Nelson's team captured the state softball championship in May - the highest of coaching highs. Earlier in the year, however, Nelson suffered the lowest of lows when a former student intentionally burned down her house with a firecracker. Nelson lost everything in the blaze, including her pet dog.
Nelson's story is an extreme example, but coaching in high school is not quite what it seems. From the outside looking in, coaching is a dream gig. You spend your days and nights on the playing field, breathing in fresh air, competing and strategizing, and devoting life to sport. Sure beats sitting in a cubicle.
It does, no doubt, It also, however, fails to live up to the outsider's view of it. Coaching is often a joyless task that involves breaking hearts, angering kids and parents and repeated failure. Look around major sports for a moment and list the coaches that seem truly happy. It is not easy.
Jeff Van Gundy is a glaring example of what coaching can do to you. Van Gundy emerged this NBA season as a hilarious color man with personality and terrific insights on ABC's broadcasts. As a coach, however, Van Gundy was a humorless worry-wort who looked to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown at any moment.
Coaching is often a joyless grind with lows, lows, an occasional high and then more lows. The occasional high keeps them coming back, like a strung out junkie coming back for one more dose of the addictive drug.
Why else would Coach Nelson continue at Ooltewah after her home was attacked by an angry student? Why wouldn't she take a desk job somewhere? Why wouldn't she find something with higher pay, fewer hours and no threat of arson?
There is a price you pay as a coach. It is the dirty looks from people you like, the accusations of dishonesty and deviance from jilted players and parents, the cold shoulders after losses and even sometimes after wins. In my coaching career, I have been accused by parents of favoritism, racism, stupidity and causing permanent psychological damage.
I have never had my home attacked. I have never worried about the safety of my wife, kids and pets. In my coaching days, I have never experienced anything this low.
I have also never won a state championship. The price you pay ought to earn you rewards and it does - friendships, satisfaction, excitement. For Norma Nelson, the reward this season was the pinnacle of her profession - a championship.
She certainly paid a heavy price for it.
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2 comments:
I'm undecided on that Owl mascot. It looks like its got some serious atitude, which I like, but it also looks like the kind of 'tude that might evaporate pretty quickly after one punch to the throat. How long have they been using this one?
I don't know - I just found it using Google. It does look tougher than the one when we were there.
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