INTERRUPTED

Reading a chapter of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" tonight made me think of the 2010-2011 Western Christian Fighting Lancers Basketball team I coached that year. They were, in a word, stellar! But here's why.

In chapter 22 of the book, Screwtape continues his advice to his protege Wormwood. If you've not read it, it's an imaginative work depicting how an apprentice demon might mentor a junior devil on how to ensure the failure of his subject, a human. And this human could be you, could be me or anyone hated by the biblical Satan. But in this particular chapter tonight it was, at least in part, about how the interruptions of life make us angry and how that can be used to destroy lives. See, no one likes intrusions. They get in the way of our objectives don't they? Well, in 2010 the season began at the Webb Tournament and it was the third quarter when Andrew Hyde, my best player, went down with a torn ACL off of a routine rebound. It was an immediate deletion of a leader and flat out go-to guy. The word interruption is an insult here.

This was unjust, criminal, a tragedy. Hyde was a senior along with the other 11 young men on the squad. I had 12 freakin' seniors man who had played together for the better part of 3 years in some combination. Not only that, but they liked each other, hung out away from school and had come to own just enough swag to set them up for a championship run their senior year. But when big Drew went down, it was crazy to watch what transpired.

A group of kids who had already lost their star player along with their previous coach whom they trusted decided to reassign (themselves) roles. They didn't have a private meeting as far as I know but everyone morphed. Mark McMahon led us in rebounding, steals and assists while Michael Broad led us in scoring. Damian Jara was our tireless floor general and defender of all point guards not wearing our uniform. Kevin Michalak started playing like a man 5 inches taller while Zack Carpenter started draining 3's. Joe Allen took a charge from anyone stupid enough to run him over and Tyler Hong exploded for points against some of our toughest opponents. Chris Weeks committed himself to making his minutes count by playing our system with precision and remaining that spiritual leader. Christian Solis rejoined the team after his teammates voted him back in. He had quit to focus on his primary sport, football, but returned to give the team a physicality only he could bring. Jason Ji, our big man form Asia, worked his way back onto the team after quitting and humbly accepted his challenge to earn the respect of his comrades. He succeeded in that and displayed great skill when he finally got a chance to shine. Danny Chakbazof broke down defenses and stuck opponents with 3-balls from multiple locations around the arc. And my man Andrew Hyde? He legitimately functioned as a third coach. He saw things we coaches couldn't see and had the capital with his brothers to communicate it.

In a situation where immaturity could have defined them, the 2010-2011 Fighting Lancers opted to respond the way they had been trained by parents, former coaches and their Faith. It's almost three years later that I reflect and write because I realize the power of choice when it comes to the intrusions life will bring. What will you do when you're interrupted?