Coach: What's that smell???
After that shitty officiating I thought I would share a funny story.
We took our 14U SB team to the game today. It was the first time for all of them on campus, including the other coach (who is a huge Sparty fan), It was rather nice. So we went to the M Den so the girls can get T shirts. Then we went to ( BWW) to have lunch. The game was at 2 so we had a lot of time.
We finished lunch at about 12;30 so I decided to take them to the diag to take in a little Michigan. Here is the problem: I FORGOT IT WAS HASH BASH
For those who have never witnessed Hash Bash, think of Haight/Ashbury with a few less people. Pot, hippies and Protests everywhere. There were hippies everywhere. A cloud hung over the diag but not from weather. One of the girls said, Coach, I see smoke. What is on fire?"
I looked at my other coach and said "oh shit". We agreed to let them see all the Michigan History. As we entered the diag from the north, we walked past the tower then we walked to the steps to look at the huge banner of Bob Marley, There was a group of people thumping on bongos. We stood there for maybe 30 second and one of the girls asked, "Hey coach, whats that smell?", sarcastically.
I laughed my ass off. It was the first time for all of them. So we explained the whole 1960s counter culture and the lifestyle in San Fransico and how it carried over into most campuses by the late 1960s.
What an interesting day. Im still laughing at this. After we left the diag, one girl said, Im hungry. Is there a Taco Bell here?"
I thought I was going to shit my pants because I laughed so hard. I think she had a contact buzz.
What a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine.
HAHAHAHA
That's a road trip they'll still be talking about in 20 years.
They were talking about it all the way home. One even gave her verbal committ to Michigan Softball today. I hope she keeps it too..
If she winds up a Wolverine, write a Hello post for her!
...nice
I blame Hash Bash for my inability to find parking to see Lightning Bolt tonight.
Did they play "Rain on the lake I'm swimming in"?
To figure out what and where the shitty officiating is all about, but then again I had two brownies after dinner...
So some 14 and under girls seeing a bunch of people using drugs is hillarious to you? What really made you laugh was that one of them may have had a contact buzz?
If I were one of the girls parents I would be furious. I think you must have a contact buzz to be stupid enough to post something like this here.
I lauged. Grass is not a real drug and you can't get a "contact buzz".
I am not sure what is more sad the OP for taking children to drug events thinking it is hillarious or someone such as yourself that encourages it.
Then I see you say something like "it isn't a drug" and I just feel sorry for your lack of education.
God, lighten up man. Trust me, the girls already know about pot.
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Indiana-Purdue in Fort Wayne, you're overreacting and apparently not closely reading the OP's post.
He had no intentions whatsoever of taking his team to a "drug event" but basically found themselves in the middle of the whole shebang. If you think that frantically ordering his team to turn around, close their eyes, block their noses and run to their bus would have been a better response, you don't understand teenage kids very well. It's highly likely that more than a couple of his kids have already been exposed to pot use, whether in social situations or through family members, and before long most of those who haven't yet will be.
I also get the impression that to you the Hash Bash is no different from a shooting gallery filled with a bunch of heroin addicts tieing off, with needles littering the pavement, or a meth lab filled with jittery tweaking freaks with rotting teeth. Can you make a distinction between driving 35 in a 30mph zone on one hand, and getting completely drunk and driving 95 the wrong way on I-94 at rush hour on the other?
Lest you think I'm some apologist for the Hash Bash, I've been ridiculing the event since it started back in the 70s. The notion that pot isn't a drug with no negative effects is delusional—I smoked plenty of pot in high school and in college, so I'm familiar with the stuff—but putting it in the same category as heroin, meth, and cocaine is also nuts. If any parent fears that their kid is suddenly going to starting smoking pot because of what they witnessed on the Diag, I think it's more likely that they surveyed the crowd of dopers wasting their time and concluded that orienting your life around getting high is not very glamorous.
Very well put Don, as always.
You grossly understate the dangers of colonic explosions and tooth marks on refrigerator doors from uncontrolled cases of the munchies caused by the "evil weed."
Back in the day, the amount of Screaming Yellow Zonkers consumed when one imbibed on the weed was gargantuan.
Here is a link for those too young to remember:
A poster with such a large stick lodged between such overused sphincters is much more "sad" than a bunch of 14 year-olds from a generation that has had internet access long enough to already know about pot happening by the hash bash.
