Special Request

Wednesday, June 24/2015

Last Saturday as I was loading my car with groceries my cell rang with a call from the mom of one of my son's friends and former teammate from house league soccer.

Now getting a call is nothing out of the ordinary as this particular friend had followed my son from house league to competitive and since I've been acting as an assistant coach and temporary head coach, the current head coach has been absent due to some travel for work and the birth of his son 2 weeks ago, I figured there were some questions about practices coming up.

Well it was a soccer related call but not about the team but rather about the players upcoming birthday. J turns 16 this week and he was really interested in having a soccer party at the Sensplex like my son had at the Ben Franklin Dome back in April when he turned 16.

As J's mother mentioned the day she was trying to book I was looking at my calendar to see if I had my son that week or if he was at his mom's when I realized the phone had gone quiet, I asked her to repeat what she had just said explaining what I'd been doing.  She said J wanted to have a soccer party but only if I agreed to go and act like a coach/referee. She said he came home from my sons party really impressed with how much fun everyone had and told her it was due to coach being there lol

I told her I'd be more than happy to help out as the group of young men who play soccer around my son and J are a pretty good mix of skills but all are good young men, She told me she'd call me with the date and was very thankful I agreed as she knew J would have been bummed out if I was too busy.

When I got home I mentioned this to my son and he laughed and told me J had asked him already if it would be cool with him if J asked me to do the same for his party. My son joked and told me I might have a new career opportunity.

I'm a total alpha personality when it comes to coaching and have to work really hard to crank it down a bit in terms of my intensity. I've worried for years about it and to get such a call means the world to me as it reminds me I'm actually pretty good at this coaching thing and if a player has timid and shy as J is asking for me than maybe I'm not as over the top as I worry.

The party has been delayed as J sprained his ankle but whether it's my Saturday with my son or my free weekend I'll be there doing that coaching thing I do........