Yesterday's best moment with kids?
Track practice. Day 2 of the 2014 outdoor season. However, we still have inches of snow coating our track, so we work in the gym and hallways.
We have a young lady who is capable but doesn't believe in herself, so she often slacked during workouts her freshman year. Yesterday was no exception--she disappeared into the bathroom during the midst of the circuit portion of our training. But yesterday was a little different.
She came back. Not only did she return, but she jumped into the next group of athletes to pass. This group happened to be football players, most of whom had attended preseason sessions, so they are in shape already. I really didn't think that was going to work out, and I could see the young lady looking for a way out. But an amazing thing happened.
Any time she started to fall behind, the guys slowed down. They waited for her when things got tough, and as a result, she pushed through to finish.
Best of all was seeing the young man who led the efforts to keep the group together. Last year, as a sophomore, the coaches had expectations that he never quite met, especially when it came to leadership. His behavior was not uncommon among his teammates last year and frustrated me to the point where I questioned my coaching ability.
But this year, I see enthusiasm and teamwork, and an excitement that I haven't witnessed in a while.
I think this year might be different.
Track practice. Day 2 of the 2014 outdoor season. However, we still have inches of snow coating our track, so we work in the gym and hallways.
We have a young lady who is capable but doesn't believe in herself, so she often slacked during workouts her freshman year. Yesterday was no exception--she disappeared into the bathroom during the midst of the circuit portion of our training. But yesterday was a little different.
She came back. Not only did she return, but she jumped into the next group of athletes to pass. This group happened to be football players, most of whom had attended preseason sessions, so they are in shape already. I really didn't think that was going to work out, and I could see the young lady looking for a way out. But an amazing thing happened.
Any time she started to fall behind, the guys slowed down. They waited for her when things got tough, and as a result, she pushed through to finish.
Best of all was seeing the young man who led the efforts to keep the group together. Last year, as a sophomore, the coaches had expectations that he never quite met, especially when it came to leadership. His behavior was not uncommon among his teammates last year and frustrated me to the point where I questioned my coaching ability.
But this year, I see enthusiasm and teamwork, and an excitement that I haven't witnessed in a while.
I think this year might be different.