One in 10 Million

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Coach of the Year.  Coach Wolfe.  

I've had the extraordinary blessing and experience to spend intimate time with some of the most successful, famous coaches in American History: Locker room speeches with Bill Walsh, one-on-one basketball with Mike McCarthy (you'd never know he can shoot the lights out, seeing him roam Lambeau Field now), and dock time with Jon Gruden. I've maybe gotten three autographs in my life; one of my most prized possessions (currently sitting in my office), is a hand-signed-to-me copy of "They Call Me Coach," by John Wooden, likely the most famous coach of all time.  Very rarely, my close friends will tell you, do I talk about these guys and experiences.  Almost never do I name drop them like this. We are, however, talking about Coach Wolfe. When I think of Coach Wolfe, artist, musician and teacher, I am overwhelmed with emotion. Brian Wolfe is truly extraordinary.  As both a friend and admirer, I am deeply grateful that the coaching body he coaches against elected him coach of the year.

I knew of him, watching from afar as a Waldorf parent, for three years, hearing story upon story, legend upon legend from deeply grateful parent after deeply grateful parent before I officially met him. I've come to see a truly unmatched commitment to this unique community, whom many would wash off as a bunch of hippies, and at best, half-interested in sports.

Certainly a guy this talented at coaching and teaching wouldn't give his entire adult life to this small niche of kids basketball?  What is the career pinnacle he could personally reach on this platform?  Coach of the Year in Waldorf?  We have been, and continue to be blessed that Coach Wolfe is not measuring rings pressed with "national" or "world champion."  He is measuring simple, life-changing moments in the magic space  that is the development of young peoples' lives. He has recognized this, and is led by an internal commitment to providing it.

Last year, after 10 years of trying, his 8th grade boys won the tournament championship.  For my family, it was as exciting as watching my father win his first Rose Bowl.  I remember Coach Wolfe on the court after the game: "I can't wait to get the trophy back to Miss Debbie," Davis Waldorf School's truly extraordinary do-everythinger, who knows each child's name and family member needs. That is what Coach Wolfe looked forward to.  Sharing the trophy with someone he knows gives everything she has to this community of kids…just like himself.

When you meet a true coach, living the life I have led, you know it in about 20 seconds.  Coach Wolfe can spit off the philosophy of Jim Calhouns iconic UConn defense, decipher a motion offense or zone press to a level so geeked-out that only Mike Krzyzewski would stay interested past a minute or two... Nothing makes us smile more than his priceless, chalk-drawn pre-game lessons for the team. Recently, we gathered with a few "professional" coaches and I wondered if he would feel intimidated at all...they were sharing their new multi-million dollar instant iPad software, for watching edited practice film 3000 miles away from where the actual practice was held, minutes after the practice ended. Most everyone around faded into some other conversation, but Coach Wolfe, with his slab of cement facility and bag of balls he had to lobby for, as probably the last thing on the schools budget, dove right in and held his own with 40-year veteran coaches, going over every minute detail.  A coach is a coach is a coach.

On top of being a coach to the bone, as the best coaches in sports are, Coach Wolfe ALSO has a unique and unwavering passion, interest and commitment to the development of the children and young men and women he is influencing everyday, using the leading edge of Steiner philosophy, Simplicity Parenting, everything he can possibly get his hands on…I have seen this willingness to integrate developmentally appropriate sports only two, or maybe three times in my 40 years and interacting with thousands of coaches.

I wish I could communicate clearly the extreme rarity it is to have a man so talented, so smart, a true walking encyclopedia of basketball knowledge…who also "gets" the power and gift of Waldorf and includes with grace, so much of Steiner's philosophy.  His commitment to life changing moments for these kids is truly authentic.

If you have ever worried, like many peers of mine have inquired, about your "Waldorf" children or grandchildren being "too hippie" (like my parents panicked about for over for 3 years), you will know the precious gift it is to have a true teacher that brings ALL OF IT to his 2nd grade games class, his Varsity High School Basketball games, and every age between.  There's a balance to the POWER of sport and the beauty of the perspective that Steiner brings to what really matters in life.  Coach Wolfe brings this. And his kids know it.

We can maybe count on one hand the group of guys in the U.S. that bring what coach Wolfe brings, day in and day out, the sacrifices he makes that he never mentions to anyone, putting thousands of miles on his car throughout the year and thousands of hours YEAR ROUND (his wife will tell you), preparing to contribute to his students and players.

As a coach's son since birth, with a life in professional coaching, I can guarantee you NO COACH is loved by all.  And Coach Wolfe is no exception to that.  He's not perfect and he knows it.  Improving, learning, and growing is part of what keeps him working at his craft.

