Love Life, Embrace Risks, and Live for Eternity

The Detroit Lions Mess with My Emotions!

     
Four of us went to the Detroit Lions game today against the Steelers. Now, I absolutely cannot stand the Steelers. There were too many of them at the game. And a Steelers fan even tried befriending himself with me during half time. Ridiculous! I wasn't going to let it happen. Anyways, at the end of the day I have decided that the Detroit Lions mess with my emotions way too much. We should of had today's game! Ugh!

Sidenote: the men who have season tickets right in front of us made it in sports illustrated. their pictures took up two whole pages. gotta love die hard Lions fans

Season Two with 120 Men

On Saturday, season two of my Men's Adult Basketball League ended. This past season was much more intense which made me extremely nervous. :)           

                                 

                                                    Season Two Champs

                                  

                                            One of my favorite state certified refs.      

                                     

                                        My kick butt staff that help run the league!

                                                   Check out season one here!

3 Year Olds, Ice Cream Trucks, Dandelions, and Soccer!

A year ago, I took a big risk. I decided to start a 3 year old soccer league. A few parents asked for it so I decided to honor their wishes. One year ago, we brought in sixty 3 year olds from scratch. This year, we have well over ninety 3 year olds. Unbelievable!

Here are a few highlights of the season so far:

• I had a slight problem when the ice cream truck decided to park right in front of my soccer fields in the middle of practice. The 3 year olds were NOT FOCUSED on soccer that day. That ice cream man was evil!

• One of my little ones loves to pick a bouquet of dandelions for me in the middle of the soccer drills

• One of the 3 year olds busted out crying in the middle of the game this past week because he wasn't able to touch the soccer ball

A Healthy Obsession!

     

The first season of my men's adult basketball league was a success. At first, I was extremely nervous about serving adult men but I was relieved after I had a chance to get to know all of the teams. I have teams coming from all over Metro Detroit. It is an intense league but it is also filled with lots of laughter. It is a league filled with men that are obsessed over basketball. 

Watching these men has taught me that I need to be obsessed with what I do. I need to be just as passionate with the areas I am overseeing. Hard work and a healthy obsession will lead to success!

"To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way." Pat Riley

Round Two of this league starts this Sunday!

The Chili Cookoff

Around a week ago, we hosted our very first Chili Cookoff at my workplace. The event was to help raise awareness and financial donations for our Strong Kids Campaign. We had around fifteen to twenty entries that were fighting for first place in the cookoff.

My assignment for the cookoff was to recruit one of the three judges. They wanted me to go  after someone famous. Well, I decided to go after a 323 pound man. I decided to go after a man that cheers his sons on at the sidelines of my soccer fields while I coached them. This man is the starting right guard for the Detroit Lions. Yup! Stephen Peterman. He along with his two boys joined us the day of the event. 

It was great seeing Stephen dive into the chilis and interacting with others at our event. It was great seeing children approach him for an autograph. On my fields, I noticed that he is a humble easy going man. He proved it again at our event. Gotta love professional athletes that believe in pouring back into the community!

The Return of Billups

Ugh! I am one bitter woman.

Right now, the Pistons are playing against my all time favorite Chauncey Billups. I had tickets to tonight's game but I had to give them up for a business meeting. Not good.

I wanted to spend some bonding time with Billups and Rip so so bad. :(

Reaching the Youth in Metro Detroit

While I was attending college, I would of never imagined myself serving as the Youth and Family Program Director for the YMCA of Metro Detroit. My degree is in Criminal Justice. It was my goal to become a probation officer or even an FBI agent. Little did I know that God had something else in store for my life.

About a week ago, a newspaper photographer along with the sports editor came to check out my basketball leagues. During the interview, I realized how much of an impact the organization that I am working for is having on families in Metro Detroit. I am thankful that I along with my staff and volunteers are able to pour into young people's lives on a daily basis.  

Click here to read the newspaper article. Unfortunately, you cannot see the pictures they posted in the article.

Making History

Yesterday, I had the privilege and the honor to see the Detroit Lions make NFL history with their 47-7 loss against New Orleans. Our seats were six rows up in the end zone. And no I did not pay for the tickets!  :)

Every so often, the guys sitting in front of us were trying to guess what mistake the Lions would make next. It was hilarious. I am just glad we all can crack jokes in the midst of such an ugly season.

Are we seriously 0-15?

How One Should Coach the Detroit Lions

After watching the Detroit Lions up close and personal about a week ago down at Ford Field, I have decided that we need to take a different approach on coaching them. It is obvious that what we are doing is not working. So, here is my suggestion.

We need to coach them the same way how I coach in my three year old soccer league!

