coach k?

Even though it's only November, the third week in February is getting closer and closer. February 20th is the first day of tryouts for Hayfield Secondary's softball team. That third week in February is always one of my favorite times of the year. It means I can get my glove back out and take the first whiff of the year of the musty smell of dirt gathered from fields across the globe (literally). It means that I can clap last year's mud off of my metal spikes to once again hear the awesome crunching sound of metal on pavement. It means that it's back to having my nights consumed by practices and games and more practices and more games. It means back to hearing and feeling the sweet spot of a bat (and the horrid vibration when you don't hit it in cold weather). Back to odd tanlines and sunflower seeds. Back to calling pitches and playing under the lights. Back to throwing batting practice (even though I've always been a catcher) and to bruises on my shins that come from unexpected ball ricochets. Can you tell that I love softball? I've spent the past 7 years invested in the softball program at Hayfield (4 years playing, 3 years as a volunteer coach whenever I'm home)...that's 1/3 of my life! This season will be different, this season I'll be a full-time staffed coach. I get to make decisions, call plays, coach a base (always harder than you think), and teach girls how to become better players. I get the chance to build the program. Even better, I get to shine the light of Christ to the same high school I came to know Him in. Being a high school girl is tough and high school can be a dark place. Many of the players need someone to care about them and acknowledge their existence. They need to know about the One who cares and loves beyond what we can imagine. Coaching is a mission field and the more I think about combining my passion for Jesus with my passion for softball the more excited I get.

In the meantime, and on a silly note, I'm trying to decide what to have the players call me. It's kinda like a giddy girl who's dating someone and one of the first things she does is try his last name with her name to see if it sounds alright. Now, that might be a tad extreme, but I'm so excited about coaching that I've been trying different coach names with my name. Coach Kelsey? Sounds like a newbie name. Coach Talbot? Makes me sound a little old. Coach T? Sounds too much like the head coach, Coach G. Coach KK (nickname that has stuck in the softball world over the years)? Too many syllables. Coach K? Heeeeyyyy :) It's short, it's simple, it doesn't make me sound old or like the other coach (who happens to also be old), and it has a lovely association with the Coach K of the Duke basketball team (who's a beast of a coach). Think I could be the new and improved Coach K?

   

I'm prettier than Coach K when I yell. And I also got really excited yesterday because my name is officially listed as a varsity assistant coach on Hayfield's athletics website. In fact, I was so excited that a squeal slipped out. Here comes my coaching debut!