February 11, 2012

Go Bears!

Around October, I called the high school to check on possible track coach opportunities. While my years in Mayberry were very trying, coaching is something that honestly fulfills me. For every hard time I experienced, there were hundreds of positive and rewarding ones. I was able to have a phone convo with the athletic director who put me in touch with the head track coach. I was told that I could "help out" (read: not paid) for track, and there would be a "possibility" of becoming a paid coach next year. I was to be invited to the coaches' meeting in January. Between October and January, the AD was fired. January approached, and I heard nothing. I even called the school and left numerous messages. No luck.I reluctantly gave up on the idea of coaching this year. You can imagine my surprise when I had a voicemail from the new AD, wanting me to come meet him ASAP. I drove over to the high school that afternoon. He was a friendly guy, and he actually coached a few of the guys in my running group. We talked "shop" a little bit, and then he offered me the Head Cross Country position. Yep, you read that correctly- I'M GOING TO BE A HEAD CROSS COUNTRY COACH!!!!!

Over the years, I've learned that I often exhibit more..ahem.. enthusiasm than your average 33 year old. This is one of those where I had to reeeaalllly try hard not to jump on the chair and shout at the ceiling. Here are the deets of my upcoming responsibilities.

I will be an assistant coach for the track team, coaching only distance runners- woop woop!!!!! Looks like I won't be burning the midnight oil watching you-tubes of hurdling or throwing. :O It's also a relief not to be head track coach because the track team has...wait for it... SIXTY athletes! There will be 4 coaches, including me- jumping, throwing, sprinters, and distance (me.) This will be a good opportunity for me to get to know my athletes before I take over the XC team this fall. I spent a good length of time talking to the head track coach, and he had nothing but positive things to say about the team. They have gone to State in the past, which is quite an accomplishment considering the school is in the largest classification (by size) in Alabama.

So... fast forward to today. I ran a 10K this morning, and it was completely craptastic. I won't even go into detail about it, but to summarize. I won overall, had the lead from the gun, and ran a 40:04. I felt like crap the entire way, and I am going to hit up Urgent Care tomorrow because I cannot.quit.coughing. I'm throwing up the white flag to this thing, and seeking medical care. I've been coughing for 10 days. My abs are sore, and my throat is raw. I have a raging headache, and I am just exhausted. The good news is that I won a nice gift card to one of the local running stores and another to Target. We hit the running store up on the way home. While I was in there, I saw a girl trying on shoes that had my new school name on her sweatshirt. When she went to the bathroom, I asked her mom if she ran there. Long story short, I already met one of my future athletes! She was a very sweet girl, and obviously loved running if she was out picking up shoes before the season. And...

It starts MONDAY! I am beyond excited. The only thing that stinks is that I can't go totally public with it until my position is approved by the Board of Education. (They only have monthly meetings; that's the reason for the wait.) So, for now, let's keep it quiet on FB. Everyone pretty much knows, but I just can't officially announce it.

I feel pretty proud of my myself. Moving was a huge leap of faith. I often wondered in Mayberry if I was just the coach because everyone else was too lazy. I wondered if when I moved if i would be able to "make it" in the big school system. It was so great to walk around the campus of the school, and be in the room with coaches, and not my have a single one be judging me because of ex. I was just another coach, and boy do I love it.

I'm so ready for this new adventure! Don't ever lose hope, friends. It's so true- when one door closes, another opens!

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/11/2012

    Already said it on facebook but WOOT! So happy for you!

    Also, 40min 10k while sick AND an OVERALL win, that's a pretty baller weekend :)

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  2. Congrats Rebecca! So happy for you!!

    Also, congrats on winning the race yesterday. Seriously, winning while sick is just awesome. Well, time to get rid of the cough. No point in having it for the rest of the year.

    Take care.

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  3. I could go on and on, but will sum it up by simply saying that I'm SO proud of and happy for you! You just may have found right where you are supposed to be. :)

    ...and running a 40:04 10k sick = beastly. Confirmation that you are a machine!!

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  4. OMGOMGOMGOMG!!! WOOHOO!!! What exciting news, this is perfect, you're going to be perfect, I'm THRILLED for you! Oh My GOD!! :)

    Amazing win for you while sick, you are a machine babe but I'm glad you're getting it checked, you need to get healthy, you have new duties to tend to. WOOHOO!!!

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  5. Congratulations!! That is so awesome and you are going to be a wonderful coach. I am so happy for you!!

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  6. That is fantastic! I am so happy for you! And those kids are really lucky to have you. :-) I hope you are feeling better and finally over that sickness. Yuck!

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  7. All those kids are going to be so blessed to have you as a coach. I know that you will be great as always.

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  8. R- so SO happy for your new position! You will be a FANTASTIC coach. You are just what these kids need- a positive person, experienced at racing, taking NO excuses.
    What a super fit!

    Also...DANG I am jealous of your 40:04 10K that was ran with a nasty cough/cold!
    Hope you are feeling a lot better.

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