Tears of ...

I had very mixed emotions as I walked back to the locker room after our final game.  It was hard to know what to say, do, or expect.  AS the door opened, I we (Head coach and I) were met with an eerie silence, then various sounds of sobbing.  For some the sobbing was for the lose that just ended our season, for some the emotion of  leaving it all on the floor, for some the sadness that the season was just over, and maybe even for some the joy of what they had accomplished.  No matter the reason the tears still came.  some loudly, some softer and some even unnoticed.

As coach began to speak her voice cracked.  She was visibly emotional.  I too became choked up and tears began to roll down my cheeks.  As I sat down and witnessed the scene in front of me, through my tears of sorrow I sensed joy and pride (the good kind).  Coach couldn't speak, the emotion clearly overtaking her.  I wasn't sure I could either.  Finally midst the cries comes a voice.  "Coach can I say something?"  I looked to see our lone senior rising to her feet among her teammates.  She had been crying but now seemed super calm and collected.  Coach told her to go ahead.  The senior began to tell her teammates how proud she was of what they had just accomplished.  She told them they had played their hardest and that they had proved to everyone that they belonged.  She continued about how far they had come since the beginning of the season and how much better they would be in the seasons to come.  She finished by saying how proud she was to be apart of this team and she felt good about what they had done together and how they needed to continue right where they are now for next year.

The cries seemed to go away instantly.  They were replaced by pride.  Pride in what they had accomplished.  Pride in what they had done.  Pride in who they were.  What brought this all on?  Let's look back.

We lost our last 2 regular season games, on the road to the top 2 teams in our conference and we finished 5th in our conference.  By the way the standings worked out, we would play what had become our arch rival in the first round of the conference tourney.  All 3 games with them up to this point had been battles.  The first was a 1 point OT lose, 2nd a 2 point last few seconds lose and the 3rd a 3 point come from 23 points behind victory on their home court.  Friday's tourney game proved to be no different as we got the 2 point win in an epic battle in which we held them from a last second shot to try for the win/tie.    That put us in the semifinals the next day against the #1 seed and undefeated in conference team.

Although we had lost to them all the times.  We knew we had a chance to bet them.  We were the team that came the closet all year.  We matched up with them really well.  We had the heart and drive to do it.  It was definitely the battle of all battles.  It was back and fourth all game.  With just under a minute to play and down by 2, our senior point guard shot a beautiful 3.  Everyone in the gym watched it sail gracefully to the basketball, drop halfway down and then rattle right out.  Our only hope was to foul and hope they missed.  But it was not to be.  In the end we lost by 6.  We had come so close but it just didn't happen.  That's how we got to the locker room scene above.  That's how the season finished.  That's what brought us all to tears, tears of...