For those of you that know me, I have coached sports throughout my life working with youth and teaching them not only skills to be used in that sport but also life skills to be applied later on in their young lives. It always gave me strength to see players applying those skills later in their lives. In one particular player's case, she applied them the rest of her life. Unfortunately, she was taken March 15th of last year at a young age of 21 after a three year battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma. She passed away two days before the St. Baldrick's event. We (Gibson and I) are collecting money in memory of Mollie Enwright (#34).
Mollie was a great player, a great shooter, and a great teammate my first years of coaching girls basketball. Her competitive desire made her a player who could shine in the clutch. Pressure was not something that got to her. We continually went to her when we needed a big shot and she usually produced. Her school record for most 3-pointers made in a career still stands. Even in her last days, you could never see the pressure and stress of what she was going through on her face or in her voice just as she was when told in a timeout that she was going to take the last shot of the game for the win. She wanted to take it!
In those years she played, we won games we should have lost and lost some games we should have won. We dealt with ups-and-downs those years just as she did in her battle with cancer but she continued to be strong and come back the next day, ready for whatever was going to be in her way.
Even in leading the team in 3-pointers her junior and senior years as well as finishing with all-conference honors, she was humble in her game. Whether it was a go-ahead score or a game-winner, Mollie did not desire the attention for it. She was gracious and modest... always was.
The thing I will take most from Mollie is that sports are not always about winning... sometimes you lose. We definitely lost a great person when Mollie passed and her memory helps serve as an example for the future players that I will coach and have coached since her. Do your best... have fun... accept what you can't control... be humble in victory... gracious in defeat. Miss you Mollie.