1 more thing

I got a very fun email from a friend the other day entitled 'My South' but it took me until tonight to catch up and read through emails. This email made me remember something from the other day that I have wanted to share, but I've been awful about posting. As you know, I am coaching Varsity field hockey at a local private school. This is my 2nd year and though very different from last year, I'm still LOVING it and have enjoyed getting to know the girls better this year. Just like teachers (don't let them lie to you) I have a few favorites. One of them, we'll call her G, just cracks me up and she doesn't even try to. On top of it all, I think she'll grow to be a beautiful young woman, so smart, hard working, and one of her most stand out characteristics, is respect. Respect for her team/peers, her surroundings, adults, everone and everything. She never lets anyone be last alone, she always makes sure the equipment is taken care of, she thanks us coaches at the end of every practice, drive to and from a game, or any team outing. When giving her a reminder about positioning during a game down in Kinston the other day, in the middle of the game, G not only verbally acknowledges me, but says "yes ma'am, thank you!" and runs off to steal the ball yet again. (Now, don't get me wrong, she's cool. All the other younger girls idolize her and she's friends with everyone. So don't go thinking she's a dork!) One of the girls on the sideline says something and when I asked her to what she said, she couldn't understand why G always said yes ma'am, thank you ma'am, etc. She thought it seemed akward and just weird. I just sorta stared at this girl, because I couldn't quite understand what she was asking. WHY? Why did G respond respectfully at all times to someone 10 years her senior (eek) who is in an authority position? Not knowing how or why I would need to explain it, I simply asked this girl where she was from again. When she said 'New Jersey', I simply turned around and said, "Then you just wouldn't understand". In my South, that's just what you do. Oh, and G, she's from North Carolina :)