London Is 'Thriving'

Alyssa just met with London-Mila's kindergarten teacher.  She says Lon-Lon is 'thriving.'  Proud of my little girl!  

The only questions that I had going in where:

1 - How is she doing?
2 - Is she progressing at the appropriate rate?
3 - What does she do well and what does she struggle with?
4 - How is she socially?  Does she have friends?  Is she a leader or a follower?

Her teachers said that she has so many friends and talks to everyone.  Not just English speaking kids (because she is in a dual-language class).  They said that she is way ahead of where her big sister was at this point, which is a big deal if you know her big sister who has always excelled and is an achiever by nature.

London, you are a light on a hill that cannot be hidden, and I hope that you always shines your light bright before others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

A Weekend @ 6 Flags

Just a video and some pics of our time at 6 Flags!!

Fundamentals of Dribbling

It's like driving: when you can dribble (drive), you can go anywhere you want to go.  You have to have your eyes up, you have to pay attention, but you can go wherever you want to go.

When you drive, you have to keep your eyes on the road and you can't look down.  It's the same when you dribble - you have to keep your eyes up.  When you are looking up, you can see everything around you.  When you look down, you can only see what is below you.

Stay low in a good stance so that if the defense crowds and pressures you, you can quickly and explosively get away.  If you are standing up tall, the defense can crowd you and pressure you backwards.  Be ready and in position to attack.

Use your fingertips.  Learn how to make music with the basketball.  Play with the basketball.  Have fun with the basketball.

Let Your Light Shine

Last night, I made a mistake - I held you back when I should have let you shine.  I taught you a terrible lesson that I will work hard to undo - we work hard and we should be proud of our gifts, blessings and the work we put in to get the most out of what we have been given.  I won't do that to you again.  I am sorry.  Let your light shine so that in you others can see Gods blessings in and through you, and the work you put in to show your appreciation for those blessings.

You look forward to your games, and your family looks forward to those games.  You work hard for those games and we all love watching you play.  We travel to watch you play.  It's not fair to anybody to not let you play more because you are better than others.  What would be fair would be for me to play you as much as you work.

Matthew 5:16 New International Version (NIV)

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Doc Rivers talks about when one of his sons complained about playing time:

No coach wants to lose.  If you do the right thing, minutes go up. Kids need to learn how to fight for it and need to hear the truth father than hearing you bash the coach.  

"I support you and I know you can play.  But, you have to keep working and earning your spot [while respecting the coach and your teammates and while being a great friend and teammate.]

If You Want To Be The Best, Start By Being The Best That YOU Can Be.

If you want to be the best, start by being the best that YOU can be.

You have to practice, you have to work on yourself and your game .... everyday.   There are always people out there better than you, so you have to work hard knowing that someday you will meet and play against them.

Will you be ready?

You also have to find someone that believes in you, someone who has a plan for how to help you be the best you can be - and then you have you trust them.  You have to accept constructive criticism as just coaching and helping you to be your best.  Be happy when you have a coach that yells at you when you start walking or jogging because you have someone that won't let you fail.  If left to ourselves, we might not work as hard as we need to.  But when we have the right coach, they won't let us settle.  So be appreciative and thankful when you get that coach that yells at you to get better.

Finally, find the best and go play them.  If you're the best player in the gym, it's time to find another gym because you aren't getting challenged enough.  Nobody likes to lose, but if you never lose, you never grow because you get satisfied and your weaknesses don't get exposed.  When we lose, it forces us to face our weaknesses head on, learn from them, and grow them.

1 - WORK every day to become the best YOU

2 - Appreciate good, tough coaching

3 - Find the toughest competition

London-Mila the Homebody

London-Mila is the biggest homebody.  Anytime she is away from home for too long, she starts 'whimpering' to go home.

She loves her toys, loves her toy room, and loves her sisters.

On Monday, she was excited to spend the night at her Gammy's and was having s great time until she realized she was staying alone with her sisters.  Long story short, she ended the night at home with her family.

London-Mila loves her home.

4 years ago today ...

Reap Now, Sow Later | Growth Mindset

 Yesterday, I saw you shed a tear or two on the field during practice.

You were crying because the new soccer drills that your new coach of your new academy team was hard.  Really hard.  He was asking you to combine and perform several new ball moves that you had never done together in a three step drill.  It was obvious each time that it was your turn that your mind was racing and lost and confused in ways that you have not experienced.

What I saw in you was the look that I've seen in the eyes of so many of the athletes that I've coached when introducing them to something new.  It was the look of frustration, fear, and the lack of confidence that comes with trying something new.

At first I hurt for you because I would love for you to go through life with no worries and to always be the best - but then I got excited for you.  That look that was on your face was the reason why we signed you up for academy.  In soccer, I have given you all that I could give you.  It was time for a new challenge - and this is it.  

