Good guys don’t always finish last.
Tana Pritchard was recently named the Tacoma Athletic Commission High School Athlete of the Year, The Tacoma News Tribune Athelte of the Year, and the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete of the Year.
This past winter I traveled over to Yakima, Washington for the State Basketball Playoffs.
I went in particular to watch my good friends’ son, Tana Pritchard. Tana’s team went on to win the State title and he captured the MVP award. What was more impressive was that he seemed more concerned for the team and the fans. His ritual after every game is to head to the bleachers (win or lose) and give his mom and dad hugs.
Over a three-day period his parents were constantly approached by strangers who would tell them how impressed they were by Tana… his grace and kindness, his showing of respect to all in authority, his warmth and his fun. Before each game he would go to the center court as the Captain of his team and even the referee’s would give Tana hugs, but you never saw this happen with any other player. During one game he had just made a basket at the buzzer to end the third quarter. His coach ran out onto the floor and embraced him with great emotion. It seemed a bit odd, but when asked why, the coach said, “He is just so special.”
There are rare times in our life that we get to see the fruit of a 18 year olds life demonstrated in such a magnificent way where his life just seems to seamlessly spill over into other’s lives. In one game he received the Sportsmanship Medallion, but when a random little boy walked out onto the court and stood in front of Tana, he knelt down and placed the medal around his neck, patted him on the head and walked away leaving an indelible impression that this young boy will never forget. Parenting and prayer and lots of love and affirmation have molded this young man into someone that others are drawn to. Tana never spiritually ‘threw up” all over anyone, but the fragrance of Jesus filled every room he walked into.
