We all have things we get ready for. Be it a long term goal, a short term goal, or somewhere in between. As most of you know, I have been coaching Emily in basketball since she was in the second grade. As the years have gone by the motivation of why she plays ball has changed. It started as something fun to do. A way for her to burn off extra energy. Within the last couple of years, her motivation has turned to playing ball in high school. Her dream is to play for the gold and black of Amarillo High School. A tremendous goal worthy of her effort to achieve. My other girls on the team have similar goals. The brutal truth of it all is not all of them will play varsity high school basketball. Some will play other sports, others will stop playing all together. They will all follow their life path into doing whatever it is they are meant to do. You ask, where am I going with this? Well...here goes.
Do we all have the patience for a long term goal? Today marks the first day of try outs for my girls (except Makaela, she already made the A team at Westover). This is the first time in the history of my relationship with Emily she will be playing ball for someone other than me. It is weird for me to think about sitting on the other side of the court and watching her play as a spectator. This is good for us. She needs someone else to teach her. I need the perspective of watching versus coaching. We both will benefit from this. This morning her Mom took her to practice. Another first for me. When has she ever gone to practice without me? I can't be there to give her a pat on the back or "the look". She is on her own. Does that scare me? No. Am I excited for her? You bet I am. My other girls....Zoe for example. She has never played hoops for anyone other than me. Am I thinking about her today? You better believe I am.
I feel like a mother bird who is letting her babies go into the wild. The girls, me and my Dad have spent so much time together over the last few years working for this one moment in their lives. The time that they go and start on their journey to achieve the goal of playing high school basketball. Everything has a beginning. Today marks that beginning. I sent all my girls a text last night. I told them good luck, play hard, be physical. I told them I loved them and was proud of them. I have been sitting here all morning thinking about what all this means to me. Am I being a bit emotional about it? Yes. I think I have a right to be. Am I making a big deal about it? Probably, but again, I feel like I have a right to.
My goal has always been to help these girls mature. Basketball for me is a great way teach those lessons. Basketball is a game of ups and downs, streaks and stops, endurance and intelligence. My opinion is that a good athlete can play any game, but not every athlete can play basketball. My dad and I always try to have our girls motivated to play. But more importantly, we want to have them prepared for what is to come. Being prepared is the single most important thing to basketball in my opinion. It is the most important thing to life for that matter. That is what I have been thinking about, do I have the girls prepared for what they are about to experience over the next few months. Time will tell. I do get them back mid February when we start our tournament season. So my time with them is not over.
I have been just thinking about something over the last few weeks. This experience with the girls kinda brought a few thoughts together. In our daily lives, are we preparing ourselves for our ultimate goal? Do we live each day like we should? Do we end each day with a regret? I teach my team to play hard and leave nothing on the court. Give it everything they have. Mistakes are going to happen, it is what we do with those mistakes that makes us who we are. How we respond is what matters. Living with regrets is painful, haunting, and sometimes devastating. I have regrets, who doesn't? Be open to what God is telling you. God will never mislead you. God may take you somewhere uncomfortable, but it is where God wants you. How will you feel the next day if you didn't go and you knew that is where God wanted you.
Emily left this morning prepared physically and mentally. She is feeling confident, not cocky, just sure of herself. She knows what to do. She has been preparing herself for this moment. I know my daughter, she will give it all she has, she will leave no regrets. The other girls on the team will play hard. They are prepared. Are we going into today prepared? Will we get to the end of the day and have no regrets? Live without regrets!
later....
By the way....which one is me in the photo above?
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