Rules of the Game

Here’s a little post that sums up a few things I’ve learned or come to know being a coach’s wife.

 Now, let me give a little background information here. We eat, sleep, live, and will die baseball fans. We love our team, we love the game, we love it all! My hubby is a head baseball coach for one of our local high schools. He also coaches American Legion Baseball in the summers.

This is the ONLY sport hubs coaches. This is the only sport hubs enjoys coaching and it’s the only sport his wife (that’s me!) would participate in even if he coached a hundred sports. Hey, I was a baseball fan before we met! So, there! Any who, we love baseball and he coach’s baseball. Therefore, it makes me…The Coach’s Wife.

I wasn’t always “the coach’s wife.” (This by the way is not only my official blog title, but also my official name to all my husband’s players and their parents. Ha!)  In, fact I actually used to be “the players girlfriend” and then I was “the coach’s fiancé.” So, you see, this title is new to me, but what goes on in the “dug-out” has always remained the same. Now there are just certain things you should and shouldn’t do being the coach’s wife. Some of these were rules given to me by the hubs. Some were learned (mainly the hard way). Some were passed down to me from another a veteran coach’s wife (who is also one of my sweetest friends). Some are just things that anyone should know, IF they have any common sense. So, y’all ready?

Top 5 Rules to being the coach’s wife:

1.      Cover yourself up! We’re playin’ ball, not layin’ on the beach. (I may or may not elaborate more on this one. It’s a touchy subject with the hubs.)

2.  Always come prepared. This means, stop and use the bathroom before you arrive at the park, (you never know if they’ll even have a facility for you to use and if they do it might be a port-a-potty, yuck!) bring your own fold-out chair, and stock your baseball bag with peanuts, seeds, Gatorade, gum, and napkins. (As the coach’s wife, you attend A LOT of games, so paying $1 for an itty-bitty teensy bag of sunflower seeds per game just ain't gonna cut it! You quickly learn to bring your own, if it’s allowed at that particular park!)

3. Don’t yell things that aren’t hubby approved. Especially things like “Come on blue, where were you for that pitch? It was right down the pipe you freakin’ moron!” He will either shoot you a “shut the bleep up” look while standing on the sidelines or will be sure to mention the obnoxious comment after the game. Have I learned to keep my mouth shut? Not always! Hey, I’m a talker! And a yeller! I have, however, learned to filter my comments before they just leap from my lips!

4. DO NOT. I repeat, DO NOT speak with players parents about skills, other players, positions, starting line-ups, etc. It ain’t pretty folks. Nothing good could come out of this. They’re ain’t no gossip in baseball…or they’re shouldn’t be anyways!

5. Sit far away. Hence, the bring your own chair part of these rules. I prefer to sit away from the crowd. This ensures that my obnoxious loudly cheerful comments are not heard by hubs, parents, or other spectators. Also ensures that I can watch the game without interruptions and lots of questions. No offense to you ball parents out there…but I’ve been drilled with 20 questions more times than I can count. This is also how I get to catch up on email, work news, blogging or reading my kindle when the game is un-eventful or boring.

Cheers!

- Charlee

My First Earthquake

Because this is my journal and I want to remember this day. Its not everyday we experience the tremors from an earthquake in NC, ya know!?!

At 1:51pm today in my office at work I experienced what I would later find out was....an earthquake! Wowzers! Now I can officially say that I have experienced and survived my first earthquake. Although I had no idea that it was an earthquake until after the fact!


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City.

The quake sent hundreds of people spilling into the street a block from the White House, with other buildings evacuated in North Carolina and tremors felt as far away as New York City.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was 3.7 miles deep. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. The quake was in Mineral, Va., in Louisa County.
Hundreds of people are commenting on our Facebook page.  Hear their stories and add what you felt by clicking here.
We are working to gather more information. Stay tuned to WCNC.com for more information.