Liz and I coach Maggie’s 2026 lacrosse team.  I am the head coach.  I have an associate head coach, Audrey, who is great.  And Liz is one of the assistants.  It is a lot of fun coaching Maggie’s team, and Liz does a great job.  And Maggie is fun, and she works hard, as do a bunch of her teammates.  It is a good recipe for this team to be successful.

On Saturday, it was super cold.  We had to leave the house early in the morning and drive more than an hour to arrive before 7AM.  First game started before the sun came up.  It was interesting.

Our team went 4-0.  Maggie and her teammates played great through pool play.  Maggie played defense and midfield.  Our team had fun throughout the four games and in between, and competed hard.  They earned the #1 seed and a spot in the championship game.

After the last game though, the coach of the other team was complaining about the scorekeeper not counting one of their goals.  Liz keeps the stats for our team, and documents all goals scored, for both teams.  And the scorekeeper had it correct.  So, I signed the scoresheet, that we won 7-3.  But then the scorekeeper came up to me and said the opposing coach requested to talk with me, and she ended up getting in Liz’s face saying that she kept the score wrong and didn’t count one of their goals.  Liz handled herself very well (especially given that she wasn’t the scorekeeper, just kept stats which matched the scorekeeper).  She showed the coach all of the scoring, how they were scored and who scored.  The coach left the field with her team acting like they had been cheated, and she was very vocal about it.  Liz was a little rattled, because adults should not behave the way that she did, especially not towards a conscientious teenager who is doing her best to help.  But I talked with Liz on the way back to the tent and told her how well she handled herself.

A few minutes later, we learned that this team earned 2nd place and would play us in the championship.  Great!  In order to teach my teams sportsmanship and honoring the game and the opponents, I have instituted pregame rituals.  I have each player on our team go to the opposite bench before the game and shake the hand of the opposing coach and wish her/him luck.  And then when they get on the field, shake the hand of the player they are facing off against and wish them luck.  I believe it sets the tone for friendly competition and sportsmanlike behavior.

But, after the opposing coach’s behavior in the last pool play game, I broke with our new tradition and just instructed the players to take the field.  The opposing coach had not demonstrated very good adult behavior in the prior game, and I didn’t want it to effect us as we stepped onto the field.

In a short game, we got off to a quick lead and kept it.  With a few minutes left, we were up 4-0, and I was able to make sure that everybody played in the championship.  We came away with a 4-1 victory.  And the girls got to enjoy championship t-shirts and medals.

We got to the field at 7AM, and weren’t done until 6PM.  Average temperature on the day was 40 degrees.  Hour and a half drive each way.  I took the girls (Liz, Maggie, and Mackenzie – my all star team) out to Red Robin for dinner to celebrate before driving home.  They earned it!  And Maggie got desert!

It was a great day to be a coach.  And a great day to be a dad.