Convention week: Reflections on three days in Orlando

First of all, in a rare moment of brilliant thinking (OK, maybe I’m overstating this), I was able – with the help of our super travel agent – to switch my original flight home from Saturday morning to Friday night. A stroke of genius foresight, as I beat the nasty weather and watched with smug satisfaction at home as that original Saturday morning flight was, indeed, canceled as predicted. Sometimes, being a weather geek can be useful – although the Saturday morning snowstorm we got here was definitely on the high end of expectations, as it dumped about 6-7 inches on top of our existing snow pack. Yes, it’ll be a White Christmas – and, I predict, a long, cold, snowy, icy winter. If you are believer in regression to the mean, as I am, we are up for some serious payback from last year’s non-winter.

Anyway, here are some final thoughts after three days in Orlando for the USTFCCCA Convention. Apparently, it was a record turnout of coaches, with more than 1,500 of us in attendance. I guess I was one small drip on that record attendance, having been a first-time attendee. Several coaches who go to the convention every year noted to me that I picked a good year to attend. The debates were vigorous and at times contentious, and the legislation was much more important than the usual, run-of-the-mill stuff. I won’t bore you with the details of legislation and what was voted on, but I was pleased with all the outcomes. The various symposiums were definitely worth attending, if only as a healthy exchange of ideas and to pique interest in trying out and expanding on training paradigms. My fellow MAAC coaches and other Northeast coaching friends were pleased to have me there, as they have been lobbying for years to me to attend. Was the trip worth it? Yes. Will I go every year? Probably not. I will let the issues guide my decision; if I feel there are important things that are on the table, I’ll be there. Next year’s convention is in Phoenix. I’ve never been there. So, that’s a possibility. We’ll see. One year at a time. I will say THIS: It’s nice to be home.