Saturday, January 28, 2012

Who am I?

About ME
    Hi, my name is Garreth Trawick, born and raised in the small country town of Malvern Alabama. It was in this small country town where I learned a lot that molded me into the young man I am today. I grew up on my family’s farm which came with its fair share of responsibilities and chores. Whether it was helping with the cattle, cutting the grass, or building fence my grandmother always told my brother and I that we were building character. The family farm in Malvern will always be home and I will forever be grateful for all the fun memories and character building chores I had growing up. But it was the same grandmother that always told my brother and I that we were building character that has had the most influence on my own personal character than all the farm chores combined.
    She was  physical education teacher by trade, but a loving grandmother above all else. It was her who introduced me to my true passion when she taught me the game of basketball. There is no telling how many hours or jump shots were taken on the farm, I really don’t think there has been a day that’s gone by in the last twelve years that I haven’t touched a basketball. Character and a genuine love for the game of basketball has led me down the road to coaching. I have been blessed this past year to move to the city of Mobile with the opportunity to teach young men the game of basketball as their head coach. It was an experience that I will never forget and also something that I would love to do for the rest of my life. This experience has lead me to the University of South Alabama’s education program where I hope to follow in the footsteps of my grandmother in physical education to touch and influence children just as she did. 

Time management
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”- John Wooden
    Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and Dr. Randy Pausch professor of Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University seem to have the same understanding on time management. They both understand whether it is preparing for a basketball game or the classroom goals, priorities, and planning are essential in being successful. As both a coach and a student I have learned first hand the importance of time management and planning. In Dr. Pausch’s video on time management one of the topics that stood out to me was that of doing things right verses doing things the right way. I think this is critical in having success whether it be in coaching or in the classroom. Just as Coach Wooden said, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” The video by Dr. Pausch gave necessary tools to help with time management and has helped a number of people. One of his most memorable speeches came in September 2007 entitled “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” What he thought would be has last lecture, after learning in September 2006 that he had pancreatic cancer and given a terminal diagnosis in August of 2007, became an international phenomenon and media sensation.

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Garreth. I enjoyed getting to know a little about you by reading your blog. It sounds like you have learned the value of hard work on your family farm, so I know you will be a great coach some day. Good luck with those aspirations! Your grandmother sounds like an incredible lady. You are lucky to have her as a role model, and it is obvious you love and respect her. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Emily is lucky to have found a loving, well-grounded, country boy like you! I wish you both a world of happiness.

    I am a 42 year-old mom of three great kids. I have enrolled in three courses this term in order to reinstate my teacher's certificate. So, we are at two very different stages of life! That is why it is interesting to me that we were both drawn to the same point or comment in Dr. Pausch's speech. His comment to make sure we are doing the RIGHT THINGS really struck a chord with me. You see, I have a really hard time saying "no." If there is a job to do and nobody else steps up to do it, then I tend to feel obligated because the job NEEDS to be done. I stated in my own blog that with my three classes plus my normal responsibilities of a husband, home and three kids, I will have to constantly ask myself "why am I doing this?" If I can just make sure I am doing the "right" things and not necessarily "everything," then maybe I will survive this semester!

    Finally, you piqued my interest when you mentioned coaching a basketball team this year. My entire family is very involved with sports. Our three kids play pretty much everything they can, including basketball. What team did you coach?

    By the way, it looks like your blog is off to a good start! I like the layout. I also like how you have brought in quotes of people who have inspired you(John Wooden)and tied in your love of basketball in addition to addressing the topic. Great job!

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    1. Hey, Mrs. Angie thanks for your comments.This past year I coached the middle school boys team at Cottage Hill Christian Academy. It was a blast! The year previous to my arrival the boys had only 2 win season with 14 loses. But this year they believed in what I was trying to teach them in the game of basketball and were able to produce a 9 win season with only 7 loses. Even though I hate records of wins and loses it meant a lot to the boys, some of them had never been apart of a winning season.

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  2. Where do you coach basketball?

    You will watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture later this semester.

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  3. Hey, Dr. Strange I replied to the same question for Mrs. Angie who commented on my blog in a little more detail. But I coached this past season at Cottage Hill Christian Academy after being apart of Auburn University Men's basketball program for 4 years.

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