Temperatures in the 90’s every day have not slowed down local area players and coaches, who we applaud for continuing to show the utmost pride in our local schools and communities.

We commend local school and youth coaches for their continued work as great role models in our community and their push to make student athletes “students” first.

It would be easy for any of the local school coaches to give up coaching and return to only making a difference in the classroom, but instead they put in extra time with local kids to help them become better athletes, better students and most importantly better citizens.

Don’t forget youth coaches either, who volunteer their time. It would be easy for these coaches to push through their 40 hour work week —  a struggle for even the most motivated workaholics — and then rest at home during non-work hours.

Instead, they show up on the baseball diamond or the football field and fight through the heat to work with young people in our community, investing in their lives daily.

We applaud the coaches that show up every day and teach our youth the important life lesson of being dependable.

Our children need to know the importance of not letting down others when on a team, because it teaches responsibility. Even when it is hot outside or a player is asked to unhappily sit the bench, the rest of the team is depending on every player to show up.

This analogy works well with sports, but it fits into anything. Imagine for a minute if a police officer decided it was too hot outside to be responsible or if a teacher elected to stay home because he or she was mad that they did not get Teacher of the Year.

Important life lessons often start with parents and teachers, but coaches are often forgotten as a key influence.

So, the next time you are at a sporting event, instead of yelling at the coach for a bad call on fourth down or for picking the wrong person to play third base, just simply say thank you.

We know we will.