A Day (OK, Two Years) in the Life of a Geneva Coach

You go to all of the games. You wear blue and white. You read the articles in the newspapers and on Geneva Patch and sit through the bad weather and bring food and water. You are a Geneva Vikings fan. A super fan.

So am I.

I'm also a sports writer for Geneva Patch, and a Geneva Vikings coach. For the last two seasons, I've coached the Vikings freshman softball team. 

I love working with the phenomenal staff in the athletic department and Athletic Director Jim Kafer, and I can say without a doubt that I am part of the greatest high school coaching staff in the history of the world. Just look at the lineup—Rob Wiscinski, Greg Dierks, Gina Nolan, Matt Hahn, Ryan Estabrook and Bob Thomsen—coaches who take their teams to regionals, sectionals, and even state tournaments year after year.

These are the coaches sports reporters (like me) write about. They are also folks who rely on lower-level coaches (like me) to develop talent and continue Geneva's tradition of sports excellence.

So, what's it like to work at this prestigious coaching powerhouse? Well, it's not always as glamorous as you might think. Here are some lessons, hopefully amusing, that I've learned over the past two seasons about coaching at the lower levels.

1. You actually can plan too soon

Ashley Pedersen and I co-coach the freshmen girls, and we know not to start making plans for our team until about the fourth day of tryouts. If we do, we neglect to take into account the one or two girls Coach Dierks will move up to the varsity and the one or two girls Jim Judson will pick for the JV team. On the last day of tryouts we usually have about 11 girls total, just enough to field a team. Surprise! After that, we spend a lot of time hoping no one gets sick or injured.

2. There is haute couture in baseball

Coaching freshmen girls is like hosting a red carpet event. What looks good? What doesn't? Will my uniform fit? Will it be too big? What will impress Johnny when he comes to watch a game?

My first year coaching, our softball team literally was handed the old freshman football uniforms. You can imagine how happy our girls were about that. If I could pick one day to miss out of the whole season, it would be uniform day—because freshmen girls don't just want to play softball, they want to look good doing it.

3. They may be athletes, but they're also kids

We play in the spring, which means it could be anywhere from 85 degrees to 35 degrees. Now, neither Ashley nor I work in the building, which makes cancellations a bit tricky. So, we tell our girls to be ready for anything—after-school practice, a game, late practice, whatever. Of course, this never happens. Girls forget uniforms, cleats, socks, just one cleat, their mitt, just one sock, or some variation of those items. We say be ready by 9, they are walking in at 9:04 without their uniform. We say meet on the field at 3:30, they are walking toward the field at 3:40 with no cleats on.

Of course, this is some of the "inside baseball" or in this case "inside softball" stuff. We also have some of the same challenges as the upper-level coaches. We make the lineups, explain why this girl plays more than that girl, talk to frantic parents, try to make practice productive rather than a social event, and make sure our team has the comradery needed for a successful season.

But you know what? After all of that, I still love it.

I love saying I coach for Geneva. I love the Viking fans, who are without a doubt the best. And I love working with the best athletic department and coaching staff in the world.

But when it comes down to it, I come back for the girls. Coaching is unlike any other experience, and whether they are freshmen or seniors, it's the players that make the whole crazy, chaotic, thrilling, sometimes frustrating experience worthwhile.