Throwing Things

At what age is it appropriate to throw things?

According to a recent poll (of my friends), the most common answer to this question is : "when you're a toddler." Of course kids throw things at their siblings, their parents, their friends to get attention. (I distinctly remember my brother throwing his hockey gear onto the roof of our garage because he didn't want to go to practice.) But then, somewhere along the line of 'growing up,' it was decided that throwing things is no longer cute or civil and doing so should result in punishment. For example, I once had a 2nd grade teacher teacher who threw a chalkboard eraser at a student. She got fired. Then there was the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at George Bush (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U). Also considered extremely inappropriate (and yet, still somewhat appropriate)...

The world of college basketball is completely different from this. In this world, coaches are allowed to (even encouraged to) throw tantrums. Someone out there decided that the best way to motivate players to play better was to yell and scream like a five year old; and quite frankly, I don't have a problem with that. Easily the most amusing part of my job is watching what many in the real world would consider a mental breakdown. However, just like with a toddler, someone has to clean up the mess after each tantrum...

Enter me. I've climbed rows of seats to find basketballs that had been punted into the arena during practice. (Recently one of those basketballs was inadvertently kicked directly at my face, but that deserves its own post sometime down the road) I've become somewhat of an expert at guessing exactly what row that dry erase marker landed in when coach flings it into the stands. Picking up and unfolding smashed up papers also occurs on a weekly basis. My favorite though is when coach rips off his sport coat and throws it to the ground during almost every game. (This is usually accompanied by screaming "WHAT THE F&#* ARE THEY DOING?!" at the bench and "WHO SHOWED THEM THAT?!" at the assistant coaches) Without flinching, I quickly pick the jacket up and put it on the back of his chair. But on the inside, I am grinning ear to ear. It's these hilarious and simultaneously humbling experiences that I will remember when I am in the real world. There is nothing more amusing a fully grown adult acting like a child, and there is nothing more belittling than picking up after him.