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The Coach's Wife New Edition- Excerpt
The Coach's Wife- New Edition (Preface)
It’s a roller coaster ride – only it doesn’t stop after a few minutes of thrills. Being a coach’s wife means riding along on an emotional track that takes you to the highest highs and the lowest lows. One minute, you’re ecstatic and breathless – the next, you’re sad and almost mute. Not to mention the fact that the whole ride is played out in public.
It isn’t an easy life. Coaches' wives have all the stresses of other wives – and more. Some of us expect so much of ourselves and also feel the pressures put on our husbands and the great demands placed on them. So how are we doing and what are we feeling about it? I sought to find the answers from coaches’ wives across the country through an online survey. Ten years ago, I mailed out a similar survey and wrote the first edition of The Coach’s Wife based on my findings. What are the differences today? While most aspects of being married to a coach have not changed, today’s culture and technological innovations have definitely made it more challenging
This is the 21st century and life operates in fast forward mode. My first book was typed on an IBM compatible computer using ClarisWorks. The thought of attaching a document and sending it to my publisher in Nebraska seemed as likely as launching it on the space shuttle and sending it to the moon. Today, we are immersed in instant accountability. We’ve got cell phones, text messaging, email, the Internet, digital photos, wireless technology and global positioning systems. Even doing laundry has changed for the coach’s wife. Nowadays, Katy Pugh asks her husband Scotty to remove his shoes and socks outside because of all the black rubber pellets he brings in from the artificial Field Turf.
For me personally, a lot has changed in ten years. ‘Heaven-sent’ mates for our two children came into the family, my parents, grandmothers and great uncle went to be with the Lord, and five grandchildren have since been born. All this, while we moved to a new coaching job in Dallas and changed houses three times. My husband Randy won his first state championship ever at Highland Park High School, and wrote an excellent book for coaches: Coaching By The Book: The Purpose and Passion of a High School Coach. Every coach needs a copy! www.coachrandyallen.com
If you read the first edition of The Coach’s Wife, you will recognize some of the stories; however most of this edition is “new and improved” for the snazzy, sassy, smart, and sophisticated new coaches’ wives of today. They answered my online survey with candid and revealing insights. My hope is that this edition brings a feeling of warmth, appreciation, and understanding to the young wives entering the profession. We are not seeking the spotlight, but we do stand proudly beside our husbands, glowing as the Coach thanks us with, “I couldn’t do it without you, honey.”
How true! And we wouldn’t want it any other way.
March 2008
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November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
Pre-Coaching School
Book Announcement
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