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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018
Tip for coaching kids’ basketball: Bring jelly donuts
Ned
Hickson
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m
not very athletic. I made this real-
ization in the third-grade, when I
was knocked unconscious 32 times
playing dodge ball.
After that first game, I remember
waking up in the nurse’s office and
being told of a special program for
“gifted” athletes who were so spe-
cial they got to wear a football hel-
met during recess.
Of course, I eventually figured
out there was no “special athletes
program,” and openly expressed my
feelings of betrayal when I slammed
my helmet on the desk of my high
school counselor.
After which I was taken to the
March
from 1A
According to many partici-
pants, the main reason for the
march was the ongoing belief
that U.S. President Donald
Trump does not represent their
values and may indeed be act-
ing against women’s interests
and those of the country.
The primary organizers of
the 2018 march are a group of
people affiliated with the
Florence ORganizes (FOR),
an action group formed last
year in response to the elec-
tion of Trump. FOR was
instrumental in the 2017
Women’s March.
According to some mem-
bers of FOR, many of the
president’s policies are divi-
sive and fundamentally at
odds with American values.
Stephanie
Spradling,
Internal
Communication
Coordinator for FOR, spoke to
the motivation for this year’s
march.
“We are very concerned
with what is taking place in
our democracy. The Trump
administration is taking a
more authoritarian position on
issues that are fundamental to
our democracy and he is
undermining institutions like
the Department of Justice, the
CIA and the FBI,” she said.
“We are also extremely con-
cerned that Trump lies con-
stantly, seemingly about any-
thing, and we believe he is try-
ing to muddy the waters sur-
rounding the FBI investigation
Remodel
from 1A
One of the needs the stu-
dents voiced was for a gather-
ing place during breaks.
Currently, the students mainly
congregate in the halls during
lunch and before and after
school.
“That was the one thing
they really wanted because
they didn’t have their own
space,” said O’Mara. “So, the
architects helped us design a
new student area that’s about
the size of a classroom that
will be student friendly. It
actually will exit out on the
courtyard.”
Another problem the high
school students faced was
with food service. Currently,
students have to trek across
campus to get lunch on the
upper campus where the ele-
mentary is located.
“We’ll be delivering lunch
(at the high school) and have
an area that we serve food out
of. That area is also across
from the gym, so it can serve
a dual purpose as a conces-
sion stand for volleyball and
basketball games,” O’Mara
said.
Along with upgrades inside
the building, the outside of
the high school will have a
very different look.
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hospital with a broken finger.
I live with the memory of being
an unathletic child on a daily basis.
Particularly when I look in the mir-
ror and see a man whose head still
fits into a third-grade football hel-
met.
For this reason, many years ago
when my daughter asked me to
coach her fourth-grade basketball
team, I smiled, took her hand and
began faking a seizure. I panicked
at the thought of providing guid-
ance to a team of fourth-grade girls,
any one of whom could take me to
the hole.
Of course, that didn’t matter to
my daughter; she just wanted Dad
to coach her team.
Knowing this attitude would
eventually change (possibly by the
end of our first practice), I made the
decision to put aside my own petty
fears and be her team’s coach.
In addition, I also put aside some
petty cash for psychological treat-
ment later.
To prepare myself as coach, I
read books about fundamental bas-
ketball skills. I talked with other
coaches. I installed a tiny basketball
hoop over the trashcan in my office.
Before long, I had gained confi-
dence knowing that with hard work
and determination, someone would
be able to undo the damage I was
doing.
For our first practice, we worked
on free throws and lay-ups. I chose
these areas because, as everyone
knows, they are the most common
— and easiest ways — of scoring a
basket.
Unless you are me.
As it turns out, repeatedly send-
ing a wad of paper through a six-
inch hoop over your trashcan does-
n’t mean you’ll be able to sink a
regulation basketball from the free
throw line. Particularly if your
entire team and most of its parents
are watching, in some cases using
their iPhones to send live images to
friends while laughing hysterically.
Confident that I had taught my
team an important lesson in deter-
mination, humility and the value of
having a “shared minutes” plan, we
moved on to lay-ups. It was at this
point I asked parents to please put
their phones away.
In addition to the distraction it
was causing, there were also safety
issues to consider since many par-
ents had now moved under the
backboard to get a better angle.
When practice ended a week later
(okay, but it felt like a week) we
joined hands and reached an impor-
tant understanding as a team:
The coach has no “game.”
Apparently, my players didn’t see
this as a problem. What mattered to
them most was whether I could be
trusted, as their coach, to coordinate
the snack rotation.
I assured them I could, and things
went pretty well; they brought
“game,” and I brought jelly donuts.
This year, my wife is joining me in
coaching first- and second-graders at
our local Boys and Girls Club.
Hopefully between the two of us
— and given the fact that the rim is
at eye level — we can bring
“game.”
But I’m bringing jelly donuts
anyway, just in case.
(Ned Hickson is a syndicated
columnist with News Media
Corporation. Write to him at
nedhickson@icloud.com or c/o
Siuslaw News, 148 Maple St.,
Florence, Ore. 97439)
into his ties with Russia. We
believe this is a danger to our
democracy.”