You are acting like the OP sat them down and forced them to partake of "the herb." "LIghten" up, Francis.
Lol, Americans. Weed isn't a drug, your government just makes you think that.
CANNOT possibly be a drug. /s
Weed is most definitely a drug just as caffeine and alcohol are drugs. It's just that one is illegal and the other two are legal.
Calling someone uptight because they found having a child near such an event disconcerting is really stupid.If we haven't learned already, it is better to be overly protective then to lax in protective of children.
Is it the worse thing in the world? No, not by a long shot. But it is still something to be leery of and frankly, it isn't the roll of a softball coach to teach children about drugs. That falls on the parents and others who are trained to do so.
Most of my buddies that led a sheltered life in high school, went absolutely crazy when they finally found some freedom in college. Exposing teenagers to a bit of college culture now will take some of the shock value away from it later. The real world is coming soon enough for these kids so hiding them from it will do you no good.
Also people who are trained to convey the message about drugs are some of the worst at doing just that. Anyone who has sat through a DARE meeting or anything it's equal will agree with me.
It is, however, up to the parent and not some third party to make the decision as to how much their kids should be exposed to before they go to college.
Ideally yes you are right but realistically this won't happen.
and many times throughout histroy. It never turned out very well for society.
are you a cop? you know you have to tell me if you are.... like legally you have to tell me.
How would you rather have your daughter learn what marijuana is?
Scenario 1) the 14 year-old girl accidentally stumbles upon the hash bash with her softball coach, who then explains what "hash" is, and everyone sees how stupid the hippies who are smoking it look ,
-OR-
Scenario 2) she is at a party and someone hands her a joint and says "try this, you'll like it"...
Because, afterall, these are the only 2 ways one can be educated on the subject?
The one view point I have not seen, other than MGoSoftball, is that of someone who has expereince working with youth. For those who have never done it, that's fine, we all have our gifts to share. As someone who has worked with Jr & Sr High youth at my church, I will share a perspective that a parent or casual observer may not understand. When you agree to be a part of the lives of youth, you open yourself to situations where there is no manual or guide. Your only guide is instinct and expereince. From everything I read of this story, the coaches did that.
It's okay to have an opinion and to share it. It's just ignorant to cast judgment, especially, if you do not have expereince in what you are casting judgement on.
I have taught and coached high school students for the past 8 years and it is highly likely that a decision like the one made here would cost me not only my job, but also my teaching certificate. I find it disturbing that you are working with youth in church with an outlook like that. Explain to the kids what is going on, and that because of that we are leaving. That is not sheltering them, that is teaching them an appropriate way to respond in a not so ideal situation.
SWFL - I'm curious what "outlook" you have taken the liberty of assuming I have?
After re-reading your post, I suppose I may have jumped the gun a bit. You weren't justifying his choice, simply stating that he seemed to be drawing on his experiences. My issue when I first read the comment last night (obviously with a tired mind) was that you were taking a world view on the issue while working with church children. Saints should be sanctified, set apart, which means if you were in that position I would fully expect you to have chosen a different option. If I have in fact misunderstood the intent of your message I do apologize and hope that you will forgive me.
Hi SWFL - Thanks for the follow up and willingness to re-evaluate. In reading through all the responses to this post, I was surprised how quickly it turned into a "right vs wrong" mandate on the OP/OP's decision. I wanted to share one persons perspective that it is not always easy making decisions when one volunteers (or gets paid) to work with youth. Apologies accepted and I appreciate the dialog.
They didn't sit down and teach the girls to do bong hits -- they taught them something about life when they ran across it by accident. (It was a trip to see softball games, not one intended to see the Hash Bash.) You should teach the truth to kids, not run away from it embarassed. In the long run, that approach will help the kids a lot more than running from uncomfortable things. (I am not sure seeing a bunch of overgrown hippies is that appealing to teenage girls these days, anyway.)
But, yeah, parents probably did complain. We are raising a generation of overprotected kids.
Bravo
I will give you that we are raising a generation of kids that cannot cope with adversity, but they are far from overprotected. I have kids entering high school (14-15 years old) who attend pharm parties, they are smoking weed with their parents, drinking cold and cough medicing by the bottle, I had a student die from a methodone overdose, we have a middle school with a pregnant teen program and I live in one of the wealthiest counties in Florida. There is a reason to protect your kids, know who their friends are, check their text messages, etc. 14 is such an impressionable age to begin with, especially for girls. They are developing physically, starting to develop a self-identity, many are not confident enough to stand up for principles they have been taught, etc.
