Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Coaches


We had a coach’s meeting out on North Haven this weekend.  I was struck by the differences of the cultures we each serve.  The islands are microcosms.  Transportation isn’t much of an issue there, nor are there hundreds of distractions and opportunities for their children.  Station Maine struggles with those issues, but living on the mainland with thousands of youth we have an endless population of kids for whom open water rowing might be the perfect sport.  On the ferry trip home I extended this view to the many inner city programs in Boston and New York.  Issues of gangs and violence, racial and economic differences.
We all love the boats and the kids or we wouldn’t be here.  We all want to win the races because we’re human.  But beyond that, at a deeper level, I can’t help but notice that we all, every man or woman who coaches Open Water Rowing, want something more for our kids.  More than just the winning title we want them to have opportunities beyond our individual communities.  We want them to be able to expand their circle of friends.  We want them to know that there is a bigger world out there and we want them to be prepared for it.  We want them to know that they can be or do anything that they set their minds to.
You get the idea.  We're all different, but it's our similarities that have pulled us together to coach Open Water Rowing.

No comments:

Post a Comment