I've been down, sick ... a little lately. I explain life to my kids (classroom and playing field) as "peaks and valleys." When you're down get your head up a peak is coming and when you're on that peak, keep in mind to stay even keeled because your going to find a valley. I just received an email from a former player. He played ball for me so long ago that he started his email with "you probably don't remember me." (Like I could forget a player even after 21 years!) He said he'd looked for sometime for my email address because I no longer am at the school where he played. He started telling me about just getting back from Afganistan. PLEASE, KEEP THE POLITICS OUT OF THIS! He had to leave family and friends and he said his mission was terrible. He thought that the zone he was in was "forgotten" by all of us and that it was very intense. The next thing he put in that email is all of the "baseball stories." He said he became the story teller for his unit telling Coach B stories. WOW, PUTS A LUMP IN MY THROAT. When ever we start thinking we don't make a difference we need to rethink! In his words, those stupid stories got a lot of us through. I started thinking about those "stories." Really, they are those dugout moments. We all have them. For all of you coaches out there, the next time you run into one of these moments, take a look around and enjoy those kids. You never know where that kid will be in a year or two!
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