Embrace this new challenge.  Welcome it.  Let it fuel you.  Let it drive you.  If you can find the way to allow this new challenge to push you, you are on your way to doing great things in life because you will be living the life driven by the constant pursuit of greatness that comes from getting out of your comfort zone.

Getting out of your comfort zone.  That is what you are being introduced to you.  Now, its my turn as your Daddy, your teacher, and your coach to teach you what that means, how scary it can be, how beneficial it can be, and how to leverage this into a sense of urgency to inspire you to work on your game when you get home instead of your electronics.

The first step is learning to appreciate the challenge that has been put in front of you.  Love the fact that you are new or struggling at something because it gives you a chance to prove yourself.  Create a vision for how you want to be in a month.  See and feel what it will be when you know exactly what to do and how to do it when the coach calls out a new drill - see and feel what it will look like when you are able to perform it all at the same level or higher than the teammates that you are behind right now.

Then work.  Work to make that vision a reality.  That is the secret sauce - know what you want to accomplish, then go accomplish it.  It is possible and only possible through doing the work.

Lastly, pray.  God is ordering your steps.  Learn to trust the process.  You can't reap without sowing.  Right now, its reaping season for you.  Lets reap now, so that we can sow and live abundantly later.

Daddy loves you.

2017-2018 Basketball Banquet

One of my favorite days of the year is the day AFTER are banquet.  The banquet is a stressful day for me because it really plays on my anxiety, but the day after is such a release.  

This was a difficult basketball season but one I can look back on with happiness and pride.  My program grew from this season and I grew as a coach.  We were in the playoff race all year, exceeding most people's expectations, but we fell short towards the end.  

This year really taught me the importance of effective communication and commuting to growing the character of each of my girls through strategic and intentional talks about where they are, wherw they are going, and how to get there.  Character drives results, and teaching character to teenage athletes is a difference maker.

My daily devotional led me to Psalms 37, and these verses are where I'm at today and moving forward.  I couldn't be in a better place right now, and it's because of the faith I have in the Lord that He will be there to guide me and order my steps moving forward: 

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord , and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace." 

Easter Weekend 2018

Great weekend!! Strength and Conditioning clinic led by the University of Minnesota and then Final Four with my girl!! Can't get much better than that.

We usually spend Easter Weekend in Marshall with my grandmother, but this year we sent the kids down with my mom and spent an extended holiday weekend together without the kids for a couple of nights.

The girls are growing up on us!!

These 3 Things

If we could get you girls to remember and live by 3 things, it it would be these:

1 - Love and put God first

2 - Love people and help bless their lives

3 - Reach for the stars

Life is full of ups and downs.  Seek God to know how to live right, how to live a life abundantly and full of joy, and to model for others how great living right is.  When you live for God, you are ready for anything and appreciate everything.  You are ready to take on the world because you have good intentions and have God on your side, you appreciate your wins and losses.  The wins are easy, and with the right perspective, the losses are wins because they teach you real lessons.

Life is about people - help people.  Be a light.  Find ways to bless others through encouragement and love and empathy and respect. 

Help make the lives of everyone you come in contact with a little more meaningful and special.

Just imagine if somebody - or groups of people - did that for you ...

Finally, reach for the stars.  You can be anything and do anything.  Have positive thoughts.  You have to feed your mind.  An idle mind will get filled, and it usually gets filled with negative thoughts.  Be proactive with your thoughts so that you remain in control.  It starts each morning with feeding your mind good, positive, productive thoughts - then work hard throughout the day to control your thoughts and win the day.  Over the course of time, you will have more days won than loss and you will look up and love the life you live.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full and abundantly. 

Daddy Daughter Dance 2018 | Always Come Back To Daddy

Another fun Daddy Daughter dance.  Another night with my big girl.  Another night with just us two, bonding away.  I love these nights.  I love these nights because no matter how old you get, no matter how many goals your score or how many baskets you make, you are still my little, pretty, baby girl, and I know how much you love spending time with your Daddy.

It’s always interesting seeing how you act around your friends – especially with me around.  The night started slow – it started like this might be one of the last Daddy Daughter dances for us.  You didn’t want to hold my hand, and you walked with a lot of separation between us.  I did what Daddy does – I bumped into, tried to hype you up, get you excited, and even tried to embarrass you.  Nothing worked.

What did work was you setting me up for the Dance-Off.  What you will learn very soon is your Daddy is actually very shy – I don’t do Dance-Offs lol.  Well, not normally – but I will always do them for my girls.  I will do Dance-Offs, and pretty much everything else, for you. 

I had to do my best impression of Michael Jackson for 30 seconds – which would feel like an eternity – until I saw you right there next to me, dancing to Michael Jackson right along with me.

