I coached basketball for the Centre Wellington Celtics Basketball Club. I ran into a former player of mine in Fergus, who I had not seen in a handful of years. He was a good kid but started running into some trouble near the end of my time coaching him. After our greetings and a quick talk about his work (he had a work shirt on) I said to him, “Tell me one thing.” He thought I wanted to know more about his work, but I said, “No, one thing about you.” He looked right at me, “I got rid of my bad friends and have new ones now. I’m on a good track.” I couldn’t help myself as I gave him a high five as if we were still on the basketball court. As I walked away, I turned and said, ”You made my day, thanks.” On reflection, he actually made those years of coaching 100% sweeter in my memory.
The Celtics Club (cwceltics.ca) is always looking for coaches and volunteers. I am not saying you will dramatically change a person’s life by coaching, because that change belongs to the person making it, but with luck you might be privileged enough to hear their story and that feels good.
John Scott