Spent this weekend watching my daughter play basketball. A sport she loves and would spend all her time playing if given the option. A team of 12 middle school girls who love the sport and have been playing together for a few years. They’ve grown together, laughed together, spent hours together, but not without conflict.
Currently, she and another team member aren’t speaking to each other. She’s not really sure why and it definitely bothers her. This weekend I watched them on the court together. I couldn’t be more proud of how my 13 year old handled herself. Despite their differences, I watched her high five and support this person. My 13 year old walks onto the court and sets aside her feelings. Let me repeat that….my 13 year old daughter can walk onto the basketball court and tell herself that the goal of the game is more important than any hard feelings she may have with a teammate.
That’s what a true teammate does. That’s what we should be doing for each other each day we walk into a school building. We can’t win the game if we aren’t a team. Our attitudes and mentality are everything and have a lasting impact on kids. The reality is that we won’t like each other everyday. We won’t always agree with each other and we may even get mad. But can we bring ourselves to the realization that this 13 year old teenager has? Can we walk into our building everyday and put our goals ahead of our feelings?
This weekend sure was a proud moment for me and definitely a moment in which I pat myself on the back (gotta celebrate the wins). Going into a new school year, I’m so proud of how far we have come as a building and hope we can keep the momentum going. We will always face adversity, but how we handle that can set us apart from everyone else. Let’s enter this court as a team and keep our sights on what is important.
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry S. Truman
Mrs. Shannon Myers 