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Originally Posted by PressThePace
Haven’t seen many posts regarding this topic, so here goes.
I have been an active handicapper and horseplayer for over 30 years. I’m 51 and now have all 5 kids out of the house. Professionally, I’m a successful HS basketball coach, which if you don’t know, takes up an inordinate amount of time. But, when I’m not working, I want to dive into PP’s, past and present, whether I’m actively gambling or not. Love the game. Love the stimulation it provides. Must be a competitive thing, not sure. I’ve been profitable for many years now, but nothing extraordinary that would allow me to go further with it. Simply don’t have the time, as I’m searching for spots.
My issue that I need help with is being able to balance my time. The way I see it, this “game” allows me to decompress. I’m in a high-profile position in a medium sized community. I spend lots of time kissing babies and shaking hands, constantly taking phone calls and being surrounded by people. So, when I am home, I only want to “decompress”, fire up the laptop, and experience my own personal bliss. One problem…my wife. She has few hobbies and wants my time when I walk through the door. She has recently been dealing with some health issues, preventing her from working as much as she’d like. She’s finding herself getting bored. I completely get it and I want to show her empathy and give her the time she deserves. But, I also want “my time”. It just seems I don’t have that much time to go around. When family gatherings take place at our house, I find myself wanting to go in the other room and get my fix. Like I said, not so much a gambling issue as I don’t feel the need to actually place a bet. I just want to escape, I guess.
I’m interested in the experiences of others here. Any advice is welcomed. This has been an issue with me for as long as I can remember. How do I get this balance I’m looking for? Also open to any books, podcasts, etc.
Thanks for listening,
PTP
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I’m not a successful high school basketball coach, or even an unsuccessful one. But I do follow the local team closely and I am friends with the varsity coach. Most likely you’re not just the coach. Unless you are at one of the big prep schools, the position just doesn’t pay enough. Our coach is a guidance counselor at the school.
For those who don’t know, you don’t have downtime during the season. Besides your day job you have practices everyday and games two to three times a week. But as you know, high school basketball is no longer confined to a few months in the winter. Almost as soon as the season ends there are several weeks of AAU ball. June is a big time for summer leagues and tournaments. Teams play two or three games a day, five or six days a week.
We host the largest summer tournament in the state of Illinois each June. A live event with 50+ teams attended by 100s of college coaches including programs like Duke, Kansas, UCLA etc.
I don’t have any advice about your problem except to say I understand the difficulty you are facing.
