Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Coaching Soccer in the great US of A

So just finished a successful season coaching 8U Girls soccer. Never did it before, so I thought it was time to dive in, given that my little girl was going to play.
Given that I had never played the game competitively, I thought that it might be the kind of challenge I relish. Which was true, because after watching numerous videos on YouTube, and reading on coaching drills, tips (thank you, SoccerXpert.com, and SoccerCoachWeekly.net), I was raring to go before the season started.
So to coach kid's soccer, you will have to undergo a background check, which is one of the first requirements that you agree to on the application form. Then, the certification training takes about a day (at least it did for my 8U coaching certification), at the end of which you undergo a written exam, which you have to pass. At the 8U level, they only have practice for an hour a week, so that wasn't too bad. We scheduled our practices on the same field, so the girls could have a degree of familiarity come game time.
For the first game, we crushed the other team by 6 goals to 1, and it became very evident that our lineup was going to be a formidable opponent to the other teams. Since some of the girls had played soccer before, all that was left to me was to teach them subtle things that they were not developmentally ready for yet, like teaching them the value in positioning during game scenarios, overall gameplay, and transition offense.
I must say, the parents were so happy with the girls' progress over the course of the season, and so was I. They were finally starting to pass to each other, realize the value of playing their respective positions, and gelling together as a team, when the season came to an end.
I cannot wait for next season, and what that may entail.


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

I am i-Taukei Chapter One





CHAPTER ONE


I
 am i-Taukei. I am a native of the islands of Fiji, a group that is purported to belong to the Melanesian. Take a walk around our cities, however, and one can quickly encounter various colors of the human rainbow. As diverse as the racial mix are the languages spoken here. You will encounter the Queen’s English, as compared to the local version (“set tiko”), French as well as Hindi, albeit Fiji-Hindi, together with some lesser-spoken dialects. But before I digress, let me give you a brief history of our people.

In the year 1874, our nation was ceded to Great Britain via the signing of the historical Deed of Cession in Levuka, which served as the capital before it was moved to Suva. The young colony quickly tried to adopt a lot of the way of life of its rulers.

Education was introduced via the work of Wesleyan Methodist missionaries who also successfully transcribed (with the help of some locals) the Holy Bible into Fijian and also in the process established the scripts, which were to be the foundation for the Fijian alphabet. The proliferation of education via the Church meant that young men (for ours is a patriarchal society) could learn to read and write and, further, spread the Word of God. Missionary work was not always met with success, however, as is evident from the massacre in Navatusila of the missionary Thomas Baker.

As recently as 70 years ago, tribal wars were common fare for some areas in Fiji and one can find references to cannibalism in our recent past. One has to fully appreciate our dark history to even begin to comprehend the task that the early missionaries were burdened with. They had come in at a time when tribal warfare was still the norm, where it was common to eat prisoners of war, when one could die simply because of a misunderstanding of tribal custom. Yet on they went, risking life and limb on their sojourns into the interior of the main island Viti Levu or into the outlying islands.

So it goes without saying that the nation has a lot to be grateful to the Church for. Firstly, the establishment of the Fijian alphabet, the founding of basic education systems, and also the spiritual awakening of its people.

The advent of ‘civilisation,’ as we know it, mirrored closely the progress of the Church in spreading Christianity and its ideals to the locals. Certain places were harder to convert, with chiefs hesitant to give up their traditional gods for a foreign one. But as is sometimes quoted ‘The only constant thing in life is change’. And change we slowly did.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The New Fiji Constitution


Submission


All of the problems that have led up to this point in Fiji's timeline are inextricably linked to the military. They are the gun-bearers; they are the mighty, the coup-plotters, and the conspirators. The question is what to do about it? No constitution in Fiji's short history has managed or dared to approach this issue - that of providing safeguards against the juggernaut of the Fiji military. Has everyone has forgotten that fear, that overwhelming sense of oppression, that powerlessness, that we do not have a voice? Just a while ago the media was censored, the internet was muzzled, and just a while ago people were being taken in for questioning the regime, for daring to take a stand for their beliefs. Well at this juncture in Fiji's history, we get the chance to right a few wrongs. The new Constitution should ensure that we, the citizens, never get taken unawares. There should be a system of checks and balances that protect the people from power-hungry tyrants or this will become another Libya, another Iraq.

Consequently, the question becomes - exactly what sort of military should we have -- a small military, adequate for homeland defense and little else, or a large and robust force, capable of projecting power around the globe?    However, if our military is too big and powerful, if civilian authorities show it too much respect, then there's a real danger of militarism. But if the military is too small, if it has too little influence over decision making by civilian leaders, that too can lead to disaster.   We need a military that’s not too big and influential, not too small and voiceless, but one that strikes just the right balance between deference and accountability.

Now striking that delicate balance is no doubt a job for some wise policy-maker.  But  we citizens, collectively, need to be the ones to decide about the proper role, size, composition and degree of accountability of the armed services.  This fact should be entrenched in a valid constitution and goes to the very heart of democracy.  

