The Michigan Lessons

This one is dedicated to my coach Kevin, my teammate Bryan, and my buddy Matt from TNT.

On last Thursday I headed to Michigan with the attitude “Let's go have one of the best weekends of our lives boys!” Even I didn't realize how accurate I was.

The first lesson of the weekend came while Lakeshore and TNT were waiting for our flight to Michigan in O'Hare. Both teams were sitting there waiting for our flight and I was sitting right next to Matt.

He had a hard spasm and the bag he was carrying in his lap fell to the ground. I knew the situation very well. Whether it's the contents of my wallet spilling all over the grocery store floor, the mail spilling all over the place or knocking the ball out of my own lap, I have felt ashamed of my spasms thousands of times in my life.

This is why Matt gave me such a valuable lesson. When I picked up Matt's bag from the ground he just smiled and said “Thanks!” No shame or embarrassment. Matt knows who he is and knows a little spasm doesn't define him.

I am a very stubborn person when it comes to certain things. I wouldn't be a fraction of how successful I am without that stubbornness, but I also know it leads to flaws. I'm always hungry to prove I can do things myself even when if I just asked for help it would make my life easier.

I'm not a bad person because I can't pick up coins from the ground quickly and I'm not a weak person for accepting help. God gives us talents and flaws for a reason. We must rely on one another to get the most out of life.

I try extremely hard to practice this in my life. I hope my love and support for my teammates shines through. I hope I am productive voice from the bench and court.

It warmed my heart to see us play so well against Ohio to start the weekend off right and I was really excited to get out there and play myself. I was frantic trying to force my body to do things it didn't want to do, but then Kevin told me one of the wisest things I've ever heard. “Only focus on things you can control. Right now you can’t control your body.”

I just naturally assume I can control my body, but Kevin is right on the money. My hands and torso do not appreciate how hard I have pushed them since 2000, they are rebelling and telling me I need to get smarter.

Something I realized over the last several months is to bring your fear out into the light. That way the fear cannot get you later on. I openly admitted to my team how scared I really was about what my body was doing. I even shed a few tears and Bryan picked me right up

He said it was time for “No Fear.” And he was right!

Over the course of the weekend Bryan and other vets showed me how to conserve energy and become a smarter player. Talking calmly and confidently really does work better and saves a lot of energy. There are still times I talk too much, but I now know why and will discuss further in a later post.

I'm really blessed to be part of such an amazing team and I'm really proud of the entire heartland sectional. I think all eight teams that were there our on their way up. No team there was perfect, but we are all improving from where we began. After all life isn't about perfection, life is about growth. The heartland is growing and I proud to be involved in that growth.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for selecting me to get the sportsmanship award. I would have been extremely embarrassed if I received an award like that in the past. I would have thought that getting singled out like that was somehow wrong because of my low self-esteem, but I now realize its okay to be me.

I mess up all the time, but I still try to let the light that shines in my heart become visible to everyone else. Everyone else makes it so easy. I get to be a member of a special team, who gets the privilege to play a special sport.

Less than 1% of the population understands what it is like to be us. We might wear different colored jerseys during the game, but I've yet to meet an opponent. We are all family!

Thanks for reading
Chris