Somebody Is Going to Lose, But You Are Still Winners

Except if you are trying to reduce your weight losing is not fun. Today was the final game of Carter’s basketball season and it was a hard loss to their big rival Ravenscroft. That means no advancing in the state tournament.

For me it is the end of the parent camaraderie in the stands. We are a faithful bunch of ever-hopeful supporters. Realistic in our expectations, we have often been surprised by our girls over coming big odds and great deficits to pull out improbable wins. We have felt the teams pain when they lost when they had a chance and proud when they kept at it until the end.

I think the days off from school the last few days due to the ice and snow did not help the girls feel fighting ready. I was hoping the other team also was lagging from winter problems, but they were not.

Carter has loved playing on this team and I know will miss seeing this group every afternoon. I will miss watching them play and sitting in the bleachers with the other parents. But after a little rest for her ankle to finish healing it will be time for conditioning to start to help get ready for next year.

Despite this loss Carter said to me in the car on the way home that she learned so much this year and had the best time. Only one team can win, but every player can personally win if they take the lessons they gained through the season and use it to improve not just in basketball for next year, but in everyway.

Learning how to be a team, support each other, listen to coaches, have good sportsmanship, get up when you fall down, offer a hand to help an opponent up, be gracious as well as tenacious, try things you never thought you could do, these and many other lessons are the kind of things you learn from a team sport that you never learn in a classroom.

Thanks to the coaches Krista and Robert. It is not easy to mold, motivate and inspire teenagers. Hell, sometimes it’s not easy just to be with teenagers.

I am already looking forward to sitting in the bleachers next year, cheering for the girls who will keep building on what they have learned already. It was a great season. You all should be proud.