Coaching Basketball....on the bright side

(Me, back in the day)


I didn't want to coach basketball this year.  I thought my daughter could benefit from learning from someone else for a change, and I thought I could use a break from it.  The practices are fine, but the games.  Oh, I just find the games to be too stressful.  And by too stressful, I mean that if I have more than one cup of coffee before a game, my legs shake while I am coaching.  I don't know why.  I am not playing for a national title, or really any title (although we are currently tied for first in our league).  But, coaching games makes me sweat, get a dry mouth and sweaty pits, and I really thought I would sit on the bench this year.

That being said, I do love teaching and I love the game of basketball.  And, I love teaching the game of basketball.  I especially love teaching it to girls.  I love to see them grow...not just in dribbling, shooting, and rebounding, but also in confidence, because as a former young lady, I know you need all the confidence you can get in this life.  And confidence on the court can translate into confidence off the court, and I love that I get to be a part of that.  In fact, I would have to say it makes every drop of sweat and minute of cottonmouth completely worthwhile.

And so, being that there were not enough coaches, I took the plunge.  Inside my head, and occasionally on my Facebook page, I have been having a love/hate relationship with myself over the whole coaching thing this year.  In the past, I have also been my son's coach, so I see such a contrast when I attend his games as a mom versus my daughter's games as the coach.  His games I enjoy, her games I sweat my way through.  And I have come to the point where that is okay.

I love my team this year (okay, I love my team every year).  This year, some of them are new to me, and others are girls that I have had the privilege to coach in the past.  It is amazing to see their growth in the short time that I have known them.  Now that they are a little older (4th-5th grade) it is amazing to see how increased mental abilities and body control make it truly "a whole new ballgame".  It is thrilling to work on something at practice and then see them execute it in a game.  In those minutes, I live for the little knowing smile that graces their face...."I did it".  You can tell that is what they think for the brief second before they have their game face back on.  That is what I love about coaching.  And yesterday, there was a lot of it in the game.  And it was so rewarding...for them and for me.

Tonight we lost.  We haven't had a loss in a little while, and it never feels good.  We came back from a big deficit, caught up, almost had it within our grasp, and then we didn't.  Had there been more time, or our foul shots all fallen in...well, then it would have been another story.  But, it wasn't, and that is okay.  Because, sports, can also be a great teacher of how to handle adversity with grace. In basketball and in life sometimes you play your best, give it your all, and still fall short.  At that point, what happened doesn't matter as much as how you handle it.  Tonight, I hope I showed those girls how to lose, and still respect yourself and hold your head high.  To know you put your all into it, and it wasn't enough, and that is okay.  We won't sulk, or blame, or obsess.  We will move on.  Work on deficits and build up our strengths.

In everything, there is always a bright side.  No matter how much you hate to lose, there is always something good that comes from a game.  Everyone learned a thing or two (or three) tonight.   And, my daughter made her first basket of the season.  Not only that, she made it while doing EXACTLY what I have been telling her to do. That is fabulous, no matter the score of the game. 

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