Coming into freshman year, I knew different, yet crazy, changes were going to occur within my year. Not only did academic obstacles run through my mind but sport obstacles did too! One of the biggest changes for me occurred during the beginning of the spring sport season also known as softball. The thought of my own dad coaching the team never even came to mind. Having him as a coach shows me how determined he really is in softball as well as his love for the sport.

Ever since I could remember, my coach for the sport was my dad. From the Red Sox in t-ball to the Royals in the major league, I called my father coach. Don’t get me wrong we didn’t always talk about softball, but we did talk about it for about 90 percent of the time. After major league ended, so did my father’s coaching career, or so we thought. During the next two years, he sat in the bleachers keeping the book while I played for my travel team Thunder 99. I could tell he missed coaching, but he never admitted that he did. The third year I played for my team, the head coach received a coaching job for Western. He asked my father to take over his position for the fall and winter season as well as the school season. He said yes without any hesitation. He had a feeling the head coach would receive that job; however, he didn’t have a clue about him getting the job at Cass.

The day I realized my own father received the job is a day I will never forget. On that day I remember he drove to Cass to pick me up from my basketball practice after school. On our way home, dad looked over at me and asked if he could ask me for my complete and honest opinion. Curious, I looked at him with a confused look. He said that he was asked to be the head coach for the Lady Kings Softball program. My face changed in a split second from confused to ecstatic! My father never ceases to amaze me when it comes to softball. He wanted this program to prosper and develop into what the program once seemed to be. The first thing he said to our seniors consisted of three words. I am sorry. He apologized for the years of constant changes in coaches. Although he can’t change their years at Lewis Cass, he is determined he can change the softball years of the underclassmen.

After our first game, coach started to tear up. All of his and our hard work had finally paid off in our 6-3 victory over the Delphi Oracles. My coach is not only passionate about the sport, he is determined to show how the Lady Kings can play softball. Having my father coach once again feels as though I am back in the major leagues. My father has shown me that if I strive to achieve a certain goal, I will always succeed.