It is no secret that God selected his most patient, giving, and passionate servants for this role. We love hard and we love big; love for the sport, the players, the competition, and without question, BIG love for our coach. A love so big for Coach that at times we may find ourselves wanting to defend or protect Coach from the perils of this profession.
And hell hath no fury like an exhausted, stressed, Coach Wife when you mess with her Coach.
Sports in their purest state are beautiful examples of talent, growth, fun, and competition, but let’s be real here: that purity can be very, very, hard to find. God creates, and Satan manipulates.
Pure sport is often dirtied with crooked money dealings, hidden agendas, selfish parents, and the like which almost always end up dumped back in the lap of, who else...Coach.
Coach is the one who spends hours on end preparing for his team.
Coach is the one who sees the big picture and has goals for an entire program, not just a specific player.
Coach is the one who genuinely wants each player to be the absolute best that he/she can possibly be, but also understands that doesn’t always mean a D1 scholarship.
Coach, who was trusted as a professional when hired but suddenly, whose needs, requests, and ideas are questioned because they don’t fit within someone’s agenda. And by the way, that agenda is most likely coming from someone who hasn’t donned a sports uniform in years and probably never had to call a play in a pinch.
Coach is the one who cares more about each kid, each staff member, each team, each play, each game, each season than most can understand.
But Coach is, unfortunately, also the one held responsible for the fall out, clean up, and repair of this beloved game that has been dirited and manipulated by others.
There comes a point, be it in small town politics, or big city ball, when the buck mistakenly stops with Coach...and what are we, as coaches' wives, to do?
Most of us know what we want to do: use that big love to defend and protect our coach!
But what does that look like? Should we call out those who are actually at fault? Tell the bleacher coaches they have no idea what they are talking about and to zip it? Highlight the inequalities? Underscore the unfairness?
Most of the time we are silent partners in this deal, but we have to ask ourselves: are there times when enough is enough? People seem to have no issues hearing us when the topic is about which meal to bring, or what cute earrings to wear on Friday night, or even asking us about Coach’s game plan (which we have no clue about).
We are clothed with strength for a reason. We are called to bring our husband's good and to speak with wisdom in our support of him. This doesn’t mean that every word we say must be coated in sugar. We must present well-thought, truthful words and actions that are delivered with love and mercy, but that doesn’t mean they have to be crowd pleasers.
We love big and hard, just like God made us. So when sport gets dirtied and manipulated at the expense of our coach it seems we have a choice, ladies. And remember: hell hath no fury.