A Bigger Than Basketball Weekend
“Acknowledging the good that you have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
- Eckhart Toll
So often we go through life always looking for something better. Very rarely do we ever stop and appreciate what we have but instead constantly look for something else. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it does lead to the potential for us not to appreciate what we have. If we do not appreciate what we have presently, we can never truly be grateful. In our program, we are aware of this and we stress being grateful - it is the second of our foundational values. There are many ways that we can be grateful. There is a quote in our locker room that says “ I cried when I had no shoes…until I met a man with no feet.” When we stop and think about that quote, it really hits home and makes us think about how we need to appreciate what we have and that things can always be worse. From the school we attend, to the league we play in, to the fact that we have food to eat and heat in the winter, we have a lot that we take for granted. We get upset when an official makes a call that does not go our way or we lose a close game but we very rarely stop and think how lucky we are to have officials or to even just be playing a game. There are plenty of people who do not get those opportunities.
Once we, as a team, take a moment and appreciate all that we have, we make it a point to find ways to give back. There are many things that we have done over the years to give back. We really strive to appreciate what we have and then to help others who are not as fortunate. This past weekend we participated in two events in which we tried to give back. We did play basketball but that was secondary to the overall goal. On Saturday we traveled to Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast HS to play in the Billy Lake Classic. While we played CB West, the day was about way more than basketball. The main purpose of the day was to help raise money and awareness for ALS. On Sunday, we traveled to Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem to participate in their C.A.R.E.S Walk. This event was run in conjunction with Coaches vs Cancer and is a walk to raise money and awareness for cancer research. The day started with a mass in their beautiful chapel at 8:00 followed by the walk around their track. After the walk, we proceeded to Holy Family University and worked out with the HGP basketball team.
It was truly a great weekend that was so much bigger than basketball. It was a weekend filled with opportunities to be grateful for what we have and to help others. And we are thankful for these opportunities.
