AT HOME WITH TODD SHARP
How has your personal life changed?
The biggest change is I’ve always been a slow
study. It takes me longer to grasp anything, but
once I grasp it, I’ve got it for life. You’d think I’d
be used to it by now, but it still shocks me: Every
day, everywhere I go, I’m thinking I’m just living
life as a guy who ran into Panera to get a salad,
and the truth is the entire kitchen is coming out
taking pictures of me with their cell phones while
I’m standing there trying to pay. (Laughs.) ...
First of all, I’m not a star. I’m not a celebrity. I’m
still working a ton of hours coaching kids (and)
doing what I love.
In some ways, my life is definitely more stressful
because there is only so much of me to go around,
and that didn’t change. The demand just got higher.
But I’ve watched a couple of local celebrities
over the years that I have seen act annoyed and
downright rude when people ask to take a photo
with them or want to give them a hug. It really hit
me, you know, whether I do one season of the show
or we do eight seasons, who gets that opportunity?
I had a day a few weeks ago where I literally had
a 15-minute window to run into Kroger and grab
groceries and, even though I was in a time crunch
and had people coming to my house, I was in
Kroger an hour because people started lining up
to take a photo with me and wanting to tell me
a story about their granddaughter who wants to
move here from Oregon to be a Ladybird because
of the show. I’m not going to walk away from
that, no matter how busy I am. ... All I can think
is I’m blessed. If I died tomorrow, I have a legacy
as a coach, that has already been built. But that
legacy now is an international legacy. The show
has been popular and done well in the (United
Kingdom) and Great Britain. It’s also opened up
an incredible opportunity for my girls to shine, too.
When not in coaching gear, where do you
get your “so sharp” attire?
(Laughs.) Him Gentleman’s Boutique, 314 Pearl
St. in New Albany. I own it with Ross Wallace,
who is a young guy who works so hard and has
such a passion for what we can do with the store
that I think he can present. … He’s knocking it
out of the park.
You call your dog T.J. What’s his full name?
Todd Sharp (back, right) and Patrick Mahoney with
(front, from left to right) Ryleigh Vertes, Rose Crombie,
Marissa Hall and Kobie Jarmon in Todd’s home.
On his birth certificate – which we all know
really means his registration papers – it’s Tom
Jurich Sharp. Typically, when you name a pet
after somebody, you’re honoring that person.
45