A Coach's Gift

Sorry for the delay in posting. Again, life is a bit hectic.

As you know, Matt coached both Ryan and Cade's basketball teams this winter. Here is an article one of the parents wrote for the local newspaper.



A Coach's Gift

My son, Mason, started playing basketball this year. I attended the obligatory meeting at the beginning of the year and was pleased to see that I knew his new coaches, Matt LaTurner and Scotty Edwards. I knew he would be in good hands, but I didn’t realize how much more than just basketball would be taught.
Matt and Scotty have been coaching together for the last two years and this year they took on two teams. The teams are sponsored by the YMCA and included about 30 local boys. Somewhere in the middle of the season Matt told the parents that we would be having a party at the end of the year for the boys on the team but the coaches did not want a coach’s gift. For those of you who are veterans of the child sport phenomenon, the coach’s gift is given to each coach as a way to make up for the endless hours of time and effort that the coach puts in while you run to the store and celebrate that hour of peace and sweet freedom. When all of us looked around with that deer in the headlights look of “what do we do now?” Matt suggested that we raise money and donate it to a charity.
The discussion then changed from what do we get the coaches to who should we donate to? The answers were obvious. On each team there was a player who had a family member personally touched by a major charity. The younger team chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the older team chose the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This choice was easy for the boys because they actually knew someone who had been affected by the kindness of others. Matt and Scotty also felt that it was important for the boys on the team to realize how fortunate they were to be able to play basketball and to participate with their teammates.
Payton Burpee, one of the boys on the younger team, was a recipient of a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. When he was 3 months old he was diagnosed with an extremely rare heart condition. His wish was to swim with dolphins. He was able to do just that at Sea World and he also got to spend his 4th birthday at Disneyland. His older brother Davis has the same rare heart condition and was able to have his wish of meeting the Seahawks and being on the sideline during a game. This charity was a natural fit. When asked what he thought of the coaches giving up their gifts Peyton replied "I think it is really nice that Coach Matt gave up his gift. I had so much fun on my wish; Donald Duck made special time with me! And I got to feed and pet Dolly (a dolphin) and see her new baby. Coach Matt is letting another boy have a wish come true. I think it is very nice of him. I really love Coach Matt."
The older team chose the Muscular Dystrophy Association as their charity because they also had a personal connection to the charity. My nephew and Mason’s cousin Brennan has muscular dystrophy. By all accounts he is a typical 9 year old but you quickly see that he can not run and play as well as many kids his age. His legs and arms are starting to be significantly affected by his condition. They expect him to be confined to a wheel chair within a relatively short period of time and his life expectancy is about 18 years. Mason was glad that the coaches decided to donate to charity saying: “I think it was nice because they could find a cure to help Brennan so he doesn’t die.”
In fact the boys all seemed to think this was a fine idea. Rick, one of the boys on the team, said “It’s a good idea to help people who cannot play. Helping is more important than having.” When asked what he would remember most about the season Rick also said “the coaches, how special they are and donating the money to people who cannot play.”
The Boys really did their part in getting donations. All told they gathered over $600 for the two charities. Matt and Scotty’s decision has already started to change things in our community. I have received an email from a coach who was inspired by this and will be doing this for his team next year.
Jen LaTurner, Matt’s wife, had a son on each of the two teams. She said “The hope is for each player to realize not just how much fun it is to be able to participate in an activity like this but that there are others who don't have the chance at all. I think both boys are starting to realize that we either have things or get to do things that a lot of others don't. They also realize that giving is better.”
Matt and Scotty are the kind of roll models we all want for our kids. They teach the fundamentals, they work with each kid individually, they make 15 screaming 8 and 9 year olds into a team and on top of it all they throw in a life lesson on gratitude and giving. And, when it comes to coach’s gifts can you really ask for a better gift then that?

A Letter to Obama

Maddy has started the DARE program at school. I love when one of my kids gets so excited about something good (or bad in this case) and wants to do something about it. Maddy decided to write President Obama about the tobacco industry. Here is her letter.

