One thing this article leaves out about Laz is that he is a fantastic writer. I relish his race reports and updates. But sometimes he writes about other events. Here’s a taste:

her spot

if there is one thing you relish as a coach,
it is leaving your players with memories.
sure, playing ball is not the most important thing in life.
it is a small piece of a life.

for the kids who play it seems much larger than it is.
because their life is yet short.
the many years,
the many important moments of adulthood
those are still in the future.
scarcely even imagined.
playing ball is the first thing they have
that is entirely their own.
their place is not made for them by their parents.
it is something they have to do for themselves.

i used to think that it was a good thing to try to get every kid that one big moment.
that one at bat.
that one free throw.
that one moment where everything was on the line
and it all depended on them.

i learned that was not what every player relishes.
most want to play a role,
to be a part.
to make big plays
and take part in big wins.but that split second,
where everything rides on you...

and you know it...

that is not for everyone.
as a coach you must know your players.
and ask of them only what they have to give.

the most important thing as a coach
is to teach the lessons of life.
to teach the value of hard work.
how to win with class
and lose with dignity.
how to be proud of giving your all
no matter if it was enough
how to be part of a team
and play your role,
whether or not it brought personal glory
to take satisfaction
in doing your part,
not in the praise that comes with it.

and no matter what their role,
you want them to leave knowing that they were good.
having memories that will last a lifetime.

i love the girls state
in 4 days i get to see everything that is good about sports
and everything that is good about the next generation coming up.
the girls bring with them exquisite skills,
incomparable teamwork.
the game is often as much art as sport.

and i also get to share, vicariously
the joy of competition.
on the crucible of competition,
every player shows who they are.
these are great teams,
and great players,
or they would not be on this floor on this day.
yet every game
one team ends with the thrill of victory
and the other ends their season with tears;
hopes for the coveted gold ball dashed.

this is a story about one girl
on one team
on one day.

and it is also the story of every girl
who ever takes the floor.

45 is not a star.
her team has star players
the players that everyone sees
the players that get the headlines.
45 is what they call a role player...

people sometimes use that term as if it is an insult.
the truth is,
role players are the heart and soul of a great team.

no matter how bright your stars might shine
everything they accomplish is built on the foundation
of the role players that support them.
being a role player is not easy.
when you advance a level in sports
every player was once a star.
on a high school baseball team,
almost every player was a shortstop
and/or the cleanup batter in little league.
on a high school basketball team,
almost every player was a point guard
and/or a high scorer in jr pro.
for most kids, moving up means adopting a new role on the team.
for some kids it means going home to a momma that says;
"you can shoot as good as x, you should shoot more."
or a daddy that says;
"you can handle the ball as good as y, you should be the point guard."
what not every parent sees
is that every job is equally important.
it is the player who must understand they are still just as important.
they just have new responsibilities.

as a coach,
i always saved the praise when we went over a game
for the player who fought for position on rebounds,
who drew the charge,
who locked his man down on defense.
we never even talked about scoring.
i always felt like,
when someone's job was to score,
that had its own rewards.

45 was a solid player
on a very good team.
i saw her and her team's other role players' blue collar work all week,
and it was no accident that their team was playing in the finals.

at 5-10 she was big enough for her post position.
she didn't tower over people,
but she had excellent body control.
she was a ferocious defender,
and a dogged rebounder.
like every player on her team
she showed the marvelous skills of a lifetime of preparation,
and the unbending will to win of a champion.

their opponent in the championship game
was every bit as good as 45's team.
they had knocked out the 3-time defending state champions in a huge upset in the semifinals.

sometimes after a game of that magnitude
a team has nothing left.
not this team.
they had come on a mission to bring home a gold ball.
and they would not be denied.

the game was exactly what you would expect
when two great teams
that refuse to lose
meet on the floor,
with everything on the line.

the game went back and forth.
first one team gained the upper hand,
and then the other.
and as the score seesawed,
the roar of the crowd
went from one side of the gym
to the other.
and then back again.

every basket,
every rebound, steal, foul, or blocked shot.
hell, every pass
was magnified a thousandfold.

the other post, 42,
was a big star.
a prolific shot blocker,
with silky smooth moves on offense
(and a deadly outside shot)
by the last quarter she was playing with 4 fouls.

so, down the stretch,
45's team had relied on 33.
a little wisp of a sophomore point guard,
with the heart of a lion
33 just would not be denied.
time and again as the last minutes ticked off the clock
she had somehow managed to weave thru the tall timber to the basket
slip the ball thru invisible gaps in the sea of arms trying to deny her shot
and bank the ball in off the glass.

going into the last minute,
45's team trailed.
time and again 33 had worked her magic
to keep them within a point
time and again the opponent had answered.
until at the last possible moment,
they finally got a steal,
and brought the ball down with a chance to take the lead.

the coach called timeout with 8 seconds on the clock
down by a single point.
the play he called would decide the outcome of the game,
the season,
and for the seniors on the team, like 45,
their careers in basketball.

everyone in the gym knew what was coming.
they would get the ball to 33,
and she would take it to the basket.
everyone likewise knew
the opponent had two objectives
that i know they went over in their huddle.

first, deny 33 the ball.
and, if she managed to get it,
force her left.
she was not as deadly effective from the left side.

despite the opponent's best efforts
45's team got the ball to 33
and the last 8 seconds of the season began to tick away.
walled off to her right,
33 reversed directions and came back to the left.
it was almost too easy to turn her..
the opponent scarcely noticed,
they had 33 going left,
just like they wanted.

altho she had a man guarding her
45 had taken a position on the left wing,
just beyond the arc of the 3 point line.

maybe, given time to analyze the situation,
someone would have asked why she was out there,
and not in the post....

but only maybe.

after all, she had not taken a shot during the entire game.

besides, that kind of time did not exist.
the clock was under 5 seconds,
and 33 had found a tiny gap in the defense
to drive down the left side of the lane.
45's defender peeled off,
to join the remainder of the defense
trying to thwart 33's drive to the basket....

instead of taking the ball into heavy traffic,
33 whipped a pass to 45.
face up square to the goal,
and completely alone.

a coach has to know his players
and give them the chance to find greatness in themselves.
he has to know the player who will relish the chance at that one unforgettable moment
when everything is on the line,
and it all depends on them.

45 was one of those players.

there was no time
for 45 to think about where she was
not then
not at that moment.

no time to reflect on all the practices
all the games
the jr pro, and travel teams,
middle school
and 4 long years of high school.
to contemplate all the wins and losses,
the joys and the sorrows,
the good times
and the adversities.

no time to think of the thousands,
or tens of thousands
of times she had practiced this exact same shot.
countless times imagining taking it in this exact situation.

no time to realize that this was the last time she would ever touch the ball in competition.

because every player has their favorite spot to shoot.
they know it.
their teammates know it.
their coach knows it....

only the opponent does not know it.

i am betting 45 was in that exact spot.

45 caught the ball cleanly
and released her shot as smooth as silk.
and why not?
i am sure this whole maneuver has been practiced between her and 33 thousands of times.
drive and kick
catch and shoot.
we all do these drills.
every team that plays does these drills.
dreaming of the day
we do it with everything on the line.

i was in a perfect line behind 45 when she released the ball.
and there was never any question that it was true.
the ball did not so much as brush against iron.
it scarcely tickled the nets,
and then the buzzer sounded as it dropped to the floor.

45 had played her final role.

the stats will always read 1-1, 3 points.

but stats will eventually be forgotten.
the moment will live forever.

god, i love this game.

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