Sisterhood

A phone call that changed a life
an opportunity to be taken
many many papers to fill out
and she counted the uniforms one by one
she wondered what type of girls would fit
into these blue and white pieces of cloth
the balls were worn and a medical kit outdated
few pinnies and a broken box

She tried to prepare as best she could
had the paperwork ready in hand
and as the girls piled in the gym
about eighty eyeballs staring at her
she smiled the best she could
although her stomach was churning
she stuttered her way through her speech
and didn't know what else to say
they took off and waited for tryouts in a few days

She called the former coach
and she hated his approach
flashbacks of high school days
through horror and the haze
she knew what these girls went through
she knew she'd be a better coach
if she didn't follow his ways

as she talked to the girls who stuck around
she didn't realize that what she found
was diamonds in the rough
they went through hell but it made them tough
but she knew they deserved better
there were times when she cared too much
but knew they were in a system that didn't care enough

When the season began, she had no idea
who was who and when and where
but it all came down to what was fair
she took her jersey and made her an example
that she was no Shirley Temple
and to the team it was clear

Even in the midst of chaos
we won our first game
and even when we lost
we never held our heads in shame
she realized this at the end of a bad game
when we were laughing instead of crying
she knew she did something right

and there were moments that were overwhelming
tom was in town and we were oversweating
attitudes came and went
and we learned that we need to respect
even when others didn't respect us

the earth shattered for certain girls
as we dealt with death and injuries
you can't stick a child in a bubble
in this world we can't always protect
the ones we love as fate is always there

even when our days were in the dark
there were moments that made a mark
and she held these girls close to her heart
"the goalie is bored" "the mighty ducks"
"pop pop" "of the game?!?!?!"
"don't be a princess" and "watch for the queens"
"we shut down the other team by scoring"

we got stuck in a locker
forgot to clean up
we were obnoxious with the cellphones
and at times we forgot we had a coach
we forgot our cleats and sometimes our sneaks
but we learned to compromise
we had a Cindarella moment during a game,
when we found the right cleats for her feet
we didn't have enough jerseys but willingly sacrificed
our uniforms to another teammate
cardboard makes great shinguards in a pinch
and a medical kit protects cellphones from the rain

we learned the coach was smart
even when our worlds fell apart
and she did everything she could for her team
she provided water for their thirst
and gave up hours at her job
she had no gas in her car
at home there was no heat
she tried to get these girls the things that they deserved
but she got the runaround and was unnerved

she cried as she put the uniforms back in the box
she'll miss these girls,
but knows that they're not gone forever
she'll stick to the team until the end
it's not about the money that we spend
it's about the bond in the sisterhood
and that's what we understood.