...TEACH VALUES...

With all of the changes and problems in today's society, our position as educators becomes all the more important. During our banquet a few years back, a mom asked if she could say a few words. As she took the microphone, she said things that answered the question I so often ask myself. "Why am I still coaching after all these years?" She touched me in a way no gift could.

She said: "I am speaking on behalf of all the parents. We want to thank you for teaching our daughters so many of the things we have tried so hard to teach them. It's funny how a parent can preach and preach, but coming from an outside source as a coach, the dancers will listen. Cindy, you not only taught our daughters how to dance, but you've shared your values. You taught them how to be disciplined. How to say I'm sorry. How to lead. How to follow. They were taught how to value people over things. You made each one of them feel important and that they could accomplish anything. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with our daughters."

Sometimes when things get stressful and I am feeling weighed down, I take a few minutes to reflect on this. It helps me to keep going, but at the same time, it adds another pressure. We have to realize how important our role as coach is. If our team members are looking up to us as role models, it is important to always realize how vital our examples are. Whether it be with our language, our sportsmanship, our goals, or our living habits. "It is important that our habits are such that we would be happy to see them in our students. That's a hard goal to live up to, and one we must be working on constantly.

Written by Cindy Clough