I attended and spoke at a conference today that stresses the importance of coaches in the lives of young athletes. Not just coaches as coaches, but coaches as role models. This was a great talk for which to prepare because it gave me the opportunity to reflect on what my own coaches had taught me, and how in turn that impacted my life.

I usually briefly touch on my former coaches when I tell my story, but tonight allowed me to go a bit more in depth about the coach who taught me that you have to love what you do, in this case it was swimming, and the coach who not only made me work hard, but instilled in me the desire to want to work hard. Just those two lessons alone have carried me far in life - in what is most meaningful in life.

The Play Like A Champion Today conference also addresses the issue of coaches who have the ”win at all costs” mentality. This too is a great topic for me to discuss. It was a painful lesson for me to learn that I would no longer win races - no matter how good the reason was. Yet with as far as I have come and with as much as I have acheived, it would be hard to say I didn’t win. It might not be the race I wanted to win at the time, but it’s a much more important one. 

Tonight as I stood in front of a group of dedicated individuals who devote their lives to the betterment of our youth, I won. Being able to share with them the tangible evidence of the difference a coach can make in one’s life was my trophy, my medal, my first place ribbon. That’s more than enough for me.