The timing was perfect -- Snickers had just left the club to do an errand and then in came five of our high school boys together. Among them was one of the boys who had got into last night's locker room scrap.
I took it personally, two boys getting to into a fight -- it had happened at our club, on our time, with our members. I got a chance to sit down with the five of them and talk about yesterday's situation. I didn't want to talk about the details of it or the consequences but I let them know that there will be a punishment. A repeat of the incident is not going to happen because this type of inappropriate manner is not tolerated.
As it turns out, the high school student involved in yesterday's fist fight hadn't told his parents and hadn't even so much as tell his close buddies. I felt a bit sad at this fact, the fact that he went home sore and sour and kept it in. This definitely took my conversation with them in an unexpected direction and next thing I knew it I was handing out my phone number and telling them to use it if they ever need help or whatnot.
They're good kids, I know, but I'm trying to help them become better kids. There are five of them that always file in together. They come in, I serve them all barley tea and we usually talk while I start cooking them sweet potatoes for after training. Our talks usually start off casual but are always filled with Snickers and I trying to give them some kind of life advice, like yesterday when we discovered they all had stolen IDs for buying liquor. Today I talked to them about what I was like when I was their age. Instantly I felt like I was light years away from them in age. We're not so different though and I'm not so much older than them, especially if you factor in my carefree silliness. I talked to them about school and then the conversation turned towards family life. The conversation went from light and smooth to heavy and a bit uncomfortable.
We had a good talk today, about a good hour, then Snickers arrived back at the club.
"Isn't anyone training today?" He asked. And on that note they got up and geared up for training.
After training, I gave them all a sweet potato before they left and one pulled me aside to say thank you. I wasn't really sure as to why the thank you but based on what was talked today about I have a feeling. Sometimes people just need to know someone cares about them, someone is there.
Slowly but surely I am putting on the labels for others that my former coach once wore for me. I feel honored.
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