Monday, January 28, 2008

A Disappointing Ending

My basketball coaching career came to a disappointing end with a loss and my team not making the playoffs this year. I have spent the weekend replaying the year in my head with lots of what-if's going through my head. What if I would have done this differently? What if I had done that differently?

My mantra through these how ever many years has always been to teach fundamentals and let each boy play as much as possible and I feel like I remained true to that effort. I hope I helped each one develop a love for the game that I have enjoyed for so long and, if they decide to continue playing, have equipped them with some skills that will carry them forward. Even more, I hope I have had a hand in equipping them with skills that will carry them through their lives.

Donny, my brother-in-law and friend, has helped me coach the boys teams and I appreciate the opportunity to do that with him and have both my son and nephew on the same team.

Now I get to move into a phase of being the armchair coach making me much smarter than the actual coach. I will miss working with the different kids but it's also nice to be able to focus on one child. My daughter has been running cross country the last two years and it's not bad going to a meet and being able to focus on her (not that I would ever be caught coaching a running event). I think I will enjoy that opportunity with my son now (and hope he does too).

I know there will be other milestone events with both my kids that will end up being difficult to deal with. In the meantime, I will miss this part of my life but keep moving forward looking to enjoy every waking second I can with both of them.

1 comment:

Melissa Taylor said...

You sound like the kind of coach I like - let everyone have the chance to play while they still can. I am sure that you were truly a blessing to those boys over the years. Sorry it has come to an end - you can coach Morgan's team if you want. Mark doesn't want to do it anymore. Perhaps you can give him a pep talk!