If we are being honest, I have always had a tough time adjusting to new people #nonewfriends. Since becoming a coach’s wife I have had the opportunity to join a circle of friends that are pretty much built into the profession. Being apart of the coaching world has changed me. Yes, I still often need my time and space but I have also realized how important it is to embrace the friendships that are available to me. If you let it, the coaching world can get lonely. The moving, meeting new people, and having to start your life over can be daunting.
These women don’t realize that their acceptance of who we are and the life that we lead is more than I could ever ask for. The community of coaches wives can really be supportive and helpful. Overtime, I have met many different ladies, some I still keep in touch with and others that I don’t. Even though I may not talk to these women all the time, the bond we shared will always be special to me. No matter the relationship that is formed, we all understand the lifestyle that we live and the support that is needed from each other.
The coaches wives I have met throughout this journey have no idea how much they have helped me. They don’t realize how they have eased my nerves before a big game or how they have talked me through the pre-season anxiety. This team of women have picked me up when I was down. They have reminded me that everything is going to be okay when things got hard, and they have always been there for me when I needed to vent. We use each other as a buffer when the negative comments come flying from the stands. We cheer each other on while cheering for our husbands and the team. The time we spend together is something that I will truly cherish for the rest of my life.
Coaches’ wives connect because we have walked in each other’s shoes. We know what it is like to be lonely and attend functions alone. I have mentioned it before, but it wasn’t until our last move that I realized how fortunate I was to be moving to a new town with my friendships already developed. When we moved with the frat house, I never had to worry about meeting new people and creating new bonds. I took for granted situations where ladies in other towns would often be alone. We moved to a town I had never heard of and I instantly had people to travel to games with, people to sit with, and people to hang out with on the nights that our husbands are at the field house working late.
Like I discussed in the Frat House Series, these people are my family. As a family we travel to games together. We pick up things from the grocery store for each other. We watch each other’s kids. We celebrate holidays together. We create our own traditions. Moving all the time is hard, but when you get to move with your people you never have to be the only “new-person-in-town.” I am thankful that we have so many people that we can count on and I know that no matter what happens in the future, I will always have these friendships to count on.
