Some of you who spent the weekend in LaCrosse for the girls state basketball tournament might identify with my Top Six Takeaways from the weekend.  Would love your comments and takeaways, so add them below. 

#1  What a joy to be cheering on a team in person–and that was not just at the game itself but in the hotel with the parents and other fans so excited about the girls and their accomplishments.  Just walking around LaCrosse in the day while looking for a place to eat became a celebration of Us, of NDA, of our community.  We would see each other, chat about the team, invite each other to eat and be a part of the NDA “family.” 

#2 Eating out with my husband.  It’s been a year since we have dared to eat out at a restaurant, and those who know me know how much I love scallops.  We ate at a really nice restaurant that seemed very Covid-careful.  Great dinner of scallops! 

#3 Watching FanMan and Mermaid get to do their thing. . . these two were selected for one of the most important, most visible roles at NDA.  Finally, after six months they had a chance to perform their roles in public. What a joy to see students cheering for the Tritons like the pre-pandemic days.  I even saw some “virtual students” like Abby Micksch in person!

#4 Getting to know the Reedsville basketball team.  The players were on our floor in the hotel, and I spent an hour or so with them on Friday night–just talking and learning they too are super young women.  One player in particular, Ruby #4 and third off the bench (her words), was wistful:  “I just want to bring home a ball–either silver or gold–because our team has never won a state championship.”  I told her, of course, I hoped hers was a silver one.  But I was also reminded of how special NDA is. . . check out the plaque by the auditorium to see how many championships our teams have won. 

#5 Freshman Grace Barington’s three-pointer in the morning game.  Fans like myself were concerned about the lack of three-point success when we played Onalaska.  My husband and Chris Greisen analyzed the whole situation and concludeed how different it was shooting at those extended goals with no wall behind them.  “They missed all their three-pointers,” they kept lamenting, but I interjected:  “Don’t forget Grace Barington got one at the end of the game!” 

#6 Most important takeaway of all–the team and their coaches.  Our girls are so supportive of each other, so appreciative of their coaches and parents, so focused on the team rather than themselves.  Every game is someone’s night for the limelight, and everyone on the team is happy for that person. Today we all get to be happy for you and tell you THANKS for bringing the gold ball to NDA.  More importantly, thanks for being such good representatives of our school.