It wasn’t an obvious transition by any means. It wasn’t clear, like the sound of a starting gun; or well rehearsed, like the a passing of a baton. It wasn’t a single, earth shatteringly clear moment—like a beam of sunlight placed perfectly on his long since balded head that lead Coach Paul to be one of the most important and influential figures in my life after my dad died. But knowing him and knowing my father, I do think they would have been good friends. The way I see it, men like them don’t come around often and for that and a million other reasons I am grateful to have known and learned from them both during my lifetime.

After many moments of silent reflection…

I’ve always thought that they would have been good friends. My father and my high-school cross country coach. In fact, I know they would have been. And oddly enough, I can smile about it now (at least in this moment) in a way I couldn’t back then. The thought of my father and the somewhat random mustached man who showed up for me not long after my father couldn’t anymore and chose to stick around.

So, despite how hard these days following the news of my now second heroes passing have been, I can’t help but find comfort in the fact that they’d have been great friends, and that while I don’t know how it all works after we walk off the track for the last time, I’m hoping, now they can be.

A lifetime ago in 2010

Now if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. I definitely didn’t join the cross country team for the running. Back then I was of the mind that running in long distance and repetitive forms, much like writing in long and repetitive forms was better suited as a means of punishment than one of pass time or exercise. Obviously for me and luckily for everyone involved, I slowly but surely changed my mind on both trains of thought—but, looking back, for all the silly reasons I joined that team, for all the boys I didn’t get, the races/meets I didn’t win, and all the abs I no longer have, Paul was one of (if not the) the biggest reasons that I stayed.

It’s a rare and special thing…

It’s a rare and special thing to have someone shape and save your life in such a way that makes you walk away feeling like a hero to yourself as well.

To know that, in a world where some will help you and make you feel like a burden for it, others will prop you up until you have the strength to stand on your own again then encourage you to take a victory lap.

As an aside: it’s even more rare for someone to take it three steps further — not only inspiring and empowering me to take another lap but to believe in myself and take bigger chances after graduating High School. The largest of which lead me to walk-on to my schools D2 Track and Field team (a choice, by the way, that would change no less than the entire trajectory of my life simply because I couldn’t give him a good reason as to why I wasn’t throwing anymore). Paul did all of that and more for me without hesitation.

And the WOW award goes to…

It’s a rare and special thing to have someone to prop you up in the way he did and while the literal meaning of those words are very much true (I’d argue that at least 7 of every 10 of my teammates have been carried off a finish line by Coach Paul during our 4 years with him) I’d also reckon that all of us were consistently and proudly propped up by the way he carried himself and by the way he lead his life and our teams.

And I genuinely have to believe that a spirit like that, like his, doesn’t get to die with him because he made darn sure it got passed on and on through all of us, all of his athletes, and how we continue to carry ourselves today.

So… keeping all that in mind – I think it’s only fair to say that this weeks WOW award goes to Coach Paul because he was a great leader, an incredible friend (family to many of those who knew him) and unwavering force for good on our teams and in our lives.

It goes without saying that this one is going to hurt for a bit but more than anything I write this to celebrate him because a legacy like that, a legacy like his – is a very rare and incredibly special thing and I could not be more grateful that I get to be a part of it.