Hey Coach!

My dad and I took in a movie this evening. It was Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. I have to say that it was much better than I expected it to be. I enjoy going to the movies with Dad.

It's very relaxing plus it allows us to escape from reality for a few hours. I can now understand why movies are so important to our country especially during the difficult years. The past few years have been pretty difficult for a lot of people. Who would have thought that a beautiful sunny day in September would bring such sadness and fear?

As is customary with my dad and I, we talked about basketball before and after the movie. Kinda tough to talk about anything else when you are so passionate about it. I even think that I am going to go watch one the morning games of an invitational at Tipton tomorrow.

I feel complete with coaching. I cannot describe how great it feels but I do know that I am truly indebted to sixteen young girls for helping find something so great. To me, many people are not so lucky and spend many years looking for something that great.

My friend Mike wrote a wonderful blog post which also contributed to those great feelings. Please read it if you get the chance. It talks about my team's latest game in which we lost a heart breaker in overtime.

I could have not been happier with the effort my kids gave that evening. Even though we lost, it is my belief that they played a complete game from start to finish. It is unfortunate though that we do not have practice tomorrow. I enjoy it that much.

Like I said before, my Dad and I enjoy sharing stories about basketball. I remember him telling me once that there was a time in his life when he enjoyed being called "Coach" more than "Dad."

Of course, at the time I felt a little depressed but I think these past few months have helped me to realize just what he was talking about. It's an indescribable feeling that I would not trade for anything in this world.

Do what you love and Do it well

The beautiful thing about Christmas Break is that it gives me ample time to read. I picked up Barack Obama's newest book The Audacity of Hope and I read an interesting passage about values. This is what it said:

"If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren't willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all."

A certain value that has always been taught to me throughout my life has been to do what you love and to do it well. It has been the understanding that monetary and material possessions do not stand up to the true fruits of this world.

As I continue to grow older, this world of being whatever you want to be has started to fade somewhat. It sometimes appears as if there is too much emphasis on playing it safe and too little interest on living out one's dreams.

As Senator Obama put it, are we really practicing what we preach in terms of our values and ideals on growing up in America? When we tell our kids that they can be anything they want to be, do we really mean it or are we simply giving them false hope?

These are just questions that I think really need to be discussed. I think that every now and then it is good for the soul and spirit to sit in thought on these questions.

Our values are what define us not only as Americans but also as people. But, are the values that have come to define us as a people really the values that we hold dear today?

Words are important in communicating these values but the most important thing that we have to remember is, as the good Senator said, "that our values must be tested against fact and experience, so long as we recall that they demand deeds and not just words."