Why I love this game

So I knew it was going to be a good day today when it looked like sunshine outside, but there was still enough chill in the air I could justify having hot chocolate and toast for breakfast. Then I was relieved to see that one of my key players had taken to heart the talk I gave about dedication and had opted to come play again today instead of going to softball. She's quite the athlete so that was quite the decision both for her and for the team.

So today was tournament play instead of just seeding games like yesterday. So to keep playing, you have to keep winning. We played a team in our conference for the first game and the girls were more comfortable as a team today and more trusting with me. They really stepped up their defense and listened to the little things I asked them to do. They won their first game by 16. That gave them the confidence they needed for their second game...... until they saw who they had to play. Their second game was against the winner of the game after them and the winner just happened to be the bigger 5A school that had beat them by 17 the day before. Yikes! Their heads went down. The other team went on an 8-0 run and I called a timeout. We had a little chat about why we're here and what the difference was between the first game and this one and that I refused to give up even if they did.

They inched their way back up. They pulled together as a team again and my one girl who couldn't seem to reach her potential yesterday, exploded. She was an animal offensively and defensively and her teammates followed her lead. Long story shorter, we won in sudden death overtime. It was awesome. A couple parents were crying. Apparently losing has become quite a tradition. We celebrated a little, but then I asked them to get used to it and move on to prepare for the next game.

Just when I thought they were over their mentalness, they found out who they had to play and their heads went down again. Even the parents shook their heads. One parent said, "It's okay coach. That last game was so awesome they'll never forget it." I said, "What are you talking about? We're just getting started. I fully expect them to win this." The parent looked shocked, but I said it so all the girls heard me. This team is also in their conference and has pounded them in the past. Of course in summer ball, you never know if a team has all its players (including me-- injured post and a guard missing), but you play for the moment and grow as a team.

The other coach was acting like it was a walk in the park and even said, "Let's get this thing over with." Like it was a done deal or something. That got me going and I thought, "Bet me and lose." Literally. All I can say is that the other team was in shock after the first 3 minutes of the game. We not only lead most of the game, we won by 11 points. It was weird because the girls didn't go crazy like they did when they won the second game, so we went outside and I asked them why they weren't excited. One girl said, "Coach, we're still in shock." It was so funny. One girl thought we were losing until the last timeout of the game (which I called to tell them to quit bombing up 3's when we were up by 10 with less than 2 minutes left). And this is why I take the bad days and keep coming back to this thing I love so much-- coaching. There will be days I ask myself "why" but there are days like today that bring it all back to me. Having my son on the bench with me makes it even better. I know he'll say the right things when the girls come out and that he knows what I want. He even behaved himself with the refs today. :D We had good refs today.

After that we went to Aunt Bertie's so Greg could plant some more corn. I went and got some more plants too so they could have some tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkins in their garden. Aunt Bertie was happy about that and I can tell she likes Greg coming over to check on them. It is good to be in their life again.

If that wasn't good enough-- we went and got our grandkids and took them to the movies. It's always so cute how they form a horizontal line when we go and hold hands as they're walking. Rellie loves spending time with his cousins and is always so excited to see them. It was a nice end to a nice day. Oh, and then we went to Jeremy's house and our other son and his wife were there so we got to see them and baby Maddi too. All of our grandkids and 3 wins. What a great day.

Now I'm going to have some hot chocolate and retire early. I am tired.