Three year olds tend to have a short attention span. They tend to lose focus easily. They tend to forget what they should be doing out on the fields and sometimes I even catch them picking dandelions in the middle of the game. I believe the same thing happens with the Detroit Lions. So, here is my solution. The coaches need to run on the fields during the game reminding the Lions what to do. Unfortunately, they seem to forget why they are out on the field. In order to combat that , the coaches need to remind them which way they should run. And to remind them to tackle, catch the football, block, and even to score.

Great idea, isn't it?

The Power of the Whistle

On Sunday, over one hundred men and about four women who are all athletic coaches or directors gathered in Birmingham for seven hours to listen to a former professional football player for 13 years speak. Joe Ehrman played for the Colts and was named as 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America. Joe is a man that is on a mission to impact lives while coaching. He is a man that is mentoring coaches to not just coach a sport but to instill character values inside the lives of young men and women. You can read about what he is all about here.

All of us that gathered at Seaholm High School were challenged and yet encouraged to take our power, position, and platform to speak into young people's lives. We were inspired to truly love our participants, to rewire their mindsets, and to boost their self image and self esteem.

This former NFL player redefined what sports is all about. Now, we are ready to nurture wounds and teach valuable life lessons. To talk openly about racism, poverty, violence, and sexism with our kids while out on the ball fields or basketball courts.

I am looking forward to implementing everything that I learned into my sports programs in order to develop young leaders. After today, I have realized that there is much power in a whistle!

"You have one of the most responsible positions in society."  Joe Ehrman

Tragedy on My T-Ball Field

Four hundred and thirty 4-5 year olds and 6-7 year olds signed up in my summer t-ball/coach pitch league. This league is a recreational athletic program that provides an opportunity for youth to improve skills, develop leadership, sportsmanship, and strive for excellence. The league is a fun community event for both the kids and the parents.

This summer, my Saturdays consisted of bouncing from field to field networking with tons of coaches and parents on top of watching the cute little ones out on the fields.

Yesterday, I am sad to say that I experienced a great tragedy on my fields. Cecil Fielder was trapped in a five year old body up at bat. I was standing behind home plate while the coach was pitching to the little tyke. The five year old hit the ball hard and then he threw the bat which happened to hit me right in the face. My reflexes were not the best seeing that I got four hours of sleep the night before. Not good! I blacked out and blood came streaming out of my mouth. My face quickly became numb and the swelling began.

By the time I got to Urgent Care, my face looked absolutely terrible. My chin, cheek, and mouth are bruised and swollen with a large contusion. I seriously laugh at my beauty every time I look in the mirror. It looks like I got beat up by Mike Tyson. On top of all that, I sound like a drunk when I talk. I slur my words because the swelling is intense. The ice just doesn't seem to be helping.

Tomorrow morning I am going back in for x-rays so I am hoping I do not have a fracture.

Bruises, swelling, and a contusion all because of a cute five year old! Gotta love my career!

Sixty-Four 3 Year Olds

About a year ago, a few mothers approached me on starting up a three year old soccer league. I chuckled and thought that there was no way I could pull that off. Three year olds have no attention span and they are clueless when it comes to team sports. On top of that, I am already serving over four hundred four to five year olds along with a great deal of children in our camp programs. Three year old soccer will just ad more work to my plate.

Well, I launched three year old soccer back in May with very little marketing and promotion. We had sixty- four little three year olds register in the league. Insane! Absolutely insane!

Three year old soccer has turned out to be one of my all time favorite sports that I oversee. I bust out laughing just about every time I am with these three year olds. Check out a few of the highlights.

• One of the little red headed boys on my team had a dollar taped on his chest. During the whole practice time and scrimmage he kept looking down at his jersey to make sure the dollar was still in tack. I think the parents were trying to bribe him by saying, "If you play soccer the whole time without crying, then you can have the dollar." Now, that is a Birmingham parent for you!

• I had a little curly blond haired three year old girl that was walking and dribbling the soccer ball down the field in the middle of a game. A little boy took the ball from her and she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Her face turned bright red and she yelled with tears pouring down her face, "He took my ball! He took my ball" It was the cutest thing ever!

• A three year old would always refuse to play. Every Tuesday he would sit at the sidelines and watch us. However when it came to the trophy presentation, he busted out on the fields to receive his medal and gift from me.  

Every week I enjoyed running out on the fields with them. There was never a dull moment with these little ones. At times, you would find them picking flowers in the middle of the game out on the field or even running with the ball in their hands.  

To my surprise, the three year old soccer league turned out to be a big hit. The parents and grandparents were ranting and raving about the league. They are even asking if I could run another season on three year old soccer.

Lord, help me!

I Got His Autograph!

Chauncey Billups is one of my all time favorites when it comes to Detroit Basketball.

Over the past few years, we have been networking with the Pistons and the Detroit Shock. We have received tickets and even a suite a few times. 

