Good Coach Stories

[Corndog89]

All of us have had far, far too many bad coach experiences. It seems at least half the threads on this forum deal with coaches who, shall we say, just aren't up to the task. But what about positive experiences with coaches? I know we all must have had some of those also.

My daughter was in the 8th grade and her middle school team had already lost in the league tournament, but she wanted to watch the finals, so I took her. I sat behind the bench of the top team (they were undefeated, no one had come close to beating them all year, and they had a 13 year old girl who was 6 feet tall, coordinated, and could really play--I always wondered what happened to her). Their coach actually coached and was always in control.

Lo and behold, they got spanked in the championship game, losing by like 15 points to a completely inferior team that they would probably beat 99 times out of 100. Towards the end, the girls were all crying and experiencing the angst that apparently only 13 year old girls can experience. During a timeout with just a few seconds to play, the coach (who never lost his cool the entire game--I was watching him as much as the game) smiled at the girls and told them that if losing that game was the worst thing that ever happened to them, then they would have led truly blessed lives. The girls actually listened to him, regained much of their composure, and finished the game like champions. It was the single most impressive performance from a coach I have ever seen in any sport at an level. That guy knew basketball and could teach it to kids, yet still keep life in perspective.

My two regrets in this story:
1. My daughters didn't go to his school so they never got to play for him.
2. I've never officiated a game with him as a coach and likely never will since this happened 16 years ago in a state 6 time zones away.

Anybody else?