My Favorite Coach

Lately, the best part of Facebook has been the memories that show up on my daily feed.  We have done so much as a family over the past decade and I love being reminded of that.  Today's memory featured one of my all time favorite photographs, Cameron in goal.  It seemed to be timed perfectly as I was just talking to Doug about his coaching days and how much I appreciated not only the time he spent with the Heinisch children, but all that he did for the soccer program in our community as well.  

Doug had coached soccer since we first started dating in the early 1990s.  He loved playing the sport in his youth and wanted to share that passion with others.  For him it was never about winning, although his teams won multiple championships over the years.  Instead it was always about getting as many players on the field as possible.  It was his goal to make every player feel like an important part of the team whether they were the leading scorer or a backup fullback.  That was easier when he was part of the Lakeland Youth Center program, but he did continue the same philosophy when he coached at the high school level.  Because of his passion for the sport and desire to introduce it to as many youth players as possible, the LYC program grew during his tenure.  He was also able to support a junior varsity girls program at the high school.  When his workload off the field increased and he had to give up coaching soccer at the high school level, I had several mothers tell me that their daughters chose to step out of soccer because his philosophy was not carried on without him there.  They felt that coaches, parents and players had infiltrated the high school program only looking to further than own personal agenda, taking the fun out of it.

I do not know if that was the case at Wawasee the last two years.  I did notice that the number of girls playing soccer had decreased and the junior varsity team was non-existence this year.  I was sorry to see that, but it really didn't effect us this year.  Doug's absence of coaching may or may not have been felt in Syracuse, but it was definitely felt by our family.  It was challenging to watch someone else coach Meg who did not share Doug's philosophies.  It was not just about playing time, but building positive relationships, making every player feel an important part of the team and preparing athletes for life off of the field.  I feel bad that Meg missed out on that these past two years, but am so thankful that she and her brothers had years of positive influence from Doug's coaching philosophy.  I hope that one day they will be able to follow in his footsteps, passing on their own love of a sport or activity to others.