Champions!!!

I was asked on very short notice if I could get some young women together as a basketball team to compete in a Regional Tournament.  Having one young woman at my house who loves basketball, I decided I could do this.  We had a sign-up go around and had enough girls to make 2 teams.  I imposed on a few women in the neighborhood with some natural athletic ability and they were the coaches.  We had time for just a couple of practices before the tournament began.

The coaches divided the teams up so that we had one team of girls who were very new to basketball and one team that had some experience.  It was a single elimination, 2-day tournament.  Chloe was on the more experienced team.

On Friday March 16th we arrived in Lehi to play our first game. Boy was I nervous.  These basketball teams were quite large and had plenty of girls aged 16-18.  We had 5 girls and the oldest one was 14. They were just so excited to be there playing.  As I watched them play I could see we had a very determined group of girls and a coach with patience, experience and kindness. Coach Rea was awesome. She's the kind of coach I wish all my kids had for sports.

The girls won their game and they did it with sportsmanship.  I was so proud! This would mean they got to play the next morning.  The car ride home was full of promising chatter.  Maybe they were better than they thought?  Maybe they could win again?

On Saturday morning we arrived early to warm-up.  This team too looked tough.  A couple of girls who were much bigger than ours and looked quite aggressive.  However, our girls definitely had better skill, and their calm natures gave them the edge here.  We won again! Unbelievable!  What if they could win the entire tournament. We started making phone calls to parents or friends to come and watch us play the championship game.

 It was a tight game. These two teams played with everything they had. Chloe was a star.  She was on fire with her shooting. She did have a few bumps, bruises and bloody lips, but she led in scoring. When the dust settled the Saratoga Hills 1st Ward young women had won the regional basketball championship.  I couldn't believe this.  We threw a team together and went into it planning to just "have a good time" and here we were the winners of it all.

 After the game Coach Rea and Scotty and I took the girls out to pizza to celebrate their victory.

I guess I learned to never count yourself out.  Your best may be just enough.