Dear President Obama,

Every year, 400,000 Americans die from tobacco related causes. In addition to this, 3,000 more Americans die just from breathing the smoke of a cigarette. I care about my family and friends and I don’t want them to be one of the 403,000 of those people who die. So I want you to get rid of all the smoking and tobacco companies in America, and I have reasons why.

In cigarette smoke, there are 200 known poisons. What about the unknown poisons? Two of the known poisons include nicotine and carbon monoxide. Nicotine is a very strong poison that causes addiction. Carbon monoxide is like car exhaust. That’s what is killing so many people now. It’s also polluting the air and harming the environment. Not only does the cigarette smoke kill humans, but it kills plants and trees. We need trees to put oxygen in the air to survive. This eventually will kill all of us.

If someone smokes or uses tobacco, they are at great risk of dying. These products may cause lung, heart, throat, bladder, kidney or mouth cancers. They also cause heart and gum disease. If this doesn’t happen and the smoker plays sports, one minute they are about to kick a soccer ball into the net, the next, possibly off to the hospital. Why? The shortness of their breath from smoking. Smokers tend to have more colds and upper respiratory problems. This could lead to death. Another possible sickness is emphysema and may complicate pregnancy. Doctors would have less busy lives and focus on treating patients with other problems.

If people stop smoking now, it reduces the risk of dying or sickness. Their families won’t bug the smoker about quitting anymore. Interventions could stop and doctors could lead easier lives without cigarettes, tobacco, or cigars. There would be less pollution in the air and 403,000 more Americans could live each year. Instead of planning funerals, babies could be welcomed into the world.

For those people who work for smoking and tobacco companies would lose their job. I am well aware of this. But they could use the money from all the cigarettes people buy to open a therapy center to help worrying Americans. Instead of killing so many Americans, they could try helping them.

Right now, there are about 304,059,724 people in the U.S.A. If all of us smoked, America could be GONE. No one could survive with the toxic air and poisons. The age when people start smoking is now coming close to 6th grade. If this reaches 5th grade, this could be a real life nightmare. Kindergarteners could get one from fifth graders. Babies would be exposed to smoking because of their parents. Try living with parents who smoke. I don’t, but some kids do. And if parents do this, they really don’t care about the kids they have. This real life nightmare is closer then you think. In fact, possibly a few years with 403,000 Americans dying per year.

You may think this is a horrible idea, but when other countries see this, they could think this is a good idea. Those countries would stop. This could spread around the world. Just by this one letter I write to you now. Our world could be so much better.
In conclusion, you may think I’m just one crazy 5th grader who doesn’t know what she’s doing. But please consider this idea of saving 403,000 Americans lives every year. We could have 4,030,000 more Americans in the next 10 years. Imagine less busy doctors with easier live. Happy families with less worries and now, no 200+ poisons in the air.

A Fifth Grader with a Plan,

-Madison LaTurner
age 11

(some of this I researched with my D.A.R.E book and internet and most of this I did on my own)

Way to go, Maddy! We are proud of you for taking a stand!

Just When You Thought Life Couldn't Get Any Busier, the Bishop Calls

2010 has started off pretty busy for us. Matt is crazy busy with work. Besides his normal managerial responsibilities, he has been doing quite a bit of traveling. He and another co-worker have been visiting __________ in California. (At one point I was told I couldn't say anything about who it was but my mom knows so now everyone might know. Sorry mom...Dale made me say that! I'll have to see when I can say more.) It is pretty close to being a done deal. The big issue is that there is the potential of Matt traveling every week for the next year. They are trying to cut that back. In all his spare time (hahaha) he is still coaching Ryan and Cade's basketball teams. I think their last game is March 6th. All three boys have loved it but it will be nice when it is over.
I have still been subbing at the school. I don't know if at this point you can still call it subbing. I started November 30th. I finally took 2 days off last week and loved it!! I was finally able to clean just a bit and get some other important things done that have been ignored. I am enjoying being a co-chair on the PTA for the Recognition committee. My co-chair, Katie, and I put together a hot chocolate bar for the staff. They loved it! It was so fun to listen to them and actually hear how appreciative they are. We have put a lot of work into it but it has been worth it!
I really didn't think we had many more hours in our day but apparently the bishop did. Bishop Lee stopped by a couple weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to accept a calling as Relief Society president. When he called to set up the appointment, I listed in my head the many reasons why I felt like I could say no. When the bishop is sitting across from me the only thing that comes out is 'yes'. That was 2 weeks ago and so far so good. I really really am feeling the support of the sisters in our ward. I am so excited to serve these ladies. I have the best counselors, the best secretary and the best Visiting Teaching Coordinator ever!
In the middle of all this, Ryan turned 9! He was able to invite some of the neighborhood boys over to watch a movie and have ice cream cake. After basketball is over we will take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge as his big birthday gift. It has been fun to see Ryan grow. He is so much like his Dad. Same smarty pants attitude. We love you, Ryan!



