During the spring of 2014 I volunteered as a coach for the Montevallo Boys and Girls Club Girls in the Run team. GOTR is a non-profit whose mission statement is to " inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running." Our team was made up of 12 girls in 4th and 5th grades. We met twice a week for a character education lesson and activities. The culminating event for the program is a 5K where teams from all over the Birmingham area come together to celebrate and run.
Our team met on Mondays and Wednesdays. I just went to the Wednesday meeting every week. The meetings generally went well, but some weeks I felt like I wasn't getting anything right! Some of the girls were not into the idea of running at all and just wanted to walk. Things changed somewhat after our practice 5K. The kids from the Boys and Girls Club came to cheer, as well as members from a nearby church and the University of Montevallo has 3 members of their girls cross-country team come help us. Once our team felt the energy and support from everyone that day they really rose to the occasion! After that the next few weeks went a little more smoothly during our lessons and most of the girls chose to run when it was time.
All of the weeks of preparation led up to the GOTR 5K. I was so nervous about how the girls would do and if they would have fun, but my doubts quickly faded when I met with our team that morning! They were so excited to run! Every girl that runs is paired with an adult that accompanies them throughout the race. For some girls that is a parent or family member, for others it is a member of the community. I ran with one of our girls and we had a blast! We ran and walked through the course and just chatted about life. I learned so much about my running buddy and what a neat kid she is! My favorite quotes from her that day were "This is funner than I thought it would be" and "It's like we are royalty or something! (in response to the police stopping traffic)" When we finished we waited and cheered at the finish line for all of the girls and running buddies. Smiles were contagious! I think I grinned like a little kid all morning as I watched the girls have fun!
Was being a coach hard work? yes! Was it sometimes frustrating? yes! But was it all worth it and would I do it again? A thousand times over YES!
