Last Monday, I had the chance to watch former students, this time the boys and their respective basketball teams.

#ahbasketballseason

Yes, our season was done before Christmas Break, so the boys started up soon after we returned in January. I had a couple of former students emailing me in January, “Will you be at our game?”

#uhyeah

I had that game circled well before their season started. The 7th graders will always have a special place in my heart. They were my last class at my previous district and they were a handful, to say the least! However, they also were a group you couldn’t help but enjoy because they were smart and engaged and wanted to do well. Some of them just couldn’t for a multitude of reasons, but they were part of the “team” all the same.

As I walked into the gym, a chorus of my FULL name goes out, so I just walked right through them!

#ohyou

High fives, fist bumps, and “Yo, J-Dawg, what’s up,” echoed throughout the gym and I know people were looking at me like “wth”! A number of things were said that just made me laugh. I had one player tell me that for each shot he made, he’d give me “the look” (whatever that was). Another told me that if they won by 30, then I’d need to come back and teach! And a third told me that if they made a three-pointer, they were going to run down the court pointing at me.

#goodness

Goodness indeed! All the while, a group of my current year’s seventh graders were sitting by the scorer’s table, fuming at what was happening. They were “mad” that I was talking to the enemy, that I’d think to bring myself to such a “low level”, then picked apart my wardrobe (I’d worn a blue shirt that day) wondering how I could dress in “THEIR COLORS!).

I’d taught the 8th graders as well, so I went to just chat with them for a minute. They were sitting across the gym from the scorer’s table, and as were talking, I heard “COACH”! I turned around and the girls were motioning me back, pointing at our mascot on the table, and just being goofy. They just couldn’t get over that I was *gasp* talking to them.

#jealousmuch

So the game went on, the 7th-grade boys won, and I had to get ready for spin class. I was able to talk with a couple more of the players and talked with some parents as well. You walk away from a school where you’ve taught for 23 years, and you make connections. The one that I’ll remember the most, a mom and dad approach me and I greet them. They tell me that I’ve made their son’s day and how much they appreciated me being there.

#awwwww

While I don’t expect to make that impression here, that’s why we do what we do, to make those connections, build relationships, and just get to know people. They didn’t have to come up and say what they said, but it was memorable.

And yes, I cheered for “my team” even though I didn’t know the boys playing, and that is ok. They played hard but were totally overmatched by my former students. They are a talented group. I’ll see them next year when they play football.

I can say this because that crew thought blogging was “dumb”, so they don’t read this at all. I do miss them and hope they are being successful. They drove our sixth-grade team crazy, but they also wormed their way into our hearts as well. You have those classes that do that, get in there unexpectedly.

Ok, enough sappy stuff. I keep doing this and the dust in my room might be an issue! 🙂