Published in ILLUMINATION·May 28My Son’s GraduationLast night, we hosted my son’s high school graduation BBQ at our house. His friends and his family all came together to wish him well. It was cool to see all the people come together but it was even cooler to watch Brock be a gracious young man. He engaged…High School4 min read
May 6A Guide to Sports ParentingAlmost every sports parent comes from a place of love for their child. We all want to help our kids, give them the most opportunities, and give them what we didn’t have but wish we had. My definition of the American Dream echoes this idea; the American Dream is wanting…Education10 min read
May 6What Is “Success?”Mission statement: The West Ada School District is creating a three-part series about high school athletics, coaches, and parents. Our goal is twofold: one, to help everyone remember the value of high school athletics, and two, to remind people that life and sports are viewed through many lenses and that these lenses…High School7 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·May 6The Parent Lens of SuccessAs Coach Warr and I began this collaboration, we both worried about coming off as know-it-all coaches. I do not have this coaching thing all figured out in three easy essays. However, Jason and I have over 50 years of combined experience in education and athletics besides our time playing…Education7 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 27Spring Break 2022When you don’t leave home, but you leave home a bunch of times I found myself with some time during Spring Break — time to do whatever I wanted because my family was out of town. …Spring Break7 min read
Published in The Orange Journal·Apr 13Don’t Overreact but Don’t UnderreactWe never know where the ripples in the pool are going to go after we toss the rock. — I just finished reading an article in The Atlantic by Derek Thompson titled “Why Simple Is Smart.” In this article — which is a pretty good look at writing and I agree with most of his thoughts — is a piece of advice about growing one’s “ego epidermis.” Thompson states…Teaching4 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 6I’ve Been Writing a Ton, But Not Publishing MuchI try to set these goals for myself: publish something once a week. Most times, it’s more like “publish a couple of times a month and hopefully more than once a month.” I know I will be better for it but sometimes life just gets in the way. …Writing2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 5A RZR Ride to Tiddie SpringsSunday, April 3 Gabe and I unloaded at the little camp spot above Carnage Canyon because the Kane Springs parking lot was clogged with at least 10 camp trailers blocking the road. …Outdoors5 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 11BalanceOur school has a “theme” each month. A credo. A mission statement. A focus. There are videos and reminders about that certain aspect of life. Sometimes, there are even t-shirts. This month — March — is BALANCE. (And look at the syntactial balance of that previous sentence!) I was asked…Self Help5 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Feb 28Medium Helped Me Make Money, Just Not How I Thought It Was Going To WorkAbout two years ago, I took the advice from my sister, Torree McGowan to start publishing some stuff on Medium. I had never heard of it before. It was the beginning of Covid and I was doing a lot of writing. I have been an English teacher for 23 years…Writing3 min read
