The Circle of FIRST®

Originally Posted: September 13, 2010 by Sarah in Coach Stories

One of my favorite songs from a movie is the Circle of Life, it allows for a very dramatic opening scene.  I love Pumbaa’s way of describing it: ‘‘I gotta tell you, that song always gets me, right here” while he points to his heart.  Recently, I realized that FIRST has a similar cycle.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning…

While I have a lot of experience with FLL on many different levels, I have never gotten a chance to be the main coach for a team until now.  This year will be my first year as a coach and I am really looking forward to it.  My team met for the first time this week and had a blast putting together the elements for Body Forward.

The night was a huge deja vu moment for me.  Some of my fondest FLL memories are the nights when my team put together our mission set.  It was a time when we would laugh, joke, and work with LEGO!  As I watched my team build the elements, I realized it is now my turn to coach and mentor the next generation of FLLers.  I have gone from being a participant to inspiring others to participate in FIRST.  For me, this realization was a huge “coming of age” moment.  I knew it was my turn to continue the Circle of FIRST.

Pumbaa was right, that song always does get me “right here.”

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