I have put this post off for too long. I was waiting to be "inspired". Then, late last week, something happened that had our house beaming. Andrew has worked very, very hard on his basketball skills since last season ended. He went to the weight room, open gyms, 2 team camps, and has dedicated most of his free time to that or his lawn business. I am very, very proud of the effort he has put out and am very appreciative of the time and energy his coaches have given him. Andrew knew going in as a freshman that he wouldn't see much JV time. Then, they got rid of the freshman team - which a lot of schools are doing to save money - and he was disappointed. His disappointment was displaced though because he has started every JV game this season - and has played very well in most of them. Last week, he was brought up to the varsity team! Mostly he will be the waterboy and keep the bench warm, but it has really, really been a confidence builder for him. He was smiling when he came out of practice that day. (Of course, I missed it because I was sitting in a meeting....grrr) It made me think back to my high school days and the one thing that changed everything for me. The tennis team - or more specifically - Coach LaRue.
As a freshman in high school my parents literally forced me to join the tennis team. I wasn't very interested and spent most of that year on the bottom rungs of the ladder and playing very few matches. Coach must have seen something though because the summer between my freshman and sophomore year he really helped me improve by telling me about tournaments and opportunities to improve. I did NOTHING else that summer except play tennis. My father even learned how to play tennis to help me practice and get better - and I had the full support of my entire family! We turned into a tennis family - or groupies if you want to call it that. It didn't seem like work to me, it was fun and I was feeling much better about my chances on the team the next fall. When the time came, I was #14 or 15 all season - out of 30 - 35! I had improved so much that I earned my Varsity letter that fall - something I was totally unprepared for. I was now hooked and kept playing and improving throughout high school. My senior year I was #3. That beginning, however, gave me the confidence to do other things - try out for cheerleading again, (I had failed my first time and didn't intend to try again) take musical pieces to contest, be more participatory in classes, a long list of things. I must also add here that there were many other teachers, music people, and adults in my life that helped me gain the confidence I needed to success, but Coach LaRue was the biggest. He helped me believe that I was a good tennis player - even when I was marginal.
My hope for Andrew is that this basketball season will do for him what my tennis season did for me. I can already see it working. Andrew is more focused and mature than he has ever been. I can see that he has developed a good work ethic (thank God) and is willing to do what it takes to succeed. I tried to talk to him about how this same thing can happen to every aspect of his life - even his schoolwork - but he didn't want to hear that. He said "I knew you would turn this into something about school!" Oh well, he will see it soon enough.
So this blog is a thank you! Thanks to all the basketball coaches, past and present, that have helped bring Andrew to this place. Heaven knows I don't know anything about basketball! I am convinced that he has found his "Coach LaRue" and only good will come of it! Till next time, Julie
