5th Grade Champs

5th Grade Basketball Champs

I have been coaching my daughter and her friends in youth basketball  for the last two years and today we were able to win all three of our games at the Pittsford Youth Basketball tourney and in doing so bring home some hardware.  More important than winning the tournament or any of the games today, I was most proud of the great improvement our girls made in the way they played.  We have been working very hard at practice on our fundamentals and defensive execution and today there hard work paid off.  Along with their development as basketball players I have been very impressed with how well they have adapted to the hard working/hustling style of play we have incorporated   These young ladies continue to make great strides in their individual work ethics and their expectations as a team in how hard they expect each other to work.  Sometimes we as parents or adults get so lost in the wins and losses that we forget to recognize the strides young people make in developing some of the more important skills in life.  Sportsmanship, hard work and toughness are three areas in which these girls have made great strides.  If adults can sometimes get out of their own way I think that we could learn a thing or two from some of the hard working young people in our life.  For example today after the each game I had the girls sit in a circle and we talk about the game and things that we learn.  We always end our conversation by going around and having each girl say something positive about someone else on the team.  What makes this group so special is that they will really make a point of recognizing everyone's positive contribution to the team.  I mean we can always pat the leading scorer on the back or talk about how great someone is playing but with this group they will pick out some of the small intangible things that their teammates do and we will all celebrate them together.

Today this group of smiling, fun, energetic, positive young ladies taught me how people with caring hearts can make others feel special and relevant regardless of how great their athletic status might be.

Lord,
Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to coach these young ladies.  Continue to help me be the best coach possible for them.  Lord be with each one of them as they continue to grow in both their development as athletes and more important as young people.

Love in Christ,
Scott