Practice The Five ‘P’s’ when getting ready for School

Baseball is a funny game. A daily game as I’ve heard it termed. It sure is. Rare a day or night goes by and the Phillies aren’t losing to someone.

Did I just say losing? Sorry, part of being a disgruntled Philly sports fan my whole life, after a while you just expect poor performance from your sports teams if you are a die hard Philly fan. We’re die hard alright, every year we root for our teams then die hard in the end when they break our hearts.

Baseball seasons are defined in April. Many say the long baseball season means you can catch up for lost ground in the hot summer months, but I don’t buy it. Take the 1993 Phillies. That team caught lightening in a bottle. You know why? Part of the reason I believe besides a lot of veterans having career years was because the team caught fire as soon as opening day started and didn’t let up for several months into the season, despite a slight slump, the fightin’ Phills were so far ahead of everyone else that no one could catch them. Despite losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series the Phillies gave their fans the thrill of a life time.

Students tuned in to this column take note. The 93 Phillies show us that sports imitate life. How prepared are you to make the upcoming academic year the thrill of a lifetime? Don’t want to think about it? Am I ruining the remainder of your summer vacation? Well, sorry but there’s a lot at stake. For you and our community. A lot rides on our young people. You are our tomorrow. That’s right, if you are in elementary, secondary, high school or college you need to get it done. Because in a few short years and even shorter decades you will enter the work force and us middle aged people will be moving aside to pass you the keys. So we need you at your best. You want it for yourselves too, or at least you should.

The remainder of summer vacation here’s a thought. Take some stock of yourself. Your strengths, more importantly your weakness’s. How can you exploit your strengths and manage your weakness? Can you start now on preparing for some classes that caused you stress and grief last year? You think those same subjects are going to haunt you in the coming academic calendar year? Chances are if you don’t start working on them now the answer is yes.

Take the early lead just like in baseball, get on the subjects now that you had trouble with a few short months ago in the last school year. They're coming around again; this time though you can be ready for them. Hit the library, it’s open, reach out for help with a friend, family member or library staff member and see what you can do to get ahead of the curve. Get organized. Check your list for back to school and put some time and thinking behind what you need to do to get your best foot forward. All this planning now can be light, relatively stress free and at your pace. Provided your pace isn’t putting it off completely. Look, I was a kid once, feels like light years ago. I know that as a youngster the last thing I wanted to think about at all was the start of another school year when summer was at full blast. You know what? I regret that now. I can’t complain, I make out alright. But I could have got the early lead as I suggest to you by boning up on the books one month earlier for a few years in a row. The time now pays a big dividend later.

You want school to be less of a hassle, then you have to walk the talk. It’s no different for us grown ups. We’ve got all kinds of problems, just stop and ask one of us we’ll be happy to share with you all our life’s issues. Plus, we’re not just responsible for ourselves, we’ve still have to care for many of you young people. Not that it’s a burden but it’s stressful on occasion.

My late father used to say at holidays recently that he really enjoyed them because he knew he had used up more holidays then he had left. Well, you’ve used up more summer then you have left. Shave an hour off the pool, an hour off the playground and an hour off some other off time frivolity and put something into your biggest investment. YOU. Work on your weakness’s while there’s still time to get a lead come September.

Unlike the Phillies who rarely get off to a good start, you can. The last time the Phills come close to greatness was 13 years ago. Don’t let anyone steal your thrilling academic and scholastic year about to begin. Make it your priority to get in the mindset now. While you may not like the idea now, you’ll be glad you did later in the year. That’s an iron clad money back guarantee. How do I know? I’m older than you. While I’m not smarter than you youngsters, I am wiser. There’s a big difference. Ask anyone 30 or above and they’ll explain it to you. Just do it after you’ve worked on your game plan for how to make the 06-07 school year the best ever.

Practice those Five P’s – Perfect Practice Promotes Positive Performance. Start your perfect practice now and turn a great September into a home run of a school year. We’re all counting on you.

See ‘ya around town.