Together We Will

This weekend's state championship basketball game has certainly changed the atmosphere of the school. It feels like that has been almost all that anyone wants to talk about. The community is excited and anxious, but more importantly they are supportive. So many people have come out to buy tickets or t-shirts and to offer their hopes of a win. On Wednesday, the team sat down after practice to eat pizza and listen to a message from Michael Jenkins, a speaker with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The heart of the message came back to three words: Together We Will.

Michael has spoken to the team several times throughout the season and his message has not changed. He wanted each of them to understand that they are not perfect. They make mistakes. We all fall short of what we plan to do from time to time. And while you should be personally accountable for your mistakes if you want to be better, being a part of a team also means that there are others there to pick you up and support you. Alone you may not achieve your goal, but together we will. Being a part of a team means sharing responsibility, sharing celebrations and sharing blame. No one player loses a basketball game. No one teacher achieves school growth. These things happen when everyone works together. It is not always easy or timely. There are a ton of people that thought that we should have been at this game last year. There were fans this year that stopped supporting when we had early losses to South Central and Kinston this year. But somewhere along the way, the messages of grit, determination, teamwork and mutual accountability that so many of you have resonated in your classrooms over the past few years stuck with these young men. They understood that together we will get there.  These lessons became a mentality and they will extend far beyond a basketball court. I hope that each of you know that you are a part of this team. You contributed to this mentality. You held them accountable when they failed to meet expectations and you celebrated their successes. Saturday's game is as much your championship as it is theirs. It is all of ours. Thanks to all of you for putting in that work.