~:[CH8 - Day 105]:~ Never Giving Up

~:[CH8 - Day 105]:~ Never Giving Up

The expected frustrations of being a meet managers showed themselves once again. People not taking responsibility for what they're suppose to do, others trying to get me to adapt the rules to make it work for them, and the stress of coaching, hoping that things will all fall into place. Despite the pains, this new league provided a fairly smooth introduction, as the efficient meet finished much quicker than expected. However, I needed a little stress reliever by day's end, picked up my camera and got some shots as we closed out the night with the 200m, almost an hour before I thought we would be done. I smiled in amazement. Of course, the end of the night paralleled something that I teach my athletes and hope they remember for the rest of their lives. No matter how skilled your competitors are or how intimidating they look, you can never give up and keep pushing forward. I saw it on countless occasions through the day and by night's end, I was screaming out "quietly" out loud trying to not wake anyone up, containing my excitement. Thirty one points down and the Clippers came back to win game 2, facing an opponent with the "Death Lineup" of all-stars, the all-starless Clippers who were projected to win 33 games this season, took a victory at the Oracle. Sure, it's simply one game and the Warriors are still a heavy favorite to win the series, but you can't argue that it wasn't a feel good moment. A scrappy bunch of athletes who were given no chance (the worst odds to win a series in 30 years) never game up and came back from the largest playoff deficit in history. That's why you play the game and you never give up. The walls around you may seem insurmountable, but you don't let those around you take you down. You just play and hope that things will fall into your favor, even when they have every advantage possible. Thursday, the Warriors could go back to their winning ways, but there is no way that the Clippers are going to go down without a fight. I'm hoping that my athletes see it the same way. Regardless of whether they're favored or not, I hope they come out racing their hearts out and never giving in to those trying to tear them down, as you just never know what will happen, even when it's truly David versus Goliath.