Sports

“Hey coach, who brought snacks today?”

“Hey coach, did you see my new shoes?”

“Hey coach, can I go to the bathroom?”

“Hey coach, did you see my dance before the game started?”

Now that you know the picture of my 3rd grade girls attitude let me frame it for you. It’s halftime of our 3rd game this year. We have easily won our first two (even though no one keeps score) we are struggling this day. I am ready with my halftime speech of defense and rebounding and being aggressive. We walk to our locker-room (sitting in the hallway outside of the bathrooms) and right before I open my mouth these are the questions that my girls have but there are more…

What is a coach to do? I try to dial them in and then they start again…

“Hey coach, is Jordan your son?”

“Hey coach, can he dance with us after halftime?”

“Hey coach, I hit my knee” “I hit my lip” “mine is worse” “no, mine is!”

“Hey coach, have you seen my drink because my mom got it for me and I need to find it because it is purple and purple is my favorite color that’s why I wore a purple ponytail holder and have purple socks and why is your face red, coach?”

Deep breath. Which is a mistake because 3rd grade girls have a war with silence and it must be filled. They have the attention span of a gnat and energy that makes the energizer bunny take his drum and go home.

So I dug deep into my coaching mind for a nugget of knowledge that would connect in a way to inspire them while instructing them; motivate yet correct; be life changing in the moment…

Ahh crap who am I fooling? I jumped to my feet and yelled, “Who’s ready to go out and play some more?” They all jumped up and put silence into submission with screechy squealing voices. I said, “Hands in; team on 3!” They threw their little hands in, counted to 3 and screamed “TEAM” and went out and played some more.

Sports are just vehicles. People use vehicles for a variety of reasons. For some it’s to get them from one place to the next. For some it’s a symbol of social status. For some it’s an enjoyment. But then there are those people who realize that vehicles are blessings that have been given to us to make our lives better and those people usually have better lives.

To my basketball team; they play hard, have fun, and as long as there are snacks afterward, life is good. Basketball makes their life better. I hope even when they get older and competition becomes more intense that they never forget that while basketball is connected to life and can make life very enjoyable. Life is serving God and living for Christ. And having a snack after the battles…

Pastor dad (coach of the coolest little girls anywhere)
ps. we won AGAIN :)

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