Basketball Season

I haven't blogged in a few weeks thanks to the hectic schedule of basketball that I have went through over the past little while.  I am sad to say that the season is now over, but beyond happy to say that we just WON OUR SECOND STRAIGHT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  It was an amazing season and I am so proud of my team.  We went 22-0 and that is the first ever undefeated season in the history of the school, and the two state championships we have won in a row are also the only two championships that either the boys or girls have ever won in the history of the program.

It is truly wonderful to be a part of history and that means a lot to me.  But, what means the most is the fact that I was able to spend these last three and a half months with this team and I was able to be reminded why this is my dream job.  My team has 16 girls on it, and each one of these athletes are unique in their own way.  We have different ages and different personalities, but the one thing we do have in common is the sense of family we feel within the team.

Sitting on the bus for 3 hours while we drove back home gave me a lot of time to think.  I was reflecting on the championship game, and how impressed I was with our season.  We have been ranked #1 in state for our classification all year, we remained undefeated, we defended our championship, and we battled through every team's best shot.  Then it hit me, I was very impressed with our basketball season, but what I am most impressed about is how these girls are as people.

I watched our senior captain walk off the court to a standing ovation from the crowd with 14 seconds left, so our other senior could get some playing time in the championship game.  As our senior captain was walking off, and receiving well deserved applause, I was immediately hit with a wave of emotion because I knew that her time with St. Joseph basketball was completed.  I have been with the team for 3 years, and had the opportunity to work with her on her game for most of her high school career.  She is an unbelievable talent with the highest competitive streak you will ever meet.  She wants to be the best at everything she does, and to be quite honest with you she often succeeds at it.  As she walked off the court I rushed to her with tears in my eyes and gave her a hug because I was so proud of her.  Sure the championship was great, but I was proud of her because of what she put in to get us there.  As I stood on the sidelines I remembered all the times I stayed after practice and chased down rebounds for her while she perfected her jump shot, or I remembered all the pregame talks we had to get her pumped for the game, but most of all I remembered all the times she was a leader and brought the entire team's work ethic up on and off the court, I remembered her continuously making other athletes want to be better.  Win or lose, a person like that is automatically a champion in my mind.  That is how I will always remember her.

Her time on the basketball team is over, but St. Joseph will always remember her because every time someone looks and sees our two championship banners hanging on the wall, everyone in the stands will know it is because she led us to greatness.  I am so proud of her and as I was on the bus reminiscing of the season I realized that she isn't just an athlete to me; none of these girls are.  They are like my little sisters out there.  We put in so much time together and we give it everything we have for the team every single day of the year.  We genuinely care for one another and want the best for each other.  Win or lose we do it together, there is no ego among the girls, there is only the desire to succeed and the will to achieve it.  That is what makes us great! That is what makes us champions!