Coaching for Pizza

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Do Little Wednesday

Wednesday, 25 February, 2015:

Did you ever have one of those days where you just didn't want to leave the house? Today was one of those days for me.

I decided to stay in La Hacienda looking at more Barcelona Búfals game videos, watch a Sherlock Holmes video from the Biblioteca and read a book set during the Spanish Civil War written by some guy named Hemingway.

In the late afternoon, armed with our defensive game plan, I was indeed out of La Hacienda for the evening's two practices.

Sunset at 6:30 p.m. before

the Junior practice

Tonight, now that the last of our donated used American football equipment boxes from Ventura County high schools had arrived, we were finally able to distribute gear to needy players for them to keep.

Omar's New Gear

This picture was posted by our RB known simply as Omar, no last names needed just like at an A.A. meeting. On his post he happily commented that, for the first time in his six year playing career, he finally owned his own helmet and shoulder pads.

Solid Junior practice tonight

Our 2-0 Juniors play their first game since December 21st this Saturday at home against the 2-0 Mallorca Voltors.

These long stretches between games at the lower levels of EuroBall are the game's backbreakers in my opinion. In player's minds the fact that we don't have a game for a month or more at times means only one thing, skip practice.

We haste been getting 9-12 Juniors at practice since that long ago last game until this week. With a game this week, we are getting 18-20 players at the workouts. To review, the Juniors play full contact, nine-man American football.

Seniors' Practice Field Tonight

This is the field at the University of Murcia's Estadio Monte Romero. Besides being the Seniors' practice field, it is also the game field for all Cobras Seniors, Juniors and Cadets games.

In my now sixty seasons of playing and coaching American football, it is easily the worst playing surface I've encountered.

But it is our field and we know where every rut, hole and quicksand spot is on our beloved home turf!

Tonight's defensive oriented practice with the Seniors was a good one.

Cobra Pride was in evidence tonight.

More days . . .

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Held Hostage on a Tuesday Morning

Tuesday, 24 February, 2015:

I spent the morning doing laundry and drying it indoors on my handy drying rack as I feared stepping out of La Hacienda for even a moment.

You see the postman was due at any time today to deliver Box #4 of American football equipment that Laurie had shipped me. If I missed his second attempt to deliver it, then I would have to go downtown to the main post office to pick it up myself.

Since I do not have a car that would entail getting Roberto Durán to take me there to get it and since parking is not easy in that part of Murcia, it makes the task much more troublesome to say the least.

Thus, I would be a prisoner of La Hacienda today until the postman finally rang at 11:35 a.m. with Box #4!

U of W packing tape,

nice touch Laurie!

Three Riddell shoulder pads

and two Riddell helmets

Once Box #4 was opened and inventoried, I decided to get out of La Hacienda for a good walk on a spectacular day in Murcia. I also needed to take care of some unfinished business from yesterday at the Club Taurino de Murcia.

King Alfonso X was enjoying El Sol

Gardens with fountains ARE indeed

a slice of heaven as the Moors say

This one is found in Jardin El Salitre near the Club Taurino de Murcia where . . .

. . . I bought two really good seats on

the shady side of the Plaza de Toros

The two seats are for Laurie and myself. They are located up close and personal in Row 1 of the Contrabarrera meaning that if we have a couple of cañas during the first few toros, we just might jump into the arena for toro #6 or 7!

After buying the tickets, I decided that food was in order to properly celebrate the occasion. What better place to eat, read the day's newspaper and hear caballeros talk bull fighting lore than the Club Taurino's bar?

Let's see what was in the news today . . .

An Earthquake in Spain!

I did not feel this 5.2 earthquake yesterday afternoon centered in Albacete about 90 miles northwest of Murcia but many in the Cobras' family said that they did.

The State Farm guy

won an Academy Award?

I love those commercials but an Oscar? WOW!

I could listen to these two aficionados

talk about La Fiesta Brava for hours

After a good but light repast, I continued my trek through Murcia stopping along the way as necessary.

Murcia Skyline

Same building from a different side

The Mr. Dumi Driving School

No, really, you just can't make this stuff up.

At the Church and Cloister of La Merced, completed in 1713, I enjoyed looking at its Baroque façade.

Who doesn't love a

fat trumpet player with wings?

