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Cartter’s only been playing guitar for a few months, and his early competence has been stunning. He already has a repertoire of a dozen or so songs, a couple of which he composed himself, the rest simple numbers by the likes of The White Stripes, Green Day, and Nirvana. He’s devoted to his craft. He’s
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The boys’ summer break is almost over, and the family’s lack of routine has gotten to the point that Cartter and Scotty can’t remember what day it is anymore. They got up early on a Saturday and claimed they thought it was the first day of school. Another time we were making plans to go
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When the kids were toddlers, they were delighted to achieve my adult male height, a feat which they accomplished by standing on benches and couches and stools while proudly grinning at me. In this way they made manhood a game, but sometimes when they were thus at eye level, their gaze would drift absently, and
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With each reentry I’ve made into coaching, I’ve found that almost nothing I did before matters. When I was with Mount Pleasant Swim Club at the outset of my career, I had the best athletes and received a lot of recognition. High level swimmers showed up in droves. Now, starting a new team in North
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In the six years I spent as a summer league head coach, I never did an awards banquet. My teams had a pizza party at the end of the season, and I would stand up and congratulate all the kids and say thank you to the volunteers. It’s not that I don’t like recognizing individual
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It was the day after the summer league championship meet, and I told my dad that I thought no other film captures the essence of youth sports better than Bad News Bears. The original 1976 version starring Walter Matthau is both surreal in its depiction of poor sportsmanship and truthful in its portrayal of the
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There’s a light that shines from behind the young coach’s eyes that inspires confidence and belief in his swimmers; they huddle around him after warm-ups and listen intently before belting out a cheer; they utter his name with reverence when they walk the deck chatting about race plans; between their events, they stand at the
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Cartter says he doesn’t want summer swim team to be over. I appreciate the sentiment. Running free with favorite teammates on deck amid the prolonged twilight, backstroke flags at either end of the pool flaunting the neighborhood’s colors – greens and yellows, bold reds and blues – bursts of cheers following each blare of the
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On a Saturday morning, I know I can count on my dad to be in his upstairs bedroom at the Sullivan’s Island house, propped on a pillow doing the crossword puzzle. He’s up there on Fridays too. And Thursdays. Not Sundays, though. He golfs on Sundays. Every now and again, I’ll be surprised to round
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Cartter takes his guitar all over the house with him. He sits on the couch with it resting in his lap. He lies on the living room floor with it laid across his stomach. His mother bought him a stand so he could set it in his room, but when an urge strikes (and an
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The Raging Elitist 