Nearly ten thousand basketball fans attended the six sessions, four day Decatur Team Soy Capital Turkey Tournament Thanksgiving week. The Saturday night Championship game between 4-A Bolingbrook high school and the 3-A Springfield Southeast powerhouse teams was a prep tourney title match for the ages. Bolingbrook defended its two-year hold on the Championshi coming from behind and winning 90-88 on a buzzer-beater shot. The contest was highlighted by arguably the two most exciting high school guards in Illinois. Bolingbrook' Joseph Yesufu tossed in 32-points and was named Tournament MVP for the second consecutive year. Southeast guard, Terrion Murdix's electrifying play brought fans to their feet as he tallied 25-points. Look for these two All-State guards to take their respective teams deep in playoff runs.
Upon my retirement from a 39-year coaching career, I agreed to direct this tournament. Seventeen years later, I continue to find the challenge personally rewarding bringing talented players and well coached basketball teams to Decatur for what has become a premier downstate prep basketball tournament and a warm homecoming event for many Decatur families.
I have hundreds of conversational engagements during the week long event and come away with one specific observation: Sometimes my day is made particularly BETTER because of certain people. Those reading my words know that feeling. You too can name folks that have the unique engagement style that causes your day to be brighter and more cheerful due to their contact. They may offer a word of encouragement or give a compliment. Then there are those people who are wonderful story tellers with exceptional recall. Perhaps it's a person's insistence on details when they ask that mundane question, "How are you doing? How's the family." They really want to hear particulars and suddenly you are lifted in spirit.
I frequently question my own way of conversing and interacting with others. I need to make sincere attempts to answer the question>>How do others feel after visiting with me?
No comments:
Post a Comment