A week of challenges & opportunities (from the heart)

So, this was the week of challenges for me... personally.  Not so much in the football sense.  I hadn't blogged in a while & then realized that my preparation for this weeks game wasn't as strong as normal.  WHY?  Well, because sometimes life throws you a curveball, or since this is a FOOTBALL Blog, a post left when your receiver runs an up & out.  In other words, life got complicated.  

Let's start with the fact that 3 of my players weren't able to make it out to practice on Tuesday night.  Hey, it happens. They're kids & that's life.  Then, as I am looking at my play book, I realize that the Defensive scheme is pretty much good to go & that the kids that I send in on blitz packages know their assignments pretty well.  So, on Tuesday night I decided that my team needed some FUN to be thrown into the mix.  So, we switched things around & I made sure that amongst our "trick plays"we would try the Statue of Liberty play... which is hard enough for College teams to run... SO you can just imagine explaining it to 5-7 year old's... I got the dads out on the field with me to run it a couple of times & that was great! The kids love to see their HERO Dads get out there & show off.   

So, we had fun, & the kids left feeling really great & I felt like it was worth sacrificing the perfect plays for fun... I think it was worth it.  

So fast forward 2 days & it's Thursday & all I can think of is how I wished I had scheduled a second practice, but sometimes you gotta give the kids a break.  That afternoon, after a great lunch with my family, I started to drive back to my office & that's when the "Curveball" hit!  My heart started acting up.  I am used to this since I have been dealing with this issue ALL my life, but after the first 20 minutes of this episode, my breathing techniques weren't phasing it & then I started to feel the tingle.... "THAT'S IT!" That was the sign. I called EMS & went to the hospital.  The whole ride there I was thinking about my family, my children, my mom, my sister, and my team.  I did NOT want to miss the game.  I didn't want to miss being on the field with them.  I even told the Dr who admitted me that I had to be home in time for the game on Saturday.  She smiled & said, "we need to get this checked out first, okay?"  

I knew that the kids would be okay if Coach Canida ran the game instead of me, but I didn't want to miss the game.  So I prayed & just let them run their test, take my blood, & vitals & kept asking GOD to let me get out of the hospital to be with my family & my football players. 

I was able to be released late Friday afternoon & I have committed myself to get into better shape & take better care of my heart so that I can give 100% of it to every day that I am alive... I want my kids to have a coach, a dad & one day a granddaddy for their kids.  So yes, I was out there Saturday morning with my players & my assistant coach & my family.  My team *the kids didn't know that there was anything wrong with me & they played very well.  We didn't "WIN", but that's okay. They played their little hearts out & had fun & at the end of the game, we huddled up & had our post game meeting & said, "GO RAVENS"... That made me smile... I had told my wife how blessed I felt to be able to be out there with my team. I meant it! 

I know that this is just "FLAG FOOTBALL"  & That it's not a job... I'm not getting paid, & the kids are just out there to have fun, which I think they do... But when I get emails from the parents telling me that their kids are loving it... that warms my heart.  

I plan on coaching in the fall for the regular football season & I hope that some of these kids are back on my team, because they all have a special place in my heart.  

You see, this week was a week of challenges in so many ways, but I stayed focused, prayed & GOD gave me the opportunity to make the most out of it.  Thank you to all of you... My Wife, My Kids & My Ravens... You are so AWESOME!!! 

COACH

Go Ravens