look-a-me
Many years ago, there was a sitcom on T.V. called the Bob Newhart Show, coincidentally enough starring Bob Newhart. Everybody on the show, every time they met Bob said, "Hi, Bob!" The line was so prevalent that there was a popular drinking game based on the line, called Hi Bob. You started the program with shot glasses and a bottle of something and every time someone said, "Hi, Bob" everyone did a shot of whatever you had. By the end of the show, everyone was fairly plastered.
Fast forward to today and little league advanced baseball. The coach for the youngster's team isn't all that knowledgeable, but I'll admit he knows more than I do and is willing to put in the hours to coach the team, which is saying something. Really, it's saying a lot, and even while I'm running him down, I have to give him credit for that much. The problem is, knowing more than I do about teaching baseball is setting the bar pretty low. I think we've already established that. We've already also established that he's not one of my favorite people. Of the coaches the youngster has had so far though, he's the bottom rung in knowledge, and contradicts the things the boy has learned from other coaches, one of whom played professionally, and one who coached a college team.
The next problem is the accent and how it comes across. My apologies to any of you New Yorkers out there, but this guy has the most obnoxious New York accent I've heard in a long time (and he's a Yankees fan, which may be another issue in my dislike). Maybe it's not the accent itself that gets to me, but the way it's used...repetitively.
"Guys, guys, guys....look-a-me, look-a-me, look-a-me."
"Listen-a-me, listen-a-me, listen-a-me."
Almost always in threes.
"Antony, Antony, Antony" (kinda like Tony Soprano says it, though his voice is more Ralphie)
By far the most prevalent is "look-a-me" though. It just grates. The other night at practice, I started counting the "look-a-me"s. I stopped at 39 in less than 10 minutes.
I swear, if we played Hi Bob with look-a-me's, I'd be passed out in the dirt a half hour into practice. No, I take that back. I'd be dead.
Fast forward to today and little league advanced baseball. The coach for the youngster's team isn't all that knowledgeable, but I'll admit he knows more than I do and is willing to put in the hours to coach the team, which is saying something. Really, it's saying a lot, and even while I'm running him down, I have to give him credit for that much. The problem is, knowing more than I do about teaching baseball is setting the bar pretty low. I think we've already established that. We've already also established that he's not one of my favorite people. Of the coaches the youngster has had so far though, he's the bottom rung in knowledge, and contradicts the things the boy has learned from other coaches, one of whom played professionally, and one who coached a college team.
The next problem is the accent and how it comes across. My apologies to any of you New Yorkers out there, but this guy has the most obnoxious New York accent I've heard in a long time (and he's a Yankees fan, which may be another issue in my dislike). Maybe it's not the accent itself that gets to me, but the way it's used...repetitively.
"Guys, guys, guys....look-a-me, look-a-me, look-a-me."
"Listen-a-me, listen-a-me, listen-a-me."
Almost always in threes.
"Antony, Antony, Antony" (kinda like Tony Soprano says it, though his voice is more Ralphie)
By far the most prevalent is "look-a-me" though. It just grates. The other night at practice, I started counting the "look-a-me"s. I stopped at 39 in less than 10 minutes.
I swear, if we played Hi Bob with look-a-me's, I'd be passed out in the dirt a half hour into practice. No, I take that back. I'd be dead.
John put this out here at 11:18 AM
3 Comments:
oh dear. that sounds awful. and a yank fan, too. hold me back. how long does the youngster have to deal with this dude? Does he like him? Do you have any transfer options? know any good hit-men? I mean, besides him.
really, just reading that- I could hear him grating on my sanity...
No, for advanced ball, I'm afraid there is no reasonable alternative. The teams are few and very far between. It's a 20 minute drive for the youngster to play for that team, and it'd be much farther for any other. Besides, if you play advanced ball, you have to play on a regular team in the same league as well, and it gets complicated. I like his regular team coach..the guy I help. He knows more and helps the kids more than the advanced ball guy.
Oh, and we're stuck with him till December.
The youngster just shrugs his shoulders and plays. He really doesn't care one way or the other. He's just happy to play ball. To be honest, I think he ignores the guy, which is probably the best approach.
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