My daughter is 14, we have talked about drugs, boys, sex, drinking, choosing good friends, yet, this does not mean I am ok with her being exposed to it. Kids want to be accepted, especially at that age. I am not convince she would make the right decision in a given situation, so I surely do not want a coach taking it upon himself, because he is all knowing and above reproach (yanno, he'd throw my daughter off his team if I questioned his dictatorial judgment) and introducing her to the drug culture.You don't know the real home life of all the kids, just what the parents want to show you...girls who aren't shown affection from their father often turn out to be promiscuous. If a parent has a hidden addiction at home, the last thing they need is an introduction to the drug culture. There are so many reasons why this coaches decision making process is horrible. If my daughter's coach ever came home and told me that story I'd make it my goal to see that he never worked with children again.
Due why are you here and not in line to be first through the door next football practice?
Being the Father of three girls myself (20, 10 and 8) I would have preferred the coach/OP had turned the team around and found another place to eat/kill time.
I understand that my 14 year old Daughter has and will continue to be exposed to drug use, alcohol, tobacco, pre-marital sex, same sex relationships, high fructose corn syrup and every other evil imaginable but I would prefer this be on my own teaching terms and not a forced teaching opportunity after the fact.
What you consider evil I consider good. It's all relative.
Not sure how same sex relationships fit in that list of imaginable evils. But then, I'm just a big ol' lefty.
Oddly enough, I remember that the first time I was ever exposed to a public display of same sex affection was when I was a little kid visiting Ann Arbor. I knew about homosexuality, obviously, but my little kid brain was blown away by seeing real live lesbians(!). I remember thinking something like, "wow, what they say about Ann Arbor is true! [in terms of being a progressive semi-hippie bastion] That's awesome."
The girls wanted to shop at the M Den on State Street. We parked in the garage on Maynard. So we exited the garage and walked to the to State St. Then across to the M Den. Then we walked to BWW.
It was everywhere. Where were we going to go? Just leave and go home? In case you have never experienced Hash Bash, people are everywhere along State, University Dr, Washington, and Packard.
I supose we could have buried our heads in the sand and left AA altogether. What would the point be then? We would have missed out on the experience of the diag and all its history aside from the Hash Bash.
I think those of you who dont understand or have not experienced Hash Bash should re-consider passing judgement. Hash Bash is not a bunch of old hippies sitting around smoking pot in the open.
MGoSoftball -- I've read your replies pertaining to this thread's mini-controversy, and your actions seem appropriate under the circumstances. I wouldn't worry about what a few ignorant or misinformed people have to say about your OP.
Then they should of already had the "drug talk" from their parents and it shouldn't even be an issue. Besides, I'm going to assume that all the Hash Bash attendees have their medical marijuana cards and weren't breaking any laws. lol
As the parent of a 13 year old girl, I feel ambivalent, but as long as the coaches used this as a teachable moment (which it sounds like they did), then I would be okay with the situation. I would also encourage my daughter to ask me questions when she got home, and my guess is that none of those girls saw that lifestyle as one that they should emulate. Hopefully, when they are presented with the opportunity to partake themselves, they'll understand a bit better where drugs fit into our culture, from the perspective of personal responsibility as well as larger political issues.
I'm curious how the OP handled this with parents. I personally would want to know what the girls ran into, so the OP might want to have something ready. Parents can be hair-trigger anti-anything, so rather than appear defensive the OP might want to have the explanations ready.
fwiw...
miss an opportunity to be offended and whine while uttering the "it's for the chilllldren" mantra! Damn.
How did people not laugh over Les Miles talking about grass?
Edit: +1 Dennis Blundon. I witnessed that in several of my daughter's friends.
I should note that I would expect the coach to relate what had transpired so the parents could do that whole parenting thing.
Thank you so much for pointed this out. In case anyone was wondering, I'm a student at UofM-- not the real Les Miles. So I don't know I qualify as being "educated" quite yet. Also, Marijuana as much of a real drug as IPeeforweeks_Wolverines is dumb: kind of.
Wow. I guess I did not anticipate some of the negative comments. I will explaing further.
