Dear Coach...Get in the Picture

Dear Coach,

I know you’ve had a long day.  You’ve been up since dawn, running to get your own family off to school, get packed for work, and manage the million other things you’ve got going on.  Or you just spent an entire day shuffling papers, dealing with parents, reorganizing practice, and managing kids.  You probably don’t feel your best right now, so the thought of being in a picture makes you feel sick to your stomach.

Do it anyway.

The demands of life and a career aren’t always kind to our bodies.  We don’t work out like we should or eat like we should.  Sometimes, we’re even a little ashamed of how we look in photos.

Do it anyway.

You know that sometime in the future, this photo is going to pop up on some slide show in a staff meeting or otherwise come back to haunt you.

Do it anyway.  Get in the picture.

I understand all the reasons why you don’t want to be in a photo.  I’ve used them myself.  But after taking thousands of photos of students and teams over the last several years, I have a different view of things.  

Every day, I hear students ask, plead, cajole, and bargain for their coaches, FFA advisors, and teachers to take a photo with them.   Do you understand what they are really saying?  Every time they ask you to get in the picture, they are saying:

• You are important to me.
• I look up to you.
• I want to remember this moment and you in my life.
• I admire you.

Those aren’t the words they say, of course.  They say things like “Mr. Cress, come on!  Please!?!”  Or “Coach! Coach! Coach! Coach!”

But they are really saying “Our time together is short.  But your presence in my life is powerful.  I want to remember this and you.”

So get in the picture.

Your players and students don’t care if your hair is a hot mess or if you are in a suit when they are all in track uniforms.  They don’t care if you have a ridiculous smile in front of a camera or are carrying a few extra pounds.  They love you, just as you are.  And they WANT to see you standing side-by-side with them.  

Get in the picture to create a memory that will last well beyond how your team feels about its finish in the season.  Get in the picture to honor the relationship you’ve built with these kids.  To show them what they mean to you and honor what you mean to them.  Give your students something to carry with them when they leave your program and venture into the wide world of adulthood.  

Our community lost some amazing coaches and mentors this summer.  And for some of these players, a photo of them and their coach and teacher is the only tangible thing remaining of these great men.

Give them that gift.  Please.

When you take the time to join them in a picture, what you’re really telling your players and students is this:

• You are important to me.
• I value you in my life.
• I’m proud of you.
• All bodies are beautiful and worthy of memories.

Get in the damn picture.  

Sincerely,

Your Team Photographer