itsbecsyo!

There are a lot of people out there that think the varsity basketball coach is all mean and no nice, and that he pushes too hard. But he has a soft side. I already had a lot of respect for him because he told you straight up when you made a mistake. Today, my respect for him went up, because he took one look at the clock and told a girl to foul just so he could get four others and me into the game.

Today after our loss, all I could think about was how I’m going to miss the seniors so much, and how I can work hard so that next season I can be a player that isn’t in the last 16 seconds, but is sitting on the bench in the last 16 seconds because I ran my course until I was tired. I’d never seen him get as emotional as he did tonight, and I might not ever again, but I can remember one message he got through to me loud and clear: We are a good program. We aren’t like the hard-core recruiting schools because we don’t play basketball for business, we play for fun, and then we add a little bad-assery along the way.

That got me thinking, my first year of basketball in first grade, I touched the ball maybe twice because I played on a co-ed team with the guys who didn’t think a girl could do anything. The game was fun, but my drive came from wanting to prove them wrong. And you know what? I got asked to play varsity for a week here and there, play a game or two with them in league and play with them all summer, while those same guys are stuck on JV getting half the playing time I am. Because I have a drive to prove to myself, my teammates, and my coach that I can succeed, and the coaches see that and are willing to coach me to be the best person, the best athlete, and the best basketball player I can be. With all my heart, I love my team, and I love my coaches, because they helped me become who I am today, and I can’t be more thankful that they haven’t given up on me. Above all, I love the seniors for making this one of the most memorable years of my life.

“Be glad he coaches us, because my parents told me that once a coach stops coaching you and helping you, it means they’ve given up. And I know he’ll never give up on any one of us”