Our softball team is like a family. We are a very close, as we practice all year long. We give the girls a break in the month of August. This closeness allows the kids to see the coaches and other parents in everyday type situations. During away tournaments we will have a traditional cookput and then sit around a campfire with all the parents and have a few beers. We bond just like any other family. We are not just some "random guys" that coach kids. We carefully screen children as well as parents to join our "family". We have known these kids for 3 years now, so we know the parents very well too.
That being said, the other coach and I stopped by the tower to discuss the situation before we proceeded. One of the children was his daughter. He said, "I want my daughter to see this". The hippie counter-culture can only be found on college campuses in Michigan. So we did explain what was happening BEFORE we moved forward and we asked them if they were ok with this. They all were very excited to see this because they have NEVER witnessed this.
They asked a lot of questions, particularly about the style of dress. I dont think they have seen this before. We listened to a few protest speeches as well. The best question was, "Coach, What is socialism?" Overall it was a great learning experience. Before we left the diag, the other coach was on the phone to parents to explain what happened. The other 4 parents thought this was funny, which we predicted.
As I have said in previous posts, I have coached softball with ages ranging from 10U all the way through D1 Club teams. So I have seen every type of parent. I have on a few situations, asked parents NOT to come to any games or they can take their child. I coach agressive, hard nosed style of softball. We are well known through out SE Michigan and we have kids coming from miles around to play with us. So I do not put up with any parent giving me grief over anything.
Some parents dont want their child to steal home due to the increased (albeit slightly) risk. I had a parent tell me his daughter was a pitcher and he wanted her to pitch that game. Typically I will not negotiate on-field activities on game day. I enforce a 24 hour rule before and after games. Then if a parent has a good reason, I will listen to LOGICAL reasoning. If a parent tells me, "I dont want my daughter to do such and such, during a game or practice; I will ask him/her to please take their child and join another team.
IPFW: Pot is legal in Michigan (for some people). So is drinking beer. But neither can be consumed in public. During a traditional Michigan Football Tailgate on the golf course, the consumption of alcohol is illegal. Should children be prohibited from the golf course or should the police enforce no drinking? We saw many, many people drinking Saturday. Should we have put blinders on the kids?
So I guess I do not understand your point. Is it the pot you oppose, Bob Marley flag, the bongos, protest speeches, or the fact that the adult coaches were reacting to the kids experience? You are missing the point here.
The point was the girls reaction to the whole counter-culture and not just the pot. The girls laughed, their parents laughed and we laughed. What is the harm? Just because you disagree with this doesnt make it wrong for everyone else. If you had a daughter on my team, I would certainly ask you to leave because there are several more willing to take your spot. We NEVER put kids at risk (other than normal game situation risk).
I am not critisizing you for your opinion. It is yours and you have a right to it. i have the right not to agree with you just the same. I am sure there are others who agree with you. That is fine too.
Agree. I have always been one to advocate exposing as many people possible, including children, to as many things possible, so that we may better understand the complexity of people and culture, and make informed decisions about those people and that culture. With that being said, it's a touchy subject. I believe in many ways people see current American culture as morally relativist, and those with a moral ideology push back hard on this, and attempt to shield themselves and their children from anything they find "morally" reprehensible as a way keep this ideology intact. But, ultimately children will be exposed, and as long as a conversation is had about the negative and positive aspects of this exposure and its meaning, then it should turn out alright. Television violence, real violence, sexual identity and roles, a bunch of ladies and gentlemen smoking weed, politics, whatever, none of it will "corrupt" a child unless that child has no platform of knowledge in which to make a decision. Unfortunately, fear of these so-called "evil" things often leads to a fear of discussing them, and the sheltering begins, which usually doesn't end up well. So, in short, I applaud you for taking the girls in there to see what it's all about.
I thought it was a good thing too. I am so conservative I think Rush Limbaugh is a commie. However, I also believe that the counter-culture was actually good for America as a whole, just like the Civil Rights movement. Now I will admit, I think we have gone too far; but nonetheless, exposure to different beliefs and culture is always good as long as it is followed up with "the talk".
This is not the Dark Ages where everything is controlled by the Church. These girls know more about sex than I did at their age. It is the sign of the times Im afraid. The age of innocense is gone.
The kids were never in any danger. We didnt see anyone shooting up, or having sex. The parents thought it was a good idea. Its all good.