We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. After a short break, we are excited to see our programs back in action this week. These next few weeks always seem to move quickly, but they also offer some of the best opportunities to encourage our kids, build confidence, and reinforce the habits that shape them far beyond sports.

Recently I shared a quote that has stayed with me:

“Take one more step. Then take the one you don’t think you can.”

It applies to our own story, to the story we are living as families, and to the story each young athlete is living this season. Growth almost always happens one step beyond where we feel comfortable. One step deeper in courage. One step further in trust. One step longer in perseverance.

This ties directly into Week 3 of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

Week 3 – Think Long (From The Circle Maker)

Dreams rarely grow overnight. Growth is long, slow, deep work. In Week 3, Batterson reminds us that some of the most important prayers we pray are not just for today, but for years from now.

Thinking long is about believing God is shaping something over time — in our kids, in our homes, and in us. It is about trusting that one more step, even when it feels small or unnoticed, moves us toward who we are becoming.

Thinking long requires endurance. It requires patience. And often, it requires taking the step we don’t think we can.

Meet Ray

Ray’s team had their first practice back after the holiday break, but he didn’t feel like his normal self. He missed a few shots early, lost the ball on a dribble move he usually nailed, and felt the old frustration start to creep in.

During a water break, Ray sat down and stared at the floor. His coach walked by and said quietly, “Ray, just take one more step today. And then take the step you don’t think you can.”

Ray nodded but didn’t say much. Near the end of practice, Coach set up a tough finishing drill. Ray hesitated — he didn’t want to end practice on another mistake. But he remembered the quote. He took a deep breath, jogged to the line, and stepped in.

His first rep wasn’t perfect. His second was better. His third? Solid. As practice ended, Ray realized something: the breakthrough wasn’t in the perfect rep but in taking the step he didn’t think he could take.

It was only one step. But it moved him forward.

Takeaway: Growth happens one step at a time. Help your child take one more step this week — and when they face the step they don’t think they can take, remind them that’s usually where the real growth begins.