Like many of other coaches, my wife and I both work full time jobs 
so we both need to take care of the daily household responsibilities.
During football season, I am not home much to take care of things, so I make up for my absence in the off season. All husbands know the mantra, ‘Happy Wife, Happy Life.’ These are some things I try to do to balance football and life.
Designate date night
One thing that I have made a point to do since the early days of courting my beautiful wife, was to designate Saturday night as Date Night. Just about every single Saturday night for the past 8 years, my wife and I have gone on a date. Having kids has changed that equation a little, but the premise is still the same. Whenever I can take my wife on a date, I take her out. Even if I am tired or would like to watch a college football game, we are going out. She deserves this because like many high school football coaches, I am pretty much absent Monday through Saturday afternoon during the season.
Cook Dinner and pick up the kids
Another thing we do in my house is I take care of dinner and picking up the kids from daycare in the off-season and she takes care of those things during football season. This is definitely not an every single day type of thing, but for the most part, I cook dinner in the off-season. One piece of advice men… Invest in a crock pot!!! Personally, I love picking up my kids from day care. It is the best part of my day. They are pumped to see me and come running. We have our weight training program in the off season and we get finished early enough to get the kids before 6PM (I’m not paying $1 a minute for every minute past 6PM.) It also take a huge responsibility and stress off of my wife.
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Take your kids to the park (or somewhere else)
My kids love going to the park. I love taking them. Since they are 2 and 4, it is awesome to watch them be brave for the first time climbing a ladder, climbing a rock wall or going down a big slide. I wouldn’t want to miss these moments for anything. At least twice during each week of the season while the weather is still nice enough, we take an hour and go to the park between dinner and bed time. We are lucky to live within 1 mile of a really nice park with an awesome playground. I usually load them up in the Schwinn double stroller with a snack and a drink, grab the dog and go for a run. Although it is a bear to control the dog and the stroller sometimes, it is a great time to think about things, get some exercise, and get the kids and the dog out of the house so my wife can have some time to herself. It is amazing how many game planning or other football related decisions I have made while running to or from the park on these days. Sometimes the best ways to make a decision is to get away from the problem and do something else for a while. These park trips give my kids the daddy time they need and give my wife a break, while keeping me healthy physically and mentally.
This post is only three tips of ways to balance family life with coaching, but there are many other ways. Just find the thing that works for your situation. I love coaching, I love the process involved throughout the whole year and I LOVE Winning, but I love my wife and kids far more than any of those things. It is amazing what little things you can do to keep good balance with your coaching life and family life. Just remember the old adage… “Happy Wife, Happy Life.”
I hope this helps you in some way.
Thanks for reading.
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