The Coach's Wife Poem

 

The Coach’s Wife

by Kim Stone

You know who she is by where she sits

And how she stays on the team not to quit

She’s not there for one person though most think she is there for just the coach her man

But those players on his team couldn’t have a bigger fan

She has no favorites to choose on the team

She cheers for them all to make their play-off dream

Most fans are there for their own kids and fade away from coming in a few years

But she is there year after year with each season‘s ending always bringing tears.

Every group that graduates she calls them her kids too

It hurts to see them graduate and move on to what they choose to do

Each year it gets harder and harder to see Senior Night

Knowing it’s their last game at home under those Friday Night Lights

It’s not easy being the coach’s wife

It certainly is a rewarding but hard life

You get to know wonderful young men and their problems too

Some things you hear just breaks your heart for what they are going through

Each day the Coach’s wife prays for each of the young men

And also pleads to God to help the team come up with the win

You see the players loving on their coach after a win or a loss

No matter what they seem to always respect their boss

However in the stands the parents and fans can feel quite differently about the coach

They say things that break the coach’s wife’s heart but she doesn’t go and approach

She takes it in while her heart breaks inside

If they only knew how hard that coach has tried

He is up before most even think it necessary to rise

He starts working then because he has his eye on the prize

He spends hours breaking down film of his team and others

He spends time making individuals into a team of brothers

It’s not easy to mesh and blend boys of completely different backgrounds

To be a cohesive group who doesn’t care who makes the touchdowns

It’s not an easy job and no one works harder than her man

But those in the stands feel like he has no game plan.

If she yelled and didn’t try to hold back

She’d let them know what was wrong with the passing attack

She’d say “Your kid didn’t block, or your kid ran the wrong route”

But she stays out of the ring and doesn’t try to fight that bout

She takes it in and often guards these things from her husband’s heart

If he knew what she heard it would just distract him from doing his part

It’s a hard life

Of a Coach’s wife

Many nights are spent without her husband by her side

He’s game planning, tutoring, or giving a kid a ride

He is a father figure to quite a few

They look up to him to see what they should do

So the coach’s wife is left to keep the family on track

Practices, homework, scheduling, she’s got it all on her back

The kids often go from Sunday at lunch to Tuesday right before bed

Without seeing their dad once because he’s been working with the team instead

But the kids take it all in stride

For their daddy they show a lot of pride

They know he makes a difference and what he does is for his team

Even if he can’t be home to say “Good night sweet dreams’

But still every once in awhile when he can’t come to a game of theirs or misses a play

They sometimes feel like having to share him is not Okay

But the coach’s wife lets them vent and rave to get it all out

And by the time she’s talked to them no one is left to pout.

When others don’t understand why the Coach’s wife is so upset about a loss

It’s because that loss did come at a great cost

The time, the effort, the coach puts in

Doesn’t seem to matter if there is not a win

The sacrifice he and his family make each day

Hurts a lot more when the kids don’t come to play

The pain of a loss is a slap in the face to our season

It’s saying our family sacrifices a lot for no real reason

So don’t tell the Coach’s wife that the loss isn’t a big deal.

Until you walk a mile in her shoes you can’t understand how it feels

Ever had your husband’s job rest on the shoulders of boys that are just sixteen?

Sounds crazy doesn’t it but it comes with the coaching scene.

Even in good seasons when the wins seem enough

There’s always someone who tries to make life rough

So when you see a Coach’s wife give them some thanks with a big smile

It may be the very thing that keeps them going for awhile

10 Things About Life I've Learned From Being A Football Coach's Wife

10 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I’VE LEARNED FROM BEING A FOOTBALL COACH’S WIFE

By Kim Stone

1.       1. Win or Lose its how well prepared you were for the game that concerns the coach. Coaches put in a lot of effort and time in making the game plans and looking over scouting reports. They put together what they believe will work and leave it to the players to execute it.  Coach’s will claim a defeat from the players if they feel that the game plan was not solid and that it didn’t put the players in the best position to win. In a close win that shouldn’t have been close, a coach will question his game plan to see if the near miss wasn’t caused by lack of preparation. So it is in the game of life.  Whether you win or lose, God cares how well prepared you were, the time you put in with Him, and how well you executed what you have learned from Him through His word.  Things in life will creep up on you (like underdog teams) when you haven’t prepared and trained yourself in how to respond in a godly way. 

