Catching Up on Friday

Catching Up With... Coach Matt's Fifth Grade Poetry?
I wrote this "poem" in fifth grade, so you can see I've been obsessed with sports for awhile. Still, pretty prophetic for an 11 year old, no? Not claiming it's good, but it's pretty true.

It all starts with a dream, a goal to achieve.
As a young child the dream begins a
and sometimes ends if one
is not dedicated enough.

The next stage is practice,
even before you are on a team.
If you want to be the best
you must give it all you've got.

Then the team practice starts,
within an organized league.
The competition starts
and the will to win is seen.
This is the stage, where you learn
to support each other as a team.

The fourth stage you start
to compete with rival towns.
You have to beat them badly,
so they fear you from now on.

The fifth stage is a tournament,
the chance to win your first championship.
The sorrow of defeat is sadder,
the joy of victory greater.
With the first championship comes
an intense desire to win something more glorious.

The sixth stage is dominance
of the teams on your schedule.
No team comes close to you.
No team has a chance.
You crush the conference teams.
The sectional is next.

The seventh stage is the challenge,
where you put together what you've learned.
Everyone has to be at their best.
The championship beckons,
is your team up to the test?

by Matt Miller, 1992.