A Father's Dream

Today was the first day of a new responsibility for me. It was also the start of one of my dad's dreams ... to have his children, or at least one of them, back at CSU, as Director of Athletics. I think he thought it would be my brother, but alas, right now its the girl! It seems weird and unreal, but here we are. 

I'm not really worthy to follow in my dad's steps. He is an amazing man. Here are some areas that I fall short of my dad's ....

1. Knowing names - my dad remembered everyone he met! That is no lie or exaggeration. He knew you by name and he didn't forget you. I can barely remember my immediate families names!

2. Directions - in no way do I have my father's gift of directional abilities. I am, as they say, directional challenged. My dad would call to check on me if I was driving to visit he and my mom and ask what mile marker I was at! He could tell by that number where I was..... just sick!

3. His ability to make you feel like you were the most important person on earth. If I like you, I can probably make you feel that way!

4. His organizational skills were second to none. For basketball camp he had a massive notebook detailing every minute of the week, every drill and breakdown of those drills. I, on the other hand, have a piece of paper for each day! 

5. My dad's gift of encouragement was killer too. He could make the worst player think they could dunk the ball, even if they couldn't walk and dribble at the same time. 

Here is what I do have - my dad's love of college students, using athletics to build relationships, and his last name. We are getting to a time where the name isn't as recognizable as it once was. So I build on it. I take what I learned from my dad, put my own spin, personality and gifts to it and carry on the family name and the family job. While the gym is named for my dad, I get to coach in it. I also get to make decisions on redesigning it. That's cool.  

So in some ways, my dad's legacy lives on. His kid is the Interim AD at the place he loved. While he no longer has his steel-trapped mind, one day he will know and be proud.

By the way, I also have my dad's uncanny musical ability....and by that I mean it's so uncanny that I can #singall4parts ..... at the same time.