Bells of Saint Mary's

I finished teaching tennis camp in League City at 11:30 AM yesterday morning.  Then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with Monica and Elijah that included lunch, a little shopping, then dessert.

Afterwards we went back home and had one of the most relaxing evenings in a long time just hanging out enjoying a cozy fire in the fireplace and watching one of my favorite childhood movies:  The Bells of St Mary's.

It was Monica and Elijah's first time to watch 'Bells' and they loved it.  For me, movies like this one bring back fond memories of the much simpler time of my youth.  I loved Bing Crosby.  He had such a beautiful voice.  And all the movie stars of that era seemed to be able to sing and dance so wonderfully.  The movies of that time period had a moral, and the story endings usually made you feel just glowing and inspired afterwards.  Although this era of great movie making has surely passed I never tire of watching classic movies that influenced my imagination and stirred my heart as a child.

It is no wonder I developed such a love for music at a tender young age watching movies like Bells of St Mary's and numerous others such as:  'A Song is Born' with Danny Kaye and the jazz legends of his day.  Danny Kaye is another amazingly talented actor whom I never tire of watching.

And so starts my 48 hours 'off'.   Sometime today or tonight I am probably going to watch 'White Christmas' again for the 100+ time.  I do not have a single tennis activity scheduled until Monday, December 26 and I am very much looking forward to just resting my body and hanging out and relaxing with my precious family and reflecting on the Christmas season

God has blessed my family tremendously this month in many ways.   Today as I reflect over the month, the year, and my life, I Thank and Praise the Lord for what HE has done and continues to do! I especially thank him for sending His son, Jesus to be born as a tiny little baby who would grow up and take away the sins of the world.  Jesus is THE TRUE MEANING for the CHRISTMAS SEASON...!

Looking forward to celebrating a great big birthday party tomorrow...!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS...!

The Virginian

James Drury is 'The Virginian'.  This tv show ran from 1963 to 1977.  



This is one of my family's favorite shows.  We watch at least one or two episodes every evening on Netflicks...!  Elijah really likes Westerns.  That suits me just fine.  We love watching television from the 50's and 60's....  It's nice to watch shows that are 'clean' and have morals. 

Today is a 'rain day'.  It is actually the first day this year where it has rained pretty much all day.  We are having a 'Virginian' marathon today...!

NBA LOCKOUT... Is anyone even noticing...?

I loved basketball when I was a child.  I knew as a 5'5" white kid I would never make it big in the sport but I enjoyed playing with my friends, and even after a very mean junior high basketball coach made it totally not fun and I gravitated towards tennis, I still always enjoyed watching the NBA on television.

I was a great Houston Rockets fan growing up.  I also loved Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics teams of the 80's and 90's.  When the rockets won their world championships in the mid 1990's I could not have been more pleased...!

But I haven't watched an NBA game in years.  I became disgusted with the poor sportsmanship, greed, OK, yes... and to a lesser extent -the tattoos.  So, I have boycotted NBA Basketball since the close of the 20th century and I have not looked back.  And you know what?  I have had a good life with no regrets.

Please don't get me wrong, I can definitely appreciate when someone achieves excellence in their sport.  But some of the top players make 20+ million dollars a season.  To me, that is just absurd.  The average salary of an NBA player is 6 million dollars.   And things are so bad, they think they are being taken advantage of by the owners so they are refusing to play until they owners share more revenue with them...?   Sorry, no sympathy in this corner.

And just to be fair: I think the top professional tennis players are paid way too much, too...!  And so are other professional athletes salaries.  And while I am on the 'bandwagon', I think that other (more important) jobs like SCHOOL TEACHERS are way underpaid.  I believe the average teacher's salary should be MUCH higher considering what is at stake here...!

Let's look at it from this perspective:  Which people group has a greater impact on our children and the future of society and our world:  school teachers, or NBA players...?

Ladies and Gentlemen:  I rest my case.

So no tears are being shed by me for the NBA revenue squabbles.  I hope more people will become disgusted by the avarice (greed) of the world and turn to the ONE SOURCE of true satisfaction:  A personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...!

