I can only imagine my brother being as animated as Cleveland State Coach Gary Waters (above) at last night's game...
For the final post in our special guest inspiration series this week, I want to thank Coach Will for his eloquent and exciting reflections on his time with the team. As he remains my leading source of inspiration, it has been a pleasure to share some of that with you all.
POST FIVE. GROWING TOGETHER.
"I am so proud of my team. We were behind virtually the entire game. But we never quit. The comeback my guys pulled off, together, was nothing short of inspiring. The list of obstacles and unfortunate circumstances that we had stacked against us last night is too long to report, but they refused to let any of those obstacles become excuses. Down by as many as fifteen points, we came all the way back to tie the game in the final seconds. We lost by 3 points.
Every team in every sport has their season come to and end. For each and every team except the one that wins the championship, the season ends with a loss. This is a fact, and there are many others that can help sooth the agony of defeat, but agony soothed is still agony. It hurts for so many reasons, but the one that hurts me the most is that it’s over. This season, this journey with these young men, that I have been so blessed to be part of, has come to an abrupt and painful end. We don’t get to keep growing together.
I feel we as coaches made a valiant effort to give our team some perspective after the game, and point out all the positives they can take away from this season. From the seniors that had worked so hard, and indeed left every ounce of “it” on the floor, I saw blood, sweat, and tears. That is not a euphemism: I saw all three last night. There was nothing left to do but give them a hug, and tell them something they already knew, but had never heard me say. I love you guys."
Every team in every sport has their season come to and end. For each and every team except the one that wins the championship, the season ends with a loss. This is a fact, and there are many others that can help sooth the agony of defeat, but agony soothed is still agony. It hurts for so many reasons, but the one that hurts me the most is that it’s over. This season, this journey with these young men, that I have been so blessed to be part of, has come to an abrupt and painful end. We don’t get to keep growing together.
I feel we as coaches made a valiant effort to give our team some perspective after the game, and point out all the positives they can take away from this season. From the seniors that had worked so hard, and indeed left every ounce of “it” on the floor, I saw blood, sweat, and tears. That is not a euphemism: I saw all three last night. There was nothing left to do but give them a hug, and tell them something they already knew, but had never heard me say. I love you guys."
1 comment:
This should be a mini-series. Sorry for the loss but great efforts, Coach!
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