I got to see Caity play Saturday. I can't believe my prodigy is a starter in college. Her team still has issues, but I think a lot of that is the transition to having a new coach, and next year it'll be totally his show with no legacy to worry about.
It was good to see her parents too. I've honestly never had any parents that were as supportive of me as they were their daughter. That's a lot of trust to give, and I sincerely appreciate everything they did to help me help Caity be a better player. Granted, she had a good foundation from her first high school coach (who coincidentally was in my class at Ashland U.), but I had her in the years where she developed her court vision and decision making skills. So when she makes that tip/dump when she shouldn't, I take responsibility for that. ;)
I've had other players that put a lot of faith in my direction, as well as supportive parents, but Caity has gone further than the rest by way of sheer determination. She's the ultimate ideal in terms of work ethic. Had she been taller, there's no doubt she would've played for a bigger school, if that's what she wanted to do.
Our J.O. club is essentially being dissolved. Our club director didn't want to do it anymore, but instead of asking if we wanted to run the club, she essentially turned it over to some other guys. Or really, she just turned over the mailing list, because they're apparently not interested in using very many of the coaches that built the club over the last six or seven years. I just can't respect that situation, so I probably will not coach next year. I was actually thinking about taking a year off anyway, maybe to officiate, or maybe just to concentrate on my own life for awhile. Five months, three or four times a week wears on you a bit!
The last J.O. season took a lot out of me. The kids just didn't care about working harder or being better players. That's a tough situation when you see all of that potential staring you in the face. It was that much harder after my Elms team last fall, which started out way behind but came out way ahead because of their superior work ethic and willingness to learn. That season was, quite possibly, the high point of all of my coaching experience. I'll never forget that team.
So with my life generally in upheaval for a lot of reasons, I think I'm going to take a year off. I'll stay in touch with people, players and parents and try to keep a toe in the water. Then after that, depending on the when and where, I'll find another club or perhaps even start a new one.
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