The Pitch

I love to hunt and fish more than most. It’s an urge I can hardly
resist, and I pursue it with reckless abandon. But not all of my most
enjoyable moments happen on the river or in the mountains.

Recently, I coached my daughter’s first soccer game. My dad, who
coached my first game nearly thirty years ago, was watching from the
sideline. It was a proud moment. The game brought me a sense of
satisfaction, nostalgia and excitement that I’m not quite equipped to
put into words. It was as a mix of emotions that I most often
associate with time afield. Stumbling upon them on a preschool soccer
pitch caught me unawares.

Mulling this over after the final whistle I realized that meaningful experiences shared with family and friends are the common denominator. I took it as a healthy reminder that the things I seek, far and wide, on the water and in the hills can often be found around the kitchen table or on the soccer field.

 

 

2 Comments on “The Pitch

  1. Beautiful. Been there coaching my kids… loved that experience.

    From the child’s perspective, having a parent care enough to coach their is very stabilizing and comforting and worth all the time and effort. Not only with your own kids. I still have former youth soccer and Dixie Youth baseball players come up to me more than 30 years later recall a distant memory of a play or game they particularly remember for some reason. A few years ago when sitting on the bench in a criminal case, one of my baseball players was a police officer witness. He asked the bailiff to see me afterward… turns out he just wanted to shake my hand and thank me for being his coach (in 1981).