Yesterday was awesome. End of story, no questions asked. I arrived about a half hour prior to when we had to start getting ready. I walked into the locker room and taped to my locker was a note with my name written in big black letters on the front of it. I sat down, opened it and read it. Absolutely incredible. What my teammate Zak Krug had to say in that letter is between he and myself but he really spoke to the impact we've had on each other's lives both on and off the floor. I was speechless.
After I changed, I walked out to the floor and took a seat on the bench. At that point I was just trying to grasp that it was in fact my last home game...ever. My parents arrived. I can't even begin to tell you how much they mean to me and the incredible impact that both my mother and father have had in my life. Both mom and dad are extremely humble and would do anything for me or my brothers. To have them at my final home game as a Saint made the day that much better.
The team worked through warm ups and continued to prepare for what was going to be a very winnable match. The clock struck triple zeros and it was showtime. We quickly lost games one and two. Things couldn't have been going much worse at this point but I had to put a smile on my face for the recognition of the team's seniors, myself, Juan and Austin.
My name was called first. I walked across the court with Coach Watkins, motioning for my parents to come join me. Both mom and dad were determined to catch this memorable day on video and were both filming, mom on her iPad and dad on his iPhone. Eventually they realized they needed to come down on the court with me. That moment, the three of us, was bittersweet. I gave them each a hug and teared up a little bit. My mom was a bit frustrated with how we had played so far and as she so often does said to me "Go out there and be a Branimal!"
Austin and Juan were announced next, escorted by their families. Two great men on and off of the court that I am extremely happy to call my friends.
I don't know what happened during the short ten minute intermission but something clicked for us as a team. Almost as if the break and recognition rejuvenated the team and gave us new energy.
Game three came and went, and we destroyed them. Cougars: 2 games Saints: 1. We still had a long way to go, needing to win two more games. Sure enough we took game four, in part due to great serving by big Juan. The guy is a freak and could easily be playing division 1 volleyball somewhere but I'm definitely happy he's a Saint.
Tied at two games a piece we started game five. A race to 15 points. We had them on the ropes, up fourteen to eight. I went over to Juan and told him to set me, I wanted to end my final match on Coach Smith Court with a kill. Unfortunately a nice defensive play by the St. Xavier defender eliminated that opportunity. I thought I had the game winner after I put a pretty good swing on the ball but they were able to get the dig and rally to win the point. Fourteen to nine Siena Heights...serve out of bounds, game, set, match.
I was quickly greeted with a big hug from Zak. Yesterday's victory was truly a testament to the season we've been having, filled with ups and downs. Down 2-0 we didn't quit and in the end came out on top. It was great. Thank you to everyone who was there or watched online.
I'm going to miss it.
No comments:
Post a Comment