The Porch of His Presence

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BLACKBOARDS AND BLESSINGS

The Reluctant Wrestling Coach

In my second year of teaching, I received a job I didn’t apply for and certainly didn’t expect:
Assistant wrestling coach.
Not only had I never wrestled,
I didn’t even enjoy the sport.
But this wasn’t a request—it was a directive.

Looking back now, I smile.
Not because I became a great coach,
but because I became something else.
I became available.

My role, as it turned out, had little to do with technical wrestling.
I was the one who kept the boys moving—
drills, laps, conditioning routines.
And since there was no room in the gym, we practiced in the cafeteria.
Before each session, I joined the boys in pushing tables to one side,
rolling out the mats so they’d have a space to grapple and grow.
On days with an odd number of wrestlers,
I was the warm body who stepped in
so no one had to sit out.

I didn’t teach them takedowns or counters,
but I taught them something all the same:
I showed up.

We had a good team—strong, disciplined, and rarely defeated.
The coach did a fine job preparing them for tournaments.
My part was smaller,
but perhaps still meaningful.

I learned that year something I hadn’t yet named:
growth often begins in the place of discomfort.
We do things we never dreamed of doing
not because they fit us
but because we’ve been asked.

Sometimes the greatest blessings don’t come from doing what we love.
They come from being willing to serve where we’re needed.

And the Lord, as always, met me there.