The BVM

I think he had a part in the movie

Name of the Rose

The cross of Caravaca perhaps

Another fat trumpeter with wings!

The ancient door of the Church and

Cloister of La Merced

I love a marketplace and

this looked like a good one

I had walked past this mercado on several occasions but had never gone inside until today.

Wheel of Fish

Nice produce

Love these Eggplants

It had a nice Panaderia too

The walk continued after this visit to another solid mercado where I resisted lots of temptations and only bought a good sized chunk of Saint-Marcellin cheese.

Yum!

It was warm,

I needed a vino tinto

I do not know

I like music

DALÍ!!!

Estadio La Condomina

Cool corner building

Interesting . . .

19 degrees Centigrade!

That's a balmy 67 degrees Fahrenheit, just a another great day in the south of Spain!

More days . . .

Monday, February 23, 2015

Run-Around Monday

Monday, 23 February, 2015:

Life started out simply today, as I was up early with a purpose. The tickets for Murcia's first bull fight of 2015, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on 22 March, went on sale at 10:00 a.m. today at the Club Taurino de Murcia.

I was told to arrive early as they would be selling faster than café con leches on a frosty December morning. Thus, I left La Hacienda in plenty of time to arrive at the Club at 9:00 a.m. prepared to battle the lines of Fiesta Brava aficionados for two good tickets on the shady side of the arena.

Along my half hour walk to the club I did see things of interest.

Desayuno al Sol

Smoke Break

Wings Over Murcia

Jesus holding the Lombardi Trophy

Must be from the year that the Saints won the Super Bowl.

Old Green

It's not the size of the Cross . . .

Club Taurino de Murcia

Finally, I arrived but where were the hordes of ticket buyers?

As I bought my café con leche and tortilla Española to while away the wait, I asked if they were selling tickets to the bullfight today. The man simply said, "Si!"

He informed me that the tickets had not arrived yet but when they did, he would be selling them at the bar.

So, I sat to read the morning La Opinion and La Verdad newspapers to catch up on all of the weekend's doings on the Iberian peninsula.

HOLY CRAP!!!

Malaga beat Barça 1-0! How in the hell did that happen? Real Madrid is back up by four points in the standings after beating Elche 2-0 last night.

At about 9:05, I received an e-mail from the U.S. Postal Service saying that Box #4, the final box of used football helmets and shoulder pads donated by high schools in Ventura County, had finally arrived after two weeks having finally cleared Spanish Customs. Box #4 had arrived at the Murcia Post Office at 7:11 a.m. this morning ready for delivery to La Hacienda.

Dilemma.

This news meant that Box #4 could arrive at any time at La Hacienda but that I would have to be there in person to sign for it. We desperately need that equipment for the Cobras!

On the other hand, I did not want to leave without buying my tickets to the bull fights and the tickets had still not arrived.

At 10:00 a.m., when the tickets were supposed to go on sale to the throng of aficionados storming the Club, I noted that I was one of only four customers in the café where the tickets would be sold.

No one else looked anxious and all seemed to be there solely to enjoy a mid-morning café and snack.

Time marched on . . .

Finally, at 10:45 a.m., I again asked at the bar about the tickets and the response was, "I don't know when they will get here exactly, but they should arrive some time today."

At this point I opted to head back to La Hacienda to, hopefully, intercept Box #4 rather than wait an indefinite amount of time at the Club Taurino and miss the postman as I did not know if in Spain they always rang twice. Plus, even I have my limits as to how many café con leches and tortilla Españolas I can consume in a morning.

Although that limit is quite high.

After spending all afternoon at La Hacienda awaiting the arrival of Box #4, I was able to watch more Barcelona Búfals game video, another tough game for us is in store on Sunday.

Roberto Durán picked me up from La Hacienda at 6:00 p.m. as usual to head to our two practices at our Guadalupe practice facility. Box #4 had not yet arrived.

I got another e-mail from the U.S. Postal Service tracking center informing me that no one was home at 8:58 p.m. when the Spanish Correos tried to deliver it. They will try to deliver it again tomorrow I'm told.

So another day on La Hacienda lock down mode.

DIOS MÍO, how I love this country!!!

As for our two practices tonight, we had the best turnout of the year for our Juniors with 18 players in attendance, we usually only have 10 or 11.

The Senior team also had a good turnout and a spirited, offense oriented practice.