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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Team Tryouts

John Gomez Team Tryouts
My three kids play club soccer. The club just held tryouts. I tried hard to parent and teach my kids leading up to that week, and so I write about it here. As different as they are in everything they do, they play and approach soccer differently too. Tryouts, though, had a happy ending for them all. My ten-year-old, “JD”,...
Attorney John Gomez Tip Housekeepers
Until recently, I tipped lots of people when I stayed in hotels. I would tip the bellman for bringing my bags up, the bartender for pouring a drink, the server for delivering my dinner, and the valet for driving my car half a block. There was one person, however, I didn’t even think about: the housekeeper who cleaned my...
Costa Rica
I was recently in trial for seven consecutive weeks. Facing another trial scheduled to begin two weeks after the last one ended, I knew I needed some time to relax and recharge. And so, in the middle of my last trial, I booked a trip to Costa Rica. Originally I booked the trip for two: me and my fiancé....
Fathers Day
I write this from a Washington, D.C. hotel room. It’s Father’s Day 2018. I am on the 8th day of a 10-day east coast trip with my three kids. They are still sleeping in their room, which connects to mine. My kids are 11, 9 and 9 (twins obviously). They had never been to the east coast before. We...

Master Worlds

I train in jiu-jitsu. Because of trials, and travel, and running the firm, and kids, I don’t train nearly as much as I like. But I do it when I can and I enjoy it. I began training relatively late in life. I was in my late 40s, a lawyer and a dad. Earlier in life, I had obtained...
Jiu Jitsu 12 Commandments
Grand Master Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902 – October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist and founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He also is the father of Grand Master Carley Gracie who, in turn, is the father of Clark Gracie, my own Jiu-Jitsu professor. Gracie fathered 21 children, 13 of whom earned the rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. At the time of...
Core Values
It’s a new year. For many of us, that means setting resolutions. I am a big goal-setter, and so for me, that typically means setting a number of personal and professional goals. I am currently reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. Clear stresses the importance of “identity” in changing behavior. In terms of defining goals or habits,...

The End of Summer

John Gomez Vail Family
I write this from Vail, Colorado, on August 10, 2021. It’s the third day of a seven day family vacation here. The last summer family vacation I wrote about was two Summers ago and before Covid. I took the kids on an East Coast trip and wrote about Father’s Day. The kids have grown lots and lots...
ATripToTheStadium
A long time ago, I played college football at the University of San Diego. I wasn’t that big, or fast, or tremendously talented. But I worked hard, had a mean streak, and was tremendously competitive. In my Senior year, I was named an Academic All-American. I signed a contract with an English club called the “London Knights”...

Football

I first played tackle football in 10th grade.   I went out for my High School’s Junior Varsity team as a safety.   I remember the first time I hit someone in a drill.   In those days, they taught hitting facemask to facemask.   The feeling was violent, scary and shocking.   But for some reason, I...