Finneran: Coach

Friday, June 28, 2019

Tom Finneran, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Tom Finneran

I thought of Coach earlier this week.

With school over, traffic has been noticeably lighter and commutes have been easier, with the relaxed joy of beautiful summer mornings as my companion.

In taking the backroad neighborhood shortcuts the other day I passed several playgrounds and I thought of Coach.

Every town has one. Every city neighborhood has one. The lucky towns and neighborhoods have more than one. His name is Coach and he loves kids.

He’s a stand-in parent, teacher, guidance counselor, and psychiatrist. His joy in life is hitting fungoes and pitching batting practice. He loves a sharp infield practice session, with each grounder a little hotter than the previous one and where each imaginary situation is a little different. He’s a bit fussy about running the bases, obsessive in his teaching of how to cut the corner of the bag.

In another season you might find him on a basketball court, emphasizing dribbling with each hand, hitting the open teammate with a perfect pass, positioning oneself for a rebound, and of course the mechanics and release of a good jump shot.

Coach’s skill set includes the ability to make a cold rink fun. Whether it’s a 5:00 AM weekday session or a yet another exhausting weekend round-robin tourney, Coach takes the chill out of the polar conditions as he leisurely skates with his charges, patiently teaching them the skills of skating, puck handling, and shooting.

Coach doesn’t have a mean bone in his body but his “mean side” comes out in football drills such as running sprints up hills. He patiently teaches the techniques of blocking and tackling. He is Zen-like in his teaching of the playbook and the need for teamwork. He knows that not every player is Tom Brady or Barry Sanders. He also knows that every player wants a chance to play, to be a part of a team, and part of a town.

Coach is an indispensable part of the human condition. We all like to either teach or be taught by someone with patience and knowledge. Coach fills that role.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that Coach must be a guy. Not so.

In fact, “Coach” might not even be involved in sports. Coach might be a Girl Scout leader, or a Sea Scout leader. Coach might be involved in community theater or neighborhood tutoring. Coach might have played high school, college, and even Olympic hockey, with her happiest moments now involving a whistle in her mouth and her charges nervously ready for end-to-end sprints up and down the rink. Needless to say, Coach can outskate all of them and they look up to her as a goddess.

So say a prayer of thanks for the blessings of Coach. He (and she) makes every town richer in kindness and love.

Thanks Coach.

Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio