Standing O

Hi! Boyfriend here! Lindsey has allowed me to come on and blog about my basketball game tonight. Don't close out of the blog yet!! Read this. It's an awesome story! For those who don't know, I coach JV boy's basketball at Hudson, and am also the varsity assistant, which makes for long weeks with lots of games. Anyways, tonight I took the JV and freshman to NU High to play 2 games. The JV ended up having to play seniors and juniors from NU, but still managed to play hard enough and smart enough to come back and beat the older guys by 6 in a thriller! After that game, my freshman took the floor....and this is where it gets real fun......

I have a freshman named Andrew. Andrew had a stroke a couple of years ago, and basically has no function of the right side of his body. He can walk OK at best, but cannot do anything with his right arm. I have to tie his shorts and shoes every day for practice, and have to help him put his coat on. He has to catch every pass with his left arm and chest. He knows he's not very good, but he loves basketball. He's even a ball boy for UNI basketball games. Because of safety reasons, Andrew playes sparingly. A minute here, a minute there. He has taken 3 shots so far this year and has missed all 3. He's NEVER made a basket in a game before. But he works hard, and the kids are extremely nice to him, and have taken him in as a teammate. We were neck and neck all game with NU, and instead of allowing my competitive nature to take over, I did what I felt was right, and I got Andrew in the game. He's earned it. As he was walking to the scorer's table to check in, I told him if he's open, to shoot the ball. He gets so nervous every time he gets in. He checks in, and I'll be darned if within the first 10 seconds, Andrew found himself wide open in the corner with the ball. We all yelled, "Shoot!" Andew wound up with his left arm and threw the ball toward the hoop.....NOTHING BUT THE BOTTOM OF THE NET! It was one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me. Our bench erupted! I jumped up and didn't know what to do. Just stood up with my arms up. Our fans, mostly all the parents, exploded. What'd Andrew do? Sprinted down court to go play defense, with the biggest smile ever on his face. I bet he's still smiling. A couple seconds later, when there was a dead ball, I substituted for Andrew. He sprinted over to the bench to a standing ovation from the whole crowd! I had goosebumps, as I'm sure a lot of other people did. That shot not only made Andrew's season, but probably much more. I don't think I can feel any more proud to be a coach than I do now.

Sorry if I bored you, or you just don't care. But it was a life-changing moment for such a good kid. We could all learn a lot from Andrew.

Hudson JV Basketball: 9-3 :)