Posts Tagged ‘confidence’

I grew up in a home where sports were celebrated. All types, we were not single sport snobs. I grew up watching golf, wrestling, football, basketball, hockey, and baseball. My mom loves all sports and my grandparents were avid Hawkeye fans and fans of anything their grandkids participated in. My dad coached several different sports, everything from my T-ball teams to my brothers wrestling.

I can remember grown men coming up to my dad and telling him he was the best coach they ever had. I of course would stand a little taller, as if I had anything to do with it; I was proud of my dad and the obvious impact he had had on these men. As a grown, women and a mother of three, I am always looking for my dad’s input when it comes to the sports programs my kids are involved in or his opinion on different opportunities they have. My dad lives three hours away so any coaching opportunities he gets with my kids happen on vacations or special family holidays.

My dad gladly gave his gift of coaching to so many and I truly believe it was a gift. I have known a lot of coaches in my life and trust me, they are not all created equally!

About four years ago someone suggested a hitting coach by the name of John Maitland for my oldest son Jacob. It took me about a year to actually make the call and set up a lesson but once we had our first lesson my boys met with John weekly until this year right before Easter.

John would be the first one to admit he never really was a very good baseball player but he loved it. He was a student of the game. John loved the strategy, loved the odds of succeeding in a game of failure and loved to keep everything simple.

I will never forget the first time my son had a lesson in John’s basement, not a pretty or fancy set-up and I do remember being slightly fearful of where to sit! My son hit a few balls for John and John promptly told him where he was struggling and how he could help him improve his swing and batting average. And that is exactly what he did. You could see my son’s improvement in the batter’s box and on paper but what he gave Jacob that meant so much more to his mom, was the self confidence to believe in himself.

John was the first coach to ever spend quality one on one time with Jacob building into him. If you would have ever heard any of their conversations during a lesson you would say I’m crazy to think that, most of the lessons John was picking on the Cubs (my son’s favorite team), or Jacob’s lack of focus or the fact that he was wanted by the police in several counties….. some days it never ended….Jacob loved it and would try to plan ways he was going to “get” John, but somewhere in between all of the jokes and knocks on each other, John would say, “Now that was a nice swing and he would mean it.” And Jacob would soak it up.

I have always looked forward to the weekly lessons and my conversations with him. We would discuss everything from, his latest civil war find, the Kennedy assignation and crazy baseball parents. I will miss his advice, and sense of humor, but most of all I will miss his friendship. I don’t know if he ever realized what he gave to me as a parent when he gave Jacob his confidence in the batter’s box, he gave me confidence as a parent that even if only for a little while during a baseball game, I could relax and know my kid had found his swing.

John lost his battle with bone marrow cancer on June, 22nd 2010. He was an inspiring coach to hundreds of kids and their families. I once read what matters most in life isn’t the day you were born or the day you die, it is what you did during the dash in between those two days that matters most. Well done John and thank you.

Have you ever been at a loss for words? Maybe a joy filled moment, a moment when you were awe struck or a time when fear or panic of saying the wrong thing paralyzed your vocal cords…

For those of you who don’t know me very well, being at a loss of words really isn’t typically a problem for me, until now.

My sons, Jacob and Noah, take hitting lessons from an amazing man. The technical knowledge he has is amazing and his ability to get my children to pay attention and do what he says can make me jealous some days!!

John conducts his lessons in his basement; it is not a fancy setup. He has hung a net in between his two by fours and tosses balls into the air for the boys to hit. Often his laundry is going and lots of “basement” stuff fills up most of the space….got the picture? But he has helped my boys with their hitting tremendously and more importantly there confidence.

I can honestly say in the 7 years that my boys have been actively involved in baseball he has been the one and the only (beside my husband and myself) who has truly invested in them. He cares about how they are doing, he gives them praise when they deserve it and helps them see and fix areas that they struggle with.

You may wonder what this has to do with me being at a loss for words.

John has a very rare form of bone marrow cancer that is terminal. He is on the bone marrow registry but his doctors have told him that a match is highly unlikely. His only brother, who could have been a donor, died a year before John got sick.

What’s keeping my mouth shut? I am not sure if John is a Christian.

I am stuck. I have witnessed and shared my faith with people. I try to live my life so that no one would be shocked to find out that I am a Christian, some days better than others. But I am stuck. I fear not having the right words, I fear offending him, and I fear turning him from God….

We have been commanded by God to share the gospel. I deeply care about him but know that our days with him are limited. I feel God urging me to speak up and my hearts desire is to speak. But I remain silent. I talk myself out of it, saying that it is too personal a subject. But after a hitting lesson with one of my sons, I feel devastated that I have not followed God’s urgings. It is like I am stuck in between who I used to be and who God wants me to be. I am trying to find that middle ground.

I have tried to think of different ways to “kinda” do it…leave a book talking about Christ and heaven “accidentally” at his home…or maybe talk about someone else…like this “friend” I have who is struggling with sharing her faith…ugh! For me, it seems there is no middle ground.  I do realize that John doesn’t need me or anyone else, like all of us what he needs is, Jesus.

I will share my faith with him. I am praying for courage and a heart that demonstrates God’s unconditional love for him. Why do I know I will do it? Because I am sharing this with you now. It makes it real. I feel it holds me accountable. And most importantly I have discussed it with my oldest son and I want to show him that even though I am fearful, I know and trust that God will give me the words. I will not stay caught in the middle.

What John chooses to do with the information is up to him but I will pray continually for him and for a miraculous healing!!!

Do you have a John in your life? Will you share your faith?

Mark 16:15 (NIV)
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.