Princesses Play Basketball

My oldest daughter, McDaniel, just finished her career as a middle school basketball player.

Not finished her career as a basketball player.

Just her career as a middle school one.

We attended her winter sports awards banquet this week.

Her coach, you know,

The one McDaniel and friends surprised by decorating her jeep.

The one McDaniel also has a gym teacher.

The one that is getting married. 

got to speak to the girls on the team and all of us parents.

She spoke about their dedication,

their positive attitudes,

their bond to each other and her.

Then, through tears, this

precious, 

young, 

beautiful, 

VERY FEMININE 

female coach spoke of being a middle school girl

more importantly

a middle school girl who chooses to be a jock.

You know, it hit me for the first time.

I never really thought about that being hard for any of the girls.

They wore it so well.

Some of them at almost a foot taller than their male peers.

But when I saw their faces as the coach spoke, I realized

 it was hard.

And that coach knew it in a way that only a former middle school girl jock could know it.

She gave them words of encouragement from her heart

as well as other basketball greats.

Like this one from NBA coach Phil Jackson:

"Love is the force that ignites the spirit and binds teams together."

And oh, how this team loved one another.

Then she called the girls by name

one at a time

to come up to the front of the room.

She asked them to curtsy

and she placed a tiara on each of their sweet heads.

You see, at the beginning of the season, Coach asked the girls what theme they would like to name all their plays (states, presidents, candy, etc.).

The girls chose princesses.

I did love seeing the faces of the opposing team when they would holler out

"Rapunzel"

or

"Gisele"

or

"Cinderella".

Even in their

tall

strong 

competitive bodies

they all just wanted to be princesses.

Coach recognized that and crowned them appropriately.

The girls beamed

in that 4-year-old-look-at-me-twirling-my-pretty-new-dress way

and I was so thankful for that coach 

and so proud of her for passing on what maybe she didn't get when she was in middle school

that I thought my overflowing heart 

just 

might 

burst. 

Every single one of them are gorgeous.

Coach and McDaniel being silly.

After the awards, it was time for the parent vs. daughter basketball game.

(More on that later. Stay tuned.)

But I wanted to show you this picture of that game.

 Look at the girl in the pink t-shirt. 

She is 

still 

wearing 

her tiara. 

Princesses play basketball.

Don't you just love that??!!