| A few years ago
I was the coach of an excellent team.
It was one of those 'once in a lifetime
teams' where it all 'came together'.
There were 21 girls on the team. Every
Tuesday and Thursday I spent 45 minutes
in my beat up 15 passenger-van picking
up 11 of these kids. Without transportation,
they would not have made it to practice.
These girls were special to me, and
I was special to them.
While each girl had her own special
trait that endeared herself to me,
there was ONE serious ray of sunshine.
I had coached her for 5 years. She
improved with every passing year.
She didn't complain, would try any
stunt suggested, and was a true athlete.
There was something very different
about this young lady. In 2001, when
she was 11 years old, she was diagnosed
with cancer. The tumor on her lower
thigh continued to grow in spite of
medical intervention. As much as she
had loved cheerleading, she was now
in a fight for her life, and all things
unrelated to this fight ended. For
one long year, she underwent chemotherapy.
The difficult decision was finally
posed to her parents; amputate the
leg and ensure the cancer would not
return, or continue with a treatment
that didn't seem to be working.
I visited her in the hospital the
day after the decision was made to
amputate her leg. We avoided the subject
for a few minutes as I uneasily made
small talk - not knowing how to approach
the painful subject. Showing the very
strength that made me appreciate her
on my team, she looked at me sadly
as asked: "If they cut my leg off,
will I ever cheer again?" My strength
wavered, and my eyes filled with tears.
I assured her that she would ALWAYS
have place on our team.
The next day surgery was performed,
and shortly thereafter she was fitted
for a prosthetic leg.
To a lesser person, this setback in
her life would have caused her to
change her path. It only served to
make her more determined to give both
life and cheerleading 110%. I'll never
forget her. She taught my team, my
family and me a valuable life lesson:
I can't change the direction of the
wind, but I can adjust my sails to
always reach my destination.
This was the highlight of my many
years of coaching, and I wanted to
share it with you.
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