Coach: Another (potentially!) award-winning edition of 'Dear Coach'
The following letters were not actually written to me, but they could have been!
Dear Coach: What is a fun fact that many of us might not know, considering how long you have been around this town? Maybe something in the distant past, you can recall?
- History Buff
Dear Buff: First of all, easy on the "how long you have been around," and the "distant past" stuff. I'm not that old! Well, actually ... oh, never mind.
Getting to your question: How about this fun fact from days gone by? Did you know that, back in 1974, our very own Glenbrook North Spartans won both the boys baseball AND boys football state championship.
Football upset East St. Louis to win state, led by hard-nosed all-state linebacker Jack Moeller, and the baseball team went 22-4 and won the state championship led by 6'7 pitcher Scott Sanderson - who went on to have a successful career in the big leagues, pitching for the Cubs and others.
The Spartan hoops team that year wasn't bad either led by guard Teddy Govedarica and Sanderson.
Not a bad year for boys from Northbrook. Maybe a 50-year celebration/reunion in 2024?
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Dear Coach: I am a fitness fanatic and I love working out, but sometimes I go at it too hard. Can't control myself; it's almost like a drug. A lot of grunting and groaning as I push myself to lift heavier and heavier weights and I am afraid that, eventually, I am going to injure myself or worse. Still, even with all the working out, I can't get rid of the little bit of potbelly I have. Any advice here?
- Searching For Six Packs
Dear Searching: Go easy, brother! Too much weight is definitely not good for the old body. Try bringing the poundage down on the lifts and instead increasing the reps. And, yes, the way you're going you will injure yourself or, worse yet, do some permanent damage over time. So slow down, cowboy! As far as the "six-packs" go? Three thoughts: Stomach crunches, horizontal planks and lay off the Wendy's Baconators.
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Dear Coach: I am on a track team that takes the bus to away meets. We are from a small school, so both the girls and boys track teams ride the same bus. Here is my quandary: There is a girl on the team who I think is really cute, and I would like to get to know her better. But the girls always sit in the front of the bus and the boys in the back, and I never really get a chance to talk to her. I have trouble concentrating on anything else on those long bus rides, let alone thinking about my strategy for the upcoming race. Any suggestions for how I can break the ice, and finally meet this girl? Also, I am a sprinter, and she runs long distance. Problem?
- Chasing, But Not Catching, Love
Dear Chasing, But Not Catching: Oh, boy, here we go again. Seems like I always get one of those questions where your friendly local sports columnist has to tiptoe very carefully through some dangerous and ominous territory. However ... I never back away from a good challenge. So here's what I got for you.
The strategy is quite simple. Go for it. Next road trip, as soon as everyone has boarded the bus, walk up to the girl in the seat next to the girl you like and just ask "Hey, do you mind if we switch seats?" It's a bold move, no doubt, and one that I certainly would not have been brave enough to do back in my high school years. But now that I am answering "Dear Coach" questions in writing,- it's definitely much easier! Note: You have to make this move right away, at the beginning of the bus ride. If you wait, and think, and simmer, and stew over should I or shouldn't I - you most likely won't.
Oh, and no problem with the sprinter and the distance runner getting along in a relationship. Opposites attract, right?
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Dear Coach: Just got accepted into college for next year. I'm really excited, but I am going to have to work to repay my parents and also to have a little spending money. I am thinking of contacting the recreation department and applying to officiate some of the intramural games like basketball, flag football and softball; it sounds easy and they pay pretty well. Your thoughts?
- Maybe A Whistle Blower?
Dear Whistle Blower: My advice here is clear, succinct and without pause. No, no, no and more no. Officiating college intramural games is an absolute disaster of a job. You will get yelled at, verbally abused, stared down, intimidated and lose friends around the campus; I also wouldn't put some level of physical assault out of the question. The intramural sports wannabe athletes in college take their sports participation way too seriously! Trust me. Been there, done that, took the abuse. You will want no part of it.
Need to earn some extra spending money? Wash dishes, clean the cafeteria, sweep floors, work a cash register, get a job at the library, write papers for other people if you have to. Whatever it takes.
But do not - I repeat - do not offer to referee fellow classmates in college intramurals. Your collegiate experience will be harmed forever.
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FROM COACH: A Final Thought ... I heard this from a woman who was dropping off food at a pantry where I was volunteering. She had bought all the food herself and brought it over. When I thanked her, she explained, "most people give up something for lent, I do something for lent, instead."
• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. To contact him with comments or story ideas, email jcsportsandtees@aol.com.