After 20 Years, Still Haunted by a Drug Conviction [themarshallproject.org]

As I stood on the sidelines of her 6th-grade soccer game two years ago, I suddenly decided I should coach her next team. I mean, why not? I’d always watched her soccer games, trying to keep myself from yelling out instructions. “Move closer to the goal,” I would scream. “Don’t let her get in front of you!” She usually just shushed me and tried to get as far away as possible, but then we’d laugh about it after the final whistle sounded.

As a community college instructor, my schedule was flexible enough to take on a coaching gig. So when I signed my daughter up for a summer basketball league and casually mentioned I was available to volunteer, I was thrilled they asked me to coach. She was almost as excited as I was. “No way! No way…” she said over and over again. “For me and my whole team??” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.