March Madness has not disappointed, both literally and figuratively. My middle daughter, Alex, has been obsessed with women’s college basketball this year, specifically Virginia Tech as that is where we are originally from. Yesterday it was announced that Kenny Brooks, the coach is leaving. The text I got from her after the texts about how devastated she was, said it’s your time to shine mom, they need a coach.
I mentioned in the about me page that one of the hats I have worn is a coach. I am not sure exactly how it happened, but I do remember when. Jocelyn, my oldest daughter joined recreation league basketball; it had to have been around 2001-2002. That’s when it began and would become the way me and the kids would spend ALL of our time together. At the time I was a single mom of two. Divorced with a 5 and 3 year old. I was also a deputy sheriff, field operations, so I worked the craziest hours. So however me coaching her team happened was not because I had the free time to do it but because I just had a desire to. I didn’t have money, and I didn’t have much time, but what I did have was the need to give them everything that I could come up with.
This coaching of them went on for 9 years until Jocelyn was a freshman. Through the years I realized I was good at it. It made me feel good about myself, it helped me spend time with the girls, it made me enjoy being around and drove me to “Be there” for all the kids I coached.
I would go on to coach boys basketball, eventually coaching at the varsity high school level and helping coach football. At this point all but my third daughter Hannah, were adults and either going to college or working. Coaching has given me more than I gave. In 2020 my husband and I moved from Virginia to Georgia and I stopped coaching. I can honestly say that I feel a void. Coaching for almost 20 years went to a full stop. That is one hat that had to be retired and loss is felt greatly.