What's Next.

It hasn't been long since I was a player myself. For me, I knew the transition to life after a player would be difficult, although it doesn't have to be. Everyone is different. There are some days, like today, that I struggle with my identity. I question if coaching is for me. I question what kind of coach I even want to be or what level or age group I want to work with. I try to picture myself twenty years down the road and can never get a clear image. Sometimes I'll wake up and feel inspired and motivated. Other days will feel like a constant struggle to keep moving myself forward. It's the daily discipline to stay on the path, to stay in my lane, which helps me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. There's only one thing I know for certain and that is that I've played the game for a quarter of my life and the longer I played and the more experience I got, the more of a disservice I thought it would be to not give back to the next generation.

I like to think about what makes me different from the other coaches on staff whom I work with because I believe everyone has unique insights and personalities that help unify a team and make them better and stronger. What I think makes me different is that I am not as far removed from the other coaches of remembering what it is like to be a player. Unlike them, I still enjoy training with the ball and occasionally if players don't ask me first, I will extend the invitation to the team to let them know I will be training that day and anyone is welcome to join. I see the smile on their faces when I lead them through activities and participate in them myself. I remember the first time doing what I am asking them to do, and it helps me connect with them and teach them as I tap into that. Regardless if I perform almost perfectly through an activity or make many mistakes, the players know I am not asking them to do anything that I don't believe in myself and that I believe will make them a better athlete. There will come a time when I move away from my current role of a player-coach, but little does anyone know how much that role has helped me in my transition to becoming a coach.