Missing a friend

It's been a pretty busy few days which is why I haven't had a time to make a jouenal entry.  However, I have thought and prayed for my DS friends often.  So even if away from my computer, you all remain in my heart and prayers. This weekend was kind of a sad weekend for me.  I coach a couple of teams who participated in the U.S. national championships this past weekend.  Although I couldn't attend, I did spend all day Saturday listening to all of the games live on the Internet.  Although it was great to follow the action, I sure missed physically being there. I particularly missed a former player of mine who now plays for the team that was hosting nationals.  Both of us are kind of loners so we developed a close friendship a number of years that goes beyond a player and coach.  We were both married with kids and had children about the same age.  At the time, both of us were experiencing a tremendous growth in our faiths and even though we practice different faiths...we respected and learned about each other's differences.  In any case, he and his family moved out west about three years ago and we haven't been able to see each other since.   On Saturday, his team played in the gold medal national championship game.  His team won the national championship two years ago and I coached two teams that won national championships last year.  So as I listened to the game on Saturday, it was so heartwarming to hear his name mentioned as the game progressed.  There was a chat room corresponding to the live broadcast so as my friend scored goals, I sent out a shout of joy within the chat room. Unfortunately, his team lost the gold medal game...to win the silver.  I was able to talk to him briefly after the game to congratulate him but, of course, finishing second isn't normally considered an accomplishment by my friend.  He sounded so sad...but it wasn't just the second place finish.  He told me that playing the sport isn't the same since I'm no longer his coach.  To hear that, of course, in a way made me feel good, but also made me sad too...since I wish I could coach him again too. My friend is a very special person.  He's had a lot of challenges in his life.  Not only does he have a disability, but he also never had much family support.  When I coached him, he wasn't very popular with most of the other players.  I guess that is why I kind of took him under my wing. However, one day he decided to change his course in life.  He started a massive weight training program and turned a lot of fat into muscle.  This transformed him into one of the better players in his sport.  In the meantime, he got married and had a couple of kids.  I think that helped him tremendously for he had someone in his life who loved him unconditionally.  Then this past fall he went back to college...which is difficult for him but something I'm sure he will excel at. He has sure become an inspiration to me as I have witnessed how he has tranformed his life.  Thus, not being at this weekend's tournament and watching him play made me miss him more.