Tuesday, May 1, 2007

A Caring Friend

I first met Mike 10 years ago when I started coaching at Notre Dame. In the past 10 years I have had countless memories with him during phone calls, camps and trips to visit one another. As I read all of the stories from players, parents and friends, all I can think is - I had that experience with Mike too. There is no question that he cared about all of the people that he came in touch with and was genuinely interested everything that you were involved in.

Of all the experiences that we shared, I know that this one sticks out more than any other. I always think of Mike as a tough coach who looks the part with his crewcut and dip in his mouth. But this past fall, Mike and Amber stayed at our house for a ND football game. On Saturday night, he spent the majority of his evening laying on our family room floor with my 3 year old son's head on his chest watching "Finding Nemo". You could tell that Mike was just soaking up the moment and so was everyone watching the two of them. Mike was a tough guy with the biggest heart.

God Bless (My wife called his house Sunday night just to hear him say that one more time),
Kevin Anderson
Former ND Lacrosse Assistant

No comments: