Abby's 'Coach Wil' story

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love getting "Dad" stories — Coach Wil stories to you. They've been piling into my inbox, so I can't stop checking my e-mail in anticipation for the next one. 

As I've said before, I share them with Dad, and I'm putting them in a memory book for Jordie and Cole. We've already had tears, awwwww's, and laughter over these stories. I'd like to share some of them here, too.

So with her permission, today I am sharing Abby Mudroch Goerig's e-mail with you.

"I met Coach Wil shortly after I moved to Randall my freshman year in High School. I had been playing on the JV team in DeSoto and was pretty upset with my parents that they were ripping me from my basketball team.

"I wasn't the most naturally talented at basketball, but what I lacked in talent I tried to make up for with hard work. Shortly after meeting Coach Wil, he alerted me to his off-season rule that in order to play basketball, you had to either play volleyball or run cross-country. Both sounded horrendous to me, but considering I had never played volleyball, I felt the lesser of two evils would be to run cross-country.

"So in August of 1991, I showed up for cross-country two-a-days. I am sure I had never run more than one mile in my life before that. I am pretty sure I was the only new guy; I didn't really know anyone else running, so my plan was just to do just enough to get on the basketball team.

"Coach Wil would tell us the route and then follow behind us in his car. As the fast runners would take off leaving us slackers behind, Coach Wil would pick us up in his car. He'd load us all up in the back and zoom us up to the fast girls, where he would again let us off to run until we fell too far behind, and then he'd pick us back up again. I am sure that I spent more miles in his car than I did on the road. 

"Sometime during that first month of cross-country, I realized the fastest seven runners made varsity. If I could make it in that top seven, I could get my letter jacket and the ever-coveted "Home of a Randall Raider" sign for my yard. I wasn't all that far behind the seventh runner, so on the day we had the race-off for the top seven spots, I ran my tail off and made it.

"I may or may not have died after the race, but I did well enough to make varsity. The next week was the first meet. I planned to keep my 7th place position, as it was a win-win for me. The first five girls on our team were very serious, and they had plans to make state. I figured as long as I stayed out of their way, it would all work out fine. I got to letter, and I didn't affect the team any as only the first five to finish scored points.

"My mom was a good sports mom and attended any event I participated in. I assured her there was no reason she needed to go to a cross-country meet. All we were going to do was run, and I wasn't going to do that well anyway. So my mom stayed home from the meet.

"Before the meet, we all warmed up and prayed. As we were headed to the starting line, Coach provided us with important words of wisdom, "Its' bad luck to finish last". Probably one of the best pep talks a runner could get.

"I started out the race in my usual joggish style. Shortly after starting, I saw one of our top five (and basketball star Corey Norman), lying on the ground. She had hurt her ankle on the course; as I passed her, she reminded me that I was no longer an unscored runner and in order for the team to do well, I would need to run fast. So I ran my hardest and finished 24th out of 100-ish people. I was the second-to-last medal they handed out. Our team ended up winning, and suddenly, I cared a lot more about running. We medaled at state that year. 

"The summer before my junior year, I decided that I might actually train for cross-country and see what happened. I ended up being a pretty decent cross-country runner. I finished second in every race that season until district, when the pressure to win had taken over my "type A" body.

"Somewhere along the course, I just flat-out passed out. Thankfully, our team still qualified for regionals, and I was able to race again. Coach Wil gave me the best advice I've ever been given at that race. He told me that I had done the work and that the race was mine, and that I was my own worst enemy (he was right), and that at the end of the day, there were one million people in China who didn't give a damn about how I ran.

"The weight of the world really wasn't on my shoulders. He spent the next year and a half reminding me that people in China didn't care and that God wouldn't have given me the gift to run if I wasn't meant to use it." 

To Coach Wil:

"I feel so blessed that God put you into my life. First of all I would have never run cross-country if it wasn't for you making me participate in an "off-season" sport. I ended up running cross-country on scholarship for Texas A&M.  Twenty -(ish) years later, I still am most at peace and feel closest to God when running on the road, but don't worry, there are still a lot of days I wish you would drive up in your car to drive me just a couple miles closer to the fast girls.

"Your words of wisdom still bring me back to reality when I am freaking out about things that don't matter. As I sat for the bar exam, I remembered I had done the work, and pass or fail, one million (I now up it to 1 billion) people in China don't give a damn if I pass or not.

"Thankfully, I passed, because the Chinese people may not have cared, but my law firm thought passing the bar was kind of important. 

"As I sit here today, it is my most sincere prayer that my fifth grade daughter (all 5' 6" of her) has a Coach Wil in her life.

"That one day she will meet a person who cares more about her as a human than just as a player. A coach that God has put in her path so that she can find her true destiny. A coach that will give her words to live by for the rest of her life. (She has already heard that it's bad luck to come in last, so she's covered there). 

"I am sad for the one million people in China who never got to meet you, Coach Wil, because God used you to change my life for the better, and I will forever be thankful for that. 

"As you prepare for your journey home, find peace knowing that you have done the work here; you have prepared your sweet family to take care of your precious wife. You have taught countless numbers of girls to believe in themselves, and you have forever touched my heart. 

"Please know that all the way from College Station I am giving you a great big hug." — Abby Mudroch Goerig