Geez, I see it's been weeks since I have been able to get back here. I hate the excuse that I'm busy, because everyone is busy. That's just life. I have trouble balancing everyone's needs and desires. I try to anticipate what every bowler will need, but eventually someone will come along and show me I'm not doing my job (pick one) well enough. I hate to say I will settle for making 80, 90 or 95% of the people happy and the rest be damned, but sometimes when I hear people out, I realize there is nothing I will be able to do to make them happy. It troubles me, because I want to make the experience great for everyone, but I'm only one person limited to 24 hours in my day. I often hear how great I am doing, but it only takes one complaint (however frivolous) to bring me back to the drawing board. I'm constantly doing a juggling act, it seems.
I'm forced to balance my home time with my "work" time. Even at home, I'm often fielding phone calls or preparing paperwork for league or a tournament. I'm thankful that my son likes bowling and my daughter is beginning to enjoy it, because the amount of time they spend at the centers is just short of qualifying as a second home. I love what I do, but I find myself getting giddy over the days off during holidays and during the end of a league. I value the time away from the center when I don't have to feel guilty about not being there. I need that time away just to remember what a Saturday night or a Monday night at home feels like, or what sleeping in on a Saturday morning means.
I'm always attempting to balance the needs of the Gold bowlers against the needs of the rest of the program. I have to encourage these kids to raise ungodly amounts of money for their trip to Dallas, so there's a lot of handholding and cheerleading going on (go team, rah! yay!). Then, many of these kids also bowl other houses and other programs, and so I'm constantly trying to match their expectations of a great program. But there are only 18 faces in that program and I know they take up more than 1/5 of my time. It doesn't bother me that they require more time, because every kid is different, and some of the other kids in the program just want to come in, bowl, and go home, but I need to know that for sure and not just assume it because it makes my life easier.
I'm always balancing the relationships with the kids who have been with us a few seasons against the time I need to spend with the new bowlers. I mean relationships, because after a few seasons, these families do become friends. I try to stay mindful for newer families that they may be new to bowling or they may be new to our way of bowling leagues, so I really do try to keep on top of how we're meeting their expectations. And the families that have been around for ages are pretty easy to read too, because I've been able to sit down and get their philosophy, and they know they can come to me. Sometimes where I miss are in the families who survive the first season, and yet haven't been there forever. Or the ones who just bowl one league, and I might not touch base with because they bowl and go home.
I try to balance the needs of the serious bowlers versus the here-to-have-fun types. I have kids that winning means everything, and I have kids who be-bop in and out and I would have no idea without looking at the recap whether they shot their highest series or if they lost all four points that morning. I can pass out all the information about city tournament, or state tournament, or Pepsi, but whether I made a connection or they think it's too big a deal for them to bowl, I never know until they build a team or say no thanks.
And of course, the part I tend to ignore. I have to balance the requirements of a corporate center with the needs of the families of 100 kids. While I should be grateful for the employment, I guess, the real reason I do it is for the kids. So I'm often put in the position of having to advocate for the kids and showing the corporate types that certain times you give a little to get a lot. Unfortunately with a big corporation, I feel I do most of the giving, and they just accept what they get. And for me, that's fine. But when the corporation doesn't listen to the needs of their bowlers, I do have concerns. There are too many centers and too many programs for the kids to stay in one that doesn't appreciate their business. Can I, alone, make it clear the bowlers are appreciated? I try.
And finally, I'm still trying to find the right balance between my being a coach/coordinator and my own bowling. Right now, with everything going on, including a 2 1/2 year old and my spending 3 1/2 days in a bowling center already, the odds of me wanting to bowl more are slim and none. Hopefully some of the other fires will go out and I can address this one in time. In the mean time, juggling seems as good a sport as any.
Posted by Angel Zobel-Rodriguez at November 21, 2003 11:26 AM