Great End to a Long Day

Thursday, January 26/17

So it has been a really long week at work as we try and close out the 2016 fiscal year and prepare the system for the cutover. I can honestly say I dread the moment I have to push the button closing out one year in Dynamics and moving onto the next year as I'm always convinced some system gremlin is going to move a decimal or two around and none of my reports will balance......hey, it could happen

When I got home tonight I let Moki out for a run in the backyard and powered up my home PC to check my emails, new job has so many damn web filters and actually blocked us from accessing Google mail but does let staff watch YouTube videos.........

Once the puppy was done I went to back to the PC and did a quick scan to see if there was anything important that needed my attention when I spotted one email from a former player from the soccer team I've coached over the past few summers.

I first encountered Daniel back in 2008 when he was on the academy team I helped coach and he's played on teams I've coached three of the last five years, including the competitive Boys Under 16 team back in 2015. You can say that I've literally watched this young man grow up over the years and enjoyed the wit and banter he brought to each of the teams.

His email was to tell me he had made the decision to apply to the engineering program at The University of Toronto and they were requesting a reference from someone who knew him away from the academic environment, wondering if he could give them my name and contact information as he couldn't think of anyone better qualified to talk about him in that way.

I got a huge smile and quickly sent back my consent and now the waiting game begins.

I'm actually an old hand at this these days as I think Daniel is now around the 17th or 18th former player who has made such a request. Over the years I've been a reference for players trying to gain admission to medical school, engineering programs, law school, and more than a few times for nursing candidates. Of that group I'd say the success rate is close to 95% which also makes me smile as each of them was very deserving of admission.

One of the best references I've ever been asked to give and done so with huge success was former player from one of the girls teams I coached who was seeking admission to a United Nations program that saw her spend a year dealing with health care in Africa. To this day I see her parents around west Ottawa now and again and love to hear how she's doing.

I loved coaching teams to championships, watching players develop skills, gain self confidence, but most of all I love the fact that years later I can still help them reach for their dreams.......

My name is Marcus and life is good...............