The Path

Coach Kat and I along with the rest our coaches and Faulkner and some local friends of the University had the great opportunity to visit with Brad McCoy for a luncheon today. For those of you who don't know him, Brad is the father of Colt McCoy who is the prolific quarterback from the University of Texas who hurt himself in the national championship game this last season against the Tide.

Admittedly, most of his speech was a commercial for the group he now works with, Flippen. However, he did have a great comment about coaching and parenting that I think is very relevant. He said that good teachers and parents "prepare their kids for the path, not the path for their kids".

This is a great point. Many parents and coaches try to manipulate the road that their kids are on to make the journey easier and painless. This tends to cripple their children when they are faced with true adversity. The preparation in a kids life needs to be relational in terms of how to prepare their minds and bodies for a bumpy path. They need to be taught persistence and resilience to navigate whatever trails are in front of them.

This is a great lesson in coaching. I have always tried to prepare my teams in special situations so they are not surprised by anything and have poise in the face of adversity. I need to be better at doing this with my children for the adversity they will have in their life.

Blessings,

Coach S

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."