One of my players had a birthday today. She turned thirteen...and I thought she was fourteen. She wore a little tiara to my class. One of my girls received a detention this afternoon for talking in her speech class- she admitted it. One is facing an appendectomy in the next several weeks. One has missed practice with the flu the past four days and one took eight shots in her big toe for a nail problem. One spoke at our National Junior High Honor Society induction tonight and four more were inducted into the elite group. (One could have been but forgot to turn in her application.) They are students who double as athletes and flute virtuosos and ballet dancers and daughters and sisters and they never forget they are girls. They don't get arrested for drugs or public drunkenness. They don't use steroids or willingly cheat to gain an advantage over those with whom they compete. They are respectful to their teachers and loving to their parents. They are interested in boys but they aren't obsessed. They make good grades and they make a good impression on others. They aren't perfect- they are still kids- but they try to do the right thing. They try to make me happy....and they do. What they do is make me a coach. It isn't the whistle or the position: it's the kids. Jesus taught,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit...and the meek...and the pure in heart."
I don't want to re-write the Scriptures but allow me to add my own corollary:
"Blessed are those who coach....for they get to be called Coach."
That's the reward. You might retire but you always retain the Coach part of your identity. A boxer will eventually lose his title but coaches never do. And it doesn't matter what your record was. It only matters that you matter.
Applicable quote of the day:
"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player."
John Wooden
God bless,
Steve/Coach Hawley
Luke 18:1
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