It's not just coffee

Bored out of my brains at work this morning, I decide to make a coffee run for myself and eight others in the office. Anything to get away from my desk. On the way to Starbucks, I realise this was a costly mistake. I’m on line wondering whether to pay with my maxed-out credit card or use the cash wife gave me to pick up groceries on the way home. As I reach for my wallet, a hand comes over my shoulder, bearing a card.

‘Let me get these please, coach,’ says a female voice.

It’s the mother of one of my players, dressed like she’s on her way home from Tai-Chai, Zumba or some other bizarre fad designed to liberate rich, bored women from their money on weekday mornings.

‘Oh, no, I won’t hear of it,’ I say, hoping she will see I'm faking it.

‘No, come on, you do enough for my boy,’ she says, thankfully handing her card to the barista with whom she is, of course, on first name terms. ‘He loves playing for you.’

I know what this is about and as I wait for the drinks, she starts the hard sell.

‘So when are try-outs again coach?’ she asks, as if she didn’t know.

‘Next week.’

‘Great! ____ is really excited, do you think he will make the cut?’

Her son is a fringe player but he has a nasty, violent streak when he is on the field that I like, he never misses a practice and he never complains. Not to mention his mother is a very smart woman.

‘I think he’ll be fine,’ I tell her. ‘No need to worry about him.’

Amendment to Commandment of Travel Team Coaching Number 91: It is perfectly acceptable for parents to demonstrate their commitment to the team by buying gifts for the coach, especially around try-out time. How else are we to know which parents really care about the game?