Last week, I was talking to Eden, one of our wonderful sixth grade young ladies, in the cafeteria during our SACT, or tutoring/meeting time. Recently, Eden told me she is going to play basketball next year, news which made me very happy! I asked her a question about the upcoming 2019-2020 season and she had a one word answer:
"Makayla!"
Then, Eden corrected herself.
"I mean, CAPTAIN MAKAYLA!"
We laughed and as I recall, shared a fist bump. And I told Eden she was right in addressing her future Lady Wildcat teammate as Captain. It's just giving honor where honor is due.
I had a unique makeup of my squad this year. Our roster included eight middle school girls but seven of them are eighth graders. TRANSLATION: all but one of them will be in high school next season leaving sixth grader Makayla as our sole returning player. Somewhere around Thanksgiving, I began referring to her, as Eden duly noted, Captain Makayla because she will be our designated leader next year. It's a lot of responsibility for a youngster to handle but she is more than up to it. Coaching has more facets than most realize. From year to year, there are drills to be taught, offenses to be implemented, traditions to be handed down, and expectations to be honored and met. Without Makayla, where would we start? ( I should note here that even though our playing schedule is finished and has been since late January, we still are together for a practice period each morning.) This past season, I was blessed with three returners- Faith, Kaylin, and Piper. The trio was masterful in modeling the skills and behavior needed for us to reach a level of excellence. And now, the mantle is being passed to Captain Makayla.
It's apparent from reading the Scriptures that Jesus was preparing His apostles for the time He would return to His father. They were entrusted with the Gospel before it was written down and praise God they were. Paul was constantly mentoring young evangelists, knowing his time was limited on earth. And going WAAAY back, Elisha apprenticed with Elijah and David was training his son Solomon to be king and to be up to the monumental tasks laid out before him. Compared to those examples, what we're doing with Makayla may seem inconsequential..... but it's not. Middle school is a most difficult transitional phase for kids and in my opinion, harder for girls than boys. And it isn't really about basketball, either. Basketball is simply the vehicle in which we provide a very special family for a bunch of pre teens and newly teens for a year at a time. Makayla will help establish the culture for the rookies, and there will be a bunch! Tomorrow morning, Dahlia is coming to do our Wednesday morning team devotional. Dahlia was on our team for three years but played very little until she was an eighth grader. Now a sophomore, Dahlia has bloomed into a wonderful young woman with a message my players need to hear. Makayla will be listening as Dahlia shares her wisdom in less than twelve hours. She'll take the lessons in and use them as she officially takes on the role of captain next August. Then in four years, she'll be the one talking to the younger girls just like Dahlia will do. In the nature of sport, it's the cycle of a team. In the broader context, it's the cycle of life.
*I'm sure most of you know it already but the title tonight is taken from Walt Whitman's poem, penned after the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Applicable quote of the day:
"Once a player joins our team, our priority is to teach him, not worry about the player we didn’t select."
Tony Dungy
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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