Behind the bench . . . reluctantly

Watching the support staff - two trainers and a manager - fill in behind the bench for absent coaches last night made me think of my own forays when I was thrust into a role for which, ahem, my qualifications were thin.
I did have a Speak Out card and was on the roster as manager, and real coaches can't always be there. So behind the bench I go.
One of the first times was at a tournament when the head coach unexpectedly came down with flu-like symptoms after spending the night before out with his buddies. The assistant coach had previously booked off and so . . . me. My only meaningful contribution was successfully convincing an 11-year-old to return to playing defence for us instead of forward. He did, but it was the last time he acquiesced to such a radical suggestion from a mere coach. He's on my son's team this year. Playing forward.
A year later, we were in my hometown Clifford for a one-day tournament. My son wasn't feeling well and had spent most of the tournament at my parents' house. When his team made it to the championship game, he rallied but asked if I could be on the bench in case he needed to make a quick exit. The cool air of the arena served him well and he played major minutes and had a great time. We won the tournament.
The last time my son played with an AE team, we were in a spring tournament in Queensville, Ont., with a partial team trying its best to shake off an implosion that had resulted in a lot of no-shows. I was drafted to help on the bench when the coach had to catch a flight to Europe on business. The three team volunteers left, including me, gave passionate pre-game spiels about pride, effort and how dedication to hockey builds good habits for life before the team's final game together. No Miracle on ice here. We lost. But parents were overjoyed because if we had won and advanced to the final, the game time was a ridiculous 9 pm start and would've meant getting home to London at about 1 a.m. on a school and work night. Priorities!