re-learned lessons

my re-learned lesson of the day: don't say out loud that life is good & going great, or else it'll come back to bite you in the ass.  prime example: i literally said those words yesterday afternoon after work.  and what happened not even 30 min. later?  the head coach i've been working under at the pool, one of my favorite coaches of my whole swimming career, tells me (and the team about 20 min. later) that he has accepted a coaching position in yuma, az and will be leaving ketch as soon as we can get practices covered, but by march 1st at the very latest.  WHAT!?!?!

talk about a jaw-dropper.  kate & i were blind-sided, especially her since i had to tell her about 2 min. before the team meeting when it was announced.  what this all means, besides the obvious fact that our community is losing another great member & coach, is that we are without a head coach indefinitely once he leaves, since the board hasn't started a search for a new coach yet.  this means that kate, sam & i will be covering practices as much as possible, despite the fact that we all have other full-time jobs and kate will be leaving for nursing school either this summer or fall & sam isn't planning on staying in ketch for more than another year or two, and i want to start a master's program & teach soon.  way. to. go.  i'm almost glad that i haven't finished my fafsa & application(s) for grad school yet, so i can postpone until a new coach is found & hopefully limit the amount of stress that is surmounting as i type. 

i don't know what will happen; it still feels like a bad dream.  i feel hurt by the bombardment of the announcement and the lack of prior communication, but also saddened by someone i've considered a role model, educator, and overall decent human being.  i won't lie; i survived coaching last night and went home and broke down in tears.  i know life will go on, but this just snuffs the life out of what has so far been a pretty good new year.

thank you, martin, for rekindling my love of the sport and for being a supportive mentor as an athlete as well as a fellow coach.  you will be missed...