It was a busy summer!

---

Congratulations to every single one of us that was fortunate enough to bring home some hardware over the summer! That's 24 1st or 2nd place (mostly 1st) finishes over a 2.5-month span!

What we did yesterday, everybody is seeing today (including the month-long trips to India... lol). And what we're doing today, the world will see tomorrow. All of these pictures were taken just over this summer, with many of us being gone for 4+ weeks. What makes this group super unique, is that I really didn't know any of you until the very end of the 2022 year, and I got to know more and more of you going into 2023. I actually didn't regularly start to get Niya out on a weekly basis until February 2024!  And look at her now!!

Everybody roughly starting around the same time, and being within 1-2 years of age, brings a VERY unique aspect to this group. I've told every single one of you, that sure, natural ability is nice, but the hardest workers will be the most successful, regardless of pre-ability, even down to less-than-ideal hand eye coordination. 

That being said, it's an absolute dogfight at our practices. Because any of them can beat each other on any given day. And absolutely no one is okay with losing to anybody. Since they're all so comfortable with each other on a personal level, the banter has really picked up. And nobody wants to hear the banter after a loss, and so everybody works even harder. On any given day, anybody can end up on the bottom court, and anybody can end up on the top. Even Jazelia somehow found her way to top court by the end of practice after starting at the bottom! haha. So, they're all fueled by their own ambitions and knowing each other on a very personal level, adds even more fuel to the fire.

No other coach, nor your own parents see what I see in our group and everybody individually. Everybody sees what they see. And that's usually the obvious. I see your past and what it's taken you just to get here. I see what we all see now (the obvious), and I see an untitled, blank book for each kid to write their own story. And I'm here to make sure you have the tools, to write with as much detail, clarity, and content as you can. To make sure you have as good of time doing it, while staying focused and organized mentally. The mental part is huge. It's one of the biggest reasons why we've had some of the biggest improvers in the nation come out of this system in the past year. If you're wondering who they are in this group, just ask yourself, who are the hardest workers...