I gave it all up for my sons, coaching high school athletics! Talk to any coach after a while it is like an addiction, it put so much stress on my teaching, my kids, my wife and my life but I loved it. It was being able to see all the hard work and motivation to develop or pull the potential out of my runners was a feeling that can't be described. Seeing them have success and move on in their life and become college runners or graduating from college. I was the head coach of girls XC and boys track, I loved coaching both of them but I truly favored coaching my girls. My girl just worked hard and created a different relationship with them, I considered all of them my "daughters", I mean I made them cover up if I thought their outfit was too small or make sure they were ok if I found out something happened. This is the first year not coaching, do I miss it? Ya a lot! Then I look at all the times my wife has taken pictures of my son or sons playing in the backyard with my dogs or their play house, times they are at the park or zoo, all these cool places were they were having a blast and I was not there. It hurt not being there, but I couldn't let go of coaching it was my "thing." Then it dawned on me, after a conversation with my AD that it was time to let go of coaching. It was time that I "coach" my own kids, it was time to let someone else do it.
It was hard that first day of practice this year knowing someone else was running my girls team, a program that I build for 9 years, but you know what made it better, telling Spencer that I was picking him up from school. He was excited, I have picked him from school before but this time I told him I would be doing it a lot more. Being able to spend an afternoon with my boys doing boys stuff, like going for treat after school or going to Home Depot cause we could, was awesome. I found out recently; last spring; that a lot of the coaches my age were giving it up too cause of their kids. I loved coaching and still here form my girl in high school and in college, some are actually to a point were they are getting married or engaged. Time goes by fast and you here it all the time, I have said it more time than I can recall, but it really does. Just spending time with my sons and wife, my family and being able to support them is all I need. The simple thing like hearing them giggle or cuddle with me on the couch will never get old.
