The End... and the beginning!

Life is change.  Just when I think that I’ve totally figured out what God wants for me...where God wants me to be....what I am suppose to be doing- then I realize I know bupkiss!

For the last twenty years of my life I have been playing or coaching basketball. That’s a crazy amount of time to dedicate to a game! I have finally come to a place where I am willing to walk away for the sport I have given my time, my energy, my body and mind too for  most of my life. As I player I found a certain amount of success in the sport (what can I say I got a free education out of it)- but I was never the superstar. Which again was fine as it paid the bills which is more than I could ask for! After college I pursued coaching and found a deep love for teaching the game that had taught me so much. And it is funny to me, that the lessons I learned from basketball are no long the lessons parents want their children to learn. I learned that sometimes no matter how hard you work or how bad you want something, you can be disappointed. I learned that life is not fair and I don’t always get the easy path. I learned that I don’t have to agree with my coach- I have do my job as a player (which has consequently made me a functioning professional). I learned to respect a position even if I don’t respect the person in the position. I learned how to get knocked down (both physically and emotionally) and get back up - because that is what you do. I learned how to deal my problems with people on my own. I learned that sometimes people say things I don’t like and I just have to deal with it. I learned that I am not always right (that one hurt more than any sprained ankle or stitches I received!) I learned how to take criticism no matter how harshly it was delivered and to critically evaluate myself and my performance. And most importantly (and probably the last lesson I learned as a player) I learned that basketball is a game- a competition of skills between teams. And because it was a game- it was a not a life or death event.  That, to be honest, was the most freeing lesson I learned- and sadly it came in my last year of competition. 

So what is my point? Change has come for me. This spring I have walked away from basketball. I resigned my coaching position as I have grown weary of fighting an uphill and constant battle with a culture of youth sports that has dramatically changed. For those who never saw me coach- I considered my self a decent coach, one who taught the game as whole. One who encouraged the heck out of my players when they were even just trying to do the right thing (be it in basketball or in life), but also corrected them and held them to high standards when they didn’t.  Did I make mistake- certainly! And I owned up to them- but in the end I found myself lacking the energy or heart to keep fighting a culture of political correctness in sport. 

It is with a certain amount of sadness I walked away. I had the pleasure of coaching some of the greatest kids I have ever met- kids with coachable hearts and a sharp whit that challenged me.  But in the end- my heart and passion could not hold up to the outside strains.

Oddly enough, though it is humiliating to fail at an endeavor (though failure in this case is hard to measure as I feel I was able to have some positive impacts on some players), I feel such a peace walking away. I know that this is just another change in my life- it has offered me the opportunity to reevaluate my professional goals, to refocus on God, and even to reinvest in my family and friends. Life is change, nothing remains the same, and no change is truly as tragic as it feels at the time. It is somewhat trite to say- but one closed door only means I can have open eyes to find other open ones. This change also serves to remind me of the truly calling God puts on mine life (and yours by the way)- 

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength....you shall love your neighbor as you self. There is no other commandment great than these.” Mark 12:30-31

Pretty simply right? Yeah, good luck with that! May each change remind us that we are here to love... love God...and love people. Everything else is just.... a game.