Let it Begin.

Coaching is a profession of love.
You can't coach people unless you love them.
-Eddie Robinson

Coaching has begun this week. I went back and forth on whether or not I should do it. I love kids, I love coaching and I love mentoring the kids.

I really use the term "Coaching" lightly.
I have no degree.
I have no special classes, documentation or certifications.
I really have no coaching resume that anyone would look at twice.

I have been coaching for 7 years with nothing other than my personal running experience, books, journals, tips from local coaches and my experience as a youth leader for the past 15 years.

If high energy, passion for running, the love of our youth, the voice of encouragement and acting like a 13 year old were qualifications for coaching I would totally be qualified!

Tuesday was the first day of CC. However,my first day was Wednesday. I walked into the gym with my signature bucket hat and pink whistle. I was greeted with high fives and smiles that quickly reminded me why I was coaching.

Coaching 5th-8th grade CC isn't about running them like Kara Goucher or Meb. It is about teaching them to LOVE to run. To want to run.
It is mentoring them. Teaching them about perseverance, about grit. It is helping them to learn where life and running intersect. There is nothing more that I love then to watch my atheletes do what they never thought they could do. Just teaching them to DREAM,  then to WORK for that dream and I get to be there when they watch those Dreams come true.

As a coach, we have the opportunity to BUILD these kids up or tear them down. I have seen both.
We have a lot of power.
Everyone has a story. Every Kid. Every Adult.
Some kids come in strong and arrogant.
Some kids come in weak and shy.
Some kids come in talented, broken, and some kids come in following others.
My job isn't to judge, condemn, confuse or criticize.
My job is to meet them where they are at and believe in them and all the possibilities they are capable of.

If you do all the above then the end result will be they love running and want to run. You will see numbers drop, smiles galore, sweat, tears and dreams come true.

We ALL have the opportunity to coach. It is merely speaking in someone's life.
This morning I met Kris and Rachel out in Swartz Creek to run backroads.
This was actually part of our conversation.
We have gifts and talents.
How are you using them?
It is such a shame, a loss to have gifts and never share them for good.
We have opportunities to speak life into one another but often times we compare ourselves, we get judgmental, we gossip, and we never step out of our box.
We allow insecurities, fear and complacent to keep us from doing something great...
Building one another up.

I got a couple messages from past XC athletes today. I love hearing from my former athletes.

"hey!! Heard cc season started and just wanted to say how much I miss u and I wish I was still there to run:( .......I love and miss you soo much. You always inspire me and I'll always be grateful for how hard you pushed me. you never let me give up and it has taught me a lot about life in general."

A good coach will make his players see what they can be
rather than what they are.
-Ara Parasheghian

RUNDOWN
Distance: 10.4
Pace: 9:08

Kris took me to2 awesome barns today!

TEA TIME: Gypsy Green Tea and Honey

Anita~