No way… I was cut?

“No way… I was cut?”

But I was the next Michael Jordan!

Well, maybe not.

But I was good enough to make my high school freshman basketball team.

I was tall, fast, and could even dunk.

But the freshman coach felt otherwise and cut me.

However, after tryouts, Coach Flannigan, the sophomore coach, pulled me aside.

He told me he disagreed with the freshman coach.

He liked my game and work ethic.

He saw potential.

So Coach Flannigan offered a unique proposition.

He invited me to become the sophomore team’s waterboy.

“Waterboy?” I laughed.

Coach confirmed that I would be responsible for the water and equipment.

But, I could practice as part of the team.

It would provide me the opportunity to train under him.

Then next year, he said, he sees me as a potential starter.

I was apprehensive.

But Coach Flannigan’s belief inspired me to say yes.

The beginning of the season was rough.

In stereotypical form, the players picked on me.

But true to Coach’s word, I practiced like I was a part of the team.

I busted my butt.

I was the first one at practice and the last to leave.

My game improved.

By midseason, I was getting involved in key parts of practices.

I had something to prove.

I was more than a waterboy.

Soon I was getting more reps at practice than some sophomore players.

Then, before a critical game, Coach Flannigan called for me.

He applauded my hard work, positive attitude, and progress.

Next, he threw me a uniform and told me to suit up.

The team needed me on the court, he said.

I was playing today.

Just after half-time, I got the nod.

I ran onto the court.

Minutes later, I got the ball and put it through the hoop.

Just months earlier, the freshman team cut me.

Now, I was scoring on the sophomore team.

Coach Flannigan taught me something more powerful than dribbling or shooting that season.

He saw something in me when others didn’t.

I learned humility, patience, and resilience.

I experienced how you can reach goals you didn’t even know were possible with belief and hard work.

Coach Flannigan went on to coach at a different school the following year.

I never saw him again, but his impact stayed with me.

Now that I’m in a leadership role, I feel a responsibility to look deep into others.

To help them navigate a course to their destination, one they might not even see yet for themselves.