I can now say that the hours of networking paid off seeing that yesterday I received an autographed Detroit Pistons hat from Chauncey Billips. The hat will go with all of my Pistons gear! Unbelievable!    

Hear That ROAR!

Last night was a picture perfect evening down in Downtown Detroit. I had the opportunity to head to Comerica Park to cheer the Tigers on with three others. Over the past few years, I have heard my friends say that there is never a dull moment when they are with me. In order to live up to that, I decided to practice my Tigers Roar several times while driving to Downtown. I think I got the roar down now!

I was wowed when we got down there. The weather was perfect! All 41,100 fans were rowdie. The Wings won! And the Tigers were smoking hot! Magglio Ordonez was outstanding and managed to hit two homers. Oh what a night! 

                                                      

                                           The game was implausible! I love our guys!

Bogus Advertising

                               

Come on! This shirt is bogus advertising. Chicks do not dig golfers. Golf is not a sport. It is a leisure activity. Once they begin to run from hole to hole, trash talk, and increase their heart rate to where it should be when one is playing a sport then I will gladly call golf a sport.

Last night, I went to glow in the dark putt putt with Katie and Jamie. Katie asked me my thoughts on why golf is not a sport. So, I explained my argument. She then replied, "Yeah, I guess if a sixty year old overweight man can play golf then it is not a sport."

Case closed! Golf is not a sport! ;)

Eat Em Up Tigers!

Last night, we took an engaged couple from the Monday night coffee shop group to their very first Tigers game. Oh, what a game it was!

When we entered the 8th inning, I was nervous as all could be. If I could of paced back and forth, I would of. Instead, I just screamed loudly for my boys. I think I need to use my diaphragm more next time seeing that my voice did not sound the best today.

The Tigers had a perfect ending last night against the Boston Red Sox. Placido Polanco was at bat and all 38,000 people were on their feet rooting him on. He made beautiful contact with that ball which brought in the winning run. The Tigers had a sweet comeback victory in the 9th inning which landed us 10-9. We are now at 15 W and 20 L!

Now, what happened with the Pistons??? Poor Billups!

Hanging Out with My Boys

I have been neglecting spending bonding time with a group of men that I rant and rave about!

Yesterday, I had a chance to see them at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I had a the wonderful opportunity to scream and cheer for Billups and Hamilton face to face. Even though the starters rested on the bench most of the time, it was great to see them all again.

What a joy is was to be back at the Palace for Round One of the playoffs. Gotta love....De-troit Basketball!

I Want 400 Kids!

Today is day one of registration for my 4-5 year old and 6-7 year old soccer leagues. I must admit that soccer is my favorite league that I oversee. I love watching and coaching the little ones on the field. They always have a way of making me laugh. I also enjoy the fact that it is a huge community event. In an hour time slot we have around 100 participants and over 200 adults cheering the little ones on.

We typically get around 400 participants. So far, around 136 have registered and it is only day one! I am in the process of doing some different types of last minute marketing and promotion to bring in more participants. It involves networking with local churches, schools, and all in the surrounding communities. It involves stepping out and taking risks.

Three weeks left to bring in the numbers! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!

One Week From Today!

In one week from today I will be presenting this YMCA Hero trophy to the father of 5 year old Myles who passed away a few weeks ago in a horseback riding accident. You can read about it here.  Soon after Myles passed away I told the father that his son was my hero. I went in depth on how his son impacted my life. The father responded in tears, "That is it. That is the key word. Hero!"

Amazingly, his father has continued to coach his son's basketball team on Friday evenings. His father asked me if he could take home a trophy for Myles next week when we present all of the current basketball players a trohpy. I told him of course. He has no clue that I ordered this special trophy for them. I guarantee that tears will be pouring down my face as I present this family with this trophy next Friday in honor of their 5 year old son.     

Life, Football, and Spirituality

On Wednesday night thousands of people gathered at Kensington Church to listen to a few of the Detroit Lions share about their lives and what God is doing in the midst of the team. Boss Bailey, Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Jason Hanson and a few others took the stage that evening. The place was packed and every overflow room was filled to the brim. The excitement was there!

In the beginning, footballs being kicked off the stage by Hanson and thrown across the sanctuary by Kitna and Dan. Footballs were flying all over the place.

It was evident that every Lions player that was there that evening was gung ho for Jesus Christ. It was evident that they were passionate for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. On top of that, it was made known by the other players that Jon Kitna is not just a team leader on the Detroit Lions but he is also spiritual leader. God has used him to stir up a spiritual hunger on that team and He is continuing to Jon. I love the fact that our God is on the move in the midst of their lives. The spiritual climate on that team is hot and it is getting hotter. Many of them attend the Bible Studies and prayer meetings at the stadium and even in homes. These men are living the life of following Jesus Christ.

