Ramrod straight
Clarion and sure
The doctrinaire coach
Wags his finger and chides

"Sports doesn't
Build character
But it does
Reveal character."

I peel off
The first layer
Of the coach's dogma
By reflecting back

To an athlete
I exalted
In my
Early youth

An older boy
Whose physical skill and steady hand
Had sold the town
On his moral command

But then, with sweep of time
And speed of light
His silky moves
Took unwelcome flight

Unprepared for
The epilogue of sport
And with no market skills
Of any real sort

He plummeted hard
In sad free-fall
Seeking condolence
From alcohol

He fathered a son
Yet did not marry
The weight of paternity
Too heavy to carry

When challenges called
Such as raising his son
His common refrain
Was to pivot and run
-------------------------------
To that well-meaning coach
Base your lessons
On a more studied approach

When dispensing guidance
To impressionable youth
Make certain the message
Is rooted in truth

Character is not fixed
In one's adolescence
Nor merely revealed
By physical evidence

Character development
Is a lifelong ascent
With daily chances
For self-improvement

The critical thinker
With judgment astute
Divides undeveloped notion
From moral absolute.