I've never been around another group of anything that I would call more of a "team" than my class of 2010 17u Comets Elite team. The members of that team were: Alex Hanks, Jordan Riewer, Erik Tengwall, Mike Johnson, Shaun Condon, Taylor Filipek, Zach Noreen, Scott Willenbring, Dan Kornbaum and Ben Bucholz. I could use this space to go on and on about their accomplishments and how big a part of all of their success that myself and the Comets organization were. That's not my purpose. Instead I'm going to try and explain how much that team taught me. What they taught me is that a team isn't seen, a team is felt.
They were all extremely talented. They were all the stars of their High School teams. They were BMOC at their schools. They were all being recruited. They were all being told on a daily basis how great they were. But when they got together in the gym, they were none of that. They wanted none of that BS. They were unselfish. They were already winners. They wanted to become better winners, so they became more unselfish. And, most importantly, they loved each other. In turn, I learned to love all of them. They were, to steal a phrase from 2015 nomenclature, "my guys". It was the first, and maybe the last, time that I could coach a team as myself. They didn't want to be coddled. When their effort was crap, I told them. And, when I challenged them the most wonderful thing happened, they responded. Over and over that spring and summer they responded. Tournament after tournament they responded. They, impossibly, got closer and closer. I got closer to them; they got closer to me. We became a family. I've never been around a team that cared for each other so much. Their success was secondary to their buddies success. They celebrated each other's scholarship offers rather than worry why they hadn't gotten one offered instead. They picked each other up when someone came to the gym flat or sad or just tired. They picked me up when we had early morning games and the AAU coaches from other programs (that I wont name) kept me out too late the night before. I've pulled for these guys for going on 6 years now. Last night Jordan Riewer's career ended, ending the collegiate run of my favorite team. I've had so much fun following these guys. I've been so proud of their achievements. Most of all, I've learned from them what a team truly is.
Thank you to Alex, Jordan, Erik, Shaun, Mike, Zach, Taylor, Scottie, Danny and Ben
You guys are the best.
