Tomorrow dreams are going to be fulfilled. Hard work and commitment will finally be rewarded. Tomorrow all the sacrifices, that were made over the years, will result in one of the happiest days in a basketball players life. Tomorrow players will sit in front of a crowd of teammates, friends, coaches and family taking pictures. They’ll be all smiles and of course some tears of joy.  I hope at some point each player sits and reflexes on their journey, I hope they remember the people that believed in them and were willing to sacrifice for them.

Tomorrow every parent whose child signs a letter of intent will be smiling proudly. The letter of intent will show a player is receiving a scholarship or been accepted by a program.  But what it won’t show is all the time, money and stress that brought them to this special day. It will not show when the player was younger and the parents had to drive or fly to games all across the country. It won’t show the money spent on SAT prep courses, training, travel and joining an AAU team. It won’t show the stress of playing in front of college coaches. It won’t show the nights when the tears flowed from poor performances or drama from the AAU world. Tomorrow these parents will know the journey has not always been easy. What will be easy is signing the papers tomorrow. Knowing the joy of their child with their help reaching a goal. Like those who will be part the 1.8% of girls who achieve playing D1 basketball or that kid who receives a D2 Scholarship. Like those kids who have found a home at a D3 school. Tomorrow some girls will join an exclusive club.

Tomorrow let’s hope the word thank you flows like a river. Let’s hope each kid thanks their parents for all they have done. Let’s hope each kid smiles at a teammate and says thank you. Let’s hope each kid, reminds their high school coach, it was they who allowed them to shine. Let’s hope each kid thanks there AAU coach for helping them get that all important thing called name recognition and exposure. I hope each kids thanks those teachers who never let them forget that all important thing call an education…Yes THANK YOU is a big word tomorrow.

There will be some sad faces tomorrow as well. They will be those kids whose time has not yet arrived or they were forced to settle on a school. It will cause doubt and maybe even a little jealousy. But those kids and their parents should know, every players journey is different and their time table is different. My daughter did not choose a college until April of her senior year, that of course will be no consolation to some tomorrow, whose dreams did not come true… YET! But I have a message for those people, if you believe and work hard…THE DREAM WILL FIND YOU…IT ALWAYS DOES.

I hope tomorrow is a special day the for all those who will sign at a college. I wish them Godspeed. I hope they never take for granted such a beautiful achievement. I hope they never forget skipping the parties, giving up summers, or the sacrifices that they made that others could not or would not. I hope they remember the fun in the Hotels, the Cities they visited and the friends they made along the way….I HOPE THAT TOMORROW FOR AT LEAST ONE DAY IS THE BEST DAY IN THERE ATHLETIC LIFE….CONGRATS TO ALL….a new wonderful journey awaits you

UPDATE…

THIS SUNDAY!