Are we going to be a society where the military functions as an instrument of will of the people at large or a society where it functions as a special class unto itself, with its own agenda, answering to no one except perhaps a narrow civilian elite? If we are to remain a true democracy, we can’t afford to leave these questions to the military, nor even just to our elected leaders.  We all have a vital stake in them.   And as proactive thinkers, it’s our job to dig deep and uncover the fundamental issues and assumptions which inform, or ought to inform, our collective decisions about the nature and role of the military.

Executive control, management and administration
In a democracy, partial executive control over the national military organization is given to an elected political leader, i.e. the Minister of Defense. It is my contention that he should be made subservient to the President which allows for more collective decision-making when it comes to policy and such.

The Military Council should then come under these two heads, made up of different sections and/or branches of the military. When it comes to hierarchy, it should be explicitly stated that the RFMF Commander and the heads of Land Force Command and Strategic Command serve under the President. Also, because the Minister of Defense is an elected official, there should be a law prohibiting the RFMF Commander from holding both portfolios at the same time.

Size and composition
The mere size of the Fiji armed forces, at present around 4000 (International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2001), compared to its population of about 837000 (Fiji Population Census, 2007), means that the military makes up about 0.5% of the population. Combine this with its Reserve Force of around 6000 (Wikipedia, 2012) brings the total to 10000. This makes up about 1.2% of the total population.

At present the military also accounts for 1.04% of the total labor force (IISS, 2001) and so one can just imagine the budgetary expenditure for such a military year in and year out. These facts, that the military is unreasonably large for its population, and that it consumes a large percentage of the government budget each year, upwards of $8m in the 2012 Budget.

This should warrant a revision of military size and composition. If the consensus is that the military make up only 1% of the population, then the number of enlisted men should comprise only 0.4% of the total population and the Reserve Force the remaining 0.6%. Hence, working with the figures we have, at present the military should downsize “regulars” from 4000 to around 3300 and reserves from 6000 to around 5000.
While these reduced figures might not take away the coup mentality that is rampant in military culture as a necessary evil, it is a step towards easing budget constraints and giving people peace of mind.

Arms – a necessary evil?
While reducing the size of the military is a more prudent choice when it comes to preparing the national budget every year, this does not stop the army from going to arms when it wants to or deems it required. The sure-fire way to do this is gun control.
At present, firearms are illegal in Fiji unless you have a permit or you are legally permitted to carry it in the course of your duties, such as with the Police or FMF. But who watches the watchdogs? There should be in place stringent rules at any and all armories to prevent a reoccurrence of the 2000 mutiny or the military coups.

Conclusion
To conclude, I hope that the above recommendations are enough to digest. Remember any singular act in history that may have been viewed as treason in one time may later be viewed as patriotic in the annals of eternity.

Erami Tokalau
California
USA


Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Campaign - Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis

After watching the Ides of March in 2011 (, a political thriller directed by Academy Award winner George Clooney, in which an idealistic aide is given a crash course in dirty politics, and given the upcoming elections in November, I wanted to see a movie that makes fun of the dirty politicking that goes on in a campaign year.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, with Ferell and Galifiankis driving the laughs. The story-line is such: Four-time Congressman Camden (Ferell) is seeking a fifth term in Congress when a local homebody Huggins (Galifiankis), handpicked by industrialists with an ulterior motive and backed by their money, stands to oppose him on the Republican ticket. As a seasoned veteran, Ferell's character pulls out all the stops, and when the Huggins camp retaliates, what ensues is a comedy of errors that will keep you laughing. A must see for all comedy lovers, though the content, at times, is a bit racy and the language for mature ears.

The Campaign For more reviews: http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/movies/the-campaign-starring-will-ferrell-and-zach-galifianakis.html

Monday, July 30, 2012

Birthing Classes

Going to Los Arboles Hospital for our first lessons on birthing. Wow, they have nothing like this in the islands... God help us, I'm nervous. Hope we do okay.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The 2012 Olympic Games

In 1896, in Athens, Greece, the first modern Olympics were held due to the hard work of a lot of people, not the least of which was Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic movement. More than a century later, tomorrow marks the opening ceremony of the 30th Olympiad.

Countries (and athletes) separated by standards of living and economic stability and otherwise, face off in the greatest leveler of inequalities, the sporting arena. From the traditional superpowers to the upcoming upstarts, from the giants to the underdogs, all are vying for their chance to show the world at large what they are capable of.

Just the chance to make it to the Olympics, it a goal in itself for many small contingents and athletes, but we should applaud every single athlete that walks into the arena tomorrow in the opening ceremony. For some it is the chance to realize their potential, some to chase their dreams, some to relive past glories and some to get the world to listen to their national anthem for the first time with tears of joy streaming down their face.

May this Olympic Games bring joy and peace to all, participants and spectators alike.For more: The Story Behind The Modern Olympic Games

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

Went to watch the movie marred by controversy after the shootings in Aurora. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families....

On the movie, props go to the writers - the plot twists in the end as well as the introduction of Robin's character in this movie bode well for the future of the Dark Knight franchise.