When we put out the call for players for our 5th grade Girls Basketball team this season, we were overwhelmed by the response. Due to a few of the League coaches “Retiring,” there were many “Orphaned” players, and the word got out that we had a great coach.
All of our players from last season returned . . . and when they heard their friends talking about losing their coach, they invited them to join our team. When the dust settled, we had 18 players . . . and so we took them all and fielded 2 complete teams.
From day 1, EVERY player attended EVERY practice (unless sick or out of town) . . . and EVERY player showed up at EVERY game with a BIG smile and good, positive energy for the game.
Parents and Grandparents also showed up. Invariably, our fan section outnumbered our opponent’s 2:1.
We won lots of games and lost some. Our coach David Marmalejo always kept things in perspective . . . our players were there to learn the game and have fun . . . and as long as they were doing those 2 things, the winning and losing part would take care of itself . . . and it did.
This was a winning season of epic proportions. These 5th grade girls learned to love the game of Basketball, and they learned a lot about teamwork and good sportsmanship.
The final game was this past Saturday. ALL 18 of our players showed up EARLY and ready to play. Unfortunately, our opposing team had missed a memo adjusting the game time and did not have enough players – So – We all acknowledged that we were all there for these young athletes to play basketball, so we loaned them 6 of our players. In the course of the game, our players who were playing on the opposing team scored most of their points . . . and the final score was a points loss for us . . . and a HUGE WIN for everyone in terms of lessons learned about good sportsmanship.
At the end of the game, the league representative presented our girls with these 2 trophies:
Instead of 1 “The Love of the Game” award for our division, our team(s) received TWO.
This was the BEST ending of a season EVER.
I could write for days about all of the lessons I learned from these girls on and off the court . . . and I wonder . . . How would the world change if we adults paid more attention to the thoughts and actions of our CHILDREN?
They “GET” more than we often give them credit for.
Some folks attribute the gelling of this team to good parenting and good coaching, and I acknowledge those things help . . . but it’s REALLY good kids who made this happen.
and here they are:
An afterthought . . . If you have a pet . . . Have you ever given thought as to who is training whom?
Same thing with kids.
They’re already our leaders.
🙂
PS – Speaking of teams gelling . . . Pareto Realty is REALLY coming together and JUST in time for what we believe will be a STELLAR year for Real Estate Sales in Middle Tennessee. If you’ve given thought to a move any time in the near or distant future, connect with us to learn more about you options in this new and improved housing market.