I've gotten some nice words of encouragement from parents throughout the season - one from a parent whose kid was previously on my team saying "the kids on Ryan's team always have fun", another from a parent saying her son's skills have improved this season, and lots of e-mails of thanks for what we do.
But the ones that are especially nice are the words that come from the kids. When I was telling the girls about registration for next season, I told them I can't coach them again, and some said "awww". And yesterday, one of the boys on my U10 team told me that when I was on my trip, he missed me.
These are the moments that make all of late night line-up arranging, coaching classes, unsuccessful referee recruiting, leaving work early, etc. all worth while.
