Now They All Mean Something

Every year our program gets together and puts together its goals and mission statement.  What is interesting, is that when you have a goal of winning a conference championship you have to wait a long time for games to really mean something.  Every game puts you into a position, but this week each game means something from here on out.  Because of that, we talk a lot about enjoying the whole process of trying to win a conference title.  You may not always win it, and some years you may not even come close, but along the way, you must enjoy it.

Well tomorrow nights game vs. Central is a chance to clinch a share of the title.  The guys are in good spirits and they really are playing with a lot of confidence.  I believe in these guys.  However, as is the case with every game, Central poses a big threat.  They have the most explosive group of 3 guards in the conference in Miguel Ley, Zak Clark, and Brett De Hoogh.  They can score in all sorts of ways, and have the ability to make a lot of 3’s in a hurry.  On top of that, they have a post in Keith Pedersen, who is leading the country in FG% at 71%.  Impressive group.   As has been our mission for a while now, we must be really good with the fundamentals on defense, limit them to one shot, and execute on offense.  We have done all of these better of late.  We will see what happens tomorrow night.  No matter what, it will be a lot of fun.

Pella, as most of you know, is my home.  That is the gym I grew the most as a player.  I would play a lot of pick up games there in high school against the Central players.  I constantly had to prove myself in that gym, otherwise I wouldn’t be invited back.  Some of my close friends that I grew up with will be there, and it will be nice to see all of them, but I don’t think I will be in a chit-chatty mood tomorrow night.  I am not one that wants to talk much before a game.  I like to hide out a little and watch the women’s game in a corner somewhere.  My dad will be there and will talk to him some, but other than that you will find me in a corner.  What is going to be fun for me, is that my daughter, Courtney will make the trip.  She has not seen many games this year, due to her own team, so it will be nice to have some time to spend with her.

The weather is killing me.  Our driveway is in disarray, my wife went into the ditch yesterday, my garage door won’t open without getting out of my car and lifting it up, and quite frankly, am tired of the cold and snow.  I ask myself often why I don’t live down south.  I think right now, I would rather take an ice pick and jam it deep in my eye socket than go outside and try to snowblow my driveway.  I know it would be more entertaining, and I could do that inside where it is warm.  Oh well, let’s go attack the Dutch tomorrow night and see if we can play well enough to win a conference title.

Go Beavers!!