The Power of the Tummy

This photo was taken March 9, 2009.  I found it while browsing an old photo album.  It reminded me that Elijah and I used to go fishing a lot.   It was very easy to fish at Columbia Lakes back when we first moved there.But over the years the owners have not taken care of the lakes and lagoons and now it is impossible to fish because of all the overgrown vegetation.

In this photo we were fishing at Shy pond in Lake Jackson on a Saturday afternoon after I had completed my lessons.  I had just laid down for a second to rest my eyes and was fast asleep.    Elijah crawled up on my tummy wearing my hat when Monica snapped the picture above.

But my tummy has 'special' powers and it wasn't long before Elijah was unconscious as well.  We did not catch any fish that day but we did have a very good father ~ son time that I will not forget.

Seeing that photo makes me want to plan another fishing trip again, soon...!

The Rebelution: Life Changes for Coach Sam



Coach Sam and Elijah at The Bayou Club

 I have joined a group of people who are rebelling against low expectations...!  I heartily reccommend the book: 'Do Hard Things' by Alex and Brett Harris.   It is an amazing, life changing book.  I am going to begin ordering copies of this book and make it mandatory reading for all my students...!

Please check out Alex and Brett Harris's website:  http://www.therebelution.com/about/rebelution.htm



One of the 'Hard Things' I have done was get serious with my weight loss regimen.  The photo was above was taken back in 2009.   I have since then lost close to 50 lbs...  More on that journey soon...!   

Another 'Hard Thing' I have done is to get back into blogging.  Blogging used to be one of my main focuses before I contracted an 'addiction' to facebook.   Although I am not giving up facebook, I am greatly limiting my time on FB and trying to use it more as a 'tool' to witness to others about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.   Friends, I sure could use some prayer in this endeavor...!

Going forward I will try to update this page at least once a week...  Blessings to all...!

~Coach Sam

Come on, People...! Show some Respect

The big news around this area is that some kids in Sweeny, Texas are refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Sweeny ISD School Board has changed it's policies under pressures from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Here is a news link reporting the story details...

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8088920

Honestly, this turns my stomach.... If America starts turning out more kids like this we have absolutely no hope at all to survive as a country. I am twice as disappointed in the parents of these children. And I am triple disappointed in the elected school board officials who did not take a stronger stand on this issue.

I am definitely praying for this situation...

~coach sam

Role Models

Role Models: Are You One…?

The word ‘role’ is usually associated with theater arts. When you think of the word ‘role’ you usually think of a character in a movie, play or drama. An actor or actress will play the ‘role’ of a certain character. If they played their role particularly well, we will remember their performance.

The ‘role’ is a description or example of the character it portrays. Now, most stories are about some sort of conflict or problem, and how that conflict or problem is resolved. A basic conflict theme often portrayed is ‘Good versus Evil’.

A perfect example of this theme occurs in the movie: ‘Star Wars’. In this epic motion picture the character that exemplified ‘Good’ was Luke Skywalker. The example of ‘Bad’ was Darth Vader.

In real life we have people who are role models that exemplify ‘good’, or ‘bad’. Honestly, I have come to learn that life is really a struggle of the good versus bad theme played out over and over again. Have you ever noticed any recurring themes in your life?

I wrote a few weeks ago about the importance of teachers and coaches in our lives and how these ‘powerful’ roles can affect us in a positive or negative way. For myself, I think God allowed me to discern good and bad fairly early in life. Praise God that I did have many ‘Good’ directions to turn to. But I have often thought to myself, what if ‘this’ or ‘that’ had or had not happened in my life, what kind person would I have become? What different set of choices might I have made and who would I be today…?

The fact is, any number of scenarios could have played out. But the bible says that God has a plan for us, and it is a plan for ‘GOOD’. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’

Of course, God was speaking to Jeremiah in this passage, but this scripture tells us that our lives are no accident. Things don’t happen by chance. There is a God who is in control of what happens. Jeremiah 29:11 explains: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Friends, we have hope and a future. It is a GOOD future! You may not think of yourself as a role model. But your life, your words and your actions touch countless others around you in ways you may not be aware. I challenge you today to be a role model for ‘GOOD’. Do not under estimate the awesome power of an encouraging word or an act of unselfish kindness or generosity. One good word or deed has the power to transform a life.

~Coach Sam Chadwell, April 26, 2011