Thinking about the power of team more than ever this week. We’ve got Senior Night tomorrow for the high school seniors that I coach, and I also just came back from a reunion with my college tennis team. What an amazing weekend, and an amazing group of women. I told our coach (Alice), that her ears must be burning alot, because there is hardly a day that goes by where I don’t feel grateful and appreciative of my connection to the team, my teammates, and of Alice’s influence on my life.
We’ve had a core group of 8 of us who have been doing these get togethers regularly for a few years, but this one was even better because we were joined by a bunch of teammates who I haven’t seen in….maybe 30 years. Hard to imagine how the time goes by…and how the connections remain. within seconds we were reminiscing and howling with laughter. What weird new (married) names they have, but they are still the same fun, down to earth, caring, incredible people.
And with the high school team at Western Albemarle, we’re at that time in the season where the stakes will get higher, and where the possibility of the finality of the season is there every time the girls step on the court. It’s been quite a run for these girls, making it to three state finals in a row. That is unprecedented, and has set a standard of excellence for the WAHS Girls Tennis program. But beyond the outcomes on the court, I am equally proud of what these seniors have accomplished off the court in their high school careers. Maddy, an accomplished equestrian rider, about to take a gap year to ride and compete before heading to UVA, Savannah, the aspiring aquatic vet, becoming such a confident, poised young woman, heading to Vanderbilt, Lauren spending junior year of high school in Berlin, Germany, and this year breaking hot stories for the school newspaper before she heads to Univ of British Columbia. Then our newcomers, Molly (Clemson) and Lily (JMU), converted from track and lacrosse, who have brought so much to the team this year. Every year I say the team is different, because there are new girls, and because the returning girls are a year older and different people. And every year the season is a new journey, of discovery, about themselves individually and collectively, and on and off the tennis court.
The strength of the wolf is in the pack and the strength of the pack is in the wolf. We are stronger together than any of us can be alone. I feel stronger knowing that my college teammates are there for me, on my group text, on Facebook, or waiting to plan our next reunion. I am hopeful that the WAHS girls will experience the power of team again and again in their lives, as they continue to be successful in sports, and, because of sports, in life.
