The Distant Sounds of Triumph
Forgive me if I crow this morning, but my lacrosse team won yesterday, which might not sound like such a big deal. The thing is, if you go by the statistics we had a losing season. That in itself makes the victory special, but more than that, we won against a team that had already soundly beaten us twice. To ice the cake, we won convincingly, 7-1. Still, the numbers only tell a small part of the story. For one thing, the other team was short on manpower, and pushed themselves to the limit, which is to their credit. But my boys played spectacularly, showing good stick skills, passing well, looking for their feeds, coming up with the loose balls, pressuring on defense, cutting effectively on offense, shooting accurately, and playing together as a team. What is so satisfying is that these boys began the season with zero experience or knowledge of lacrosse, and since they're all latinos, not a trace of it in their cultural DNA. The history of this season is one of steady, inexorable progress. What is also satisfying is seeing their awareness of and joy in what they've accomplished. Can you tell I'm proud of them?
posted by John M Crowther @ 7:09 AM
10 Comments:
And you have plenty to be proud of John! A big pat on the back from way over here! You're doing a fine job with these boys... :-)
(and I bet you're not half as tough on them as the cartoon coach! LOL)
Congratulations to the team and to their coach. The only lacrosse game I ever saw was cornell against syracuse. The man who explained the game to me said"Of course this ism't a normal game" Syracuse had a midfielder named Jim Brown better known for his football skills. He was generally thought to be, in those times, the greatest lacrosse player who ever lived. roger
Thanks, Jean and Roger.
Jean, one of the endearing things about my boys is that they came away from every loss this season as jubilant as if they'd won, precisely because they understood how much they'd improved from game to game. In only one case did they play worse than what they were capable of, and even then they weren't down on themselves because they understood why and assimilated the lesson.
Jim Brown is still considered one of the greatest all-time players. Of course, it was also because of Brown's "innovation" that the sport passed the rule that you couldn't hold the ball in the net with your thumb as you ran downfield. [grin]
Love the coach's attitude. Nothing like learning how to be a good sport.
Great cartoon, John and as usual love the commentary.
I have no idea what lacrosse is, but congratulations, anyway!
Kate
Congratulations John...Not just for winning but also for making a profound, positive impact on a pack of impressionable boys. Society will benefit from your efforts!
-Mary
hi coach its me porfirio hahaha don't ask how i found this but me and the guys are proud of u for having patience with all of us and we are only good because we have a grea and amazing coach teaching us all we know =P
Hiya Porfirio, thanks for those words! As I've told you and the guys, it's been a privelege knowing and working with you all. You have a lot of heart, Porfirio, and your dedication and hard work is an inspiration. I'm glad you were part of this team!
HI there coach I was in one of your teams before, many people said that I was good and all, but I did not believed them.You might have seen me knock the living day lights out of people once or twice in games.But I want you to know that even tho I was pist off I did it for the team and for personal pleasure.Still I had a blast playing for you and I want to say thanks for everything.CAN you guess how I am the one the only ****. P.S it was kici ass defending the goal against saugess or whats there name.OH yea and I totally got accepted in to the Art institute of California cool hu.soon I will be drawing my anime.
Hey, when you were kicking butt, Catman, I was getting as much pleasure out of it as you were. And congratulations on getting in to the institute. I can't wait to see your anime!
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