AJ

It's been a busy couple of weeks since graduation.  We've ended another school year (28 come and gone) and I'm a few days from being fortunate to have individuals and teams competing in the state boys and girls golf tournaments for the fourth straight year.  The boys tournament is over the weekend and the girls compete for two days after Memorial Day.  Makes for a busy few days, but it's fun. 

I'm anxious to continue writing about our coaching stops, but today I thought I'd finish talking about our kids.  I've talked about the girls and where they're at in their lives right now so now, #1 and only son, Anthony James (A.J.).

Hard to believe that A.J. will turn 21 in a week.  A.J. just finished up his sophomore year at Midland University in Fremont, NE.  Some know that his journey there was not really planned from the beginning, but as we all know, sometimes we're not able to control what happens, but we can control our reaction to the events that take place in our lives.

¹¹ "For I know the plans I have for you,  declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

AJ's journey actually started at Dana College in Blair, NE.  He was recruited there to play basketball and decided to study education and become a teacher/coach.  Dana was a good fit for AJ because the size appealed to him and it was also an hour away from Treynor, which made getting to games much easier for us.  Things took a turn on June 30, 2010.  AJ was on his way to Blair to play basketball with guys on the team when I got a tweet (for those not familiar a tweet is a message you get from a Twitter account...OK, maybe that didn't help) saying that Dana College was officially closed the next day, July 1.  Needless to say, this was a shock.  I immediately called AJ and told him to be prepared and that it appeared that the college was closing.  He first thought I was messing with him, but then realized I wasn't.  When he got to the college his coach had just found out and was obviously in shock. 


We kind of faced this like we faced a number of moves in our lives.  We just had to accept the fact that where we thought AJ would spend four years of his life was not going to happen and we had to find a solution.  Through the month of July we visited four schools, Briar Cliff, Northwestern, Buena Vista, and finally Midland.  All were working very well with displaced Dana students, but after weighing all of the options AJ decided on Midland and it has ended up being a very positive move. 


His laid back personality certainly helped the situation, but I think part of his being able to adapt has been the fact that he's had to make changes several times in his life with the moves that we have made, make new friends, be in a different school/community, and even though this was a tough deal, he adjusted well and found another new home. 

We're really proud of AJ for a number of reasons, but in particular for me, because he has done such a great job of exemplifying what it means to move forward and accept a situation, make the best of it, and just keep working.  It was a mixed year on the basketball court for AJ.  It's different when you go to a program that didn't recruit you, but you show up to be a part of the team.  AJ started at point guard the first half the season at Midland, then with some struggles that come with the long college basketball season, moved to a back up role coming off of the bench and at times we were all a little frustrated.  It was frustrating because the program and style of basketball he was recruited to play at Dana was different than the style of play the coach used at Midland.  That's college recruiting and I won't get into the different coaching style and philosophies and how that all plays into where you go to play,  but all I kept telling AJ was to keep working hard and learn from the situation.  Learn how he might communicate differently in a similar situation and how it helps him develop his coaching philosophy.  I'm proud to say he did that. 

Again, I think alot of our life becomes accepting the fact that we can't control the things or situations we're put into sometimes, but we DO control our reaction and attitude toward it.  We can take those frustrations and just be totally frustrated and negative, or we can take the frustrating situations, make the best of them, learn from them, and use those lessons in the future when life continues to happen and we come into contact with someone facing a similar situation and we have an opportunity to reach out and help them because we've "been there, done that". 

Now, another chapter of AJ's life unfolds as he enters his junior year.  A coaching change again.  Midland has hired a very fine coach and one that I'm sure will be successful there in the long run, and hopefully the short run for AJ's sake.  However, again, it's a coach that didn't recruit AJ and the other players that are there and nobody really knows how it all will turn out.  But, AJ will control what he can control which is how hard he'll work, as well as the attitude and leadership he will display.  I have no doubt he'll do that well because he always has.  He will be a better player, man, and coach because of this situation because I think it's a choice he'll make to do so.  AJ is a pretty laid back, has compassion for people, is a hard worker, displays excellent leadership skills, and is a fantastic uncle to his nephew Jonathan.  I think those personal qualities, as well as the way he has handled change already in his life, will serve him well in the future. 

He's now getting into the classes in his major more now which will be a double major of Social Sciences and History, as well as his minor in coaching.  It will be exciting to see what happens during the next couple of years in AJ's life and future unfolds for the next chapter in his life.  There will be many decisions made but I'm confident AJ will have God involved in those situations, and just like all of us, He'll help AJ Find THE Way along his road as well because He already has. 

A little house update.  Our contract with the realtor expires on Tuesday (May 31) and we'll let it expire.  It looks like God wants us to stay here in this house.  It's not the plan that we had, but when we listed it we left it in God's hands even though we thought moving to a different house would be the right thing for all of us.  Now it appears it won't work out that way but it will be exciting to see the plan God does have for us and this house.