The Waynesboro Middle School Lady Cats Basketball team finished their season this evening with pride and disappointment. At first thought these two emotions don't seem to go together, how can you take pride in disappointment?
The Lady Cats have a good team but, at the beginning of the season, no one expected too much from them. The problem was not a lack of athletes or even ability but one of age, the Lady Cats have only one 8th grader on the team making for a young, inexperienced team. They took a few lumps early on in the season but each game brought out their desire to win.
The Lady Cats finished the year strong and were invited to the two premier invitational state tournaments for middle schools. The first tournament was the James C. Haile State Invitational Tournament in Murfreesboro, TN where the Lady Cats took second place out of eleven teams. This week the Lady Cats played in the T-N-T Statewide Middle School Basketball Tournament (T-N-T stands for Tops 'N Tennessee) and concluded their apperance in this tournament tonight with a loss to Waverly but not until advancing to the Final Four.
It was a bitter loss for the girls and their coach (who happens to be my brother, Jeff), who had aspirations of winning this tournament after their strong appearance last week. Time will heal the wounds of disappointment and I have no doubt that already the girls and their parents are contemplating with pride how far they have come this year.
I can almost guarantee that the hope filled phrase common in sports has already rolled off the lips of more than one of the girls and their parents, "Just wait till next year!"
Girls, I'm proud of you and can't wait till next year! (We will miss you Kelsey.)
4 comments:
Congrats on a successful season! Too bad it ended on such a note, but that doesn't change how well the team did. Good luck next season! Go get 'em!
Thank's Zack! We're looking forward to it already. My daughter will be on the team next year.
Thank you Mitch. These are a great group of girls, probably the best I have ever worked with. Watch these girls ... if they give the same hard work and dedication in their life that they gave in basketball... these girls are destined for greatness. These young ladies are why we coach. I hope that fans and parents got as much enjoyment from watching them give 100% every night as I did. Also thanks parents for your dedication in bringing to practice, to games, and providing whatever we needed. It was an extremely successful year for everyone involved.
Jeff Skelton
Thanks Jeff. The job you do is often thankless but worse than that is that it almost always brings criticism. It shouldn't be that way. The grace you show when dealing with critics is a testament to your Christianity. I appreciate the work you do, but more than that, the example you set for the girls.
Your Brother (in more ways than one).