Some people may say that it’s the lucky ones who get to achieve their dreams. But, I’ve always believed what Thomas Jefferson originally said and my father has repeated to me countless times: “I find the harder I work the more luck I seem to have.”
I have been blessed with parents who have always been supportive, especially when it came to my dreams of playing sports. My dad would often fade into the crowd and quietly watch games. Still to this day the first (and sometimes only) question he asks me after games is if I had fun. Somewhere along the road of his athletic career I guess he figured out that having fun is really what matters. It’s not about games won, awards earned, or goals scored. And somewhere along my athletic career I’ve figured out that what really matters is working hard enough to earn a little luck and be able to smile after games — knowing that all my dad cares about is if I had fun.
So, here’s to all the dads who have figured it out. Here’s to the fathers who are driving to practices, traveling every weekend to tournaments, coaching youth teams in the evenings after full days of work –here’s to the coaches who have become the only father figures some kids will ever know – here’s to the college coaches who become fathers away from home for all of their athletes – and here’s to my papa who has always known the right question to ask.
Thank you for making a difference and spreading the joys and lessons of competition. Happy Father’s Day.
