Done and Different

Soccer is done!

Cross Country is done!!!

Coaching for this semester is Done!

I get my life back! No more 14+ hour days!

I am excited, relieved, and sad all at the same time.

Coaching is awesome. I get to hang out with some great kids, I get to share the love of Christ with them, and I get to celebrate success with them, things I often don't get to see inside the classroom. I get to be crazy and silly, I get to laugh at how crazy and silly they are. I get to sacrifice my time for them. And it is all worth it!
My students did awesome this week!

2nd place in district for Soccer!


1st place team for Cross Country!


My 6th grader who is running in the 7th and 8th grade division got 2nd place, and 2 other kids got in the top 10!
This is a picture of my kids feet before they ran. I might have shared this before, but it is a really powerful picture for me. Look at their shoes, these are not running shoes, these are heavy high top basketball shoes. These shoes were not designed for running long distances. My kids wear these shoes because they can only afford 1 pair of shoes a year, and they don't want to waste their one pair on running shoes, they want the basketball shoes. (Yes, this is an urban school!) I keep this picture on my phone because it reminds me that it is about the equipment you have, its about how hard you work, and how hard you try. When we are at our CC meets, our kids become pretty self conscious because they look around and don't see many other kids like themselves. They see the shoes the other kids have, the Oakley sunglasses, and the high tech watches the other kids are wearing. They also notice something else, they notice that they are the minority. There have been so many times where the kids look at me and asked "Coach, where are all the brown kids?" (Our school is 90% hispanic)Or they say, "Coach, these kids are different from us." And, I can see a difference in their behavior. In the van on the way over, they are loud and laughing, but when we get out of the van and look around, they suddenly become more reserved, and quiet. So many of them are sheltered, and rarely leave their neighborhood, so at times they wide eyed, and they sit back and observe everyone else. These are the great moments of teaching and coaching for me. I get to tell them that just because they look different, or they don't have the best equipment that they are not at a disadvantage. After the race they are so different. They are more relaxed, they talk to other kids, and they are so much more comfortable with who they are. These are the great life lessons of coaching and sports, and I am so thankful that I am able to be apart of that of these kids.

I was fortunate to have some great coaches who helped me learn some really important life lessons, and I feel so fortunate to get to walk my students through that in return.