I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep on doing this. Every year I promise myself that this year it's going to be different:
I will do a better job.
I will be so much more organized.
I will NOT make the same mistakes that I made last year.
I WILL make the right calls each and every play.
I will be able to inspire my team to be great.
I will be a better coach.
I want to be so good for my players, for my parents, for the school. And I KNOW I can be so good. Scratch that, I KNOW I can be so GREAT!
Then, why don't I ever feel that way at the end of the season?
Instead, at the end of this year,( just like every other year!) I look at myself in the mirror and all I can muster is, "I survived." It's the same revelation over and over and over again: expectations of greatness deteriorate to being glad that I survived. My name is not in the newspaper, I'm not getting a pay raise, accolades, presents from my parents, or even a pat on the back from my boss. I'm NOT great and my team is not great…..AGAIN. Instead, I survived.
I survived. What is wrong with me?
I survived. Will this every change?
I survived. Why do I keep on trying to fool myself that it will ever change?
I survived….and I'm going to do this to myself, AGAIN? What is wrong with ME?
Hold on a second…. I survived? I survived? Season-ending injuries to my 6 best players… and I lament that I survived? Having no money in the budget and yet being able to provide pre-game meals, miraculously... and I lament that I survived? My son being sick for a full month of the season and I was able to hold it together... and I lament that I survived? My players AND parents not quitting on me and the team, despite a losing record... and I lament that I survived? Taking a not especially talented group of teenagers and getting them to realize they ARE special... and I lament that I survived?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??!! I SURVIVED! I am a general in the front lines, in the thick of the battle and I have been able to minister to so many people and I SURVIVED! I taught people, I loved people, I battled for people, I formed people, I built something special for people; I am, in fact, an integral part of people's lives EVERYDAY, helping them so they can thrive and survive in this crazy world…and I SURVIVED!
Some say, the greatest tribute to any soldier in war, is to be able to survive, to make it, to able to live for a better tomorrow.
That is ME!, and I am helping others to do the same.
I am truly blessed! I am a soldier, I am a crusader, I am a lancer, I am a warrior, I am a champion, I am a knight, I am a veteran, I am a……...COACH/TEACHER. There is no greater honor!
Come to think about it, I can't wait for next year, it's going to be a GREAT year!
Chris Willertz
More Than A Coach…SportsLeader!
Below is this week's BRAIN Teaser. Finish the year strong and show that you SURVIVED!
