Monday, May 26, 2014

The Parent Coach



photo by Brian Sawyer


The Parent Coach


There goes a man
who loved a sport dearly
and tried to be great,
but others surpassed,
so he gave up the dream
and turned to his son.
“You will succeed,”
he said from on high.
“You will be great,
and all due to me.”

So he took on a team
and made his son star,
and told all his players
“I want only first place!”
He yelled at them all,
especially his boy,
and the son struggled hard
but it wasn’t his gift,
and in the end failed
and gave up the goal.

But the team knew the truth:
their feelings ignored,
their innocence crushed,
sport was now war,
and the casualties great.

The coach blamed his son
for his failure in life,
and the boy took the blame
because he was shamed
and never looked back
or loved it again,
for the memory stuck
of the coach who had trained him,
a man that he loved
There goes another
who shoulders a burden
most parents won’t touch,
for he’ll teach without pay
and care at great cost.
A fan himself,
he knows his game well
and chooses some boys
to pass on his skill.

Expecting so much
of the players he’s chosen,
he drills them with skills,
cheers and corrects,
and they give it their all
to learn and to win
not only for self
or just for the team,
but they want to win
especially for him.