My Last Letter from Coach Dad

My dad sent me his last coach letter tonight :)

Hello Me Lorla,

This is Coach Dad here again and since this season has concluded it would be appropriate to give a talk that would wrap up the season’s victories and defeats.
Here are the Top Ten talking points I would use as you and I would talk at the end of the season. And I believe you will get the main idea of each point so I will not go into much detail on them.

#1 In the past, we knew you had played in some tough games (scoliosis / severe car wreck / major spine-neck surgery) and had beat them all physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually with your inner Faith.

#2 Who would have thought for such a young player there would still be another major opponent on your schedule – cancer. But with this awesome adversary, your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual conditioning again made you come out on the win side due to your inner Faith.

#3 It has been you, who has been coaching me in this last game, as your every blog gave me so many insights to your personal life and how we were going to go out a winner again in this game based on your inner Faith.

#4 It certainly was not just me who benefitted from your blogs, because by opening your personal playbook via your blog you have sent a winning game plan to everyone out there. It is a game plan that anybody can use when they face awesome adversaries in the life.

#5 I thought for sure I knew all my players extremely well, but in how you handled this game it taught me that you can never fully trust your instincts about people because they will surprise you every time. I always knew your Faith was deep, but you proved to ole Coach that it was deeper than he ever realized. You have proven to me that the adage of players giving 110% somehow makes sense after all.

#6 I was so proud of you in this game every time adversity seemed to push you to your limits and to liken it to boxing- you may have been beaten up in a few rounds but after 10 rounds you won by a unanimous decision. You answered the bell to start each round when others may have thrown in the towel.

#7 You were a leader on your team by your encouragement to others and by standing with others who also were hurting in their fight. As a team we preached lead by example and your initiatives in the Relay for Life is a way we always talked about “paying it forward” as Coach Woody Hayes always said.

#8 I was amazed at how the crowd (your old friends and new found friends) cheered you on in this game and it was this cheering section I believe that at the right times made you draw deeper on your Faith to keep up the good fight.

#9 Every team sport has chemistry and although you took the fight on, it was Andrew more than anybody else who felt every tear, every emotion, every pain, every injection, every radiation, every headache /body ache, simply everything imaginable and it was his shoulder you rested your weight on as he guided you off the field for a brief rest before you went back into the game. That kind of chemistry wins games on the field and stands the test of time. Those moments also make for highlight films at the end of the season.

#10 All the trophies ever made that represent every kind of achievement men and women have ever achieved in all of sports, they cannot stand up to that single, simple, beautiful Cross you possess and value. Without a doubt it signifies that you are a champion on the only team that matters in life.

So, after a speech like that, coaches usually say the usual of what to do in the off season to prepare for next year. I think you reminded me that to prepare is only half the workout – the other half is being “pre-prayered” to The One and only true Coach who is the reigning All-Time Champion of what really matters on earth and in heaven!

Me Lorla, sometimes players teach coaches things in a season and that has surely been my case with you. I think your skills as an educator, and your innate writing ability to express yourself in such a meaningful way, made your “The Pursuit” blog so unique. I still believe it is something that will always be there for others to seek solace and insight from as you have taught so many about so much.
In one of the latest blogs you quoted the Priest in the movie Rudy as saying to Rudy he really only knew two things for sure: There is a God and he was not Him. I think I can add a third segment to what the Priest realized and some of it is from my spiritual upbringing. But more importantly it is from what I have witnessed firsthand these last eight months with you, and that is that God still uses his Disciples to do His will and carry on His Word. The way I see it is that He will someday say to you- thank you and well done my good and faithful servant for professing your Faith and Love for Me in that very unique special way you call The Pursuit!

Well, in giving that last little talk to one of my special players I would probably be somewhat emotional in saying stay in touch and let me know how things are going in the off season. But hey, wait a minute, I am more than your coach because I am your dad and I get to see and hear from you more often so now I am comforted in that.
So, see you and talk to you a lot Me Lorla, and I am excited with our role reversal as I will be a player on your team as you coach us to a win in the upcoming Relay for Life :)

Love,
Dad