Hey Coach

I went to work out at the gym today and ran into a couple of kids I've previously coached in basketball. When the one kid, Nick (coincidentally they are both named Nick), saw me, he yells out, "Hey coach," and comes over to me with a big smile on his face. He was happy to see me and after we exchanged greetings via a fist bump, he went to run alongside me. This kid is full of a lot of joy and energy. I liked him immediately. A popular kid in school, someone that is not afraid to talk to you and say what's on his mind, yet I still think there's a bit of insecurity behind it all. I think we were probably all like that in 7th grade. While he was running beside me, he was talking to some girl half the time on the phone and told her he was running with his coach. She asked him why he called me coach and not Aaron, even though I'm not coaching him anymore. He was like "because he's my coach." I'm glad he understands how he should show respect to authority, be it a parent, teacher, or coach. It is cool to see the impact you can have on a kid. It really makes the time and effort you spend coaching and teaching worth it. Even when it seems like the kids aren't getting the message, you see later on that they really are paying attention to what you are saying even if you don't see it in that moment. It really means a lot when I am out somewhere at the gym, a restaurant, a game, and run into players I've coached and they are glad to see me. It makes that "Hey coach" mean so much more.