A player and his former coach reflect back about the life lessons that baseball has taught.

In this episode of The Journey of my Mother’s Son podcast, I sit down and talk with one of my former players, Kyle Stover.

I first met Kyle when he was 14 years old and started coaching him when he was 15 years old.  He’s now 36 years old, married, a father of three wonderful boys, and a professional in the medical field.

One of the objectives of this journey was to connect with some of my old players across the country.  Kyle is still in Pennsylvania, living in Southern York county, so as we started our trek down to Florida for the winter, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend some time with Kyle, his wife Angie and their three sons.

The greatest reward that I have gotten after thirty years of coaching is the relationships that have been built with some of the players that I coached.  Yes, I won a lot of games and several championships over the course of my coaching career, but all of the trophies and medals pale in comparison to developing relationships and life-long friendships with some of my players.

To look back and digest that I’ve been a part of Kyle’s life for over half of his existence here on Earth is quite overwhelming to think about.  Sandy and I have been to his graduation parties, a couple trips to the ER following game injuries, his wedding and some birthday parties for his kids.  When you’re doing things like, you understand that coaching is about so much more than the game itself.  It’s about truly being a positive influence and mentor in someone’s life.  The memories of the games, the wins, the losses, the ties, they will all fade over time, but these types of relationships will last forever.

Below are both the video and audio only links to the podcast: