"Will you give us your best?"

So yesterday I had the girls group for training. It was by far the biggest group we've had in the past 3 days. There were probably 60 girls out for training. They were very raw talent wise, but there were probably 6 girls taller than me, and a couple were really quick. It was pretty incredible to see their size compared to the size of the boys. I really dont have any boys with any size, but the girls are huge!

Anyway... at the end of practice was my introduction, because the other coach who could speak english didnt come until after practice. While I was being introduced, the girls began to ask questions. You know how that goes... "how old are you"..."did you play in the NBA?"... "Do you like Kobe Bryant?" but then I got a great question. One girl raised her hand and said, "will you give us your best?"

That really hit me. I have never been asked that before. even though I have played basketball and coached basketball I have never been asked "will you give your best?"I feel like my best was always either demanded or implied. But also how do you answer that question as a coach?

I could give a simple answer which of course is yes, but is that sufficient? How many times have these kids been told that they would be given someone's best only to be let down, I did not know. I felt like she was asking me a question to gauge my intent for being here in Goma. Was I here for the same purposes as a lot of NGO's, to make great money, but also be doing a job that at the end of the day i can feel good because I did good for others. Was I here because I had an irrational expectation to think that I can really change the way things were in Goma? Was I here because I felt sorry for the children? The answer to most of these questions going through my head are partially true (except the money thing). Yes I want to do good, and it makes me feel good watching others improve and succeed, and yes I feel sorry for the kids of Africa. All those things are easy though. I am here to give them my best, and test out what my best is.

I answered them by saying, "I am here to give you my best, but I expect your best in return. I love basketball and if you give your best everyday then you will understand why I love it so much and you will have the same love for it as me. I promise to give you my best as long as you are giving me your best."

I dont know if this was the best answer, but it is the one I gave. Almost exactly in those words. I cannot promise that they will become great players. I cannot promise that we will even win a game in the tournaments, but I can promise that I will be prepared and give my best every second that I am with them, but only if they give me that in return. I hope that my answer gave them hope that I can help them achieve whatever they want, and that it gave them high expectations of me because I have high expectations of them. I just thought that it was a great question, and I still do not know exactly how to answer that perfectly. If I was asked that question in any circumstance I don't know how to answer it, but I gave it my best shot.