But let me tell you something, this guy is one in 10 million.  Period.  He can coach at ANY level.  I thank our blessings everyday that Coach Wolfe happens to have fallen in love with Waldorf.

I am so blessed that my four boys will wear their Wolfe Pack sweatshirts with a deep connection to so many life lessons, and a pride they will carry the rest of their lives.

David

Reclaim your intention.

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So these Prompts....they are part of an on-going conversation over at The Living Home. Sometimes Maya crafts them, sometimes I do, but in either case, its always personal. These prompts aren't just for you....they're for us too. In fact, they are usually born out of whatever is real & living for our own families at that particular moment. A confessional of sorts.

Magically, so many times it's exactly what's living for many of your families too. Funny how that works, isn't it?

We're part of a not-so-big community. Our town is on the small side. Outside of the transitional college crowd, there aren't more than one or two degrees of separation between any one of us here. It's a beautiful thing, really. It's the reason my children can roam free in our neighborhood & wage mock Nerf battles in the park without a bunch of grown-ups feeling like they need to hover nearby. It's also a nerve-wracking thing though, for me. 

I realized recently that we were Doing a lot of Things. Things after school, Things on the weekend. Lots and lots of THINGS. "Oh! Are you going to the Thing on Saturday?" "Oh! Are you going to the Thing for So and So?" "Our kids are doing that Thing at That Place on Sunday! Will you guys be there?" The compelling feeling that we need to Show Up or run the risk of disappointing our friends. 

I've found myself here before. You would think I'd know what to watch for. What to brace myself against.

See, the truth is, we don't do very well when we try to fit All The Things into our days. As a family, we are much less grumpy, much more centered and joy-filled when we Do very little outside of what our regular routine requires. 

So this prompt? It came from me realizing that we had once again been caught up in that quiet, often well-intended but strong current that pulls us, as a family, off track. Away from *our* best rhythm.  Because we have been here before, I recognized what was happening. Subtle signs from the children. From the cats. From the grown-ups.  Because we had been here before, I was able to act quickly. To put my foot down.

*As an aside, let me just say that I believe putting your foot down does not need to be loud or angry.*

It can simply be a decision. Taking your power back. A conscious choice to say *no* to what doesn't serve you anymore.  A moment where you realize that NOT doing something anymore is going to serve you all better.

A gentle but firm planting of both feet, solidly back onto the foundation of your original intention.

We are done. We are re-claiming our quiet. Our time. Our peace. Or, whatever is living for your family in this moment. What do you need to reclaim for your family?

~Robyn

Simple, Simple

Naragansett turkey, Dutch Malaysian, Japanese Silkie

No one seems to have noticed that we are barely moving, here at Waldorfish, at 'The Living Home Offices.' At the Hackett household, and the Wolfe's, we are just doing life, waking up sometime before our children, assessing our pantries for some clues towards breakfast and lunch, taking in the alternately warm and wet mornings while we feed our animals. In our heads, we live on farms, these working urban gardens that bring us more happiness and peace than produce and protein.  

It looks like we are taking it slow, and we are. Slow food, slow community, slow childrearing.  On our couches, in our kitchens, fingers under the soil. There's really so much at play. We don't need to go fast. Life is constantly rushing up to meet us. It's Spring!

On any given day, we've accomplished much more than we thought and much less than we thought. We are consumed with quality over quantity, and we have no desire to put more out into an already full world. No. We're more processing what's already here, living with already questions, observing what's unfurling at present, where we are, in any given moment. 

During the week we can count on trips to the co-op. Running into each other, and so many of the Waldorfish community, at the library, the bike church, the farmer's market.  In this agrarian town, we live in-between, in the "ish," dancing from our keyboards, to our chard beds, from our cars to our cycle paths.  It's homemade kombucha + store-bought cookies.  We meet at basketball games, we text from our dining tables, we gather at our downtown office, we chat on the local Waldorf school bleachers, under 27 year-old trees planted by local elders in ancient constellations.

Time is cyclical for us, the linear calendar a far second, and it's good.  We're here to learn, to serve during our short time, right-sized in a much larger global community of resources, and we're having a really good time. We're getting to know so many of our teachers, parents and homeschoolers in The Living Home, and hope to be able to share your work, too.  Somewhere, between our own quiet dinners, family gatherings and the laundry. Things are blooming fast around us, and still, we've got plenty of time. There's a season for all of it.  Keeping it simple, simple, simple.  

xx,

Maya + David

signs of success, On Path.