Last Friday evening at 8pm, I was coaching my son's basketball team. Trust me, there was nothing I wanted to be doing more:)
In this particular game, we had a rough start. The five starters were letting their nerves get the best of them and the shots were not falling. As they were playing, one of the players on the bench kept making negative comments like, 'Aww, come one! You gotta make that!' and 'What are you doing? Come on, stop him!'
You know, I was on him! I told him he needed to say positive things to his teammates, or nothing at all. Then, I got really into the game and thought it had gotten better. However, when I called a timeout, three of the players on the court said, 'Jeese, can you tell him to stop. He is not helping.'
I was surprised any of the players had even heard him because I assumed they were focused on playing. That was a big eye opener for me.
When they first quarter ended, one players was almost in tears. He said, 'That is how he is at school too.'
Second quarter starts and this group is able to get their feet under themselves and finally put some points on the board. That one particular player is pounding his chest saying, 'That is how you do it! Yeah!' Do you think his teammates were excited to cheer him on?
Before the game was over, I said a few things to this teammate about what it means to be part of a team and we went on to win.
The next day, I had a conversation with my own kids. My boys are on each other ALL OF THE TIME and it drives us CRAZY!! We talked about how it makes one feel when they hear the other brother say negative things. I reinforced that we are a TEAM and we need to cheer each other on. And then, all of their issues were solved. Ha!! NOT!!!
As I reflect on all of this, what I know is that I perform better when I know people are behind me and feeding me positive energy.
At Stoneridge we are a team. Every single one of us is part of ONE team- working together to support kids. We all have to cheer each other on at all times. Our team members play different roles at different times. Remember the Kobe quote that said, 'I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on the bench waving a towel, handing water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.' We should all strive to be that player on our team.
Cheer on ALL at ALL times!!!
I know you have heard it before, but together we achieve more.
Benefit For the Arts: It will be here before we know it. I love how you are keeping the competitive spirit alive. Keep sharing the info with your parents. It would be great to meet our goal of 150 tickets before the event.
Pennies for Patients: Keep pumping it up! We are very close to our school goal and I know we will make it.
Need Your Help: If you have your class on the blacktop on Friday afternoons, if you could please help by gathering all balls and putting the carts in room 36. Brian will be removing the tether balls after lunch, just to make things easier.
On that note, keep an eye out for kids sitting or standing on the tether balls. The rope is not strong enough and the balls are breaking off like crazy!
Also, I am hoping to share your grade level assignment by the end of this week but it may roll into the following week.
Coming Up This Week:
Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL!!
Tuesday, February 18:
4:00pm LITE Meeting at DO
Wednesday, February 19:
Brooks Off Site- Casey TIC
3:30pm Staff Meeting(Room 35)- Jerry Jorgensen presenting
Thursday, February 20:
3:30pm SSP Meetings
Friday, February 21:
Story Book Character Dress Up Day
1:15pm House Rally
