"McKenzie, Are you ready to give a verbal commitment?" —Linda Huddleston, Head Women's Soccer Coach, Dixie State College.
This was her reaction:
"I don't know why I'm crying. I've just worked so hard for this."
[Mia stared at these pictures, "Mom, I've never seen McKenzie cry before."]
So, MK turned to Natty, her Celtic Storm coach for advice. Coach said, "We need to have 'the talk.'"
They arranged to meet on Saturday, and Rob tagged along. Coach said, "This is not about soccer. This is about Heavenly Father's plan for your life. You'll need to partner with Him to make this decision. It's the first major decision about your future independent life without your parents.
"Girls who make the decision purely about soccer end up miserable at college. Realize you'll be playing soccer 3 hours a day. Consider the environment, consider your education, consider your goals and the kind of social life you hope for. You need to make a list of pro's and con's. If soccer is the only 'pro,' chances are, you'll end up miserable at Dixie. If you can set aside soccer and still feel that Dixie is a good fit for you, that's important, but recognize the answer from Heavenly Father could be 'no.' Be open to that possibility.
"Heavenly Father is a far better coordinator than we are. He knows what school is best for your future. Be glad it's just Dixie you're considering for now. If you had been on our team two years ago, we'd be dealing with 5 or 6 offers by now. Some girls have committed early [before February] and then regretted it. Some didn't commit and waited for another offer, which never came and ended up missing out on the prior offer. One girl got a track scholarship out of the blue and decided to go that route instead of soccer and ended up meeting her future husband on the track team. It's not about soccer. It's about your life."
I figure I owe that Coach a big favor. It's invaluable advice coming from a trusted adult, outside of her parents, who has the experience and wisdom to counsel MK in the ways Rob and I would hope for. So grateful to her for helping Rob and I navigate this momentous transition in McKenzie's life.
4 comments:
Oh my goodness! I am excited for her. These decisions are tough to make, but they can also increase your testimony by a huge amount. Good luck choosing what to do!
I'm not sure why but that post totally left me in tears. Maybe just realizing how much she's grown up. That is such a big decision. What an amazing coach! I can't think of any more perfect advice for her.
By the way, we missed seeing your family yesterday. I hope you had a great mother's day. We were able to be there when Clint called and it was great to be able to talk to him for a minute.
Wow, this made me tear up too! Congratulations!
I'm so impressed with her coach's advice, what a blessing!
That is so awesome! I didn't know her team's name is Celtic Storm! I almost had that as my roller derby name until a girl in New York registered it before me. Congrats!
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