This past weekend we were able to have my Mom and Dad and my sister, Sara, from Boise come visit. Saturday morning we went out to breakfast at the Maltby Cafe..yummy! The boys got to show off their amazing basketball skills to our visitors. Maddy got to show off how tall she is getting.

Maddy's Turn

Last night we watched 'Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs' for slumber party night. Afterwards, Matt turned regular tv cartoons on until the next movie. It happened to be Popeye. I don't think the kids have ever seen it before and none of them were too impressed. Maddy says, "It's like a creepy old man smoking pot!" I was upstairs at the time so Matt ran up to tell me what she said. My reaction was "How does she know about pot?!" (She later told me a friend at school told her about it...yikes!) I came downstairs and asked Maddy how she knew about pot. She says, "Well, it's the same thing Santa smokes." What?! She then takes her hand and draws an imaginary something from her mouth. I said "Maddy, that's a pipe, not pot!"

Did he really just say that?

Ryan was sitting on my lap last night talking to me. (He very quickly got thrown off.) He asked me who the guy was the started Microsoft. I told him that was Bill Gates. He started giving me some Microsoft information and said something about how long they have been around. I made the mistake of telling him I was older than Microsoft and he made the mistake of telling me how old I was.

Tonight I took the kids to Safeway with me to pick a few things up. They really like the rotisserie chicken so I asked if that's what they would like for dinner. Cade says, "I don't know what chicken you are talking about!" Maddy, Ryan and I tried to describe the bird to him. He then says, "Oh, you mean the chicken with the turkey legs!"

Those are Matt's boys.

Basketball...game 1 and game 1

Ryan and Cade both had their first basketball games today. Here is Cade showing off his shooting skills. He scored 8 points! He did really well. He probably needs to work on passing a bit. Once he made one basket, he realized it was easier to score if he just took the ball all the way and did it himself. I'm guessing his teammates might want a chance sometime. It was fun to watch him play defense when his team had the ball. I'm sure it was a tactic used to throw off his opponent.

Ryan just hung around while Cade warmed up.



Ryan's game was exciting but not for the same reasons as Cade's. The other team was able to get a lot more practice time in than our team and it was obvious. I didn't realize 2nd and 3rd graders would be running plays. Not just 1. They had at least 4. Our boys really did try and the second half showed a lot of improvement.
This last picture is of Ryan and the boy he defended. I should have known the kid was trouble when he came out with a headband and matching wristbands. When Ryan is defending someone, he tends to have his arms out and is touching the opposing player. Apparently this kid didn't appreciate it and starting hitting Ryan. Both boys were pulled out...Ryan crying thinking he was in trouble and from getting hit and the other kid screaming about not being able to do anything out there. The YMCA staff guy came over and talked to Ryan and let him know he hadn't done anything wrong. He said the other kid was frustrated that Ryan was defending him so well but that he might want to keep his arms down just a little. He really was good with Ryan. Ryan got back in the game in the second half and did a good job.



Glad game 1 and game 1 are over.

Maddy's funny

Matt took Maddy and Ryan to the pool this last week. The three of them were sitting in the pool when a big man wearing a little speedo got in as well. Maddy looked at the man, turned back to Matt and said, "Dad, I am so glad you shave your back!"

(Matt wants me to make sure everyone knows he doesn't have to shave his back.)