One of the great things about coaching at the high school level is that my players and other students adopt my children as little brothers and sisters. My two kids love these people as much as anybody in our family because of the attention they give them. It is wonderful to see these young men and women be so good to my children (which I use on them often "do you realize if you get in trouble how much Maddie or Brandon will be upset?").But....each year the players/students they become so close with graduate and move on. My daughter knows that when they graduate, she won't get to see them as often and it upsets her. It is part of life and growing up and she is learning great lessons from this heart ache, but it still is hard to watch as she loses people she considers "best friends".
Whether it be my son walking through Meijer's yelling "Weeks, Weeks" looking for a former player who works there or my daughter crying because one of her favorite people won't be around as often next year, it is quite sad. But, she does see them come back to games or graduation and she understands that they have moved on, have grown up, and that it will happen to her some day.
We helped to console her that we will take her to watch this young woman, Amanda Embry, play a softball game or two next year, but it won't be the same. But the way kids bounce back, there will be others that she will be connected to this year adding to the long list of people she considers family and crying over losing at the end of this year.
