IT DECISION MAKING TIME…

Yesterday was a big day for many kids across the country. They were able to fulfill there dreams of playing in college. The families of these kids no question were smiling all day. But there is another  side to yesterday’s signing day. The kids and families who did not celebrate. These are the kids and families who made many of the same sacrifices of those who signed letters of intent..only to have to stand on the sidelines. It’s these kids who have to make a decision this morning…Do I chase the dream or move on.

They smiled and in most cases were happy, as players they had played with and against took pictures and were the center of attention. But inside the parents and the players who were not taking those pictures had a small hole in there heart. They sweated, they made all the sacrifices and yet were not being rewarded yesterday. They are in pain not because others were fulfilling there DREAMS. These are not the haters who simply resent others for having a measure of success. Rather these are the kids and parents who simply wanted to part of the big day and be rewarded for their hard work as well. It’s a scene that takes place every single year across the country. A talented player being over looked and not part of the big day… known as the national signing day. It’s a day when players and families on the outside must muster up the strength of a ancient warrior because two things happen on national signing day. DREAMS DIE OR THEY LIVE ON.  There is no in-between, REAL decisions are made by seniors on this day…either SAID WITH WORDS OR HIDDEN IN THE HEART. 

The MAYFIELD never stopped DREAMING!

Janae Mayfield of Rumson and Courtney Hagaman of Manasquan high school, watched last year on signing day as player after player took pictures and signed letters of intent. They smiled but knew in their heart they should be signing a LETTER OF INTENT as well.  It was now they and their families found out what real athletic pressure feels like. The decision they had to make was no different than a kid waiting on a D3 school acceptance letter or a kid hoping and needing that D2 scholarship…did they still have any fight left to chase their DREAMS? Today we all know the answer to that question, but a year ago  Hagaman now at Manhattan and Mayfield now at St. Peters… DREAMS  were not so clear. TiFFANY Montange of Jackson Memorial now a star at Northeastern was also in the same spot  at one time. She too decided she had worked too hard to give up on the big dream of D1 basketball.  These ladies beat the odds and had a belief in themselves that one must have to make a dream come true….REGARDLESS of what the level a player wants to play, yesterday was decision day for a lot of seniors...continue to DREAM OR WAKE UP.

It was a long road for Courtney to Join her sister at the D1 Level

Players like Mayfield, Hagaman and Montagne all had one thing in common, their dreams did not all come true on the November signing day. There EGO’S  must have been hurt, their pride hurt, they had to wonder if there dreams were over. They had to know many of the girls signing were no more talented than them. They had to feel some people had let them down and this couldn’t be happening. There had to have many doubts about the future. But somehow threw all pain and disappointment, their spirits were not totally broken. They didn’t tell the lies to themselves that so often happen when people see dreams slipping away. They didn’t make the excuses that go along with dreams slipping away. They like hundreds before them decided a dream was worth fighting for. All three decided too work harder, sweat more and most importantly… DREAM MORE when everything pointed to doing the total opposite. Today some kids will need to have that same mental fortitude because if they don’t their DREAMS WILL DIE.

Dreams don’t all come true on the same day and there is no day that proves this more than the national signing day. Dreams don’t all come true on your time table, they come true when it’s time and nobody knows that time. Even national signing day cannot control when dreams come true. Dreams work on their own time table This is the BIGGEST reason so many kids give up on their DREAMS; the time table doesn’t fit there schedule. It’s the reason the training stops, it just becomes too hard to continue. It’s the reason dreams become fuzzy and not as clear. It’s because of that unpredictable time table why players get discouraged. It’s that time table why players, friends and family all talk about how great settling is and how wonderful other opportunities will be. It’s that’s time table that causes players to start talking about walls and how others are stopping them, ruining or not giving them a opportunity. It’s a time when parents get angry and kids stop fighting. 

These are the reasons the fire in the belly dies, it’s the reason some pretend to be happy knowing they are giving up on a DREAM. They simply can’t play it out to the end; they just can’t believe anymore. They have chased the DREAM TOO LONG.  There can no longer see the rainbow at the end of the journey..IT’S QUITTING TIME… because the journey has become too long and too painful. Kids like Janae Mayfield, Courtney Hagaman and Tiffany Montange and others over the years all had something else in common, along the way they had to make a choice……..DREAM… OR MOVE ON AND FACE REALITY…..THEY CHOSE TO DREAM!

Today some kids looked in the mirror. They saw examples of those in their shoes in the past, those who beat the odds. They saw Jess Louro who every  low D1 in the state passed on and is now at BCS Middle Tennessee. They saw Kristen Sharkey who nobody believed in who now holds too many records at Buffalo U to count. They saw Megan McGuinness who now plays basketball for a living after breaking records at Niagara. They saw Kaitlyn Schmid who led all levels of college basketball in asst/TO ratio at Philly Sciences.  They will allow those ghost of the past to be their fuel for success, their role models.  They will say failure was not option for them and won’t be for me. There will understand success is right around the corner…it’s just walking a little slower these days. They will understand mistakes happen and understand their DREAMS, hopes and fulfillment are waiting ahead of them. These kids KNOW THEY CONTROL THERE DESTINY. They will have no regrets when all is said and done because they will have fought the good LONG fight till the end….REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME

Today some kids will make up their minds after being passed over and forgotten to continue their DREAMS. They will REFUSE TO LOSE, they will refuse to wake up, they will drink the cool-aid and love it, they will play it out till the last month, day, hour and second…..and because of this…. SOME KIDS…SOME VERY SPECIAL KIDS…. WILL MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE…THIS IS A FACT!