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Saturday story time: in 2011 I played on the Rochester Mayo High School tennis team that won state in MN (I promise this isn’t a brag story. That would be a pretty sad brag. It’s been almost a decade since, I’m washed up and I haven’t even picked up a racquet in several years.)
The tournament finished the day before I walked for graduation (another side point, I was so bored during the ceremony that I fell asleep briefly) and winning the tournament with friends I had grown up playing with for years was a formative moment in my childhood.
I tell you this because I know a lot of students are distressed that they are missing out on their senior seasons of sports, or simply just the traditions that most graduating classes get to take part in (prom, graduation parties, etc.) because of COVID-19.
Most understand sports come second in a crisis like this. But just because you know the reason doesn’t make it any easier. I know I would have been devastated if I didn’t get a chance to compete my final season, after all the hours on the court my friends and I put in together.
The point of this thread (sorry to be a little preachy) is that even though the season didn’t come and the final events of the school year didn’t happen the way they were planned, the preparation and time spent to get to this point were still worth it.
To this day some of my good friends are people I played sports with growing up, both from my school and others in the area. A lot of the most fun memories I have from that time are both goofing around and competing with them, even in hard times when it got tough. It all mattered.
We all want sports back. Believe me when I say writing a game story would be a nice distraction right now. But, even though it did, the journey mattered. Getting yourself to this position is an accomplishment. Keep moving forward.
Stay safe and healthy.
I’m going back to sleep.
Stay safe and healthy.
I’m going back to sleep.
