The Coach's Kid

There is a special category of athlete. These kids have to work harder than anyone else; they have no choice. They are far more frequently criticized and far less often praised than other members of their team. They are often the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. Even when they do go home, the lessons are not over. Fans expect more from them and are quick to point out any mistakes. Before these athletes graduate, even fans from other schools recognize who they are and reserve their cruelest and loudest heckling for them. The coach feels like he can ask more of them. People assume they are given special privileges instead of recognizing all of the extra hard work and effort they put in. These are Coaches' kids.

I've been around "the Coach's kids" since junior high, when I'd watch Coach Goodwin's elementary school-aged sons kick PAT's during  warm-ups warmups, throwing the ball around, or shooting hoops. But, they moved away before I could learn what lies in store for the coach's kids when they play varsity sports. At Woodland, I've gotten to see it up-close.

Our head coach's children are phenominal athletes (and people, might I add). The oldest, his son, excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, displaying one of the best work ethics I've ever witnessed in a kid his age. His daughters are equally athletic in their own right as basketball and volleyball players. Together, they own just about every record for girls basketball in the state. The older of the two currently holds the record for most career points, among others. They were as outstanding in the classroom as they were on the field/court. The two that have graduated already both went to college on scholarships. They have been named "MVP" in almost every tournament, named to every All-County, -Area, Region, -State team out there, and chosen as team captains by their peers. I could go on and on. But the point is, they didn't get that way by luck or chance or even birthright. Every win, award, accolade, recognition, or spot on a team came because they earned it.

Watching them grow up and play ball has been an honor and a learning experience. I've known that the day was soon approaching when mine would become "the coach's kids". It's arrived a little sooner than I expected. And, while it's only youth league basketball. Coach is still a Coach and always will be. He made an appearance at Tuesday night's game against the Woodland 9/10 Orange team. Let me set the stage for you:

Brock brings the ball down the floor and sets up at the top of the key, passes the ball to Devin at the wing and breaks for the basket. Devin makes a great pass and Brock puts it through for 2. Next possession, same situation. This time, though, the two defenders stay with Brock. Devin should have taken it to the hoop himself, but tries to pass it back to Brock. He turns it over. (That's okay. He's got to learn what to do when a play doesn't work exactly as you expect.) So his coach/dad tells him what to do in that situation as he comes back down to set up on offense. Brock passes to Devin, and this time he tries to dribble it in. But he's not open. He turns it over. Fourth trip down the court on offense and the other team has decided they are tired of letting the Blue team practice plays on them. The two defenders swarm Brock, who has picked up the dribble. He has no passing lane. He's looking around for help. His teammates are standing around, watching. Devin included. Coach yells at him to "go to the ball" and help. He's frozen. Coach calls timeout. And there he was - Coach Bailey.

I could have closed my eyes and thought he was getting on his varsity players from last year. He had that voice and that frustrated tone. But, my eyes weren't closed. Neither were anyone else's judging by they way they gawked wide-eyed at what was happening. He wasn't mean or wrong by any means, but he was loud. And Devin is so small. And many of the spectators did not know that he is the coach's son, so I'm sure they thought Coach was nuts! I just put my head in my hands. I started worrying about how Devin would react. Would he be embarrassed, mad, sad? Would he sulk or worse, decide he didn't want to play basketball anymore? Poor little Devin. (says his mom)

But, he's not Poor Little Devin. He's Coach Bailey's son. The next possession, Brock gets swarmed again and picks up his dribble. And what did Devin do? He came to the ball. Lesson learned. Woodland Blue went on to defeat Woodland Orange, earning their first win.

This won't be they last time Dev has to deal with a coach getting on him about something. He handled it like a champ. It gave me hope that he has some of what it takes to be a coach's son, because I know that an angry coach is far from the worst thing that lies ahead of him in his athletic career. I was proud of him. So was his coach. And his dad made sure he knew that after the game.

You may think it's unfair to even want to put a kid through that. But, no one helps a child, especially a boy, by babying him and pretending he does no wrong. Parents correct because we care. Coach has explained to Devin that he will always look for ways to help him improve. Not to do so would mean he'd given up any hope of him ever improving. And, it's not for Coach's benefit. It's for Devin's. He wants to be good at basketball. It is hard to watch your child have to deal with any tough situation. Being a coach's kid isn't easy, but I've seen how they turn out. And I wouldn't want less for my coach's kids.