Springfield Armor Game

Last Friday, the Project Coach community cheered on top basketball talent and grew as a family. I find every event we share strengthens individual and collective bonds. Friday, I had the pleasure of driving to Springfield with red shirt Kelly and his girlfriend. I find it empowering to share, what often seems to be the bubble of Project Coach, with the ouside community; I could tell Kelly's girlfriend was touched by the students we work with and the friendships we have formed. Upon arriving in Springifeld our blue shirt, Josh, was eagerly awaiting our late arrival. Josh was unfazed by our tardiness but rather was  eager to watch the game and spend time with his friends and mentors.

When we arrived at the game we met up with our director, Kayleigh, and a whole contingent of PC members, including red shirt Michael. It was Mass Mentor night--so, admission was free and we all recieved a ten dollar voucher for food. A couple blue shirts made the most of this voucher and purchased the grande nacho dish--this spurred many laughs as we watched our blue shirts attempt to corageoulsly finish their mammoth sized dishes.

Project Coach was well represented all night--the event brought our organization much deserved admiration from roughly 3,500 spectators. Initially  Josh served as our mascot as he greeted the Armor players during the game introductions. At halftime I had the pleasure of walking on the court with my fellow PC colleagues. Along with purple shirt, Loeb, blue shirt, Josh, and fellow Red Shirt, Kelly, I was able to represent Project Coach in the spotlight at the Mass Mutual Center. As we walked out to half court, Loeb and I joked about different ways we could impress the crowd upon our introduction. "Perhaps we could do push ups", I joked. Loeb laughed stating, "Yeah--I think that would be pretty good. You know, just to show everyone the toughness that is Project Coach". Our laughs continued through our introductions. So much so, in fact, I was oblivious to my name being called. My image on the jumbo-tron showed me joking with Loeb. In retrospect, I cannot think of a more fitting way to show off Project Coach--a mentor and a mentee galvanizing our friendship through positive laughter. It is these moments that brings our family together and reassures one another--and in this case a much larger audience--that we, at project coach, continue to have each other's back.