This has been an unusual year for for me, coaching-wise. My youngest son is no longer playing travel baseball, and, thus, I am no longer coaching travel baseball. He has played on a local team for the past four years, and I have helped coach that same team for the past three. But all good things must come to an end, so…
My son also began playing lacrosse two years ago, and really began to enjoy it. It was hard to manage playing two sports in the same season, but somehow we managed. Unfortunately, he was often forced to miss lacrosse practices or even games due to his baseball commitments. It wasn’t fair to him or his lacrosse teammates for that to continue this year, so my son had to make a choice: baseball or lacrosse? I think we knew the answer before we asked him. The choice for him was actually easier than my wife and I expected, and he hasn’t looked back since. Lacrosse time!
So my baseball coaching career came to an abrupt end. I knew that I would miss the kids on our team, but the thought of some extra free time was not unappealing. That free time was short-lived, though, as I volunteered to be an assistant coach with my son’s lacrosse team. Now having been a part of youth sports for going on some ten years or so, I long ago realized that teams and organizations can always use parents/coaches who are dependable and committed to helping the kids. You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable in a given sport if you are willing to learn, recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and be there for the kids.
So, my spring days are now spent on the lacrosse fields instead of baseball diamonds. I’ve enjoyed the change thus far, and thanks to great kids and great coaches on the staff, I’ve learned a lot about the sport of lacrosse as well. And, in the end, I get to spend some quality time with my son, so, right now, I couldn’t be happier with his decision to focus on lacrosse.
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