Last week, I had the privilege to attend a family banquet for one of my kids, end of the season team celebration. It was pretty emotional since I’m just a few short months away from my oldest’s graduation.
The bond that this team has built over the past years is one for the ages, and the privilege of standing on the sidelines became even more poignant as I had the chance to sit side by side in the cafeteria, watching the team honor one another, and their coaches.
They celebrated the highs and lows. The funny inside jokes. The accomplishments as individuals and as a team.
My children’s coaches are incredible
But, what really hit me the most, was the overwhelming gratitude for the adults in my kids’ lives who make these moments possible. Our kids have been so fortunate. Across the multiple years, and multiple sports that they span, the coaches that they have had, are beyond compare.
Let’s be honest- coaches can make you or break you. They can foster love, or crush the spirit of any sport. They can push you in a way that makes you see yourself differently, in either direction. The line is delicate, and the dance around that line is daily. It’s a powerful thing.
Across the seasons, I experience most of this dance from a distance. Hearing little bits and pieces about practice. Seeing a kaleidoscope of moments at meets and games. Watching from high up in the bleachers or far back on the sidelines, in earshot of just a few words of encouragement at a time. Never really hearing the nitty gritty of the conversations that build the foundations that keep my kids coming back day after day. For hours of practice.
The bond between teens and their coaches is powerful
But the other night, I got a front row seat to the powerful bonds that can be created between coaches and their athletes. And it was humbling. The mutual respect. The inside jokes that have formed over years of hard work together. The dedication and drive that shows up in our kids, wrapped in layers of trust, honesty, and unwavering commitment from the coaches that show up for them day after day after day.
I listened to this particular coach talk about the boys on the team in a way that truly brought tears to my eyes. He knew each and every one of them, and celebrated and honored them in a way that truly blew me away. You could see that the special bond this team had created, was a direct result of the joy and positivity that he instilled in their day, alongside the hard work and discipline that was demanded from the sport.
My sons say their coaches make them better athletes and better people
On a car ride home recently, we got to talking about the banquet, and the tremendous influence that a coach can have on someone. To have my kids both say that their coaches not only make them better athletes, but more importantly, better people, is what I imagine to be one of the greatest things that I can hold gratitude for as a parent.
It sits with me, that in the course of the many years of childhood, with the many adults that come and go from our kids’ lives, there really are only a handful that truly make the kind of impact that sticks with you across the journey of time.
So, here’s to the coaches of my kids, and all of yours, who hold the spot as one of those adults.
Kudos to the coaches who shape our teens
Here’s to the coaches who shape their minds. Who push their limits. Who believe in them in a way that makes them believe in themselves. Who give up their own time, with their own families, to build a group of individuals into a family of athletes that are an extension of the love and hard work they model.
It is not lost on me how much of who my son has become, is because of who you are.
More Great Reading:
My Identity as a Baseball Mom Became One of the Best Pieces of Me
