Wrapping Up

by Ryan Krzykowski

This will be the last post of 2024, and that being the case, this topic feels especially appropriate.  When a season comes to an end — especially if the end was disappointingly premature, how do we find closure?  What do we say to kids who worked hard for months/years, and are likely feeling bummed about how it all went, or at least how it ended?  Tough questions, to be sure.  So as I planned a talk to be given at the postseason banquet about our six senior wide receivers, you better believe I was wrestling with how to pull it off well.  I needed something that found the right balance between honoring young men who had invested a great deal of time and effort in a program over four years, and yet had it come to a close with a bad taste in their mouths.

As often happens, feeling unsure about what to do in this situation drove me back to my Coaching Purpose Statement.  The version of the statement I came up with about 3 years ago reads:

I coach to help young people compete joyfully, guiding them on a journey toward becoming resilient, selfless encouragers who are known by their love for each other.

That’s when it hit me — there are six key words in that statement: compete, joy, resilient, selfless, encourager, and love.  After a little bit of reflecting on the six young men I’d be honoring at the banquet, it was pretty easy to associate one of the six key words individually with the members of the senior receiver group.  I wrote each of them a personal note, and in it I highlighted the trait they exemplified so well for the team.  “Keep being a man who encourages others.” “Keep being a man who pursues joy.” “Keep being a man who is known for being resilient.” “Keep being a man whose life is characterized by love.” “Keep being a man who competes every day.” “Keep being a man who is selfless.”

Standing up in front of the group of players and families, I spoke briefly about the players and the quality I recognized in them.  I looked at them, one by one, and shared the sentence I wrote in their note.  The idea of tying it all back to my purpose statement, I think it worked.  Without making it seem like the season went the way we planned, I was able to communicate to the room that my affection for these guys isn’t contingent upon results or performance.  And while it might feel a little cliché to end the night by saying, “let’s get a picture taken”, the photo on this post is one I’m extremely proud of.  I love this group, and am thankful for the chance to have been their coach.

Let’s Coach With Purpose…