Volleyball and the Power Puff Girls

The last post I wrote was about friends and an appreciation that comes with time.  So when I put my computer away in the bag, went to meet my daughter, I heard something thwap the side of the bag.  I don't normally think about it--it's normal because on the side of the bag, I've got a keychain, given to me fourteen years ago.  It looks like this:

That's right--it's Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls.  It's been with me everywhere I've gone.

Back at the end of the 2000 volleyball season at Satan's School for Girls and Boys, we had senior night for the team's three seniors: Beth, Emily, and Stacey.  At the time, the players also wound up getting something for me as coach--usually a funny tie (I still have them all...), but in this case they also got me the Mojo keychain because each of the seniors received a keychain as well--a different Powerpuff Girl for each of the three.

I asked "Why am I getting Mojo Jojo?" (which caused some surprise initially that I'd know who he was...sometimes high schoolers forget that coaches are often parents...or maybe just like cartoons). 

The answer came from junior Jody, "Because you're their pimp daddy."
Fair enough.

The thing is--fourteen years later, all three seniors still have their keychains, too, though because they've been used as regular keychains, they've all had the paint worn off.  I think only mine has the paint on it still, but I'm not sure.  Think about it--little one-dollar trinkets, given as a senior night gag really, and more than a decade later--everyone still has theirs. 

I think that says something about the whole team--and just as importantly the bond between those seniors (one of the two most successful groups to play at SSGB) and between players and a coach.

It is a great memento of a wonderful season.  (You can read more about it in my coaching book here....)  But I like it not just because of the season, but because of those three seniors and what they've done since that point.

Emily: Physician and mother of two.
Beth:   Department Head at a community college, mother of one.
Stacey: CPA and mother of two.

Successful women professionally and happy in their personal lives--everything a coach could ever want for his players.