It was a typical fall sports coaches’ meeting, with 20 or so coaches sitting around the library discussing athletic clearance, first aid kits, concussions, field trips, and attendance on game days. The meeting felt mostly informational. I had a small section on the agenda where I would share my expectations (as the principal) for the year. I didn’t expect to get emotional, but within the first minute, I was talking about wildflowers and fighting back tears. Here’s what I shared:
I recently picked up a book on national parks and got engrossed in a section on Death Valley. Death Valley is a giant national park (almost 3.5 million acres) along the border of California and Nevada. It’s one of the hottest and dryest places on earth—so hot and dry, in fact, that they named it “Death.” Most of the time, when you go there, you see miles and miles of desert with very little vegetation. It lives up to its name and looks empty, barren, and brown.
But then, every once in a while, visitors will come into the valley to find this beautiful blanket of flowers. It’s called a superbloom, and it happens under perfect conditions about every 10 years. These conditions include a somewhat heavy early storm (around September or October) with at least a half-inch of rain to wash the protective coating off the seeds resting dormant in the dirt, then evenly spaced rainstorms between winter and spring with very little wind. Wildflower seeds will sprout during these cool winter storms but often remain small and low to the ground until the weather gets warm. These small wildflowers can look like they are not growing at all, but they are actually developing robust root systems, so when the weather warms up, they are sturdy and start to grow tall. When all of these things come together in the perfect combination, wildflowers grow everywhere in the valley, and the ordinarily brown scenery becomes brilliantly yellow, pink, and purple.
The science of superblooms made me think about what coaches do every day. You are positive, loving adults working to create excellent conditions for our student-athletes. You pour into them, helping them develop strong root systems, and then they blossom, and it’s beautiful. Thank you for working to care for and support these young people. They are better off because of you!
While that may have taken you 2 minutes to read, it took me about 5 minutes to say. When I started speaking, I saw several coaches in the room who have positively impacted my kids (on the tennis courts, the basketball court, and in the pool). I had to take several pauses and drinks of water to work through my emotions.
I then shared these three expectations that I have for coaches this year:
- All Athletes are Valued: From the one who gets cut during tryouts to the one who makes the team but may never see the field to the one who will likely play at a D1 school. They should feel valued by their coaches. This involved offering clear feedback and treating every player with dignity and respect.
- Watch Your Mouth: This expectation is a simple reminder that our words matter. What we say to our athletes or in the presence of our athletes should never be demeaning. Our words have the power to make an impact that will shape these young people for the rest of their lives (either positively or negatively), so be thoughtful about how you use them. Also, no profanity. We wouldn’t allow it from our students, so we need to set an example.
- Communicate Well: The thought that these students are now in high school, so I don’t need to communicate with their parents is simply wrong. Their parents should feel like they are partnering with you as a coach to develop young people of character. A weekly email with practice and game plans or a weekly focus is a simple way to help parents feel in the loop. Also, communicate with the athletic director and administration if there is a problem. We are here to help, and we’d rather hear about it from you than from social media.
While my emotions may have made things awkward, I think coaches felt my passion. I’m looking forward to an excellent year of sports at Del Oro. Go, Eagles!
Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here 