I love the following picture. On so many days, I think I looked just like this coach—scrambling to stay afloat ::)) Time certainly flies. Enjoy today with your kids.
I did, however, refuse to wear a uniform for fear of looking like this great dad/coach. And I always appreciated the coaches who could pull it off.
But no matter what it looked like, It was the best time of my life. Coaching my kids and their friends was always my favorite thing. To this day, when I see them, we laugh, and remember their favorite moments and they tell me about all the great things they are doing now with their families and careers. My greatest joy is hearing about their success and the fun they had.
You do not know what your kid will do. Neither do they.
So, relax. Make your "Legacy" one of patience, fun, and letting the kids figure out what "they" love to do the most. It will happen, trust me, you don't know what the future holds. It will get here soon enough. What you can do is let them play and have fun AND you can teach them the life skills they will need to be successful in whatever they ultimately do.
You only get a short period of time to enjoy this and get it done.
Brian Holman, a dear friend of mine and former MLB pitcher, threw 100 MPH along with his best friend, Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. But when they were young they had to learn how to throw strikes. It's a life lesson for sure.
One day, his pitching coach said to him:
"Don't worry, one day it'll click and you'll be successful, but you need to throw strikes and keep it in the zone. Just throwing hard alone won't get you to the big leagues"
Great parents, coaches, teachers, (and even bosses) are patient and know how to motivate, give hope and feed the fire.
Brian says, "Work hard, be patient and play like your hair's on fire.”
One day I read a story about Tom Watson, Hall of Fame golfer from Kansas City. A reporter asked him when he knew golf was going to be his career. He said, "Well, when I was 14 I won this big tournament in Kansas City. I said to myself, "Hey, I kind of like this, I may be pretty good at golf, I think this may be what I want to do."
Just like it did for Tom, one day it'll click for your child...enjoy today. The taste of success is powerful.
A good clue as to what your child may do is when they start to be successful at something. Each child has a different "bent" or "gift". The sandlot time is where they hopefully discover what they may want to focus on.
Finally, for parent's sake, I love Max's story. Max's dad is a great friend of mine so I always heard about everything Max was doing. His dad coached him all through the Little League process. One day Max came to him and said, "Hey dad, I don't think I want to play baseball anymore, I think I want to play the bass fiddle". My buddy asks me, "What do I do?". I told him to get a bigger car. Max loved baseball and the bass but told me, "I wanted to be the best at one thing and my parents totally supported me." Max received an incredible scholarship and is really doing great things with his bass.
Max is doing what he loves the most...one day it clicked.
It will click for your child too. Relax and cherish every moment.
Hope that clicks.
You can coach your kids on how to be excellent AND have a blast doing it…
Both are true!
I love this picture more. It’s one thing to leave a Legacy. Our legacy is not “only” what we leave….but as my friend Bill High says, “Legacy is what we set in motion.”
My son Will and his wife, Lauren, decided that at 6 months old it was time for Cal to hit the K for game 5. Although the Royals didn’t “keep the line moving” at Game 5 against the Yankees, we have the job as coaches and parents to do so…
6 months old. You think he’s all in? Certainly looks like something “clicked” ::))
He threw off his noise-canceling headphones and joined in, “Let’s go Royals.“
Now, that’s a legacy.
A Single Parent’s Testimony
My name is Melanie Hart* and I am a single mother to one daughter named Sophia*. She is an 11-year-old who just began 6th grade. She is an amazing athlete with an even more amazing heart.
She has a passion for all sports, but has played travel softball for the last 4 years. She has hopes and dreams to play in college. Although I love seeing her succeed and work hard to become a better player, I truly love how the sport of softball has helped mold her into an incredible human being. She is the ultimate leader on her team. She is friends with every teammate. She loves to get to know them and to see how she can encourage them to become better people.
I am Sophia’s only parent and as an elementary school teacher, I have worked very hard over the last four years to help her have all that she can in order to make her dream a reality.
She joined a new team this year which will allow her time to work in their academy-style practices with a lot of different coaches. This new team not only comes with more of a time commitment, but also more of a financial commitment. Sophia works side by side with me to fundraise our little hearts out, but it does still require a lot of additional funds. Any help we could get to offset an additional expense would be a real blessing.
*Names changed for privacy
The Keepers Legacy supports coaches, parents, local communities, and single parents navigating the world of parenting. To support communities and parents like Melanie:
Coaching and parenting is tough, but being a kid shouldn't be. The Keepers Legacy 501c3 aims to equip and encourage parents all over the country with this message: relax. Enjoy the time you have with your kids because it goes by too fast.
Bring this message to a community you know who needs an encouraging word.