It all starts tomorrow. We play our first game of the 2017-2018 season and we play at at our west campus, another first for us. This is a milestone year for me, number twenty at Westbury Christian School and the twentieth team I've coached. While accurate, that's also a bit misleading as one year I concurrently coached both our middle school squad and our high school varsity, a total of sixty one games in what was the longest year of my life. I also took a season sabbatical after both of our parents died within a year and I needed some time to recover emotionally. I really like this bunch of kids of which there are only seven. Only three are eighth graders- we play an eighth grade schedule- and only two of the seven were with us last year and have played in a junior high game. I'm not sure how good we will be but that does not matter. They are coachable, they work hard, and maybe their best characteristic, they like each other, something not always found on middle school girls' basketball teams. Without going out too far on a limb, I may love this team as much as any team I've ever coached and that covers a lot of athletic ground!
There will be something different about the Lady Wildcats tomorrow when they take the floor, different from all my other basketball teams. We will be wearing black socks. All my previous teams have worn white socks. It's not that I have anything against non-white socks; it's just easier to keep them uniform when they are white. I tell the girls that uniform means alike and there is a purpose to it. It drives me crazy when I see teams in basketball and volleyball wearing ten- and I'm not exaggerating- unique colored and decorated socks on the court for the same contest. But, I broke down this week and bought the NIKE socks you see above for early Christmas presents for the young ladies. (Truthfully, I have to give props to my wonderful sister-in-law, Karen, who ordered them for me on AMAZON!) We'll look good- now we just have to play good!
Do you know what's interesting? I don't care what kind of shoes my players wear or what color. As a high school coach, we bought our shoes as a group but middle school is different and shoes are expensive. It is possible we will have three brands and five colors of high tops tomorrow and it won't bother me in the least! Why does one item on the feet get on my nerves but not the other? Who knows? Why does the speck in your eye frustrate me but not the two by four in my baby blues? We seem to pick and choose our battles very foolishly and I know have done that as a coach and teacher and even as a Christian. My motto, although I might never really admit it, has probably been along the lines of what matters is what matters to me. Pretty shortsighted! Maybe I'm growing, one sock at a time. Well, it's really two socks at a time but you get the picture. Tomorrow, we'll tip off at 4:30 in our brand new uniforms and our brand new socks.... with maybe a brand new, of slightly broken in, coach. I may have some planks to get rid of! I'll let you know!
Applicable quote of the day:
You choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color.
Gary Oldman
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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