I-N-D-I-A-N-A

If you can't beat 'em...join 'em! Go Hoosiers!

March Madness of a different type: Guest Blogger: Daddy!

Basketball is a deep ASH tradition. My uncle Mike played for LC in the late 70's. My grandfather, Wild Bill McColly, played for Ball State as a 4 year starter in the early 50's then was an assistant coach for the famous Bill Green at Marion High School in the early 70's. Uncle Chris, Uncle Joe, and I played from the time we could walk and have great memories of back yard games. Aimee and I watch Joe win a state title as a starting shooting guard his senior year when we first started dating. The three of us still play a consistent game on Wednesday nights. It's in the blood!

With that said, it is my fatherly duty to make sure and introduce Addy and Lilly to the game. Regardless of how challenging the game is to learn, I'm bound and determined to help them figure out how to dribble a round ball, coordinate their arms and legs to work together to throw a ball into a hoop four feet over their head (it's at 6' feet height at this age), and to get into a defensive stance.

The YMCA offered a 3 year old "daddy and daughter" introductory basketball clinic for 5 weeks. Yes, I know they are 4, but let's be realistic, statistics show that the older kids in a class always dominate sports and the stats were proven again. We also knew they weren't quite ready for the 'league' play that starts at 4 years old.

Uncle Chris came four weeks in a row and mom substituted the last week (wearing high heels). It was a great success and the girls had an absolute blast. I love how at this age they learn something new and are committed to it. We've shot hoops every warm day since the clinic started and even brought the "jordan jammer" inside to shoot in the living room. They are both extremely competitive with each other and this will lead them to learn and excel in any sport.

Let's be honest...it's really all about the medals and the hot dogs that came at the end of the clinic season!

Addy--a total natural, with a bit of an attention issue...

Lilly, totally focused just wanting to impress her daddy!

She shoots...and scores!

The medal ceremony

All in for final team cheer!

Proud to be a Hoosier!

I'll be really honest, when it comes to football, I watch for the food. So, I wasn't one of those overly enthusiastic Indianapolis natives when it came to hosting the big game. From a PR and economic perspective, I knew it was a HUGE opportunity for the city to nationally showcase what many of us have known for years: there isn't any place quite like it. Sure, we don't have the mountains to ski or the beach to swim, we have more 'chain' restaurants than one likes to admit and the weather, well, it's a bit unpredictable.

After college I traveled the country and really thought I'd fall in love with another city to call home. I was a transplant to Indiana and my folks had relocated back to Pennsylvania while I was traveling, so I had nothing really grounding me here. Or so I thought. In the end, I had my Butler family, some great friends and the realization that there wasn't anywhere else I wanted to ground myself. You can't find nicer, more grounded people than those here in Indiana. I'm so glad that the world is seeing this part of Indy this week!

We took the girls to see the sights on Monday--NFL Experience, Superbowl Village, a fun dinner out and unplanned friends to see! It was a night to remember, they came home exhausted and Jeremy & I had a blast too. Here are some pics!

Guest Blogger-Coaching Soccer

Written by Daddy!

Sitting on the couch in early spring, my wife asked if we should enroll A & L in the local soccer league for under 5's. Of course, I said yes. With that decision made, I was caught off guard by her next question--"Want to coach?"

As a 3 sport athlete growing up (Baseball, Basketball & Football), I watched my dad lead several of my childhood teams. I always said I'd coach my kids at some point, just didn't realize it would be GIRLS and SOCCER.

My dad was a great coach and made sports fun. He instilled competition and camaraderie with all our teams, but his overall goal was always to make sure every kid played equally regardless of skill and to recruit kids with GLM's (Good lookin' moms). I was ultra competitive growing up with a brother just 14 months younger that followed in my footsteps and played every sport I did. I hope that A & L would acquire a competitive spirit as they will always have a teammate in the house as long as they continue to choose the same sports.

I'll admit I had many negative thoughts when Aimee asked me about coaching:

• Will I be too hard on them?


• Will I be one of those coaches that I hated?


• Would I play favorites to my own kids?


• What are the rules to soccer anyway?


• Will Aimee be a wreck on the sidelines, yelling & embarrassing me?


• Will this interfere with my golf or lake schedule?

However, after some consideration and a fellow dad convincing me we could co-coach, I signed up, thinking I had nothing to lose...except of course the fact that A & L may never want to play for me again.

It has been one of my favorite "dad' activities to date!