Saturday morning started
out gray and chilly, but by the
time the march began at 11
a.m., there was just a slight
curtain of precipitation drift-
ing down. Patches of blue
were visible in the sky as the
upbeat group began the short
walk up to Highway 101 and
back down Rhododendron
Street.
The age of the participants
ranged from infants to octoge-
narians, with many marchers
wearing pink and purple.
There were about half the peo-
ple from the inaugural year.
One thing that became clear
during this year’s march was a
more pointed concern about
the president and the policies
he supports.
This is opposed to last year,
when organizer Nin Bebeau
said, “He is there to give us a
wake up call, but this is not
about Trump. This is about
women. This is the time for us
to make our voices heard and
for us to be responsible for our
own ideas, goals and what we
think is best for the country.
We are not against Donald
Trump, we are for women’s
empowerment.”
Spradling said that this
year, millions of people across
the country, across the world
and across the political spec-
trum were protesting the poli-
cies and behavior of the presi-
dent.
One of the major issues
ing people in power account-
able — the press.”
Another marcher, Bonnie
Costa, carried a sign that
supported freedom of the
press.
“I went to the Women’s
March because I had recently
seen the movie ‘The Post.’ It
reminded me that our free-
doms can be lost if we do not
act to protect them,” Costa
said.
FOR
member
Eileen
Angilletta gave a speech at the
beginning of the march to
“remind everyone of the
progress women made during
2017.”
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
“We have encouraged peo-
“We had women, men, children and even dogs marching,” said FOR member Eileen ple here in town to get
involved locally by attending
Angilletta about Saturday’s Women’s March in Florence.
town halls and other events,”
concerning the marchers was rights.
One of these was a retired Angilletta said. “Smaller
the current standoff surround-
“I felt it important to attend school administrator who has groups have come out of the
ing DACA (Deferred Action the march to show solidarity been the recipient of hostility larger group of FOR to
for Childhood Arrivals) legis- with women in their struggle and threats while peacefully address local issues such as
lation and the need to resolve for equal rights,” Preisler said. holding signs of protest on plastic recycling, beach clean
the issue with respect for other “This includes choice, health- local street corners.
ups and much more. I believe
cultures and the people care, pay equity and the recent
This man expressed concern that our community is more
impacted by the controversy.
publicity about how work- that the current president is informed now in 2018 due to
“We are marching after place sexual abuse is prevalent eroding the freedoms inherent people getting involved.”
being in consultation with in our society. By my partici- in the U.S. democracy and
When asked what broader
women’s groups from across pation, I wanted to show that debasing the office he holds.
message march organizers
the country and across the many men are aware of their
“America used to be the wanted to share with the com-
world,” Spradling said. “There struggle and stand in full sup- shining city on a hill,” the pro- munity, the answer from
are sisters across this nation port of their issues.”
tester said. “In addition, much Spradling was clear.
that are very concerned with
Another topic that con- of that allure had to do with
“When we start dividing
what is taking place in our cerned marchers was the pres- the First Amendment, freedom people into groups and turn-
democracy and they want their ident’s continuing actions of speech and the independent ing them against each other
voices to be heard.”
against the press and the First nature of our press. This pres- for political reasons, that is
Florence City Councilor Amendment to the U.S. ident does not seem to recog- wrong and it is un-American,”
Ron Preisler attended the Constitution.
nize this essential component she said. “That is why we
march not to protest the presi-
When asked to elaborate on of our democracy and continu- marched in Florence and why
dent, but to support the more these issues, several marchers ally denigrates one or our millions of us marched across
overarching issue of women’s asked to remain anonymous.
most important means of hold- the country.”
“The glass blocks will be
gone,” O’Mara said. “New
siding, new windows. The
front will look different
because the classrooms com-
ing out of the library will have
an exit. There will be more
exits out.”
A vestibule at the entrance
will be installed, allowing an
extra level of security for the
students.
The entry door will be
unlocked, but visitors will
need to check in with the front
office before they can access
the rest of the building.
Work is also being done to
make the school seismically
safe.
Despite all the changes,
O’Mara and the designers
worked hard to ensure the
charm of the original building
will not be lost.
“The characteristics that
make Mapleton ‘Mapleton’
will remain,” O’Mara said.
“The anchor will be staying.
The senior bench is still going
to still be the senior bench,
it’s just going to be more cen-
trally located near the student
commons. The characteristics
that make this the Mapleton
school will remain.”
Ultimately, O’Mara hopes
that the changes to the school
will not only benefit the stu-
dents, but the community as a
whole. The little-used junior
high school will be converted
to a community center, where
the public can come in, use
high-speed internet and hold
meetings. Other plans are in
the work for the building,
including a space for mental
health services for students,
with the eventual goal of cre-
ating a community healthcare
space.
“The school in Mapleton,
and I think in any community,
is the heart of the communi-
ty,” O’Mara said.
The project is scheduled to
be completed by graduation of
this year, which will mark the
end of the construction bond.
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