I Have a Friend

I have a dear friend with parental superpowers. My friend, a lifelong educator/coach, has raised three accomplished children, completely on his own. This family of four functions as a cohesive unit, all recognizing their mere existence depends on one other.

All three children are bright, social and are fortunate enough to be blessed with their father’s sense of humor. All three children are athletic, playing multiple sports at an advanced level, while simultaneously maintaining a near 4.0 GPA.

Lance’s oldest is Madison, a sophomore at Kutztown University. She is extremely personable with a servant’s heart. She played significant minutes as a freshman and will be a full-time varsity starter as a sophomore on Kutztown’s Women’s Lacrosse team. Madison is selfless and is recognized as a supportive teammate. When she is at home, she has part-time employment at WAWA, has a dog-walking business and coaches a Girl’s Club Lacrosse team.  Her dad calls her “the sound track for the family.”

Lance’s middle child (by a minute) is MacKenzie, a fraternal twin to Luke and a junior in high school. She was the only full-time sophomore, having lettered, on Manheim Township’s Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team and is a full-time starter on this year’s team. She has traveled the United States with her Club Volleyball team, having qualified for National’s on a number of occasions. MacKenzie is extremely social, thoroughly enjoying her time with her friends. She has part-time employment at WAWA and frequently works side-by-side with her older sister. In addition, MacKenzie has a full-time job as her brother’s keeper; packing his lunch, reminding him of academic assignments and keeping close tabs on his dating interests!

Lance’s youngest child (by a minute) is Luke, the other half of the fraternal twins. He is a junior in high school, was a full-time starter on his Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team as a sophomore (Honorable Mention All-League), plays on a Club Lacrosse team in Baltimore and plays regularly on his Boys’ Varsity Football team; having lettered as a sophomore. Luke has part-time employment mowing five yards and along with a few of his teammates, founded a weekly Summer Youth Lacrosse Clinic.

Luke had a perfect attendance record during his sophomore school year.  

In addition, he wore the number “0” for the first time in the history of the Manheim Township Blue Streak football program. The jersey, awarded on a game-by-game basis, was worn by Luke at the start of his junior season, for his intense dedication to in-season and out-of-season programs. He was a fall “Iron Man” in 2023 by not missing a single practice, a spring “Iron Man” by not missing a single weightlifting session and was a daily presence in summer conditioning.

During a recent summer trip to Pennsylvania, Lance asked if I would have time to visit with Luke. I was honored to do so. We met at Caruso’s in downtown Neffsville.

At sixteen years of age, Luke is 6’3”, weighs 205 pounds and bench presses significantly more than his own weight. His body filled the door frame as he entered the restaurant. He carried a notepad and a pen in the unlikely event I said something worthwhile. He asked meaningful questions, was polite, thoughtful and his eyes never moved from mine during our entire time together. He was incredibly impressive, with poise and maturity far beyond his years.

No more than five minutes after our visit, I received the following text:  “Hey Mr. Schoch, just wanted to say what a pleasure and great opportunity it was for me to sit down and talk with you. Thank you for taking time out your day and visit back home to speak with me and thank you for paying for my food. I’ve just read your “Random Thoughts”. I will definitely mold these ideas into the man I am and the man I want to become. If you ever need anything even though I’m just a teenager, please don’t be afraid to reach out. I will try to stay in touch with you about my future fall, winter and spring sports seasons. Once again thank you for this opportunity.” Stunning!

Having spent time coaching high school students through the years, I can confidently say that my friend Lance is doing something very special, not only as a parent but as a single parent.

Lance suggests that everything isn’t perfect as his son is challenged to change a roll of toilet paper, to clean his room, to mow their grass and to do his laundry. Somehow this is all very comforting!

Lance, we watch in awe!

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