Beast Blog Series: The Job I’ve Been Trusted With – Part 1

What I Can’t Control

There’s a lot they don’t tell you when you get your dream job.

When I was hired as the new head coach for the Madill High School Girls Basketball team, I was excited, grateful, and ready to go to work. But as soon as the news got out, the reality of the job began to hit me from all sides. And one of the toughest pills to swallow? Watching a few long time athletes transfer out of the program before I even really had a chance to coach them.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take it personal.
I know, logically, I shouldn’t. Players and families make decisions for all kinds of reasons—some I’ll understand, and some I won’t. Still, there’s this quiet voice that asks, “Is it because of me?”
It stings. Because I care.

But here’s what I’m learning fast: There’s a difference between what hurts and what you can control.

I can’t control who stays or who goes. I can’t control what people assume about me before they’ve seen the work I put in.
But what I can control?
How I show up.
How I coach.
And how I lead.

So that’s exactly what I’m choosing to do.

I’m choosing to pour everything I’ve got into the young women who’ve stayed in this program. The ones who didn’t flinch. The ones who said, “Coach, we’re here.”
They deserve my full attention, my belief, and my best effort. And they’ll get it.

This small town may not always get the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something special here. That doesn’t mean we can’t build a culture that earns respect—on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

To the players who stayed: thank you. I see you.
To the ones who left: I wish you nothing but success.
To the community watching: I know I have to earn it. And I plan to.

This is the job I’ve been trusted with—and I don’t take that lightly.

– Coach Carlos Humphrey
Beast Basketball Blog Series: “The Job I’ve Been Trusted With”