The clock expired, sadly, and despite two “well-drawn up” game winning plays, we failed to execute and lost the game by a point. I walked off the court, dejected, wondering where I went wrong. It crossed my mind, the parents sitting in the stands questioning my call. It crossed my mind that I hadn’t preprepared our team well enough. It crossed my mind that I could have, SHOULD have, done better.
For the record, this was a 5th grade girls basketball game. Which is to say, I’m no different than you. I write about youth sports and culture. I interview amazing people on the same topic. We talk about the blessing and life-lessons of sports all the time. But, at my core, I am not immune to the angst and thoughts that every single one of us involved in athletics experience.
I’ve had people in the stands tell me after the games, “Coach, you need to tell those girls to box out and rebound” and thought “AWESOME IDEA! I had previously been telling them NOT to rebound. Thank you kindly for the game-changing critique!!” I’ve had the ‘coach, you need to run “x” play’ and thought “Hmmm. Would YOU like to try to get 10 year old girls to read a slip-screen and set a few flares for kids whose shooting range is under 8 feet?? Have at it!” I’ve had the subtle frustrations over kid’s performances, agonized over my coaching failings – and the tough part is, when I really examine my heart and emotions – the disappointment is almost NEVER in the girls – it is ME worrying about ME.
Me. Me. Me. Me. Me…
The ironic part? The girls? They had a blast. It was a great game. A few of them scored more baskets than they had in any previous game. A few had some great steals and tough rebounds. They played really hard. They played really well. They competed, but came up just a bit short and handled it appropriately. They were bummed they didn’t get the win and gave everything they had to do so, but they were largely… FINE. The picture on this article is proof.
Their first comment was “Hey Coach – who gets the G.O.A.T. Chain??” It’s our team ritual to celebrate a teammate who went above and beyond – it can be their play, their effort, their attitude – someone who stood out as GREAT in a unique way. We “goated” one of our girls, they all hugged her, cheered, and insisted on posing for a picture to celebrate their teammate.
We lost a game. For a moment, right after the buzzer, I thought “I lost the game” only to be thrilled and humbled to be reminded of all the lessons we TRY to instill at Play in Faith by a pack of amazing ten year old kids.
Youth sports is the best, man. It really is. I’m just glad I have an amazing group of girls to remind me daily…
