I asked a simple question last November at a Leadership Team meeting. “Tym, you look stressed out about head coaching the Senior Girls’ basketball team. Can I help?” I wasn’t actually expecting him to give the answer he gave, which was, “Yes, I could really use your help.” 

I am pretty sure I just meant it as a rhetorical question.

And, that’s how I ended up helping with the Senior Girls basketball team this season.

Just the Bus Driver

What a delightful experience it was to spend time with these girls. They were passionate, enthusiastic, positive, driven, encouraging, reliable, and persistent. And, they never gave up. We had an incredible season. We ended up with 26 wins and 4 losses and nearly made it to AA provincials. Tym and Don put so much effort into this team; from go-karting adventures, ‘away’ tournaments in Richmond, and DQ blizzards for accomplishing goals, they were committed and did an incredible job. It was so much fun to watch them lead. I often joked that I was ‘just the bus driver.’

Not your typical pre-game

For our penultimate game, I was driving the bus to Langley Christian School with almost the whole team on board. We had a lot of time to get there.  Due to horrible traffic and an accident somewhere up ahead, we were stuck at a standstill on Hwy 1. The girls were getting anxious; Tym wasn’t able to make the game and Mr. Ridder and I were in charge. 

I said, “Girls, let’s rise to the occasion. We won’t have time once we get to the gym so let’s do our pre-game devotional now on the bus, as well as our team strategy time.” I handed back the binder and off they went. They read through the devotional (Tym put together some amazing talks with the team), went through the game plan (Tym had some thoughtful game plans too). Then we prayed.

Finally, I cranked the music and they had a ‘bus dance party,’ as we sat at a standstill on the highway. It was a remarkable moment. We turned a stressful moment into smiles and energy.

We arrived at the game with six minutes to spare.

Rising to the Occasion

The girls were unflappable. We went on to win the game in one of the best matches we had ever played and we made it to the next level in the tournament. The Senior girls basketball team is an extraordinary bunch of girls, led by a wonderful coach and a terrific system for developing teamwork.

We often say that God gives these kids the gifts and it our great pleasure to find ways to unwrap them at ACS. What a privilege it was to share this season with Tym and Don and these amazing girls.

I’m so glad I asked Tym a rhetorical question.