Coaching Girls vs. Coaching Boys

I've been coaching basketball for about seven years now, usually 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. After a recent game, a girl on my team had to wait for her brother to finish his practice, so she had free time. I spent about 30 minutes doing one-on-one drills with her. She picked up certain skills that had eluded her in the team practice very quickly. I was surprised and left wondering why I wasn't able to teach her the same skills during the team practice.

Someone else offered the following hypothesis: although every child benefits from individual attention, young girls seem to respond even better to it, because individual attention creates a bond between the coach and player. This person said that while boys enjoy competitive drills, girls tend to be more interested when working together as a team or doing activities that create relationships.

I also remember a tough game where we lost by about fifteen points (final scores at this age level are usually 40-35, 32 to 25, etc.--relatively low total points). I always make sure to tell my team that I don't care if they win or lose--I only care if they play hard and have fun. But no one wants to lose, so everyone was dejected. I complimented everyone, and I also told them to work on some specific things. Here is my point: when I complimented the boys, there was no visible emotional effect. The result was exactly the opposite with both girls--they immediately smiled. I don't know what lessons to take from that post-game experience. Perhaps I need to figure out what to say to the boys to make them happy even if they lose.

Update on Stock Market

On January 20, 2010, prior to the market opening, I indicated the stock market would decline to around 1000. See HERE. From January 19 to February 5, the S&P declined from 1,150.23 to 1066.19--a drop of 7.3%. I recently dipped my toe in the market, buying dividend-paying stocks, but now I'm not sure if the S&P will decline to 1000. If the market continues to decline to 1000 or 900, I will double down. I kept some gunpowder for another shot, which makes me feel better if the market does in fact decline to 1000 or less.

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Brandeis on Gossip

Reason #28,474,556,347 why I love Brandeis:

When personal gossip attains the dignity of print, and crowds the space available for matters of real interest to the community, what wonder that the ignorant and thoughtless mistake its relative importance. Easy of comprehension, appealing to that weak side of human nature which is never wholly cast down by the misfortunes and frailties of our neighbors, no one can be surprised that it usurps the place of interest in brains capable of other things. Triviality destroys at once robustness of thought and delicacy of feeling. No enthusiasm can flourish, no generous impulse can survive under its blighting influence.

More here.

People to Government Unions: Baaaa Baaaa

More on government unions HERE. I've shown this article to some people, and they never address it directly--they just start talking about the increasing prison population, the increasing immigrant population, etc.

In short, people keep trying to justify out-of-control state spending by referring to the specific expense they hate the most; however, the point isn't that some people dislike specific expenditures--everyone dislikes some expenses, whether it's Medi-Cal, prisons, pensions, etc.

The point is that overall state spending is out of control, and a specific segment of the population has made themselves immune to economic fluctuations at the expense of taxpayers, including the middle-class.

How to Select a Jury

HERE is an excellent post re: jury selection by Texas attorney Mark Bennett.

California's Unemployment Fund Problem

From the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst's Office:

The Unemployment Insurance fund is currently insolvent. In its most recent fund forecast, the Employment Development Department projects that the fund will experience a year-end deficit of $7.4 billion in the 2009 calendar year, rising to $18.4 billion in 2010 and $27.2 billion in 2011.

Perhaps this explains why the unemployed might be having a harder time getting approved for benefits.

Another Blog Recommendation

Interesting post on Iran here, with some pictures. Good stuff, no? The entire blog is worth a look-see.