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