parents screaming, you'd think half the team of prepubescent Willow Wood Wildcats would be getting drafted into the NFL right after junior high. So, we were actually relieved when the principal told Coach one of the new coaches with more coaching experience/expertise would be filling that position. Now, the fact that Coach coaches without a lot of formal training is not a fact we hide. This isn't a news flash: Coach did not go to BYU for four years to learn how to coach football. He basically was drafted into coaching when he joined the staff at Willow Wood based on two factors: 1) he likes football, and 2) (more important) he is a guy. But do take note: this is to say nothing about his ability as a coach, because he is very good at what he does. He just doesn't have the educational credentials to back it up. Now, he would have become the Head Coach, and he would have done a fine job, but we are glad that he doesn't have to. Not only because it saves him a lot of stress, and gives him more time at home, but also because he now has more flexibility when it comes to my giving birth to his future football player (and he will be the next Joe Montana-- just kidding). As it is, he will not be able to miss many games, even if and when he does take days off from teaching following the birth of our son. (You see, football is a big deal around here, I'm telling you). But if he was the Head Coach, he really would not be able to miss, especially when he drives the bus (another fun story for another time). I was planning on doing everything in my power to have the baby on Thursday or Friday afternoon, so that we could have the whole weekend before Coach would have to get back to practice and games the next week. So, Coach wins the Academy Award for acting this week, because although he may have acted disappointed when he got demoted, he was actually quite happy. And so was I, believe me.