I had the privilege this term of coaching the Under 15 Field Hockey team. My team was comprised of 15 young ladies - in grades 7, 8 and 9. Most of them had never played field hockey before. And most of our competition was against British schools, where they start playing field hockey as early as 6 years old. So, needless to say, it was a bit intimidating. In our first game, the other coach kept apologizing as his girls scored goal....after goal....after goal. It was almost embarrassing. HOWEVER....my girls only improved with each game. Not only their skill and ball control, but their confidence and love for the sport increased as the season went on. We even had one game that was a tie!
The thing that impressed me most about this group of girls was their joy. Whether we lost big or small, whether it was raining or sunny, whether the other team was gracious or mean, they were just a joyful, cheerful group! They had so much fun at every game and I heard many comments like, "I appreciated their spirit out there!" or "They are learning and improving so much."
These girls really desired to be a testimony wherever we went. They were great about interacting with the other teams (many of the schools we play against are non Christian schools) and they were kind and polite to the referees and other coaches.
I couldn't be more proud of these ladies!
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