2.       Scoreboards state the winners but the locker room defines who was victorious.  Too many times victory is claimed on the field but in the locker room, jealousy, anger, bitterness, conflict, dissension, and ungodly attitudes prevail.  Just like in life what appears to everyone else as a victory stated by the worldly standards may actually be a huge defeat in the locker room of our soul that few have privilege to see.  Likewise a defeat by a close knit team who gave it all their effort, will find victory in the locker room holding each other up and encouraging one another.  Just like in life a defeat in appearance to the outside world can easily turn into the encouragement our souls need to continue and press on!

3.      You must stay hydrated!   Players all too often suffer terrible cramps mostly because they don’t stay hydrated enough during the course of the game.  Likewise in life if you are not continually reaching for the “Living water” to quench you and stay hydrated, you too will find yourself in some anguish.  Take the time each day to take in your “Living Water” and stay hydrated by His “Power-aid”

4.      It’s all won in the off-season.   It’s NOT when there’s a 300lb lineman wanting to return them to dust, where a player learns how to take him on!  It’s in the weight room where they train their bodies and prepare themselves for when the day comes when they need that strength.  Just like in life, it’s a lot harder to go out and tackle life’s problems if you haven’t been prepared for them.  Start now to train up your mind, heart, and soul to God’s truths when you aren’t being tested.  Don’t just go to God and His word when it’s time to tackle something.  Prepare everyday by reading your Bible, praying and spending time with God!

5.      Sometimes the game is not called fairly.  Many times, we are just in shock over a terrible call or a terrible missed call by a referee.  It’s hard sometimes to swallow the misjudgments of others especially when it comes down and costs us the game.  But so is life!  Life is not fair and God never claimed it would be.  The good news is that the referee for our life isn’t some guy who is just earning some extra money on a Friday night.  Our referee is God! He sees it all and allows all calls whether we see them as good or bad to be exactly what we need at the time and ultimately works them out for our own good!  Even though at times it doesn’t seem fair or seem like it could possibly be the right call, God undoubtedly sees something we don’t see! 

6.      Holding could be called each and every play.  In football a referee could call holding on each and every play, instead he calls it only when it’s “bad” enough to warrant it.  Lucky for us in life, holding can be called all the time too!  God holds us in the palm of His hands and through all of the plays of our lives he is intentionally “holding” us! It’s often only when we are hurting so “bad” that we feel his arms around and call it God “holding” us.

7.      False starts happen when you aren’t snapped in and focused.   There are times when players “jump” before the ball is snapped and the little yellow flag goes sailing in the air.   The player wasn’t focused on knowing the right time to go and therefore was given a penalty.  Just in life, we sometimes want to get ahead of God and “go” before He advises us to do so.  In doing that we often get ourselves in some trouble and have to take the consequences and then wait for God our QB’s call to get back in the action.

8.      Depth is crucial to make a long play-off run .   In football you got to have a bench to go to.  If a player gets tired or hurt, you got to have someone else come in who can fill the spot without giving up any intensity or skill at that position.  Without that kind of depth, the play-offs probably won’t last for long and a gold ball crowning you as the champs won’t happen!  So it is in life!  If you are living a superficial life of only caring about yourself, your money, and chasing materialistic worldly things, then you won’t have the depth in your life to obtain the abundantly, rich life God has planned for you.  Study God’s word to gain some depth.  Jesus died for your sins so that your sins could be paid off. Essentially giving you a long “paid-off” run that extends all the way to the “Golden” gates to take your crown and collect your trophies!  

9.      The Red Zone is crucial to winning.    From the goal line to the 20 yard line is considered the “red zone”.  Offenses come up with special plays for the short field in hopes of settling for nothing more than points on the board.  Just in our life there is a red zone that cannot be ignored and is the only way to our victory.  In the Bible Jesus’ words that He said are written in red.  This is our red zone!  Without acknowledging that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived the sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, and was resurrected on the third day, then ascended to heaven,- then there is no victory!  For Jesus said the only way to the Father was through Him!  Without believing in Jesus, our salvation and hope for everlasting life and victory in Him is pure defeat!  So study your “red zone” in your Bible and read the words of Jesus.

10.   Timeouts are meant to be used.  In football, there are times when the opponent makes adjustments and what you’ve been doing no longer works so you call a time-out to make some changes or talk about some mistakes you notice the team is making.  In life, time-outs are a MUST!  And in life we aren’t limited to how many time-outs we call to confer with our coach (God).  We can call as many time-outs as we want to use! Sometimes God calls the time-outs and sidelines us from something to gain perspective.  Other times we are the ones calling the time-out with a prayer asking for guidance, what to do, and the strength to get it done.  Either way, timeouts were meant to be used and helpful with getting back on track