When Opportunity Knocks

Life is a blur right now.  Volleyball season has started and this post is a week overdue.  I started typing it a week ago and just now have had the opportunity to get back to it. 

Eleven years ago I was given an opportunity that I would have never had dreamed of.  I was asked to coach a high school volleyball team.  We were moving back home and a friend's mom had heard that I had taken a position at one of the school districts in the area.  She worked in the same district I took the job in, so she called me up and asked if I'd be interested.  I had hesitated at first, but something told me to try it out and see how it went.

Looking back, I think that was God's little nudge to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.  I wasn't the head coach.  (Thank goodness!!!)  I was the freshman team coach.  That year I had seven girls- barely enough to have a team.  I drove them to games and had a lot of one-on-one interaction during practice.  That interaction lead to a lot of silliness and me shaking my head at their conversations, but I would have to say, it was one of my fondest memories of coaching.  We really got to know each other, and I came to care for those girls like they were my own.

These years of coaching have helped me become who I am and who I want to become.  I get to help create wonderful memories for each and every one of the girls.  It's a lot of fun watching these girls grow and mature over the four years they are in high school.  I'm hoping that one day, the girls I've coached in the past will look back and feel that I had a positive impact in their lives.  They have helped me through lots of situations without even knowing it. 

Volleyball gives me a chance to get away from everything at home for a little while.  It's a nice mental break from farm stress and it's a break from the physical gardening stress.  By this time every year, I am done with the garden and wanting it to just go away.  I'm not a perfect gardener and lots of things go to waste unfortunately because I just can't do it anymore.  This year my chickens have had the run of the garden, so things aren't going to waste afterall!

Looking back at the past 11 years I've seen myself grow as a person, as a coach and as a parent.  This is a leadership position that I would have never seen myself in when I was growing up.  Now, it's something that I can't think of ever giving up!  I know one day I will.  My daughter is showing interest in volleyball and she goes to a rival school.  I won't coach against her, so I'll have to give it up for a few years while she is in middle school and high school.  I have a few more years to enjoy, so I'm going to live it up!