Availability

by Ryan Krzykowski

It’s often credited to hall of fame football coach Bill Parcells, but the quote about the “best ability” being “availability”, it’s everywhere.  And whether or not Coach Parcells came up with the idea on his own, the point is easy enough to understand.  In my new, evolving role in coaching high school football, where I’m no longer a primary position coach, one idea I’ve been working through is attempting to be more available to our entire roster.  I’m definitely not someone who has all the answers, but I’ve got a few years under my belt now, have had a variety of experiences to draw upon, and I am well-positioned to be a resource to players and coaches.  Mostly, I want to be someone who cares, asks questions, and listens.

So when I was asked by another coach if I could come in to time 40s for players who wanted to show up for an extra, optional session…yes, let’s do it.  I am available.  When a group of players showed an interest in getting together once a week after their morning workout to talk about topics related to faith, and I was asked to guide those discussions…yes, I’m available.  When one of those players asked if I had some time to help him think through a personal struggle…yes, I’m available.  Looking at those examples, it would be more than fair to ask if I was available in a similar way last year, when I had more direct football responsibility.  Sure, it’s hard to argue with that.  But what I can say now is that in my current state, when a variety of factors made it clear that it was time for that direct football responsibility to be dramatically reduced, I’m that much more tuned in to the people and opportunities around me.  I wrote a couple weeks ago about how the winds of change are blowing in my life, and with those changes has come a renewed effort to keep my eyes, ears and heart open while asking questions about how I can be faithful with what God’s giving me to do in my current situation.  I hope and pray that increased awareness of my availability might make a difference in someone’s life for years to come, even into eternity.

Let’s Coach With Purpose…