CALL ME SNAKE

Now that I’ve gone and done it and become a soccer coach, I found that one scene in the indy film “Lonesome Jim” really resonated with me. The Jim character, played by Casey Affleck, took over coaching his nieces’ basketball team after his brother got into a car wreck. At the start of one practice, Jim–a depressed, low-energy sort–says to the girls: “I don’t have anything to tell you today. So just do whatever you want.” Then he sits down on the bench without another word. I can’t wait to try that approach next week when our team meets for its regular practice session/scrimmage.

There’s one other particularly memorable exchange in the movie. Jim asks his uncle if he has a girlfriend. “No, I use hookers,” the uncle replies. “They’re cheaper.”