I'm writing this as I wait to see one of my oncologists to review my blood work. Hopefully, my PSA has dropped and that my white and red blood cell counts are good because I'm looking forward to chemo on Wednesday. I have an hour or so before I see him which is giving me some time to write and reflect on our season which ended yesterday.
December 5th seems so far away and that's a good thing because it was the darkest day of my life this far but it also shows how far I've come since my initial diagnosis. Instead of quitting and taking leave from some of the things which make me happy, with a not so gentle push from my wife, I took my life back and have kept doing everything I enjoy. At the top of that list is coaching and this year has been like no other.
My eleven players are all in grade ten and eleven which means they're only 15 or 16 years old. They've seen their coach quit, come back, change physically and coach through bad days and good days yet they never wavered. In seven months they never quit, checked out or rebelled, they just played and practiced. Every day of this season I knew there were eleven people who had my back and likewise I was there for them. It's been special that with all the chaos of dealing with cancer I could go into the gym three days a week and forget about it and teach, push, develop relationships and improve a group of amazing people.
Months ago, when I first let the news out about my diagnosis it was also the day of our first game against Brampton and with cancer at the forefront someone told me after winning, we had some "Disney shit going on!" They were right this season has felt a lot like something out of a Disney movie.
A little bit about this team to put it all into perspective. We have eleven players of which 3 don't play for a school team, 3 play for their JV team, 1 just started playing organized basketball, 1 came back only 7 months after tearing her ACL and 3 come from a small school. All of that means nothing because they work hard, are quick learners, want to win, are unselfish and were pretty good players who were just overlooked in some cases. Most importantly, they cared about each other and what they needed to do to win.
I wasn't sure of our level at the beginning of the year so we played very defensively and let the opposition dictate how the game would be played. By mid season this style of play had us playing low scoring games, losing slightly more than we won and squeaking out wins against some weak teams. After a disappointing showing in Toronto we changed our style and began to attack and pressure everyone we faced. The players loved it and played like a totally different team. Practices became harder and more intense but the players kept working hard and improving. We went 4 and 1 in our last tournament before the provincial championships only losing to the #2 team in the province.
We travelled to Sudbury this past weekend for the provincial championships. We earned the top seed in second division meaning we were #9 in Ontario. Ten minutes into our first game and we lost our starting center. Other players stepped up and some starters played a new position but we won that night and won the next morning. We were now in the semi-finals facing a Mississauga team we were 0-3 against this season as one player seemed to have our number. Twenty minutes before the game and I decided to teach the box and one defense to the team on a chalkboard. I gave one player, who I have come to trust on defense more than anyone else, the task to guard the star player. The reaction didn't go as I hoped.
E: I can't take her.
Me: You're F#€%ing quitting on us! That's bull?¥£%. Can you take her or do I get someone
else?
E: I'll do it.
She took her and held her to one basket while scoring 25 points herself. That's why I love coaching. There's no better feeling than seeing someone do something they didn't realize they had in them. I don't think she'll back down from a challenge like that again. Correction, I know she'll never back down ever again! Due in part to her great game we beat them for the first time and made the Ontario Provincial Championship game.
After the game the players and their parents got a meeting room at the hotel so we could all get together. When I walked in and sat down the players surrounded me and one player gave a speech about what the season meant to the team. I kept from getting choked up but it meant so much to me. After the semi final win one player came up and said "thanks for coaching us". This team has become a family to my family.
We played Dundas in the final which is a pretty strong team and I don't think people outside of our team thought we had a chance. We played hard but every time we got a lead they came back and went up. We were down by 4 with 4 minutes to go which felt insurmountable with two of our best players out of the game. One girl came off the bench and played almost the entire 4th quarter without a rest and played great defense. The girls never gave up on themselves and seemed more relaxed as the game got tighter. We went on a run to take the lead due to a three pointer and a pair of free throws by our best scorers. We never lost the lead and with 3.4 seconds left Dundas couldn't get it up the court in time for a good shot.
Watching the girls pile on each other and eventually on me it hit me how special this season has been. No matter how hard I was on these girls they never quit or gave attitude. There were so many times during practice they'd show me how much they cared about me and my health. That's family, when you are concerned about others as much or more than about yourself. The emphasis on family was the reason at mid season we changed our cheer from our team name, Briers, to "together". I wanted us to always think about the group and nothing else.
Climbing up the ladder to take my turn cutting down the net felt unbelievable. Five months earlier I was quitting coaching because as a cancer patient I couldn't live a normal life anymore. Thanks Carolyn, Rebecca, Sitarski, Cheese, Derks, Cesar, Emily, Madia, Sherm, Chang, Lemmon, Mc, and Kelsey for kicking my butt just as much as I kicked yours.
"I love you guys." Coach Byrne, Disney Shit (2014)
#shitkickcancer
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