10/04/2026
WHY I COACH
Practice ends, but being their coach doesn’t.
I go home thinking about the kid who needs a little more confidence. The one putting in the work and waiting for it to pay off. The one who had a rough day and needed the field to be somewhere they felt they belonged.
I think about the conversations I had, the decisions I made, and whether I gave each kid what they needed from me.
That’s the part of coaching people don’t always see. These kids matter to me, and that responsibility stays with me long after we leave the field.
There are days I’m exhausted. Days I’m carrying my own struggles while trying to help them work through theirs. I don’t always get it right. Sometimes I get frustrated, choose the wrong words, or replay a moment wishing I had handled it better.
I owe them the same accountability I ask of them. If I expect them to learn from their mistakes, I have to be willing to own mine.
But I keep showing up because I believe in these kids and what they can become.
Sometimes that belief sounds like encouragement. Sometimes it means having a hard conversation, asking for better effort, or holding a standard when it would be easier to let something slide.
I want them to discover what they can do when they stop giving up on themselves. To understand that talent needs effort behind it, trust takes consistency, and being a good teammate matters even on the days things don’t go their way.
As a dad, I know how hard it is to watch your child struggle. You want to step in and make it better. But some of their biggest growth happens when we help them face disappointment, work through it, and try again.
They need to know we’re there for them. They also need opportunities to find out how strong and capable they are.
And from the stands, there’s always more happening than the score can tell you. A kid may have made an error but finally had the courage to go after the ball. They may have struck out but stepped into the box with more confidence than they had last week.
Those moments matter to me. They’re the steps that eventually become something bigger.
I love competing. I love watching their work come together and celebrating a win with them. But when I think about what I hope they remember years from now, I think about how they felt being part of our team.
I hope they remember that they belonged.
That their effort mattered.
That someone believed in them through the struggles.
That they learned to win with humility, lose with perspective, and show up for the people beside them.
I hope they know I cared enough to challenge them, listen to them, and keep helping them grow.
Someday, they’ll play their last game. The uniforms will get put away, and life will ask more of them than this sport ever did.
My hope is that something we built together will stay with them. The confidence to face a hard moment. The discipline to keep working. The courage to take responsibility. The heart to lift someone else up.
Getting to play a small part in who these kids become is a privilege I don’t take lightly.
That’s why I coach. 🦉🩵
HAPPY NATIONAL COACHES DAY 🙌🏼 keep inspiring!
