It was an emotional weekend for Katie, but I am so proud of her. I have to brag on her for a moment; bear with me. Katie's team went into the season with all 6th and 7th graders, and one 8th grader. Needless to say, we all thought they would get creamed, and we were going to be glad if they won a few games this season. So, we were all suprised when they won every game except 3 this season, ending in 2nd place for our entire division. This weekend was the resulting tournament with the top (I don't know how many) schools in our region, and our team came in 4th place - which is pretty impressive for our young, inexperienced team. But the best part was seeing Katie, one of the captains, little bitty thing that she is, compete and lead with determination and grace. Watching her on the court made me so proud. Not only did she play with incredible skill, but also she was so encouraging to the other kids, positive, fought like crazy, and kept the spirit alive. I really couldn't imagine the pressure they were feeling, and I know I couldn't have performed as well as they did. They even scored 21 points in one game against the (killer) team that won the entire tournament - who cares that they hammered us in the first game. :-) So, I said a lot of Hail Marys, beckoned the assitance of many angels, and was VERY glad when it was all over. Though I didn't play the 6 games in two days that Katie did physically, emotionally I was right there with her as each ball came her way. And let me tell you... it was exhausting!
