Haiti #3 - Why I Coach

On Wednesday, July 6, we all gathered down in the lobby for breakfast around 7 a.m. While I was enjoying my coffee and omelet, I got wrapped up in an intriguing conversation with Dr. Macy. He explained to me the psychological help offered to the children of Haiti through the Child-in-Hand program. With all of the destruction surrounding us, I had barely even thought about the mental trauma that a catastrophic earthquake causes on a child. And while you can see the devastation of diseases and outbreaks, the quieter suffering is the mental side of experiencing a hardship. Through his stories, it became obvious that this is an issue near and dear to Dr. Macy’s heart. His compassion and dedication to helping the children of Haiti, along with that of his medical team, is palpable and moving.


Fred, the vice president of the Haitian Volleyball Federation, picked us up from our hotel after breakfast and soon we were off battling the morning traffic. The term “battling” does not do justice to what we encountered on our drive to the gym. The two lane road was plagued by potholes and missing lane lines. Children asking for food weaved in and out of the bumper-to-bumper traffic, just like Tuesday, and it brought us all back to the environment we were in. Our two mile drive took us around 45 minutes, but we finally pulled off of one of the most dangerous roads I have ever seen into the schoolyard. Mike, one of the members of our security team and a former soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that the road was pretty awful, and he’s seen some terrible roads.

The school was surrounded by walls with barbered-wire fence, yet when we entered the yard, we found a terrific oasis: a wonderful court complete with outdoor sport court and plenty of room to conduct our clinic. As we walked up, there were about 50 coaches and players waiting for us, all with amazing smiles on their faces. We immediately dove into conversation, and through a translator and some broken English, we made the introductions work.

Tracy Stalls brings energy to any court she steps onto, and today was no different. Tracy, along with Scott and Becca, touched every single member of our training group. Our morning session lasted from 9 a.m. until noon, and we covered the basics: passing, setting, hitting, and at the end, we got into some play. The sun was out for most of our session and after the breeze died, we were left with 95 degree, sunny and humid weather, but it didn’t matter. We were all enjoying ourselves so much that we barely even noticed the heat index exceeding 110!

Overall, the morning session was a huge success and everyone, our team included, got a lot out of it. We braked for lunch and went down the street to a local fast food restaurant. We filled up and enjoyed an hour of the A/C before heading back to the school. When we returned to the court I noticed that most of the participants from the clinic were sitting in the same spots. It became clear to me that three meals are not a given here.

The participants were eager to begin again and so were we. The afternoon session lasted from 1 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. We covered serving and serve-receive, and we played some 4v4 and 6v6.

I also added in some Haiti vs. USA competitions. I put one of the very talented Haitian teenage boys, Johnny, against Tracy Stalls in a serving contest. The two battled while everyone watched and cheered. The challenge was simple: who could serve the ball and hit the ball-cart on the other side first.

The two alternated attempts and after six serves, Johnny won. Everyone in the clinic went nuts, and Johnny ran around the court like he had just won the Olympics. Tracy, who is one of the best and most accurate servers I have ever coached, smiled and gave him a high five. I looked at her and she smiled at me. She was thinking the same thing I was, he just needed a win. Mostly everyone here just needs a win. They have been through so much and have suffered more in the past couple of years than what any human should have to endure in five lifetimes. At that moment, Johnny forgot about all of the hardship and simply felt like he had won the Olympic gold medal for his country. It was something that was truly special to see.

We ended the clinic by saying our goodbyes, and we also had a special gift. Team for Tomorrow, a humanitarian fund of the U.S. Olympic Committee, donated USA hats and bags for us to give to the participants. As we unveiled the gifts and started handing things out, you would have thought that we were giving them each $1 million dollars. Everyone was extremely surprised, thankful and excited. They all asked us coaches to sign their new hats. They asked our photographer, Astri, to snap a ton of photos of them in their brand new gear.

As we gathered our things to head back to the hotel, the participants overwhelmed us with their appreciation and gratitude. They all were so thrilled to have gained new knowledge and skills in the great game of volleyball. They thanked us again and again for taking time out of our lives to visit their country and spend some time with them. We were humbled and moved by their sentiments.

I’ll never forget this day in Haiti. This is the reason why I coach volleyball. Having an opportunity to impact wonderful people’s lives and bring a little joy and light into their world made me realize why I do what I do. Tracy, Scott and Becca knocked it out of the park, and we returned to the hotel completely exhausted, but very satisfied. Tomorrow we will go after our session like we did today… just a little bit more inspired.