When Sarah started cross country I wondered how she would do. She hadn't trained over the summer and I knew it would be hard. We wanted her to be part of this team. Cross country at our school has a reputation for attracting great kids and making them even better.
Their first team meeting began at 10:00 pm the night before the day they could begin practicing. At midnight they had their first practice. When I talked to Sarah the next morning she shared how hard it had been. "Are you going to stick with it?" I asked. "I started so I might as well finish," was her reply.
That afternoon Sarah received an email from her coach telling her how impressed he was with her determination. You should have seen Sarah's face. She was so happy. I thought, "No wonder he gets so much out of these kids. Who wouldn't want to run for a coach who believes in you?"
Tonight Coach Gleichman had each member of the team stand in front of a room full of families. Sarah was the first one. Coach Gleichman said, "My first experience with Sarah was of her crying and gasping for breath. It was our first practice, a practice that was designed to be easy. It obviously wasn't easy for her. All I could think was 'Wow! This girl has guts!' Ever since then I've been a big fan of Sarah's." He shared how she improved over the season, how she dealt with some injuries, but how she was determined and never gave up. He finished with this advice, "Train your body to be as strong as your will and you can do anything."
Coach Gleichman saw in my daughter things I hadn't seen for myself. He was able to inspire and encourage her in ways I wasn't able to. That is what is so wonderful about great coaches. I need them on my team in parenting. I am so grateful for what they do for my children.
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