Day 27 of 365

Lex had her basketball game.  It was a good day.  She played well and they won.  Over the last week, she has really started to practice a lot more and really work on her game.  She has been watching these 'No Days Off Videos' that have really motivated her to work on her game.  

There are a series of them that cover different kids who are excelling at different sports.

We capped off the day with an early dinner with Alyssa's parents at Blue Goose.

Day 25 and 26. 100 Day of School and Super Saturdays

 Day 25 of 365.  100 Day of School.  London-Mila getting out of the car for school with her 100th day of school poster.

Day 26 of 365.  Soccer games and indoor pool parties.

Day 24: Change is Inevitable; The Dots Connect; Beat-Downs Work

I am a week away from embarking on my second journey into educational administration.  This time, I will be an assistant principal at an intermediate school that is home to 5th and 6th graders.  

This is the second time that I am stepping away from coaching, and the first time that this change was initiated by me, so this time carries a little more pressure.

Pressure to be successful.  Pressure to find joy and happiness.  Pressure to find purpose.  Pressure to belong.  Pressure to make it work.

I am nervous.  I am nervous in the way that all people get when they experience change.  But I am also nervous about what this means for my family; especially my 3 little girls.

Last night as I was tucking London-Mila in bed, the last thing she asked me was when my next basketball game was.  I am used to Lex asking questions like this, but this made me realize how much my little one’s love coming to my games.  I would LOVE if my kids grew up in the gym watching daddy coach and cheering on daddy’s team.  For time and mental health reasons, I just can’t keep doing it right now. 

I hope that I am making the right decision.  I am holding onto faith that my dots are connecting like they are supposed to.  One thing that popped into my mind is that while I feel that I am a ‘good’ coach and basketball has been my entire life, for my entire life, what if I am trading ‘good’ for ‘great.’ 

I am not saying that I am expecting to be a great administrator.  What I am saying is that maybe I am trading a ‘good’ life for a great one.  One in which I will have more time and freedom (and mental freedom) to do more and live more and experience more personally, professionally, and with the fam-bam.

I have been doing these ‘posts a day’ all year, and today (yesterday) I posted this video of Diddy talking about how life and your purpose is ever changing.  You have to be willing and able to redesign and clarify your purpose in a changing world.

That is what I am doing.  Wish me luck!

Day 21, 22, and 23 - MLK, Game Day, and Family Night

Day 21 - MLK Day.  A day of honor and a day of rest.  Thankful.  My favorite quote is from Dr. King:

"The time is always right to do what's right."

Day 24 - I dropped the big girls off in the morning like I always do, and Lex jumps out with her basketball and Celtics Hoodie.

Had a game that night, and our school photographer took some cool pictures of Lex and Zoe.  They love being the half-time show!!

Day 23 - Wednesdays are always a day of relaxation for us.  No practices or games, so it's just family time.  I am making more of an effort to spend time with London-Mila doing what she likes to do, so we spent some time drawing and coloring.

Day 19 and 20 of 365. Chill Saturday and Game Winning Sunday

Day 19 - A chill Saturday until about 7 in the morning when the little monsters decide to wake up.  It's never really chill Saturday.  Even when we don't have basketball or soccer or tee ball or softball or flag football to deal with, the little rugrats are up early and full of energy and ready to go.  The really tough part is that they don't know how to just relax in the house because they are so used to doing 'something.'

We went to a birthday party in the afternoon, stopped by Kirkland's, and grabbed some El Pollo Loco.

Day 20 - We played our first basketball game since our first loss last week.  We played the 'Stingers' who are an undefeated team.  From the beginning, you could feel hostility as the opposing coach seemed to argue or at least question, every detail of the game.  After a few minutes, I realized the Stingers were made up of a bunch of girls from a soccer team that we play against all of the time.

It was a back and forth game, and with about 1 minute left, we were down by 3.  I thought this was just going to be our 2nd loss in a row.  But Lex kept being aggressive and got us into the bonus and was at the free throw line when she made the first, missed the second, got her own rebound then swished the put back.

We then got a stop and Lex hit a pull-up jumper to put us up 2.  

One stop later, 17 seconds left and us up 2, I called a timeout and setup a plan for Lex to dribble the clock out.  This is the 2nd time that we have done this during this season, and both times the opposing coaches got really, really upset.  I just don't get it, from a basketball standpoint.  The next time we get questioned for doing something that is always done, I am going to ask them, "What would you do in this situation?"

