I’ve been coaching middle school soccer for five years now. I stumbled into the coaching position because the school was desperate for a coach and I was the only one willing to do it. I’ve been responsible for middle school girls ever since. Despite the hard days, I can honestly say that I love coaching these girls. Middle school girls are awkward and embarrassing and they’re still figuring out life. One of the things my girls struggle with the most is running. They hate being hot and they hate running. If it’s a hot afternoon and we’re outside, they’re not happy. Last week, one of the schools we were competing against invited us to play on their indoor field due to unexpected rain and storms. My girls were thrilled to play inside and they were talking about how cool and refreshing it was going to feel. However, as soon as we walked into the indoor stadium, we were greeted by an overwhelming amount of heat and humidity. There was no air conditioning running inside the building, and the only source of air was coming from large, industrial sized fans. Even though the doors were wide open, the rain was creating excess humidity and it was making the air thick. During the game, I was constantly subbing out my players due to the heat and humidity. Needless to say, we lost the game and my girls were complaining about the lack of air conditioning the entire way home. I think they’ve all chosen the wrong sport to play.