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It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one’s hat keeps blowing off. - Woody Allen
There are a bunch of interesting things out there on the web.  Probably the best newspaper coaching story I’ve read was in the New York Times last week.  Unfortunately it’s not publicly available anymore, so unless you are a TimesSelect member, use this link to Deadspin.

The story is about a youth soccer team in Clarkston, Ga.  The team, The Fugees, are a group of three select/travel teams.  What makes the story interesting is that the team is drawn from refugees resettled in a small Georgia town 10 miles northwest of Atlanta.  The personal stories of every player is filled with heartbreak and hope.

The hometowns on the roster reads like a roundup of all the bad news from the past 10 years.  Afghanistan, Bosnia, Burundi, Congo, Gambia, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan…  They are all a long way from a soccer field in Georgia.

Things aren’t all rosy however.  Clarkston has become a town targeted for refugee resettlement, which has caused resentment from the locals.  This means the team has to fight for a place to play and acceptance from the town.  You can learn more about the Fugess on their website — fugeesfamily.org

This next story isn’t about great coaching.  In fact it’s about someone always thought of as un-coachable.  "Pistol" Pete Maravich was the original run and gunner.  He never saw a shot he didn’t like and if he liked it, he usually took it…  His statistics are amazing.  He played college ball at LSU from 1968-70 and averaged 44.2 points per game, leading the nation in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons.  He scored 50+ points 28 times and was a three time All-American.  In short, the guy can fill it up — and a new video on Yahoo Video shows him filling it up for over 6 minutes.

But it’s not just Pistol Pete running and gunning.  There is a short clip of a very young Don Criqui (Buffalo native) interviewing Maravich.  Stockton asks Maravich how long he practiced dribbling as a kid.  Starting at 12 years old, Maravich dribbled the ball eight hours a day in the summer and four in the winter.  Yes he was a hot dog, but he spent a lot of time perfecting that recipe.

Enjoy the video — I did…