A Dad for All Seasons

Jonathan Myrick, with his Little League team, was described as committed "to all of his surrogate sons on the team." (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)
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In the aftermath of Cathy's death, the community rallied, bringing meals and offers of help. But friends such as Sharon Saile, who lives two doors away, say that over time it has been easy to forget Myrick is a single dad because he manages so well.

"If you didn't know, you wouldn't know," said Saile, whose husband, George, coaches soccer with Myrick. "You would have no idea. None."

This has been true on the sports field, where Myrick has spent many weekends and evenings coaching baseball, soccer and basketball. Because most teams are formed anew every season, that means perhaps 250 boys or more, on more than 35 teams.

His family life, in the peak of the sports season, is just as striking. A not-atypical night for Myrick might be coming home from his job in Alexandria, picking up his boys in Vienna, getting to Dylan's soccer practice, dropping him off, then taking Zachary to his batting practice, returning to coach soccer, and then swinging back for Zachary. Some days Myrick might go on to coach Dylan's two-hour baseball game before the night ends with showers and bedtime.

Mark Bennett, who coached McLean Little League with Myrick for four seasons, said Myrick brought a fatherly touch to the game, along with a love of the sport. His philosophy is that practices are for hard work and learning; game days are for fun.

When a child struck out in a game, he said, Myrick was consoling: "Hey, it's okay. You went down swinging. You did the best you could."

"He is ultimately committed not only to his own sons but to all of his surrogate sons on the team," Bennett said.

Parent Lisa McColgan, whose 12-year-old son, Luke, played baseball under Myrick for the first time this spring, recalled how he had just the right way of helping him fit in, even though he was a little older and bigger than his teammates.

He made the older boy captain, the team leader.

Throughout the season, she said, Myrick's patience and skill were so impressive that recently she nominated him to be coach of the year. "I just thought it was so important that he could be part of their formative years," she said.

In addition to all of that, Myrick has often given her son rides to practices and games, never mentioning his own time pressures as a single dad.

Like others in the community, Myrick sometimes asks neighbors to watch one of his sons or, if he's running late from work, pick them up at the after-school care program at Colvin Run Elementary. But residents of Shouse Village say that's all part of the community ethic and name -- to pitch in with each other's kids, in the it-takes-a-village spirit.