Why I do it

In the past few days, I have rediscovered why I chose to become an educator. I have noticed that my words of encouragement (however minor I think they might be) produce smiles on the faces of the kids I coach. One kid grinned like a possum when I said he was the "runner of the week" for last week. Another (a kid that has been struggling with injuries) lifted his head, puffed out his chest and gave me a crooked smile when I expressed my joy over how well he ran tonight. One kid's mom shared with me how her son went home bragging about how I had told him that I was really counting on him this year.

Tonight, I re-learned that I have the ability to motivate and inspire kids. Our school has been to the state cross country meet 17 times since the late 8os. As we were preparing for our run tonight, I told four different boys to go into the gym and count the state banners hanging from the rafters. One for boys basketball, one for girls basketball, one for girls cross country and one for boys cross country. The first came back (boys bb) and said 16, the second came back with a count of 1 (girls bb), the third came back with 6 (girls cc) and the fourth kid came back and said "16 or 17". This made us all laugh because it almost ruined my point, and I think the kids knew it. The correct count was 17. I looked at all of them and said, "Sometimes you have to remind yourself why you are doing this. You are a part of a great tradition at Krum High School. You are doing this for #18."

Afterward we did a 5 mile run. It was quite possibly our best run of the past week and a half.

Thank you Stephanie for convincing me that there is power in positive thinking! Thank you Monica for sharing your stories about how the little things coaches say can have a great impact on you. Thank you mom and dad for allowing me the freedom to pursue my passions and instilling in me the deeply rooted values that make me an effective coach.