The rest of the night was GREAT!  You had your friends to hang out with, and I willingly allowed you too.  The most special part of the night was how you would leave me to go hangout with your friends and then return back to me.  You would say, “Ok Daddy, I’m going to go with my friends now.  I’ll be right back,” assuring me that you wouldn’t leave me, or that you would, at the least, always come back to me.  And within 5 to 10 minutes, you would come back with your arms stretched out reach for me, guiding me to the dance floor, or the photo booth, or the cookies/cake/pizza bar.  We would hang out for 5 to 10 minutes, then you would go back to your friends – always to come back to Daddy.

I hope and pray that you have great friends around you that you like hanging out with and who treat you well.  But please, always come back to Daddy.

Daddy loves you, Big Girl.

Alexa's 7th Birthday at Great Wolf Lodge

For her 7th Birthday, Lex wanted to go to Great Wolf Lodge.  Here is what we did:

Part 1

Part 2

Full Video 1

Full Video 2

Alexa Wins Her First Talent Show

So you entered and won your first talent show!  For about the past week, your mom and I have been happily enjoying your success, in partial disbelief that you actually made and won the show!  

Your are talented, but as your classmates are chanting your name when you get back to class, as your friends are asking you for your autograph after your performance, and as everyone is congratulating you on how you did - don't forget two things:

1 - Don't forget how much work you have put into having your succes
2 - Stay humble and thank God for without Him nothing is possible, yet everything is possible through Him.

When you kids get up and do anything - especially get up in front of your entire student body - your parents get nervous.  I love this pic of you.  Nervous but brave; courageous and ready to take on the world!

When you got going, you bounced that ball off of your feet, it rolled into the crowd, and a kindergartener was able to throw it back to you.  From there you took off.  It was perfect, and we have seen you do better - but it was GREAT.

You have had so much success so early in life, I pray that when you do come across adversity, you are able to handle it gracefully and with grit.  If this is any indication - you will be more than okay.

Continue to be brave, continue to take on new challenges and new adventures.  Continue to love life and be a light in this world.  Continue to shine your light bright!!!

Daddy loves you and Daddy is proud of you.

Lil Lon-Lon | Daddy's Girl

This week, we got the phone call that you have tested into the Dual Language Program!  It is a huge accomplishment, and I am very proud of you.  You are a smart, special, creative, free-spirited little girl who is also fierce, strong, and full of potential.

I’m super excited for you for 2 main reasons:

1 – You were originally Daddy’s Girl

2 – Everybody is going to see how gifted, talented, and special you are

When we first brought you home, you were originally a big-time Daddy's girl.  My earliest memories of my Lil Lon-Lon was of you waiting for me to get home from work so that I could hold you, rock you, play with your cheeks and belly, and feed you to put you to sleep.  When someone would try to pull you away from me to hold you, you would just cry your Daddy.  

But, by far you were by far our best baby and within your first month, you were able to sleep through the night so well that others were willing and OFFERING to babysit you earlier than your sisters.  I call this the Gift and the Curse.  It was great having a newborn slept through the night so early, but because you always had someone wanting to babysit you, I had to share you with the world.  Now as an almost 5 year old, you are such a Mommy's girl, and that is great.  You and your Mommy have a very special bond, and you will always be Daddy's Lil Girl.  

With you being the middle child, I definitely see how you can get lost in the shuffle.  Lex is Lex and Zoe is Zoe - they both demand attention at times.  Though you have just enough reason to keep all eyes on yourself like your sisters, you have a quietness and a shyness that the other two don't have.  You seem content in your spot, happy to have your growth and success shine in the shadows, but I also see a slight yearning for some recognition, and I am excited that this will give us more opportunities to celebrate you!  

You have always made life look so effortless - The way you run, the way you color, the way you match up your clothes that you are already picking out for yourself... It might be part of the reason why you might not always get the recognition from us that you have earned and deserved.   You know Lex is always pushing, grinding, and she doesn't have a problem letting everybody know.  Zoe just has to be seen and is always asking me to, 'Look at me Daddy.'  You sometimes request the spotlight and jump on stage, but just as often as I've seen you say, ' Look at Daddy,' or your line, 'Watch this ________," I see you shy away from extra attention.  

Always know that Daddy sees you. Daddy saw you first, Daddy never stopped believing in you, and Daddy knows and has always known that you are special.

Daddy Loves you Little Lon-Lon.

An Open Letter To The Girl In Love With Basketball

Alexa, the second I started to read this, I thought of you.  I love your growing love of the game, but I love you more.  I love seeing the look in your eyes when you finally made that finger roll in the living room on the 5 foot goal.  I love hearing the ball bouncing around the house all day.  I love when I hear you watching the Kyrie Irving top 100 crossovers.  Most of all, I love that I get to share my first love with you and how much you love it and appreciate it.

I hope the game is as good to you as it was/is to me.  The game will give back to you what you are willing to give to the game.  I didn't write this myself, but I could have written it for you.  You can find the original version here.  Daddy loves you.

