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!!