Our team was made up of 9 girls, all under 5 years-old: Sofia, Akhila, Mallory, Molly, Mallory, Sam, Addy, Lilly & Lauren. We have 2 official rules:

#1: Have fun

#2: Don't use your hands

Lilly added a third--no hitting, biting, pushing, or pulling hair. Bottom line: it's herding cats. I didn't have high aspirations of teaching them much about the actual game, but I wanted to give them the experience of a 'team' sport and to send them home tired. If the ball made it in the right goal occasionally, it was a great day. We practice once a week and have a game every Saturday. Our first game we were defeated by over 20 goals (we aren't supposed to be keeping score, but how could you not, at least in my own head). I was depressed. But, we've now won 3 in a row and I was so proud during last week's game, each girl scored a goal. We have one game left and told the girls it's the "World Cup Finals".

My girls are growing up so quickly and all I can hope for is that they let me continue to coach them in the coming years!

Put me in Coach!

We made the 1 year commitment for a team sport. We might be crazy and we might regret it by Spring, but we are committed. Jeremy's coaching the team and I have a feeling he'll do some teaching but may learn much more from the experience than the wisdom he imparts. It's been a while since he's been around a sport that doesn't involve gambling spreads, fantasy football rankings and tailgating.

These players are a riot. They may spend more time hydrating off the field than on the field. They may make him crazy because they compliment each other's "outfits". They complain about the velcro on their shin guards and the fact that their cheap mama bought their shoes too big so they'd last the year. Sometimes they run away from the ball or in the wrong direction. They change the drills from sharks and minnows to princesses and princes. They cry.

It's entertainment for the whole family!

Pre-game cuddle on the couch

Addy--totally in her element!
Addy & Daddy

Lilly--told me when I called after the first game that she didn't score a goal, but she'd had fun!

The coach & a few of the crew

Team Cheer

Good game!

Bulldog Recruits: Class of 2029

I couldn't make the trek to Houston to cheer on my Alma mater as they win a national championship, so we did the next best thing. We headed down to the Women's Final Four in Indianapolis for the free family events they hosted. The girls had a blast and we added another reason we love living in Indy to our growing list! Here's the Top 10 reasons Addy & Lilly may be great recruits for the Lady Bulldogs: Class of 2029:

10. If there isn't chocolate or bacon involved, they share well and are good team players.

9. They are well-rounded athletes--first attempt at lacrosse and Addy got it in the net!

8. Lilly is currently ambidextrous. She writes left, dribbles right, swings a golf club left and throws a ball right...that takes talent folks.

7. If they get injured, they can always fall back on that top-of-the-line degree and go into broadcasting.

6. They are learning the "Butler Way" early in their lives and passion & dedication shows--check out that concentration!

5. They show tremendous respect for coaches.

4. Their blue eyes sparkle when wearing the school colors.

3. They are currently wearing size 11 shoes for toddlers--last average I heard was an 8. That could say something about their height.

2. They already know the fight song.

1. They'd be close enough to come home for family dinners :-)

Let's Go Dawgs!

Final Four (again)

We love Butler Basketball. My little legacies have been pointing out butler license plates on cars since they started talking. Last year, the bracket picks based on mascots was fun, but neither won in the end. This year, Addy lost early, picking the Orangemen while Lilly is the current leader of Jeremy's 85 person pool at work. Our team also has Aunt Cat's law firm in Washington very impressed as our love for the Bulldogs has that anti-sports fan leading their pool. We'll cheer them on next weekend, teaching my girls that good guys win out in the end. Go Bulldogs!

Not Raising the Next Mia Hamm

Our first attempt at organized sport. We enrolled the girls in a local program for a month of soccer lessons. Grandma Linda was anxious to see them play as my side of the family watched A LOT of soccer games with Uncle Jon playing for many, many years. They didn't disappoint and were fun to watch, but I think I can safely say that we don't have Olympic Soccer players in our house. The first practice, dressed in pink from head-to-toe, we headed to the facility where everyone was in their 'uniforms'. I was a bit too cheap to buy them since I wasn't sure if we'd play past the month mark. They were unsure of themselves, didn't pay any attention to the coach and used the time to run around the indoor field (fine by me, we went home tired). The second class, Grandma took them and upgraded their outfits to the uniforms. All of a sudden, their skills improved and they took some advice from the coach. Proving, once again, sometimes the right outfit will change the experience....

Pretty in Pink on Day 1

Addy running with the ball-she loves the big open field

Lilly trying to keep up with Addy--they have both gotten really fast!

Rocking the new uniforms and feeling a bit tougher...

Addy showing off her muscles

Sisters with evidence of their 'make-your-own-pizza' night on their faces!