Happy National Coaches Day! I was blessed beyond measure to have been “coached” by someone who poured into me from Day One. I’m not sure if it was by choice or necessity, but nevertheless, I was challenged immediately.
Let me take you back, while at the same time trying very hard not to make this a novel.
I started color guard as a sophomore in high school. My first year, I was terrible. Absolutely awful, in fact. It wasn’t for lack of effort or even coordination. It was a lack of strength. But what I lacked in strength, I had in abundance in grit and determination.
I was a full-fledged “Backyard Betty.” If I wasn’t at school, I was outside practicing. I worked and worked and spun and spun. I practiced until I couldn’t get it wrong.
Now, back to the coach.
Was he hard on me? Oh, YES.
Did my mom run to the school and tell him to ease up on me?
Absolutely not. She told me to go outside and practice. LOL.
And eventually, I got it. Partly because I desperately wanted to prove to myself that I could, but if we’re being truthful, probably 40% to prove it to myself and 60% to prove it to everyone else. And when I finally did get it, I knew he was proud of me.
What I didn’t know then was just how much his influence would shape the person, teacher, and coach I would eventually become.
Thirty-eight years later, when I’m faced with a tough decision, when I’m trying to figure out how hard to push, when I see potential in a kid who may not quite see it in themselves yet, I still find myself asking: “What would Keith do?” I think that may be one of the greatest legacies a coach can leave.
Happy National Coaches Day to Keith, the person who challenged me before I knew how much I needed to be challenged, believed I was capable of more, and helped shape so much of the teacher I would eventually become.
