RESOLUTE IN ACTION gentle in manner

Maybe being an underdog is the prerequisite of courage.

One of the guys on the tandem bike is going to the University of Southern California (USC) next fall when he should be enjoying senior year of high school. There won't be one last homecoming, a senior night for varsity basketball, a prom, a "You-should-kneel-before-the-senior" mentality. It's a forfeiture of significant proportion, especially since the guy headed to college is going to be two years younger than every other freshman on campus (by-and-large). He already skipped a grade and now he's skipping the last year of secondary ed to take his talents to the land of Troy.

It's wild because when you coach dudes who aren't NBA or college basketball bound, you wonder how they're processing the practices, the rigorous demands and such. But the guy in question was arguably the smallest and hardest working player on my team two seasons ago. No questions asked, he committed to anything he attempted, taking charges from opposing players more than twice his weight. As a sophomore, he injured himself in a game or in a practice (can't recall) and he cut his back on a portion of the bleachers. It resulted in an infection that kept him out of action for nearly a month. Who gets injured by the bleachers? How many players are even willing to make plays that involve the seats (LOL). If JD Kumala is 135 pounds I'd be shocked and suspicious. But what he lacks in girth he compensates for via something much more valuable and transferable.

Sometimes you run across these strange individuals who, while aware of obstacles, engage every single one of them because it's what they've always done. They aren't trying to prove a point. They're not the Kobe Bryant types, too unapproachable to like. These types of folks are simply resolute, refusing to NOT strive. This morning he said, about the task ahead,

"Coach...I'm really putting myself on a limb this time because I'll be at least two years younger than everyone else. I hope I'll be able to manage it..."

I ain't even responded yet but I know what I'm gonna say. You're good! You don't manage the unchangeable! Being younger than everyone else, missing high school because you left early, wading into a university world when all you've known is private Christian education in its fish bowl...that's just the reality of the station you're in youngblood. What JD will do is trust God, employ his true identity and maintain a thirst for learning. It's who he is. Who are you?