“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory.” I asked my players if they knew who said this. Trent, a senior, was the first to speak up. “Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest football coaches of all time.” I asked them if they knew how this was related to them, and only received blank looks in return. It was my first year coaching at Fertman High School. I had just come from being an assistant coach to the state champions, Brownsville Academy. It was pretty was pretty ironic how when I accepted the job to coach the Frogs, our first game would be against Brownsville.

We were in the locker room during halftime, and we were down 47-27. Even though there were gloomy faces on the players, I thought it was a huge improvement from their 1-23 record their previous season. “This quote relates to you guys, because if you look around, we are all knocked down on our knees.” I explained.
Coy, the other senior captain, picked up on this. “Guys, we worked too hard in the off-season to give up now! When we come back and win this game, we will receive the glory coach is talking about.”
As the team lined up to run back into Hartwood Gymnasium, our home court, I talked to the captains. “You have been leaders in the off-season, now show it on the court.”
With that, we ran into the gym. The largest crowd the team has had in three years greeted them, with pounding feet and ear-piecing screams. Walking to the bench, I could tell that the Brownsville Bears were too arrogant to be focused. As my team came into the huddle, I knew I had to motivate them. “An arrogant man is a weak man, and right now, they are arrogant.”
We started off slow. It wasn’t our confidence level, it’s just nothing was falling for us. They jumped to an even bigger lead, 57-30, before something magical happened. Kyle Kot, a junior who got little playing time, but was just happy to be on the team, started getting the bench hyped. Before we knew it, the players started getting hot, and their lead was down to nine.
They were forced to take a time-out. At this point, I realized we had a special team this year. I didn’t even need to talk in the huddle. Trent was busy pursuing his captain’s duty, keeping everyone focused.
There were four minutes left in the game, when my assistant Xavier leaned over to tell me Trent had four fouls. Now I had the chance to make the biggest decision as a head coach. Do I keep my star player in, or keep him out until the last minute? I decided to take him out. Coy had to take over the leadership responsibilities. He stepped up, big. Scoring three straight baskets, and then assisting on the last. It had become a one point game.
This game had been perceived to be a blowout, but now was becoming a David and Goliath story. With a minute left, I sent Trent back in. The next minute was a blur. Both teams exchanged baskets until the last second, when the Bears hit a game winning shot. We had come so close.
In the locker room, there were some sad faces. What I was surprised about though, was the captains had brought the team in a huddle. I just stood back in the doorway and watched. The player’s moods changed, and when I walked back in, there was a different vibe in the air. I told the kids how proud I was of them, and how the season looked bright if they kept working hard.
Just as I was about to dismiss them, Trent said the team had something to say. “A life lived in fear is a life half lived. We came into this game with fear, but changed that in the second half.”
Coy spoke up, “Even though we lost, we can count this as a victory, because we became a family.”

As our season continued, the players started to come together even more as a team. We made it to the state tournament, but lost to none other than Brownsville in the championship. It was such a heartbreaking loss, but I feel it motivated the underclassmen to work even harder this summer. Trent and Coy were the only two seniors on the team, and I feel they were the reason why this season was so successful. Trent went on to play basketball for Texas, while Coy chose to stick around and play at Montana.
It is game day, the first of the year. It’s my second year of coaching the Frogs, and I’m excited. As my team gets hyped, I try to concentrate on our game plan. We are playing the Brownsville Bears again, for our season opener. This time I tell myself, the results are going to be different. As the team runs out to a sellout crowd, I walk to my regular spot by the bench. I watch the crowd, and my eyes stop on the first row. I was now inspired to win, and knew the team would be too. Sitting there in the first row, was none other than Trent and Coy.
Game on.