My Favorite Coach of All

She has a giant heart and is, I always say, too nice. She’s quite patient and fair with the children on her teams and, over the years, she’s been far more tolerant of idiotic parents than I would have been!

She’s been coaching Tristan’s basketball teams since he was five years old. She’s led her teams to several league championships and has been recognized more than once as “coach of the year” in soccer and basketball! She’s also coached softball.

She vehemently denies she’s competitive but, as we go up or down a flight of stairs, she always tries to reach the top or bottom first! Secretly, she’s pathologically competitive! I’ve watched her play broomball games where I was certain she would be escorted away by attendants from the local asylum.

Susan’s team finished 8-and-6 this season and didn’t win the championship, but at today’s end-of-season banquet, she was recognized with a plaque for her years of dedicated coaching and league administrative work. She cooks at the banquets, looks after registration, solves a variety of season-long administrative challenges and hops up and down on the sidelines in a manner befitting a fairly intense coach!

I love watching Tristan play sports and it’s been great fun watching Susan coach.

There’s been anguish, stress, excitement, satisfaction, frustration and always, dedication to the children on her team and their feelings. I wish she’d coached me when I was a kid; I’m sure she would have been my favorite coach of all. She is anyway.