Tony David Potter's Journal

5:30am: I'm blogging State (Part 2)
Morning comes all too early.

I got up about 4:45. I never really sleep well the night before meets, and last night was no exception. Of course, this morning getting up early is out of necessity.

Today I have to pick up the van. Of course, right now we're a one vehicle family. And my wife works with me at O'Connor, so she has to drop me off at the van rental place (2), drop off the baby at day care(3), and get herself to school(4) all before 8:30.



Of course, low bids are why our district's official car service (Capps) aren't even located in our district. But it makes travel a nightmare.

After I get the van, I have to go by CO and pick up the hotel check.

Thankfully (and by-the-grace-of-God-fully) this isn't our first state meet, so we've got the routine down pat. I'm nearly done getting packed, and am almost headed out the door.

Austin here we come.

God save y'all.

~MP

3:14pm: I'm blogging State (Part 3)
We've been at the hotel for about two hours now. I've been in my room for about fifteen minutes.

They'd cleaned about half of the rooms we've reserved, and had their lunch, followed by a house meeting which lasted way too long. Longer than the trip to Quizno's and back. Longer than the wait to read two newspapers front-to-back (USA Today--complementary, and Austin American-Statesman--50 cents or free if found on top of the vending machine.) Regaled at the glory of a Spurs win, rooting for a Rockets win (no true Spurs fan can really get over a healthy hatred of the Jazz, despite 1995.) and a Mavericks loss.

Journalism is going on right now, Computer Science is later this evening. I have to orchestrate getting to the Journalism to give them their hotel keys, going to the Mathematics meeting (I'm wearing the black "We Do More Math... shirt), then get to CS to pick up our Computer Science guys (qualified two students, but not a team, curse you Keith Epley :) for dinner, then get them back to their awards ceremony (finger's crossed), then back to the hotel.

Kids are chillaxing. I don't like to hound them about practicing, so they pretty much run themselves. I'd rather they not overstress.

They do that by themselves anyway.

~MP

11:11pm: I'm blogging State (Part 4)
Kids are conveniently tucked in bed, and I'm busy working on the computer.

My journalism student got fourth, and so I'm very proud. My computer science students didn't get top six, but I'm just as proud of them.

These two, I've known them since they were in middle school. I've watched them grow and develop, becoming young men. I've seen them come to O'Connor as timid nerdy freshmen, and they now leave, one to Princeton, one to Rice.

It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It doesn't matter if you win state, or not even make your school's district team. The growth I've seen in my seniors (even those you've never heard of because they don't get into the arbitrary top six in results) is amazing. They learn. They have fun.

And that's really the objective of what we do. Any coach that demands more is doing their kids a disservice.

I was talking to Mr. White earlier, and he mentioned that just getting to state makes a champion. I agree. The rest is gravy. In fact, it's all gravy. All the meets, district, region, state. It's gravy.

I'm proud of students you've never heard of, for the growth you've never seen.

Math is tomorrow morning. And it's time for me to be proud again.

~MP