Tyler McKinley Put Off Team But Not Out Of The Game

Alex and Tyler

Tyler has been playing with a team since the beginning of the year. We met this team first at The King James Tournament last year when the coach asked his older brother Alex about him. We saw the coach again in Memphis at 2nd Grade Nationals and later we were contacted by him via YouTube and Twitter.

We decided last year to join the team and it was a good experience. My son is 9, nearly 5'5, and has a natural athletic presence. Coaches and players ask about him. Some parents, at various games, say he's not nine. That we held him back to play basketball.  

Fast forward to this past week. The team was traveling to Vegas for a tournament. My sons' flights were booked and family and friends made sure that everything was in order for this trip. Well, not everything was in order. Tyler's coach found out that we were asked to go to another tournament and put him off the team on Saturday. He told us to "take a knee on this one". We never committed to playing with another team. Yes, we were asked but our first priority was to the team he had been with. 

None of that mattered, not our flights or the inconvenience of canceling the flight. In a text he, the coach, told me that if Tyler came to Vegas he was not playing with them. A text sent to us, from another coach on the team, put it in perspective, "There  is a difference Indy Hoosiers InouGsio players don't play with other teams." Wow! This is 3rd grade basketball. 

It was a little hard for Tyler on Saturday but he knows that God has plans for him. I spoke with a basketball coach that travels nationally on Monday. He told me to take this experience as a sign from God, cut your losses and don't look back. He said, "God gave you a way out. Keep it moving." I totally receive that. We totally receive that. 

We have no hard feelings. Several doors have opened already just for Tyler to travel and play with several teams. Tyler will be fine. I think this was good for him to experience early. It'll add to his determination to be not just the best basketball player but the best person he can be. 

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.