Do I pick the dolphin or the donkey sticker? Will she like the sticker with the fish or the chicken on it?
These are not the decisions I expected to be making during the NCAA men’s championship game last night. But, as many of you know, life with a 2-year-old never goes according to plan.
The actual plan was to sit down, watch the game, take some notes, dissect a few coaching decisions and spew my infinite wisdom (sarcasm) in this blog today.
However, as soon as the referee tossed the ball in the air to start the game between North Carolina and Michigan State, my 2-year-old daughter started screaming. This wasn’t the typical, “Terrible Twos” screaming, this was, “there is something wrong.” So, with that, my championship night ended as we called the doctor, explained the situation, raced to the office (luckily they had evening hours last night) and, after some poking, prodding and testing (details are not necessary as I’m trying to block it all from my mind), she’s fine. In fact, we returned home with about two minutes left in a dud of a game, so I guess I didn’t miss much.
I stayed up for the cheesy “One Shining Moment” and did see Roy Williams’ comments after the presentation of the championship trophy. Williams specifically thanked his family for their patience during those long nights when he was up watching film. Considering I had just abandoned basketball for my child, I thought this was telling for coaches at this time of year.
Now that most high school and college basketball seasons are over, it’s time to sit down with your significant other and your children, and enjoy your time together. Sure, you never truly step away from your role as a coach, but in the days and weeks ahead, dedicate some extra time to your support system. Without them, coaching wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding as it is.
I love breaking down games, picking apart defenses and providing our readers with useful plays, drills and diagrams to make them better coaches. But, last night, the only place I wanted to be was that doctor’s office with a screaming child. It puts a lot of what we do in perspective.
And, of course, I picked all of the stickers to give to my daughter after her traumatic trip to the doctor. The poor kid had been through enough and all she wanted was a sticker. So, to borrow a tired cliché, sometimes it’s the simple things that give us the most pleasure…just something to keep in mind as you enter the off-season.
