Camp Smokey

Camp Smokey

Camp Smokey by Ryan Krzykowski/Sam Knopik Last week I received an email from Sam Knopik, a good friend and Head Football Coach at Pembroke Hill, a school in Kansas City.  Sam had decided to loop me in on a camp adventure that he’d arranged for his players and...
When It’s Over

When It’s Over

When It’s Over by Ryan Krzykowski This has been a really tough couple weeks — there’s no way around it.  War continues in Europe, we lost more elementary school children to a shooter, and optimism is in short supply these days.  It feels as if...
Fear

Fear

Fear by Ryan Krzykowski “If you’re going to be scared, get off this field!” Did I really just yell that at a 13 year old?  Man, I really screwed that up.  What was I thinking?  Where did that come from? It was the fall of 2016, and I was telling a...
Notes

Notes

Notes by Ryan Krzykowski Five years ago I was teaching at a middle school and had the opportunity to coach a group of 7th grade boys in their fall football season.  Going in, I had something of a connection with a decent number of those kids — either from having...
Umps and Refs – follow up

Umps and Refs – follow up

Umps and Refs – follow up by Ryan Krzykowski Back in February I wrote a post called “An Open Letter to Youth Baseball Parents and Coaches“.  While I’ve gotten a decent amount of very positive feedback, apparently there’s more work to be...