To The Little Girl in a Jersey,

You are eight years old, and in love. The smell of scuffed hardwood helps you breathe easier, in a way you never knew you could. The sound of squeaking shoes makes your ears perk up and gives you a rush of adrenaline. You're learning to do math behind the snack table, tallying up two dollar Gatorades and five dollar hot dog meals. The teammates that you are on the court with will now become your friends for life, and if you end up in a new place later on down this long, winding road, you can always find a court and a ball to ease your mind.

Cherish it now. You have fallen in love with a sport which will teach you dedication, tenacity, and pure discipline. Your parents will support you and send you to countless tournaments, give up their birthdays and mothers/fathers day to watch you play. They may even drive two hours to watch you sit on the bench. Don't get discouraged when you don't make varsity, or when you stop growing at 5' 3". Don't get discouraged when you have that one coach who doesn't believe in you, because it will happen at least once, and it will not be easy. Don't get discouraged because all of this will make you stronger. That coach who tells you that you can't do it will become the single reason why you should. You will have to learn to pick yourself up at a young age, because that's what sports teach you, to keep going.

In five years, when what you love becomes political and every game becomes the most important game you'll ever play, remember why you love it. Remember that feeling of water finally meeting your lips after five sets of lines. Or the excitement of your first three-pointer in a game. Remember the look on your face in that photo where you got your first medal. Remember looking up at the obscenely high hoop, wondering how the high school girls shot the ball effortlessly, with the type of arc to give anyone goosebumps.

In 10 years, when it's all wrapping up, stand in the middle of the court and breathe it all in. Breathe in that same smell of scuffed hardwood that now is covered with your blood, sweat and tears. Remember the memories of your scuffing shoes, the same shoes that have been on your feet as you play through breakups, tragedies, pain, and hardship. Remember your teammates, the ones who told you that the missed free-throw was OK, and the ones that helped you navigate through defense, and through life itself. Remember what it feels like to be eight years old and in love with the game

Remember to never lose yourself in the process of fighting for the game you love.

I Hate the Late Night Cries, But I Love the Late Night Kisses …

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

It is well past mid-night and I wake up suddenly from my sleep.  I check my clock and realize that I have another couple of hours to rest, so I turn over and get ready to finish the dreams I’ve been enjoying.  Before going back to sleep, I turn the TV to the NBA channel because there is nothing else better than falling asleep to the day’s basketball headlines.  I find the channel and curl up under my pink blanket when I hear the handle of your door move followed by the slowly creaking that means that were woken up by your dreams too.

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

I hear whimpering coming from the hallway and the shuffling that comes from your 3 year old body sliding across the carpet, blankie dragging behind you.  The whimpering gets closer and closer and I am getting more and more afraid.  Not afraid that there is any danger lurking, but afraid of what I am going to get when you walk in the room.

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

You were the ‘difficult’ baby (and your sisters would say the difficult 3 year old).  You were the one we couldn’t get on a sleeping schedule, you were the one who couldn’t stay asleep, and you were the one with the strongest lungs!  When I hear your door knob start to turn and I hear you whimpering and shuffling down the hallway, I get afraid for which Zo-Bo we are going to get – at midnight.

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

Are we going to get the loud, crying Zo-Bo.  The Zo-Bo who refuses to cry her sleep asleep like her sisters.  The Zo-Bo who will only stop crying when Daddy rocks her over his right shoulder while sitting in that rocking chair that he still has in the corner of the room. The Zo-Bo who, despite having fallen asleep in that chair, knows instantly when we get up and starts crying again to protest any movement.

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

Or are we going to get the Zo-Bo who will walk to my side of the bed, reach her arms out as I get up and give you huggies and kissies before whispering in your ear, “Daddy loves you, now go back to sleep baby girl.”  That baby Zo-Bo gives a slight whimper back, accompanied with, “I love you too, Daddy,” as you walk back to your bed, tuck yourself in, and finish the night peacefully with no more interruptions.

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

On this night, you walk in, and you are still whimpering and not crying – a great sign!  Between whimpers, you let out a weak and barely audible, ‘I can’t sleep.’  I pick you up, kiss your forehead and your cheek, and I whisper in your ear, “Daddy loves you,’ as we quietly walk back to your room.  I tuck you in, kiss your forehead and rub your back a couple of more good times – just to seal the deal on getting you back to sleep – and I whisper in your year one more time so that you never forget, “Daddy loves you baby, Daddy loves you.”  (I always get one more in … you can never be too sure)

I hate the late night cries, but I love the late night kisses …

I’m sure that there will come a point in my life where I miss the nighttime, crybaby Zo-Bo, but now is not that time.  But I always love the nighttime baby Zo-Zo kisses.

Daddy loves you baby, Daddy loves you.