The Girls

In 2006 I began coaching a special basketball team.

They were girls whom I had already coached on the soccer field. Now we were making the transition into another sport.

And Bulldog basketball was born.

The first season we did not win a single regular season game. But the girls rallied in the first round of the playoffs to beat the number one seed in the tournament.

From that initial season the girls continued to develop basketball skills. They have always been the "smallest" (e.g. shortest) team in the league, so they developed skills that enabled them to not only compete with the other teams but to put together a three-season-run in the league that is unsurpassed by any other team.

The girls learned to play defense. Tenacious, in-your-face, full-court defense. They learned man-2-man D, zone D (2-3 and 1-3-1) and even special defensive sets like the Box-and-1 and Triangle-and-2.

The second year of basketball saw the girls reach the championship game where they lost by one point to an older and more experienced team.

In the third year, the girls faced even tougher competition but managed to once again make it to the championship where they lost again by one point to a private school.

This year the girls entered the season with high expectations. We welcomed two "new" faces to the team, and began preparing in December to make another run at a championship.

The first game of the season was a nightmare as the girls were outplayed and beaten badly. But they came back to win the rest of their regular season games. That simple fact says so much about the character of these girls.

Entering the playoffs again, the girls heard their first-round opponent talk openly about winning. The result? The Bulldogs proved that talk is cheap en route to a dominating performance.

The Bulldogs found themselves in the championship game again against a bigger and quicker opponent.

And they responded.

With heart, they responded.

With desire, they responded.

With determination they responded.

The night before the game the girls each shared what it has meant for them to be a Bulldog basketball player. Their words touched me and reminded me that teams like this do not come around often.

I wish I could write a "hollywood" ending and tell you that the girls won the championship on a last second shot.

But it did not end that way.

With a little more than two minutes left in the game the Bulldogs found themselves down 14-9. Defeat seemed inevitable, but the Bulldogs never stopped fighting. The girls stormed back to tie the score.

And then hearts were broken again as the other team raced down the court and missed a final shot. But a foul was called. The player hit a free throw. The game was over.

I could point out that time had expired when the girl took the shot. I could point out mistakes that the referees made. I could even mention the behavior of the opponent's "coach."

But those things don't matter right now. What matters is that once again a group of girls left their hearts on a basketball court.

Thank you, girls, for Bulldog basketball. I am so proud of each of you, and I am so honored to have been your coach.

Thank you ...
Madi Walter -- for playing with us this year, and accepting the challenges that came your way

Mandy Sparkman -- for your tremendous heart and willingness to do everything you could to help us win games

Rebecca Shumate -- for your never-say-die attitude and how you always worked hard in every practice

Rachel Shumate -- for your growth as a player and how you never backed down from the bigger girls you found yourself playing against

Madi Morris -- for joining the Bulldogs this year and taking a great burden on yourself to make us a better team

Katie McKay -- for always doing what was asked of you and for rising to the defensive challenge put before you in the championship game

Ashley Keel -- for developing as a shooter and doing what you were asked to help the team

Ashley Faith -- for your aggressive defensive play and for pacing us offensively

Breanna Black -- for working so hard under the basket against bigger girls and for bringing a desire to learn more about the game

Hannah Brewster -- as a coach, I am thankful for your development as a player and your hard work ethic. As your Dad, I could not be prouder of you as a player or a person. To coach you these years has given me an experience that I will cherish forever. And the blocked shots you had in the championship -- well, those were pretty sweet too!

Thanks also to Kent McKay who truly put his heart and soul into this season as well.

And finally, thanks to all the parents who have supported Bulldogs basketball. Your support of your daughters and your desire to see them succeed is so very important.

Thank you.