Sometimes we get the gift of coaching a superior person who is also a terrific player.
The last 'graduate' of my coaching career finishes her high school journey Monday. In the semifinals of the Comcast Tournament Saturday, Cecilia Kay led Bishop Fenwick (16-3) to the finals in a 48-39 win over Woburn, the #4 seed in Division 1. Their three losses came at the hands of the top two teams in Division 1, undefeated Wachusett and Bishop Feehan.
Saturday she had a typical game - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 assists as she approaches 1,700 career points and has over 1,100 career rebounds. And as overwhelming as her numbers, she impacts winning most as the anchor of one of the best high school defenses around. Still, she is as humble as she is accomplished.
Cecilia will likely graduate as valedictorian, has a D1 scholarship to American University, is a McDonald's All-American nominee, a reigning Boston Herald "Dream Teamer" and led her team to the State semifinals and Finals the two previous seasons. Her team is banned from the postseason in 2024 as the school got the death penalty from the MIAA for violations by the baseball team.
So like Tolstoy's Levin, I'm witness to the final harvest of her high school labors and to a far lesser extent my contribution. As Brad Stevens says, "we coaches get more than we receive," and I wholeheartedly agree.