Got a note via Facebook from Sensei today:

You are truly the MVP of the day in my eyes. Thank you so much for coaching so many of our youth and pouring your heart into them as if they were yours. Thank you!

Very unexpected acknowledgment for me. He mentioned this during dinner which took me by surprise.

Today was a different type of lesson and one I was completely caught off guard by. My only intention was to take both my boys to the tournament and be there for them as they went through their day. My youngest having just joined team this year. We started off like most tournament days, getting up super early, driving up to it in a big “team” caravan. The kids love it, so do I. We get there and it’s as expected, a total disorganized mess, but again the kids love this tournament. I think it’s because it’s the first of the year, and it’s the first one for so many. Even myself.

As things progressed I found myself coaching some of the kids, then I just kind of stayed with it. The kids started asking for “Sempai” to coach them! I honestly have no idea why, In some cases I barely know them, you’d think they’d ask for one of their regular instructors whom they see every day. At the start of the day, I had zero intention of being a coach for anyone other than my own kids.

I stayed in that ring for over three hours coaching a good portion of our team in sparring and I can honestly say it’s some of the most fun i’ve had in a long time. Including my own sparring in class and such. It’s humbling to see the trust in their eyes as you help them be brave or fight away tears after they’ve fallen or been kicked too hard. Or that look their parents give you that say “I trust you with my kid and I know you know how to make them better at this…” Or maybe it’s just being a small part of the process of these kids’ lives as they start to discover what it is to be a warrior that I love most. Truth is, It’s rewarding as hell.

Very much looking forward to doing it again.