One Saturday
I drove my son
To practice
With a new basketball coach.

Coach Wil came highly recommended,
But it was our first time
And we were both
A little bit nervous
About meeting him –
Because new things
Can make people nervous
Sometimes.

And we arrived
And my son
Laced up his shoes,
Eager to learn
And determined to do well.

But there was a moment
When he tried
To do a new drill
That Coach
Had just demonstrated.

And sometimes
We don’t do things right
The first time.

And this was
One of those times.
And he didn’t do it
Quite right.

And I watched
As he braced himself
For certain reprimand.

But instead of chastising him,
Coach smiled enthusiastically
And congratulated him:
“That was a great mistake!”
He said.

What?

He continued,
“That was a great mistake,
Because you just learned this from it!”
And he proceeded to teach my son
About what he had done wrong,
So that he could
Make adjustments
And get closer to his goal
Of doing it the right way.

And I thought
I should write that down
Because that’s great advice
For basketball
And for life.

Because there are times
That I would love it
If Someone was there
To smile,
And congratulate me
And say:
“That was a great mistake!”

Because mistakes
Become valuable
When they teach us
About what not to do
So we can adjust
And get closer to our goal
Of doing it the right way.

And I kind of think
That God feels the same way
About us
When we make mistakes.
When we’re trying
To get it right
But we aren’t getting it quite right
Yet.

“Great mistake!”
He assures us,
“And don’t worry,
I can use this for your good, too.
Keep trying.
You’ll get it.”
Because He really is
Such a great Coach.

And recently,
I asked my son
If he remembered
What the drill was,
That he did wrong
That day at practice.
And he said no.

But he definitely remembers –
As I hope he always does –
A great coach
Who said to him:

“That was a great mistake.”

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