Been lurking a bit, not sure why I stopped posting. Last spring I quit my coaching job after four years. Work demands were increasing and my passion had dropped a bit. I planned to take a year or two away from coaching, and maybe officiate. I did several games in the summer, then got a letter from the PIAA that I was suspended for not attending meetings. (Some may remember I passed the test in the summer of 2003, thinking I'd do a little officiating on the side.) I never went to meetings because I was still coaching and not officiating, and didn't realize there would be repercussions.

However, the timing wasn't bad after all. One of my childhood friends finally got his chance as a varsity head coach, at a Quad-A (big) school that he teaches at. I couldn't say no, so I took the varsity assistant job. It's a perfect fit--I still get plenty of influence without the level of commitment required of a head coach, making almost just as much, and at a big school without the struggles of a small school (sharing athletes among sports). We had a decent year with a very young team, 7-16 but we could've made our league playoffs with a win on the final night.

I never followed up on the officiating; I think I'm retired from that. Coaching is in my blood--next year will be my tenth as a high school coach. The head job just opened up at my alma mater, so I might apply there or stay where I am.

Good to see all the same characters are here--I'll try to get back to some level of active status. Poker has taken over much of my free time (and it pays better than coaching or officiating) but I'll be around.

Good to have you back. Very glad you are still involved in coaching.

Z

I've seen coaches that I think should stop. I'm glad to see you haven't disappeared. It is good to have coach's input here.

Welcome back coach! :)

Good for you coach, but don't take the suspension from the officials association too strongly. Most of those type of things happen because they can't find out what happened to someone. If you send the secretary a letter, I'm sure that he would be happy to hear from you and that the whole matter would be cleared up rather quickly.

As for poker, come on out anytime! I'm going to try to qualify for the World Series in Vegas at a local satelite.

Hey Coach, glad you're back around. Always enjoyed your posts. Congrats on the assistant job, sounds like a good fit. I agree with the comments about being "suspended" from officiating. Around here, it just means you have to pay your dues and fines before you can be an active member again. I wouldn't sweat it too much, although it doesn't sound like you're all that eager to get back to it.

As to the poker comment, are you playing professionally? Online or in real table tournaments? What's the deal? I think it's pretty interesting, personally.

Nice!! If you make it to the WSOP and they do an interview with you, you've got to give a shout out to all the posters on here! :)

Coach: Welcome back.

Speaking of coaches, anyone know what happened to Hawks' Coach?

Thanks for all the replies. I assumed it'd be pretty easy to get the "suspension" corrected but I was in the process of getting right back into coaching. I think it was a pretty good detour for me--I picked up a little extra money in the summer and got some perspective. Now if I could get some of you to take a year on the bench, maybe that howler monkey term would disappear!

Poker is the first thing I've ever found where it's cool to be good at math. I'm not ready to become a pro (don't think I ever would, unless I became independently wealthy via some other avenue) but I did make more last year playing poker than I made coaching. Without risking more than discretionary income, I've worked my way up to winning a fair sum monthly both online and in Atlantic City. My friends were worried about me at first; now I've gotten most of them addicted. Much like the coaches (and a few officials) that think they know it all without ever picking up a (rule) book, there are an awful lot of players who think it's all luck, or do what they see on TV. There is a lot of good poker literature out there, plus a couple good internet forums, and a bright person who puts a little time into it can become a winning player in no time.

Welcome back PA Coach! I spent a few years on the bench myself, I know it aint easy. Poker's fun although I prefer blackjack at the casinos. How do the internet gambing sites work? You send them a CC# or something that they put into & take out of?