Taking one for the team

I debated whether I should title my blog "Taking one for the team," or "Mike's endearing qualities."  I opted for "Taking one for the team," but you'll see why the two titles go hand in hand.  Our family is heavily involved in basketball right now.  Jay is playing, Nick is playing and Mike is assistant coach for Nick's team.  What am I doing you ask?  Driving all over central IL to go to games and putting on weight from sitting in the bleachers.  Our challenge is deciding which parent is going to which game.  This makes it very difficult for Mike because he's committed to helping with Nick's team so Mike has missed several of Jay's games (and I've missed several of Nick's) because Nick either has a game on the same nights or practice.  We don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because it is what it is.  I like to joke that Jay is taking one for the family this basketball season.  Although Mike never coached Jay's teams, he rarely missed a practice and often times would take Jay early so they could practice together.  Now it's Nick's turn.  The past year has been difficult for Nick which in turn was hard on Mike and I.  The ship has finally started to veer and head in the right direction and as any parent can imagine, that makes this mom and dad very happy.  Nick loves his dad helping to coach his team and although Nick's attitude was less than happy when he started basketball, his attitude has slowly improved.  I have had the pleasure of seeing my husband in a role that I thought I'd never see.  He never ceases to amaze me.  He has gotten to know all the boys on Nick's team and I've never heard him say a negative word about any of them.  He recognizes what skills they need to work on but he sees the potential in all of them which is exactly how it should be in third grade sports but as we all know, sometimes that isn't how it is.  It's all about winning and playing your best players.  I like Mike's philosophy.  He firmly believes that we have no idea what this group of third players will develop into (basketball wise) but there is something in all of them that can be developed to make them better.  Slowly but surely we've seen the team improve, enjoy the game more and playing as a team.  It's been a joy to see.  I wish Jay's season was going as well as Nick but the truth is, it's not.  My dear friend, Laura, gave me excellent advice regarding Jay's situation.  She said that although things may seem really bad, the truth is this experience might be instilling a sense of perseverance and commitment with Jay.  And this may be Jay's first real lesson in learning that life is simply unfair sometimes.