Less than 40 days until high school tryouts. It was 96 days when we started in mid-August. We’re more than halfway there. Feels to me like it’s flying by. It will be here before we know it and for many of our seniors it will be the beginning of their last season of competitive basketball. For some of you it may be no big deal; for others it’s a sad end to many years of playing and enjoying the game together. One or two of you may be able to delay the end for a few more years if you go on to play in college. It’s really important that, whenever it comes, the end is not just another “oh well” moment. Hopefully you’ll take lots of memories with you. The quality of those memories will be determined by how you come together in the next six months, both on and off the court. Either way there will be both memories and lessons that will stay with you for years to come. And, whether you recognize it yet or not, there have been lessons. If you play enough basketball you learn, about the game and about yourself. You learn about sacrificing for others or learn that there are some problems you can’t solve yourself. There are lessons about finding the strength to persevere through tough times, or lessons about giving up when it gets too hard. Lessons about hard work or failing to work hard enough. Learning that it’s not always about you, it’s really about all of you. Certainly lessons of humility. If we don’t stay humble basketball will remind us that, no matter how good we think we are, there is always somebody better out there. These lessons, generated by both success and failure, will influence your future.

Parents spend years preparing their kids for life after high school because life does go on after high school. But we can forget to prepare you for life after sports. Sports often end with high school – especially for young women. We have to make sure you learn more than how to dribble and shoot because most of you won’t need those skills after high school. We have to make sure your self-worth is not tied too tightly to the sports you play. For years sports has provided you with an identity, a social group and a healthy recreational outlet. Sports offer structure and discipline (like it or not). Realizing that sports are an expression of your character, your values and your unique qualities reminds you that you are more than an athlete. So when you go on and you don’t have the social group, the structure and discipline, you still have those qualities to lean back on. You have the confidence to make new social connections. You have the self-discipline to make good choices on your own, without our oversight. That’s what sports and athletic competition is really about. It’s not about the status of playing in college. It’s not about being named All County. It’s not about being named a captain, or a starter, or even playing time. It’s just one way to develop your unique qualities and prepare for life ahead.

So if you struggle on the court, should we make excuses for you and try make it all better? Or should we encourage you to keep working, making sure your work is focused and purposeful? If you are not happy with your playing time are you going to bash the coach and lead the negativity in the locker room or will you own it and work even harder to make it obvious that you should be playing? And if that doesn’t work can you remain positive and support those who are playing ahead you? You can adopt an Outward Bound like philosophy – your problem is your opportunity.

The struggle is a real life opportunity for you to show who you truly are, to test your resilience, and show your determination – your character. Which are the lessons you want to take with you when it’s over? Which actions can you feel better about? We have less than 40 days to get ready for all the situations that will challenge your goals. To meet those challenges we’ll have to get better at making layups and inside shots (ya think?), improve at the foul line and become as aggressive and disciplined on the offensive side of the court as you can be on the defensive side. And if that’s not enough consider that the most significant threats to the memories you’ll create are the threats that challenge you to be at your best, to draw on the lessons learned, to show your character and to stay together through it all. If you can do that you’ll have your memories – regardless of your record. Memories of how you stayed together, supported each other, worked through the discomfort of being pushed to be better and put the needs of your teammates ahead of your own. Those memories last a long time, maybe even a lifetime.

39 days and counting….

Bob Peterman