The "Mini Mia's," formerly known as the Red Diamands, formerly known as the Diamond Divas, formerly known as the Red Hots are currently in first place in the Edmond Soccer Club's rec girls U12 league. To be fair, the league is not vast (there may be four or five teams), but that's part of the story. In Edmond Oklahoma most girls either quit soccer or enter "competitive soccer" (aka expensive, life consuming soccer) by age eight or nine. "Go out and have fun regardless of ability" soccer isn't really promoted or widely available after that age.
The Red Hots started playing together two years and four seasons ago. In their first season they didn't score a single goal. In season two they kept their "goal-less" streak alive until the end of the season. In that game they played the Diamond Divas, a team whose only win that season came at the expense of the Red Hots. On that fateful November night, in a game that was officially an unofficial "scrimmage," little Lindsay Lawler put one in the net and the Red Hot faithful wend wild (even though the Red Hots lost the game 2-1).
Attrition and the fact that misery loves company brought a merger the following season, thus, the Red Diamonds were born. The Red Diamonds were winless last season but managed a few goals and definitely were the "funnest" and "cutest" team in the league.
Entering this season all of the girls were up for playing but the team was without a coach (this is rec soccer - no paid coaches here folks). Literally in the eleventh hour someone volunteered to coach. A new family had moved to town (Air Force) and was looking to place two of their five kids on a girls rec team. Enter coach Lisa- the difference between first place and winless.
The girls practice the same number of hours, run many of the same drills, play the same positions, wear the same cleats- so what's different? Leadership- faith, hope and love.
Faith
The official name of the team is still the Red Diamonds, but the first thing Lisa did was get the team together and let them give it a new "unofficial name"- the "mini Mias." At the next practice she taught them the chant/rap that would become their pre-game ritual. She made stretching an absolute blast and then empowered the girls to lead it themselves. Her tone and presence said "we are a new team and we win soccer games." And you could just feel faith rising in these girls- they were believers before their first game (which they won handily).
Hope
Real hope isn't some "I hope so," it's based on something real. Lisa did it with discipline and authority. She doesn't settle for mediocrity. She got these girls to believe that they could perform the same skills with the same proficiency as anyone else in the league. She expected them to make the pass, make the shot, stay in position, understand the nuances of the game, and block the shot. Last season Kendall was the goalie that always looked dejected as the 10th goal went rolling past her. Today she plays like freakin Brianna Scurry- she's diving into legs and cleats and leaping to the top bar to knock balls away. Do you know where Lisa gets the authority to call her girls to this level of discipline-based hope?... her character.
At a recent tournament Lisa coached with the opposing team's fans right behind her. She had to listen to some moron-couple accuse her of "coaching her players to hit and elbow" and she had to hear said morons encourage their team to injure our players, singling out Lisa's own daughters. Lisa took the high road and showed us and our daughters how to diffuse a bad situation with dignity.
Love
But Lisa's secret sauce is this- the Mini Mias feel loved by their coach. She laughs with them, runs with them, chants with them, speaks destiny over them, has them into her home, into her life. These girls would do anything for her.
Faith, hope, and love- that's how you get from last to first. That's how you coach, how you lead.
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