"You're going to do what? Be the head Volleyball coach in Kivalina?"

For years my husband has 'hinted' that he would love to play volleyball with me.  Back when the kids were little, my weekly escape was playing in Adult Co-Ed leagues in Mora and Milaca with fellow- former volleyball players. It was fun, we were good and it got me out of the house.

Every time we were short a player for league night, my husband would casually mention that he was available to play that night.

I played in weekend tournaments and my husband would throw in that he wasn't doing anything that weekend either if they needed another player.

At the Gopher VB games, I'm pretty sure he was more excited to be there and watch than I was. Or it could have been the fact that we were watching highly skilled female athletes ranging in ages from 18-22 wearing tight spandex and in amazing, athletic shape.  Hmmm.....

A few weeks ago an email exchange turned into him possibly being the head volleyball coach in Kivalina.

I jokingly said, "And you were most qualified cause your wife played college volleyball?" lol

Then sure as sh*t, a few weeks later he's telling me he signed the contract and do I have any drills that I can share with him.

(Do you know how hard it is to explain drills via email? Seriously try it sometime--explain a drill to someone without pictures and x's and o's and lines/arrows)

I think he expects me to poke fun that's he's not your 'typical' volleyball player build and that he's not 'qualified' to be a volleyball coach.   He probably doesn't know the first thing about passing form or how to teach a 3 step approach or what the difference is between a 5-1 offense vs. 6-2 offense or a basic 4-2 offense.  He may not understand what a base defense is or how to change your rotation to place your best passers in the center of the court and make sure they aren't over lapping.  (See-there's way more to VB than just killing the ball)

But-I'm not going to poke fun. Well, not after that last paragraph at least.   I'm not going to poke fun because my husband is an excellent coach.  It doesn't matter what sport it is, he knows how to coach kids. And when I say kids, I mean 5-18 years old and up.    He's fun and playful with the young kids. He's fun and playful and demanding with the pre-teens. He's fun and tough and expects a helluva lot out of teenagers on and off the court/field.

I won't go in to much detail about his coaching but I have had an interesting point of view of it for the past 14 years. Being a coaches wife you see and hear everything. You see both sides of everything. You see the good years and you see the bad years but every year was a successful year.   Judge if you will from your point of view--but my husband is an excellent coach.

I am excited for him to get to coach a sport he loves to watch and has always wished he would be invited to play.  I am excited for those teenage kids to get to have a few hours of his energy and intelligence about what it means to compete. I am excited that he gets to leave his mark on kids in another state who will appreciate every.stinking.word.he.says. I'm excited that they will appreciate his toughness and his kindness. I'm excited that the parents there will be thankful that he's taking time out of his day to spend time with their kids. I'm excited that he's excited.

So, good luck Coach Kirby. Have a great season. I got you, Coach.

L
M