Let’s be honest, most of us think we know what coaching is all about.
You’ve got your clipboard, your whistle, your locker room speeches. You draw up plays, fire up the team, yell from the sidelines, win (or lose), and head home.
That’s the version of coaching most people see.
But in A Road No One Traveled – Side Effects of Coaching, longtime educator and coach Raymond Kiddy shows us the version we don’t see and the part that doesn’t make the highlight reel. The moments that happen after practice, after the crowd goes home, after a player shares something that rocks your world.
This isn’t just a book about soccer. It’s about what happens when life steps onto the field and calls a timeout no one was ready for.
When Real Life Blows the Whistle
In 2017, Kiddy returned to coach the Bishop Walsh girls’ soccer team in Maryland. On paper, it looked like a rebuilding season with young players, fresh energy, and a hopeful start. But within just a few weeks, the season took a heartbreaking turn.
One player’s mother was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. Another teammate lost her younger brother to an accidental shooting. Then came the death of a grandparent. And all this while the team was still expected to show up, practice, play, and somehow keep it together.
But they didn’t crumble.
They cried, they leaned on each other, and they found strength in silence. They showed up in ways even seasoned adults might struggle with.
And through it all, Coach Kiddy stood beside them, heartbroken, unsure, but always there.
Coaching Without a Playbook
What makes this story so unforgettable is that Kiddy never pretends to be a hero. In fact, he admits he was often at a loss. What do you say to a 16-year-old who just gave her mother a final hug before surgery? What do you do when a player finds her brother gone forever? There’s no drill for that. No strategy.
The “side effects of coaching,” as Kiddy calls them, are the things no one warns you about. The emotional labor, the silent car rides home, and the days when winning feels hollow because someone is missing from the bench.
But it’s also about witnessing unexplainable strength in the most unexpected places—like a teenager standing in front of a packed church, delivering her mother’s eulogy with grace and poise that leaves even grown men speechless.
This Is the Story That Stays With You
If you’re looking for a feel-good sports story, this book may surprise you. It’s raw, emotional, and real. But if you’re looking for a true story, one that honors the heart of high school athletics, the power of mentorship, and the resilience of the human spirit, A Road No One Traveled is a must-read.
Because sometimes, the most powerful moments in sports don’t come from goals or trophies. They come from standing shoulder to shoulder, quietly, when words fail. They come from just showing up.
That’s the real game behind the game.
Ready to read the full story?
Visit www.raykiddy.com or email Connect@raykiddy.com to order your copy of A Road No One Traveled – Side Effects of Coaching.
Because the road we never expected… might just be the one that shapes us most.