Kiss the Coach!

So my mom found some fun pictures of me when I was a little girl and this was one of them. It is of me kissing my dad through the fence at the baseball field. I'm the one behind the yellow hoodie :)

I was born into to the world of sports. My dad is a baseball coach by job description, and really has a baseball brain. He knows more about the game than he could ever forget! And my mother was already championing the coach's wife ranks as well as being an accomplished Speech Pathologist when I came along. Matter of fact when I was born there is a picture of my dad holding me and behind him on the TV in my parents recovery room is the 1980 Winter Olympics, specifically the Miracle Hockey team winning the gold medal against all odds. I was even brought home in a Sesame Street Olympics onesie!:)

Like I said I was born a coach's daughter. I was afforded and still have the incredible opportunity to watch my parents balance the good, the bad and the ugly of being a coaching family. I have watched them go through the seasons of several sports both at the high school and junior high level. I watched as my mom has taxied four kids around. I have watched as she both stayed at home and balanced a successful career, dealt with the highs and lows of winning and losing, as well as the highs and lows of coaching. I have seen her support my dad's dream through thick and very thin. Through good days and bad.

I have watched my dad impact students and families for 30 years +. I have waited up to see my dad and hear all about the game. I have a great memory of him sitting by our fire place and taking the tape off of his baseball sock while he told the details of the game. I didn't have any idea what he was talking about but the passion in which he told it, made me love it! I have waited in the driveway to see if we where going to get to take that family vacation to Tulsa for State Playoffs. I have loved my parents through times when the "game" that you love so much disappoints and almost devastates you. I watched as my house growing up was a Rolodex of players just dropping by to say "hi and thanks for everything coach". I could have never known just how important that would be to my step now.

My parents dealt with and still deal with life honestly. We were never without what we needed, but we were aware of what was a "need" and what was a "want". They were open about times when coaching hurt your feelings and drained your time. They were open about how hard you had to work, the sacrifices that had to be made and the discipline it took to be committed to something bigger than yourself. And when we celebrated, vacationed or spent time together as a family we went all out! We have cried, cheered, supported, loved and prayed together.

I guess in posting this today I was thinking of all us mommies and coaches out there raising up coaching families. It is a lot to balance. And sometimes going to the field or the gym takes work and for me, who is a big time "scheduler and likes to stick to the plan" kinda gal, I have to be willing to bend the rules sometimes. I am so thankful that I was raised in a coaching family. It taught me more lessons than I could post in this blog, but there are a couple I remember the most. I learned to support those you love,that it takes discipline to achieve great things, and having a great amount of passion for what you do.

I am praying that we would raise up a generation of coaching families that support each other, encourage each other as we pursue greatness and that we are strengthened as we work and live. I pray almost more than anything that we would be a generation of coaching families that live with a huge amount of passion not only for what sport we coach, but for the way in which we coach it. And yes, ladies I mean you. We "coach" just as much as the coach himself.

I cannot encourage you ladies enough, I love ya! Keep going to the field, the gym, the court. Keep opening your home, your life and your time. It will payoff and I am reminded today that all our little people are watching, observing and making decisions....let's make sure they grow to not only love, support and enjoy the "sport" but the family that was behind it all!

Love to you today!