“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” (Fred Rogers)

People talk about him behind his back in the kindest way. That’s what I knew about Todd Metzger before 2019. My good friends, Ann and Gerry Hepp, for instance would always say when his name came up, “Shelly, you need to meet him. He’s such a good guy!” Other folks I respected did the same. Take Claudine Kreiner, for instance, whose awesome son has been getting tennis lessons from this guy for a while. She’s expressed to me her deep gratitude for his patience with young Mr. Kreiner. So, by transference, this man I only knew as “Wyatt’s dad”, was dubbed in my head as a solid human. His reputation precedes him.

This summer, my son Drew went to work for the father of his good buddy, Wyatt Metzger. Todd has been generous in his employment of hard working high school kids for as long as I have known his name. I had only a vague awareness about him, having never met him myself. Drew started coming home with a few stories about Mr. Metzger, most of which made me grin. Then, Todd invited our entire family to his place for the 4th of July. This was a blessing to us, as we were all very much missing our annual 4th celebration in Michigan which wasn’t to be this year. Spending the evening with some (mostly) new and a few old friends too was such a generous gesture on Todd and his wife Teri’s part. We had a great time!

Then, came tennis season. Todd Metzger did a LOT of helping out a big group of boys with varying skill sets this fall. I watched him donate his expertise and his time. Patient, competitive and articulate, Todd is an encourager of young men. For instance, when my son, Zach, struggled one match to put the ball away, Coach Sciaudone noticed the deficiency and put Coach Metzger on the job. The very next practice, Todd spent considerable time teaching Zach to do something he’d never previously learned– how to hit an overhead. Zach was excited when he got home, feeling like he really had improved that day. He picked it up quickly because Todd is an excellent communicator with a bright smile, and he was patient. Does Z still need to work on it? Yes! However, someone like Todd who takes the time to help someone improve is my favorite kind of coach.

I am now officially a member of the Todd Metzger fan club. He’s a supportive dad of his boys, a job he and his beautiful wife Teri have done pretty fantastically. They are integrity filled young men because, in part, their father is a wonderful example of the same. Todd’s a human who helps others in a variety of ways… just because it’s the right thing to do. He’s a helper I’m proud to know! Thanks for welcoming my sons into your life, and for being such a good example of kindness to those around you, Todd. We’re all better for knowing you! So, today, I’m giving a shout out to my new friend, Todd Metzger. He’s a giant scoop of awesome sauce!