I still can’t believe it. The boys carrying a trophy—the first trophy that Tulsa Adventist Academy has ever seen. But if I’m being honest… we shouldn’t have taken it home. That might sound like a bad coach talking, and so to understand me, I have to take you to the beginning.
In the summer of 2021, I was asked if I would be open to coaching the boys’ basketball team.
This was not something high on my list of interests. I’m a pastor, and I was just recently married. Though I loved basketball, I didn’t really want to coach.
But then a group of boys asked me, “Please, can you coach us?”
I caved.
Our schedule was the typical small-school schedule. We had practice once a week, and occasionally, we were able to squeeze in an extra practice.
But first, there were tryouts.
I have never witnessed more turnovers in my life. They were playing a version of jungle ball that included traveling, fouling, and more. It was in that moment, I came to a hard realization.
We didn’t know the fundamentals.
The first year, we spent simply learning to dribble and shoot. As the season was getting started—before we even played our first game—we were told the season was canceled due to COVID.
It hurt.
The boys were looking forward to getting on the court. They wanted to see what they had. I was just as curious. But then, an opportunity presented itself—the Hoops Classic tournament in Keene, Texas.
Boy, we were excited.
This was the first game we were going to play, and it was going to be several games in a row. It was the kind of experience we would never forget.
When we arrived on campus, we got acknowledged really quickly. Everyone was enamored with our team. But not for the reason you might think. Our team was the “cutest” team—with everyone being small. Imagine us in our first game.
And I tell you the truth—I will never forget that game.
How did we do? You might be wondering...
Well... we scored.
Four points.
Yup. The whole entire game, we scored four points. One shot and two free throws. It was tough to see them fighting for their lives on the court that day. Again, a game I will never forget. And yet, four years later, we came back and took home a trophy in that same tournament.
How?
We didn’t get great new players who transferred in. If anything, every year, we lost our best players. There were no changes in the coaching staff. Though, each year, I thought it was my last.
Just players and coaches who got better.
Over the next few weeks, I want to share with you lessons that I have learned—lessons that not only helped the team improve but also helped me grow.
We are all players in this game of life. Some days it feels like we just won the championship. Other days we only score four points. But no matter where you are, I know these lessons will level up your life in ways you’d never expect.
Are you ready to go from four points to champions?
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