One time we talked to a player at lunch about the life choices he was making, about the potential he had, about being a good role model for his little brother.

And then he was caught in the parking lot smoking weed 10 minutes later.

Kicked out of school a week later.

One of the hardest parts about working with teens is that you can’t save them all in the short-term, you often never really know your impact in the long-run, and you just have to be okay with that.

I think it’s why baseball coaches get so much pleasure mowing the infield. You get to see the immediate impact you’re making. You see the lines right there in front of you, the clippings in the bin. You’ve made a difference. And you know it.

Coaching and teaching teenagers is hard work. It’s not for people who need immediate results to confirm their inputs. And at its core, you have to really love working with teens. If you don’t, you’ll never truly find fulfillment in your career.