There was a glimmer

Saturday was a grueling practice. One of our squads was needing a little TLC from coaching staff. We started with an hour of extra tumbling practice, followed by a two hour non-stop practice session that involved repeatedly performing the same routine over and over. There were tears and the cheerleaders were getting frustrated too. [ha!]

Then, during the last 30 minutes of practice, I saw it. There was a glimmer of fight that passed over one of the girl's faces. She was angry - I loved it. Am I crazy? No! It was the first piece of passion I have seen from this group of girls. I thought, "come on baby, use that energy." She did, she wiped away tears and fought harder to get it right. Her squad picked up on it - a huge jump in their technique followed.

We praised them, they gave a little more. The couple of parents in the room cheered - they brightened and gave some more. At the end of that practice, they had improved by 80%, at least.

The potential I saw on Saturday energized me to the core. It caused me to prance into the office on Monday with an extra spring in my step.

"Come on my baby girls - I can't wait to see you this Saturday. I can't wait for your parents to see you on the 17th at the competition. Use that frustration (it is just passion bottled up) to make you better. Show me how good you really are. Now is the time to let it out - don't be afraid, I BEE-lieve in you. Don't forget."