Author: daria

Beyond the coup system: Kicker editor, Kyle Sauer, reflects on the value of earning coups and doing things for the sake of merely doing them.

Posted on by daria

PERSONAL COUP

by Kyle Sauer

Ah, the Keewaydin Coup system. With two weeks into the summer, it’s in full swing. Next to our names, those flat little trophies are being lick’d and stick’d for all of history to see what we’ve accomplished during the summer of 2012. And they’re more than just a square of paper; they’re tangible symbols of finally achieving a perfect dock landing after days of work, or learning enough in swimming to move up a level. It’s a reward for life skills that are rewards in and of themselves. But what happens with an accomplishment that isn’t, on paper, coup–‐worthy? On myovernighttriptoSilverLake,Iheardthequestion“Isthereacoupforthis?”many times, and I had to respond negatively. Somehow the Bush whacking Coup, the Stung by a Stinging Nettle Coup, and firsts in Golden Marsh mallow–‐Making have fallen between the coup system cracks. But if you achieve a feat commendable enough to receive a coup, yet the coup is non–‐existent, I hereby grant you the right to award yourself a “personal coup.” Because you always set the tables right, you get a Waiter’s Coup. Because you broke up an argument on the playing field, you get a Referee Coup. And for knowing that the work you do is for a cause and not applause, because you can be proud of yourself without bragging, and because at the end of the day you don’t really need a coup to legitimize what you’ve learned and experienced, you get… well, do you really need anything more?