Nonetheless, we came away with a much needed win over a rival.

Day 15, 16, and 17 of 365. Basketball game, Black Panther and Soccer Practice!

During basketball season, the days run together and my schedule doesn't always allow me to find the time to post.  Well, what I have to continue to do is learn how to prioritize and organize and live my life in a way that does allow me to do so.

Day 15, I had a game against Sachse.  It was tough.  We got beat, but it walking into these two in the hallway makes it a little better:

Day 16, was a chill day.  Wednesdays are the ONLY night that we don't have anything to do.  No basketball games, no basketball practice, and no soccer practices.  So, its usually family time.  Lex started feeling restless, and she kept walking in and out of the living room, each time she had another layer of her Black Panther costume on.  Of course, it culminated in her attacking me with her nerf gun:

Day 17 was simple.  Thursday nights are one of my favorite nights of the week.  I love being able to take Lex to soccer practice and be able to just sit back and watch her play and not coach.  She works hard, she plays with passion, and you can easily see how much she loves being with her friends at practice:

Day 14 of 365: Rufus at Home Video Solutions is THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!

Day 14 of 365.

Last night, downtown Dallas, walking out of the Dallas Mavericks game, I thought, 'I really dont want to wake up and go to work in the morning,' then I realized that I don't have too.

I capped a great Sunday with a day off Monday.  What's even better is that I get to back door this 4 day week with one next week by having Monday off.

After relaxing, I re-re-re--re-started my favorite show, Entourage.  I'm on episode 3 which has one of my favorite scenes ever:

Finished the day with basketball practice with my young shooters.  We are bouncing back from the first of very few losses and we responded well.  We even had some old school, Chicago Bulls vs Bostob Cektics match-ups.  

I told Kyrie and MJ that I had to get a picture of them together and of course the teammates wanted to jump in too.  

Lex had a good practice.  We were working on beating your girl, not stopping and getting all the way to the basket.  She had one really good finish on a layup with contact.  Her reaction to finishing was priceless lol.

Back to the grind tomorrow. 

Day 13 of 365 - Mavs vs GSW Game

Last night took an L, but tonight we bounced back could describe our day.  Lex lost a tough basketball game last night.  We don’t lose a lot of basketball games.  We don’t lose any basketball games.  But, we lost last night.

We are a true sports family.  We have basketball goals in our house, balls everywhere, and the stains on the wall for decoration.  We love it, but the downside are the losses, and we take them hard.

Lex lost her basketball game, and then the Cowboys lost their playoff game, so that was 2 tough losses back to back.

We all woke up in a funk, Lex included, and needed to get out and get some retail therapy.  We got some things from Kirkland’s and ended up at the Mavs game that night!

We had GREAT seats and it was a GREAT game.  Luka did his thing, but so did Steph going for 48 and getting the win.

Not a bad way to bounce back from a rough night.

Day 12 of 365 - Wins and Losses

This was posted on 1/14/2k19 but was written on Saturday night 2 days earlier.

2k19 Day 12 of 265.  Today, we lost a basketball game.  We don’t lose a lot of games, and we definitely don't lose a lot of basketball games.

This is Lex’s 4th season playing basketball, and she has played in one other tournament.  Tonight was only our 2nd career loss and the first since our first season 2 years ago. So losing is not something that we are used too.  But losing can be one of the best things that happens to a kid.

Character is built through adversity.  Losing keeps you hungry and humble. Of course I would love for you to never lose and to always be happy and successful and win, but that's just not how the world (and sports) works.  

You will lose.  

You will face adversity.  

You will be disappointed.  

You will experience fear, and you will be tested more than you can imagine.

You will be cheated, and you will be out worked (don’t let it happen too often).  You will be unlucky and you will be outplayed. When it happens, don't get your head down.  Just keep working. Keep punching the clock. Every day.

The more you work and the harder the work, the more you limits the disappointments.  The more you work and the harder you work, the more success you will have. The best are the hardest workers.  The best love the game, love getting better, love growing, and love competing.

You fell in love with the game.  You fell in love with winning. Now, you have to fall in love with competing.  You have to fall in love with the process - the process of working hard to get better, handling success with humility and losing with pride.

Losing hurts, but it is part of the game.  The next part of the game is working hard at improving your deficiencies so that you can come back stronger, better and ready.

Daddy loves you.

And it didn't help that our Cowboys lost too ....

And your soccer game is really coming along!!!