Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog
Trust me, this will get to Jimmie Johnson, you just have to bear with me.
Today at work I had to attend a workshop at the High School in which my elementary school ‘feeds’ to. All of the other ‘feeder’ schools were there as well. All and all it was a good work shop and I always enjoying going to the High School - I think I will eventually take a High School position before I retire.
Anyway, during a break the High School’s Junior (grades 9 & 10) Girl’s Volleyball coach asked to meet with me after the workshop. Hmm .. my curiosity was peaked, as I have never formally met her, and I didn’t even know that she knew who I was.
After the workshop I went and met with her and what she told me blew me away. She had just finished holding try-outs for the Junior team and she has done something that is very rarely done - she is pretty much cutting all of her remaining players from last year (now in Grade 10) and making most of her team out of the Grade 9’s. What does this have to do with me? I’ll tell you, out of the 11 new players she is adding to her squad, 9 are from my last year’s elementary school team. Out of the 2 grade 10 players staying on the team one is also a product of my volleyball program. That means 10 out of the 13 players on the Junior Girl’s High School Volleyball Team passed through my Volleyball program. 10 out of 13!
If you recall I had a dream team last year and the team remains virtually intact, except for 3 players - two of which were cut and the third didn’t try out because it conflicted with her hockey schedule (she would have made it too - oh well). This team was undefeated for 2 years at our school (2 City Championships and numerous tournament wins) and now they are going on as a High School team virtually unchanged. Wow.
As much as I’d like to take all of the credit, I can’t. These girls are special, but they are also the product of other coaches (hi Dale), their parents, and their ability to put aside personal differences to keep their goal in sight, while working as a team to achieve it. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another team like that one again and their new coach is really really looking forward to this upcoming season. She won the City Championship several years ago, and she says this team right now as it stands, having not played a single match yet, is far better than that Championship team she had previously.
This former volleyball team of mine is just like the team Jimmie Johnson has. They have a uncanny way of putting things together, especially when it counts, to attain their goal.
This is not an uncommon thing in NASCAR, it has happened before. Cale Yarborough, driver for Junior Johnson, comes to mind (3 Championships in a row), as does Richard Petty’s incredible 26(?) win season, Dale Earnhardt in the early 90’s, and Jeff Gordon in the late 90’s. It happens, and when it does there are people who say they are cheating (well they might be just a bit, but the other teams are doing it too), or that NASCAR is playing favourites, or rigging it somehow. Not so. These teams are just putting it together better than their counter parts. Will it last? Probably not, all good things must come to an end, but you can still have a good dynasty.
Whether you like it or not, it is just the way that it is. Will Jimmie win the Championship? The odds are in his favour, but I’m not going to say yes just yet, there are just too many variables. If he does lose look who he looses to, his teammate Jeff Gordon, who is also a driver for Rick Hendrick.
It is about putting the right people in the right places at the right time and allowing them to do their jobs the way they know how to. Sounds like my volleyball team. Hendrick is the coach that puts it together and then unleashes them to do it and every so often you’ll get that 10 out 13 team that will do it, and do it well.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
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