Looking Forward to Looking Back

by Ryan Krzykowski

Someday all this will be over.  Our kids will go back to playing and coaches will return to coaching.  How long will it take?  What will have changed from what we had considered normal?  I certainly don’t have those answers and no one else seems to either.  But I do know this — the time we’re spending now as we wait is not something I want to waste.  There is an opportunity to use this time to do something meaningful.

Realizing that our young people still need us, I did something small but hopefully valuable in some way.  I went ahead and created a Google Classroom page for students who are interested in playing on the 7th grade football team I’m helping with in the fall.  It’s nothing amazing, but I’ll post old highlight videos, Chiefs stuff, ideas for at home workouts, really anything that communicates that these kids are on my radar and they’re important to me.  If you’re a coach who’s bothering to read this, you’ve probably already created ways to reach out and stay connected.  When we look back at this time, what will we be proud of?

Our friend John O’Sullivan poses that very question in his latest post at changingthegameproject.com.  With ideas for coaches, parents and athletes, John’s post is short and to the point, and very much worth the read.

I can’t wait to see our kids back out playing and competing again.  And I’m also looking forward to looking back and knowing that we used this time well.