Jon Kitna delivered the Word that evening! This quarterback was extremely blunt and bold from the start. Jon did not soft coat the message at all. He asked for people to raise their Bibles in the air. He then told those that were without a Bible that they need to start bringing their Bibles to church. Many toes were stepped on but it was good. With much passion Jon ended the message that he preached with, "If you are not saved, you need to get saved! What is holding you back?" Wow! This man is all about pointing people to Jesus. He is not afraid to speak Truth. He was not trying to make things look pretty or even dishing out a "feel good" message. He was about introducing people to the One who gave His all for us.

Oh how I pray that God instills that deep within me and even in our churches!

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we all know that the Detroit Lions did not have much success on the field this past year (or the many years before) but they had much success in the spiritual realm. Yes, I am proud to be a Detroit Lions fan!

Down on the Basketball Court

This is the season for my basketball leagues. I run basketball for 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-13  year olds. We actually have a couple hundred from the surrounding communities involved in our leagues. We hit Birmingham, Troy, Royal Oak, Berkley, and Southfield. Gotta love the diversity!

I have several hundred volunteer coaches and the best staff ever serving in my leagues.  I really enjoy watching them out on the courts pouring into these children's lives. They all have the skills, patience, and personality to work with children. 

As you may know, my favorite age group to watch are the 4-5 year olds. They are just too precious and they always have a way if cracking me up. Tonight I filled in for one of the coaches and I enjoyed every minute of it. Just before the game, I ran the kids hard with several drills and skill development. My team of all boys were true athletes and did not complain one bit. I was so proud of them. However, I did have one kid that was always off in la la land on the court in the middle of the game. It drove me crazy to an extent. I laughed and I tried my best to remind him that he was in a basketball game. He was clueless. I guess every team needs one of those. 

If I coach next week, I just might teach the 4-5 year olds plays, picks and rolls, double teaming, and full court press. What do you think?

Gobble, Gobble!

I spent a good portion of Thanksgiving Day out at Ford Field rooting for the Detroit Lions and Brett Farve. The season tickets that we have were located in the end zone at the 6th row and right by the tunnel where the beastly men run in and out of when going to the locker rooms.

Even though we lost, it was a great game. We were probably sitting in the rowdiest section ever which made it even more fun. I was screaming and shouting while swinging my Lions rally tail all over the place. On top of that, one of my friend's that came was a die hard Packers fan. She was decked out in Packers gear from head to toe (and yes she was sporting the cheese on her head) while her boyfriend was decked out in Lions gear. It was quite funny!

After the game, I bolted over to Katie Trapp's house to hang out with her family and Jamie. The food and fellowship was fantastic!

High, Low

My High for the Day: I teach a sports class on every Thursday afternoon in order to spend time out of my office, have fun, pour into children's lives, and to network with my Birmingham parents. I have 15 rambunctious four to five year old boys in the class that keep me on my toes. I teach them the basics of floor hockey, soccer, basketball, and baseball. Every Thursday, I always look forward to seeing my precious little angels. They always find a way to put a smile on my face.

My Low for the Day: One of my precious angels threw up on me in the middle of the sports class. YUUUUCCCKKKK!

Spirituality and Football

A few weeks ago the Detroit Free Press did a huge write up on our Lions quarterback, John Kitna, and how God is using him in the midst of the team. This man is on fire for the Lord. He started organizing a Monday night Bible Study in his basement along with a time of prayer on Wednesdays after practice.  The Bible Study is for all of the players, staff, and their families. The attendance has been increasing over the past few months. Because of this spiritual movement, many have come to salvation and many have responded to baptism. Lives have been impacted and it is evident that God is at work!

John believes that God has called him to Detroit and it is not just by chance. God called him here for an assignment and that assignment involves making an eternal impact on the lives that are in his pathway. Yes, John enjoys playing football but he also loves sharing life, hope, and faith in Jesus Christ to all those he has some sort of relationship with.

Last week, I ran into two of the Detroit Lions football players out on my soccer fields while they were cheering their child on. I was quickly reminded about John who is tearing it up for Jesus Christ. I prayed for John right then and there. I prayed that God will continue to give this man strength in the Lord. I prayed that he would never be lacking in zeal but always keeping that spiritual fervor while impacting lives here in Detroit.

So, whose life are you impacting?

Undefeated, Unbeatable, & Unconquerable

A portion of my job entails overseeing a soccer league with a couple hundred 4-5 year olds in it. I have well over 100 volunteer coaches and every once in awhile I enjoy coaching a team for the season.

So far my team is undefeated this season. We are 2-0 even though we are not suppose to keep score or record. :) Now, many coaches believe that I have stacked my team seeing that I am coaching the best 4-5 year old athletes who know how to tear it up on the fields. I informed them that I did not stack my team. It is all about the kick butt coach and the kick butt 4-5 year olds on my team. We are just a great mesh.

We are undefeated, unbeatable, and unconquerable!