Monday, August 18, 2008

Running VS. Coaching Running

The hardest lesson I have learned as a young coach is that some kids will never have the same passion or work ethic for the sport that I love. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to convince kids of the joy and benefits of running. While I find passion and excitement in my own running, I am starting to become frustrated as a distance coach. We had only 8 kids show up to our first cross country practice this evening. This is the worst turnout in the six years I've been at Krum. What's worse is that this is my first year at the helm. I am disheartened, but I know I have to do my best for the few kids that have made the committment to run. It will take great patience and wisdom to remain positive over the course of the season.

1 comment:

Mommysmart said...

Rocky has this challenge, too. Even if you don't see that they have the same passion, you are instilling things in them that you may not really ever know. I can still hear Coach Rhodes voice in my head...

"relax when you are running, Pierce, think that you have a chip between your fingers. NOT A RUFFLES, PIERCE, A LAYS!!!"

I may not be a runner today, but I laugh when I think of that and know that he was an encouragement and his positive coaching made a difference in my esteem.