Excellence

I saw excellence in an unexpected place this morning

it was at a basketball game

no one shot 100%

no one pulled down all of the rebounds

no one inbounded the ball perfectly

no one played perfect defense

on one was over four feet tall

I was at an Upward Basketball game of kindergartners 

watching five and six year old boys and girls

some played with enthusiasm

some played with skill

some played distracted 

one decided he would rather watch than play

the coaches are patient men

my grand daughter Willow was playing

actually it would be more accurate to say she took up space on the court

she is not one of the skilled, focused players

however, her best friend Will is

he happens to be the son of one of the coaches 

it was the fifth of six time periods of play

Will had scored several times

on his way back to play defense 

Sarah, Ruth and I heard him tell Willow, 

as he hugged her,

"next time I get the ball I am going to give it to you"

and the next time down the floor he did just that

he went to Willow and handed her the ball

she shot and missed

Will and the other two on the floor hurried back on defense

Willow, not so much

he rebounded the ball

brought it down the court

and again, sought out Willow,

took her the ball

she shot and made the basket!

the other adults watching cheered as loud as we did

Sarah, Ruth and I sat with tears in our eyes

as Will and Willow hugged each other

he was as excited or maybe more excited than she was

he displayed excellence of character

and I am praying he keeps that...

I am also wondering if arranged marriages are making a come back?

Willow is # 2
Will is # 4
Coach Coffey, Will's dad, is facing them