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Coach

Trent Morris

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 If you’ve moulded a foot that was just five years old,
Or reminded this: “Don’t use your toe,”
If you’ve said “No hands, please,” just as you were once told,
If you’ve witnessed each type of poor throw,
If you’ve ordered to kneel, but not on the ball,
If you’ve looked with intent at small scrapes,
If you’ve ever, mid-match, tried to teach them a wall,
Or compared them to bunches of grapes,
If you’ve gently encouraged defenders to break
Through invisible fences halfway,
Or been quite discouraged for your keeper’s sake
When they lounged as if at a cafe,
If you once tried to juggle a line-up so young
There was hardly a quality known,
If you’ve never seen so many naive hopes hung
On a play just conceived before shown,
If you’ve been almost tempted to sell your poor soul
Or offered a whole squad a dinner
If one of them could only find you a goal
Much too late for it to be a winner,
If you’ve ever done even one of these things,
Chances are “Coach” was your name,
And you’ve known the joy that this life only brings
When you’re teaching a child a new game.

© 2014

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/coach/