Dawgs on 3!

  • By Trish Berg
  • February 27, 2013
  • 330
                        
Struggling with loads of laundry, clutter in the kitchen and chaos in your life? Stress can easily steal our joy. Trish Berg reminds us to simplify the small stuff and find Joy in the Journey. Well, the basketball season is over and I am sort of sad about that. When the season started, I had this rag-a-muffin group of 3rd and 4th grade girls, many of whom had never played the game before. So we started with the basics and worked from there, having no idea where the season would take us. Our team was made up of a variety of personalities and abilities and over the next month, their abilities grew by leaps and bounds. We designed an offensive play and worked on our man-to-man defense. We developed a fast break, and learned how to see the open player and pass in the key for assists. Each game came and went, some we won, and some we lost. We started and ended each game with our team chant in the huddle: “Dawgs on 3 – 1-2-3-DAWGS!” And before we knew what had happened, we were a team! Our girls always played hard and never gave up. They went after the ball and took the open shots with more and more confidence each week. All-in-all, it was a very successful season, not because of our final record, nor because of any big wins. It was a successful season because of how these amazing young girls grew and matured. In fact, I think I learned more from them than they could have ever learned from me. I learned about confidence and endurance from Elle, who faced some tight defenders at the point guard position and fought through being fouled and shoved, and became a true team leader. From Mia, I learned that the best things do come in small packages as she dribbled around bigger players and took some great outside shots right over their heads. From Lauren, I learned that a positive attitude makes all the difference in the world as she was like joy on feet. From Grace, I learned hard work matters as she was the hardest working girl on the team giving 100% at every practice. Princess taught me to never underestimate anyone as she became an amazing forward snatching rebound after rebound, hitting the outlet pass with precision. From Amelia, I learned to keep on shooting and always go after the ball aggressively in every game, no matter what the scoreboard read. Rebecca taught me about perseverance because she never gave up, and scored a big basket in our last game. And from Riley, my daughter, I learned that time spent together means more than time spent anywhere else. She also taught me about going after the ball as she went after every loose ball like a champion, and scored baskets that surprised even me. We lost our last game, and the girls were in tears because of the loss and because of the season coming to an end. It made me sad until my very wise husband, Mike, pointed out that they cried because they truly cared about the sport, the team and each other. And that was the most important lesson of all. So this rag-a-muffin team became a championship team by the end of the season, and it had nothing to do with the score of our games or our position in the brackets. And though I will miss each one of these girls, I know they will go on to do great things in basketball and in life. And just one more time for my sake…. Dawgs on 3 – 1-2-3-DAWGS!


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