Love.
When I used to do this blog, sometimes I would pick out a
word, somewhat uncommon, to describe a match Calumet Christian had just played.
Usually it was a word like desultory or perfunctory, as I often used this technique
after Calumet had gone through the motions to defeat a significantly weaker
team. I was trying to be clever; I never really came up with one word for
exciting matches, big victories or the like.
So why try to use one word to describe the volleyball coaching career of
Melinda Carr? (I almost wrote “…describe
the career….” – how parochial.)
Well, love is a big word. Not long, but very, very deep. And it’s the word
(well, one of the words) that comes to mind when I think of Melinda.
Melinda loves volleyball, sure, but throughout all the years
I spent with her and the program, I never thought she loved it more than what
was fitting. She honed her craft, picked the brains of other coaches, read her
volleyball magazines and used the natural gifts God had given her, sure, but
she always seemed to communicate, mostly non-verbally, that she understood that
volleyball was a game, an arena God had put her in to do greater things.
She loved her players. I saw
in her relationship with the girls that she loved them – loved them when they
were not very lovable, loved them when they didn’t love her, loved them when
they didn’t care as much about playing well as she did, loved them when they
were showing the opposite of love to each other. As a father of three girls I
understand these challenges, yet Melinda loved other peoples’ daughters like
this, like her own.
Melinda loved the social aspect of the game, befriending
coaches, officials, tournament organizers, camp administrators, opposing team’s
parents, opposing team’s players, and fans, always seeing someone she knew at
seemingly every venue and function to which the team took her.
But it was never unclear from where this love came. She
loves her Lord. She did all these things out of an evident joyful submission to
the God which she served. Her passionate desire to help her players become
closer to Jesus or to know Him as she did saturated most everything she did in
volleyball. Which brings me to another word that comes to mind when I think of
Melinda – discipleship. Not as soft and fuzzy of a word as love, so it’s often
neglected. Neglected because it’s hard work, the hard work of daily pouring
oneself into others, oftentimes without the results being evident immediately,
or even ever being seen by the mentor. Melinda didn’t shy away from it – no, Melinda
poured herself into her players and their families, players and families that occasionally
didn’t appreciate her very much. She knew, and we knew that she knew, that this
was the most important part of her coaching.
Melinda, by retiring this year, has made the statement that
volleyball, while very important to her, is something she is willing to
sacrifice for the next thing God has called her to. We all know that retirement
to Melinda does not mean ceasing from work – it just means moving on the newest
stage in her life. So now Willy, Chris, Eva, Landry, Bryce, Peyton, Ty, Zane, Stephanie,
David, Reagan, McKinley, Jeremy, Michelle, Lexys, Sydney, Quinn, Piper, and
Rowan, Rachel, JD, Rylee, Myka, Ellyott, Alli, Andy, Pax, various and sundry
siblings, parents, nephews, nieces and any future grandchildren will have her full-time in
the upcoming years. I sure they will appreciate it. I’m sure they appreciate
her now.
Seriously? Seriously.
Thanks, Melinda.
