Counting our blessings
Have you counted your blessings lately? With all of the stresses out there right now; coronavirus, stock market plunge, polarized politics, etc. etc., it might be time to take stock and look at the positives in your life .
When I count my blessings, I also count blessings for our children and grandchildren, friends and extended family and fellow parishioners at our church. We have to celebrate all the little things, however silly they might be. The other night, I sang "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady to my lovely wife at choir practice to celebrate the evening we met 54 years ago, March 4th. She cried and I almost didn't make it through the whole song myself.
I have counted my grandkids blessings and they are many. For my oldest grandsons, they have been blessed with wonderful basketball coaches. Our oldest son played for Carlos Smith, who also had Cart'Are Gordon on the team. The youngest grandson now plays for Peewee Leonard and the 2024 Magic who are coming into a solid team after just a winter schedule. Peewee is a stickler to fundamentals and has even retaught the Lord's Prayer to this young man. He gets religion on and off the court in a time when people are forgetting spiritual enrichment. And Peewee is a loving and caring coach with personality, if you know what I mean. I couldn't think of a better coach to have right now as he enters high school next year and that is not to demean feeder team coach, Troy Dorner, or his STL Mavericks coach, Andrew Sitton, who have taught him many other skills this winter.
I can think of some bad coaches and, in fact, that was the reason for coaching my own sons in the Parkway league thirty years ago. I wasn't the most informed basketball coach but I treated my players with respect, something you don't always see in a youth coach. The middle son has been lucky after a bad start. He played for a screamer in 4th grade who didn't see a lot of talent in him or Sam Thompson, the excellent 6'9" center for Francis Howell. Nate was lucky to find Oliver Wisemann, current assistant at Lindenwood's women's program, and then, his current coach, Eric Bain for Larry Hughes Basketball Academy. Eric has coached our grandson for eight years and counting and I can't say enough about the development I have seen in his play under Eric's tutelage. Eric, former head high school coach at Westminster, is one of the best AAU coaches in St. Louis, if not around the country. I know that Terrell Ramey and Jason Boyd do a great job with their programs but I love the way Eric coaches.
Nate has been doubly lucky in having some of the best high school coaching around in Austin and Rick Kirby, Scott Allen, Corey Choate and Trevor Noonan. A 20-8 record for a rag-tag group of inexperienced players this season, speaks volumes for their excellence in teaching team fundamentals and sound defensive principles.
If you have a player looking for a 17U AAU team this summer, you should look Eric up. LHBA is having tryouts on March 15th at LHBA's new facility. They could use a "Big" or two to replace Sam Thompson, who went to national champion Mokan Elite. Or if you like to ball and do it for a great coach. Just Saying....
When I count my blessings, I also count blessings for our children and grandchildren, friends and extended family and fellow parishioners at our church. We have to celebrate all the little things, however silly they might be. The other night, I sang "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady to my lovely wife at choir practice to celebrate the evening we met 54 years ago, March 4th. She cried and I almost didn't make it through the whole song myself.
I have counted my grandkids blessings and they are many. For my oldest grandsons, they have been blessed with wonderful basketball coaches. Our oldest son played for Carlos Smith, who also had Cart'Are Gordon on the team. The youngest grandson now plays for Peewee Leonard and the 2024 Magic who are coming into a solid team after just a winter schedule. Peewee is a stickler to fundamentals and has even retaught the Lord's Prayer to this young man. He gets religion on and off the court in a time when people are forgetting spiritual enrichment. And Peewee is a loving and caring coach with personality, if you know what I mean. I couldn't think of a better coach to have right now as he enters high school next year and that is not to demean feeder team coach, Troy Dorner, or his STL Mavericks coach, Andrew Sitton, who have taught him many other skills this winter.
I can think of some bad coaches and, in fact, that was the reason for coaching my own sons in the Parkway league thirty years ago. I wasn't the most informed basketball coach but I treated my players with respect, something you don't always see in a youth coach. The middle son has been lucky after a bad start. He played for a screamer in 4th grade who didn't see a lot of talent in him or Sam Thompson, the excellent 6'9" center for Francis Howell. Nate was lucky to find Oliver Wisemann, current assistant at Lindenwood's women's program, and then, his current coach, Eric Bain for Larry Hughes Basketball Academy. Eric has coached our grandson for eight years and counting and I can't say enough about the development I have seen in his play under Eric's tutelage. Eric, former head high school coach at Westminster, is one of the best AAU coaches in St. Louis, if not around the country. I know that Terrell Ramey and Jason Boyd do a great job with their programs but I love the way Eric coaches.
Nate has been doubly lucky in having some of the best high school coaching around in Austin and Rick Kirby, Scott Allen, Corey Choate and Trevor Noonan. A 20-8 record for a rag-tag group of inexperienced players this season, speaks volumes for their excellence in teaching team fundamentals and sound defensive principles.
If you have a player looking for a 17U AAU team this summer, you should look Eric up. LHBA is having tryouts on March 15th at LHBA's new facility. They could use a "Big" or two to replace Sam Thompson, who went to national champion Mokan Elite. Or if you like to ball and do it for a great coach. Just Saying....
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