09/02/2026
🥎 CARRIEL JUNIOR HIGH 8TH GRADE NIGHT 🥎
Tomorrow Night — September 3rd
Tomorrow night we celebrate our Carriel Junior High 8th graders as they take the field for one of their final times in a Cougar uniform. 💙🐾
With only two 8th graders on the roster this season, this team has had to battle and compete with an incredibly young group. That has put a lot of responsibility on our 8th graders—not only to perform on the field, but to lead, adapt, encourage, and set the example for the younger girls around them.
Watching them grow into that responsibility has been something special.
For me personally, tomorrow could be Danika’s final home game as an 8th grader, and that definitely hits a little differently.
I’m extremely proud of the athlete she has developed into, but I’m even more proud of the growth I’ve seen beyond the stats and the plays. She has learned how to adjust when things don’t go her way, how to handle pressure, how to communicate on the field, and most importantly, how to understand that being a leader isn’t about being the best player—it’s about making the people around you better.
She is learning what it truly means when we say there is no “I” in TEAM.
I also want to give a special thank you to Coach Andrew, who has been an incredible leader for Danika over these past three seasons.
One of the things I appreciate most is that she coaches Danika HARD. She expects her to perform. She expects her to communicate. She expects her to lead. And she holds her accountable to a high standard because she knows what Danika is capable of.
To some parents, watching a coach be tough on your athlete might be difficult to understand. To me, it’s exactly what I want.
When a coach sees potential in your kid and refuses to let her settle for anything less than what she is capable of, that's a coach who is doing her job. The expectations may be tough. The conversations may not always be comfortable. But growth rarely comes from being comfortable.
So when you see Coach Andrew getting after Danika on the field, just know that as her dad, I appreciate every second of it. The results aren't just showing up in the player Danika is becoming—they're showing up in the leader and young woman she is becoming.
Thank you, Coach Andrew, for believing in her enough to demand more from her. Those lessons will stick with her long after she takes off the Cougar uniform for the final time. 💙
These moments go by way too fast. One minute they’re the young kids looking up to the older girls, and suddenly they’re the ones expected to lead the way.
So tomorrow night, COME OUT AND SUPPORT THESE YOUNG LADIES as they take the field for one of the final times wearing CARRIEL across their chest.
Make some noise. Cheer them on. And help us make their 8th Grade Night one they’ll remember.
💙🥎
Once a Cougar, always a Cougar. 🐾
