State Champs!

Belladonna texted me that Eaton Rapids women won the Class B basketball championship.

I know some of the young ladies who are on the team.  And I know some of the parents who coached them in their earlier years. 

Part of the magic is that this group stayed together since first grade.  Their parents did not move away from Eaton Rapids.  The girls played as a team for so long that they could pass with their eyes closed, knowing that Allie or Bailey or whoever would be THERE to pick it up.

Some of those parents coached my kids.  They are absolutely top drawer coaches and people.  I cannot tell you how much I have learned by watching them.  But I will try.

My first coaching experience was in U8 girl's soccer.  Two of the other teams were coached by the dads of three of the girls on that basketball team.  Those teams absolutely waxed my girl's backsides, four times in the fall and three times in the spring.  One of the high points of my life is that my girls tied one of those teams in the last game of the spring season.

Coaching really does throw a long shadow.  It is a pity that the parents who coached a thousand games and drove a million miles will get little credit.