Dear Grant and Teammates,
You are halfway through your senior season of water polo. Undefeated still and working toward your dream of being state champions every year of your high school career. Your season gets tougher tonight: a repeat of last year's state championship game and then some tournaments with good competition in the next two weeks. This morning on my run I was praying for you and felt compelled to write you a little love letter.
I am a Super Fan, and not because you win all the time, though that is pretty awesome. I am a Super Fan because of the young men you are and the young men you are becoming. Are you perfect? Heck no. But you are fun, smart, hard working, kind, and inclusive. I have thanked God often that he gave me all these "sons" to love. The brotherhood you have is unique. You will carry these friendships with you into the rest of your life. What a gift!
You boys - especially the seniors - have stepped up to mentor the younger players. When you were freshman, the older players believed in you, coached you, and included you as equals in spite of your youth. You boys are now carrying on that tradition. I kind of want to burst with pride over all of it. Stay kind.
You work hard. When I saw your freshman year practice schedule, I was skeptical. It seemed too intense. Too hard. Too much. But you stepped up to the challenge and got stronger every day. All year long. For the past three years, you have built upon a foundation of hard work and mental stamina.
Six days a week of practice with weight belts and extra swim sets before or after games? Those early morning weekend and late night practices? Insanely hard, but you do it without complaining. Your work ethic is remarkable. It's a life skill you will come back to over and over. You have trained yourself to show up: on the good days, the bad days, the tired days, the sick days.
You boys are in the best shape of your lives and it shows. It is so fun to watch you string victory after victory together. But I would be remiss if I didn't give you a motherly warning. Don't get cocky. The Bible says, "Pride goes before a fall." Arrogance is ugly, but humility?
Humility is so, so attractive. Be humble.
Keep your cool. When things get rough in the water, stay classy. Don't resort to playing dirty. You don't need to do that to win. Rise above that stupid stuff and let your play speak for itself.
When you get tired, trust your training. Pull from that reservoir of physical conditioning and mental stamina. If you're exhausted, I guarantee your opponent is too. It feels hard because it IS hard. But you? You can do hard things.
No one cares about your dream the way you do. *
Only YOU can make your dream a reality. So get after it.
Tonight is a big night. It's going to be fun to watch you. Win or lose, I want you know I love you and how proud I am to cheer you on. Let's do this.
Love,
Momma Jodi
*adapted from Rachel Hollis' book Girl Wash Your Face
