Smarty Dad: Bill Martin

By Rachel H

Welcome to the weekend! Today I am happy to introduce a new Smarty Dad to you, Bill Martin. Bill and his wife, Trish, have two children, Hannah – 15, and Jared – 12. Both Trish and Bill work out of their home. Trish is a marketing consultant and Bill publishes a newspaper on local youth sports. They have lived in Greensboro for five years, prior to that, in Atlanta for 5 years, prior to that in Winston-Salem.

Most of the Martin’s activities involve school, swimming, and baseball. Since Trish is president of the Greensboro Swimming Association, Bill often “volunteers” for swim meet duties. He is also involved in volunteer fund raising for his son’s youth baseball team. In the past, he has coached basketball for their church league and YMCA, and has assisted with various baseball teams.

Since publishing SportsKidsPlay® newpaper, Bill has met nearly everyone involved in youth sports in the Greensboro area. The paper got him involved with helping the YWCA in planning its annual Women and Girls in Sports Awards dinner. He has also helped publicize the efforts of Get Healthy Guilford, a coalition of organizations that promotes healthy lifestyles to reduce obesity and related health problems.

Let’s get to know Bill a little better …

Please tell us more about your newspaper!
I began publishing SportsKidsPlay® newspaper (my 12-year-old son is the editor) and its accompanying website, SportsKidsPlay.com as a way to acknowledge the efforts of thousands of Greensboro area kids involved in youth sports. While young kids devote a lot of time and energy to sports, the local papers focus primarily on high school, college, and professional sports. SportsKidsPlay® newspaper helps fill that void by providing stories on local youth sports events, young athletes, and coaches. It also includes expert advice on health, nutrition, sports psychology, and other issues dealing with youth sports. Each issue also profiles a member of the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame to give parents and children an idea of the area’s rich sports heritage.

How can readers get copies of your newspaper?
The free paper is distributed at roughly 150 distribution points in and around Greensboro. You can find copies at local Harris Teeters, Lowes Foods, health clubs, recreation facilities, libraries, offices, and retail stores. You can also view SportsKidsPlay® newspaper online at www.sportskidsplay.com.

What do you think are the biggest advantages and disadvantages to having both parents work out of the home?
In an age of cell phones and computers, the location of your workplace is almost irrelevant. Working out of the home allows the flexibility to work around an often busy family schedule. Working out of the home also requires a certain amount of self-discipline. You have to be able to separate your work from your family time. Sometimes it’s hard to pull yourself away from a project to spend time with the family.

What would you say is the biggest challenge raising children who are in pre-teen and teenage years?
The greatest challenge is adapting to their changing priorities. It’s sometimes difficult to face the realization that my kids would rather spend time with their friends than with me. We also have an ongoing battle for control of my car radio. There seems to be a widening gap in our music preferences but we’re a little closer to agreement on TV shows and movies.

What is your favorite family activity?
We enjoy watching movies together. We also play games but that goes in cycles. One month it might be chess, the next month darts, lately we’ve played a lot of Scrabble. The ping pong table has been folded up for awhile but it’s had a lot of use in the past year, too.

Favorite “me-time” activity?
Relaxing in front of the TV to watch college football and basketball games.

Favorite date night spot?
On that rare occasion we generally have a quiet dinner at home.

Favorite place to eat dinner as a family?
Getting agreement isn’t always easy, but Sapporo’s and Smokey Bones are consistent vote-getters.

Favorite thing to cook?
I’m really good at ordering pizza or Chinese take-out.

What has been one of your favorite moments as a dad?
I once watched my then five-year-old daughter scare a young bully away from my two-year-old son with just her menacing glare. It was one of my proudest moments. We went home and made her an “Outstanding Big Sister” award. I think she still has it.

Funniest thing your children have ever said?
One of the kids responded to my singing by saying, “Stop, Daddy, you’re scaring my ears.”

Favorite park in the Triad?
Probably Greensboro’s Lindley Park. I’ve spent a lot of time there, both for swimming practices and meets and for baseball games.

The thing my wife does that I appreciate the most…
My wife is very well organized. She does Excel spreadsheets for Christmas shopping lists– I kid her about it but it makes life a lot easier for me.

Favorite activity on your day off?
In the spring I battle the creeping Bermuda grass that has infested my lawn. In the summer I monitor the progress of the hated Bermuda grass. In the fall I lament my failure to defeat this insidious enemy. In the winter I rest.

Best thing about raising a family in the Triad?
We’ve met a lot of good friends since moving here from Atlanta five years ago. The traffic is much better than Atlanta and we like the proximity to the beach and mountains.

I could not live without my...
Family

Bill, this was great! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell our readers about you, your family, and your newspaper!

Readers, do you know a Smarty Dad? If so, send us his name at triadsmartypants@gmail.com!

Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM