In A Road No One Travelled — Side Effects of Coaching, seasoned coach Raymond Kiddy goes beyond game-day tactics and final scores to unveil something much deeper. He gives us an intimate look into the private moments that often go unreported, the heartaches that don’t make the news, and the emotional toll that comes with giving your life to young athletes.
What begins as a recounting of a particularly challenging girls’ football season at Bishop Walsh School in 2017 gradually transforms into a thoughtful examination of loss, devotion, and what it means to lead in the face of unthinkable hardship. In addition to suffering a series of defeats on the pitch, Coach Kiddy and his team also experienced losses that are beyond measure on a scoreboard: the untimely death of a player’s mother, the unexpected death of a teammate’s younger brother, and the death of a teammate’s grandmother—each heartbreak compounding the one before it.
In the midst of this emotional storm, Kiddy doesn’t romanticize the struggle. He confronts it directly. His work is blunt, open, and filled with the sardonic humor and refreshing candor of someone who has witnessed it all. He isn’t afraid to speak out about structural issues in youth sports, such as the emotional toll that real life takes on coaches and players when they can’t take a break for a game or the complicated politics of Catholic school administration.
This memoir, however, is not solely about loss. It is also about change. Kiddy recounts his path from a small-town boy in Lonaconing, Maryland, to a teacher, coach, and ultimately headmaster as he looks back on more than 40 years of coaching. His early days of planning backyard carnivals and sandlot football to raise money for team jerseys reveal the beginnings of a coach who was always interested in the children and never focused on the spotlight.
What makes A Road No One Traveled stand out is its deeply human perspective. Kiddy doesn’t position himself as a hero or an expert. He is simply a man who gave everything he had, whether that was his time, energy, heart, and faith to the game and to the young people who played it. He admits mistakes, questions decisions, and lets us in on his doubts, his exhaustion, and the moments where all he could do was cry with his players.
For coaches, teachers, parents, and anyone who’s ever mentored youth, this book offers something familiar. It’s a reminder that the sideline isn’t just a place for shouting plays, it’s where real life often shows up uninvited, where leadership is tested, and where the most important work has nothing to do with winning.
Raymond Kiddy’s memoir is not polished for perfection. It is real, unfiltered, and written from the gut. It reminds us that coaching is less about tactics and more about humanity. It’s about showing up again and again, no matter how difficult the season gets. And this is exactly why we suggest everyone consider going through the trauma, change, and experience of being a coach by grabbing a copy of Raymond Kiddy’s book ‘In A Road No One Travelled — Side Effects of Coaching’. Experience the trauma, loss, victory, and raw emotions of a coach and a girls’ athletic team through the heartfelt narrative by Raymond Kiddy that immerses you in their journey. Grab a copy today from Amazon or any other major book retailer, or to connect with the author or learn more, visit www.raykiddy.com or email Connect@raykiddy.com.
