January 19, 2015
In a couple hours from now, I’ll be driving from my home in Knightdale, NC (just outside of Raleigh) to the small college town of Davidson, NC, where I will be beginning my new job as English teacher at Davidson Day School. I was hired mid-year to replace a teacher who is leaving to pursue a career as a professional writer.
Throughout my adult life, beginning at age 28, when I moved to Raleigh from Southeastern Pennsylvania, I have lived in the Raleigh area. In my coaching life over the past twenty years, I have had the privilege of coaching many athletes who have had a profound influence on my life. While the big names include hurdlers like Johnny Dutch, Wayne Davis II, and Kendra Harrison, there have been dozens others whose names the public has never heard, but whom I am equally grateful to for having allowed me to play a role in their development as athletes and as human beings.
The school where I will now be working has a very small track team – so small, in fact, that they may not even need the help of another coach. It’s funny because teaching English has always been my primary means of making a living, but people in the track community see me only as a track coach, and many – including some who are personal friends – aren’t even aware that I teach English.
But yeah, that’s what I do. I don’t know whom or where I’ll be coaching once I’m in Davidson (which is near Charlotte, NC), but I’m sure I’ll find my way.
I’m eagerly looking forward to this opportunity to getting back to doing what I do best, but to everybody in Raleigh let me say, I’m gonna miss you.
To all you hurdlers I’ll be leaving behind, let me say this: believe in yourself, follow your dreams, never let doubt or fear be the reason that you don’t go for what you know. I’ll be sure to stay in touch. You do the same.
