It’s the last week of High School volleyball. And as quick as it has gone; like a blink, it has been a lot too. A lot of commitment and a lot of stress. And not even about the playing. Coach wanted to create a family dynamic; and though I like the idea, changing a mindset is hard work. From a fractured team to a team as a whole is harder work than one can fix in one season. It takes work and it take dedication - and desire. And it starts with the player, but it has to go up the chain of command to the parents.
The parents have been tasked to put in a lot of work. We have to put in hours at the snack shack and don’t see the games. And then we were tasked with providing team dinners twice. They try to get two families for each dinner, home and away...but this got to be rough too. The first dinner we had to do, I put chicken and peppers in the Instant Pot and then made rice, then carried all that to the school where the girls and some of their friends met me to take the food in. I was a nervous wreck. All I knew was that my girls would love it; luckily it was a big hit for the team. Even the boys team finished it off, they are tasked to ref the freshman/sophomore game so Varsity could eat together. They moseyed in and out and ate in groups, but at least they were closer together when they did. So that was a hit.
Our second time, we were supposed to have another home game, but a power outage moved venues and I was suddenly trying to figure out how and what to do for a dinner for the girls at the furthest away game in League, with Bradley in tow...talk about your bad luck. So Eric took a half a day off work and he, Bradley, and I went to Costco. We got sandwiches and cookies and a veggie tray. With water, Gatorade and some candy as a treat we were ready to feed the team. Too bad that the gym refused to offer a table inside for us to set them up. Considering there are fires burning and the air quality was marked at hazardous because of the winds...really Sportsmanlike Agoura High. So pathetic! It I drive a van! So with every seat flat, save Bradley’s, we set up buffet style and managed to feed a whole team!
Only a couple other families cooked like me, but most went with pizza and hot dogs...things that were easy and portable for these meals on the run. All in all, I think it was a great idea...but it is stressful trying to feed a team of picky young girls...you want them to eat something almost healthy so they play well and no one points to you and your meal as the reason they lost. Stressful indeed! Haha...
The team itself lacks dedication and desire, for my girls that has been the hardest part of this whole season. Girls that openly want to skip practice and say how they don’t want to play anymore... while sitting on the bench are so many girls that only want to have a chance to play, and just don’t get to.
For Sydney, this isn’t the end. As a Sophomore, she has two more years to be here when this team gets it right. And I think they will get it right, I just am not sure if it will be next year or the next. Hard part? Knowing that for Madison this is it. This is it for High School ball... maybe for College... we don’t know what the future holds for her, but she’s ready to grab it and ready to hide from it all at once. Right now wrapping her brain around graduating High School and starting College is bigger than ball... so her priorities are well lined up.
There will be a last game of Volleyball, for each of them. Madison’s last game of indoor High School ball is going to be Wednesday night. It’s Senior night, so the Seniors will be honored, including mine. Coach wants it to be a big deal. We like that about him. The season has been rough on the court, and off. Politics will always be a part of school sports. But like with all things there is always an attempt to find balance: the good and the bad, the darkness with the light. As I tell my kids, always look for the light and hold on. The darkness can be consuming, but keep praying until a sliver of light shines through, then hold tight to that. You just never know when the next time will be the last time. On the court? With someone you love? It all applies to the same thing - lessons you learn on the court translate to lessons you take into your life. Love fully, forgive quickly, choose happy and choose to be engaged and excited by life. Life is going to knock you down, only you decide if you want to pray while you’re down, but always, always stand back up.
Winning is a lot more fun than losing, but at the end of the day, learning only happens through your losses...only then do you learn who you really are and if that is a person whose eyes you can meet in the mirror or not. I’ve tried to teach the girls to lose with dignity but win with grace...lately, there has been a lot more dignity than grace...but they’re taking the losses in stride and trying to learn how to maintain the dignity. Hard lessons indeed.
31 For 21... loving someone with Down syndrome means that you accept that not every lesson is about him, or for him right now. It’s accepting that there will be days of Blessings when his world is
right and his health is good and I can sit and be a part of the growing pains that involve just his sisters and the pain of a losing Volleyball season. ;-). And thank God for days like this for Bradley, for all of us.
Happy Monday All. See you tomorrow!
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