This letter, submitted by the head coach of the boys’ varsity basketball team, Chris Schultz, reflects on the team’s completed season.

Forest Gump once articulated, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” I can’t think of a better statement for the 2008-09 boys’ varsity basketball team at Fresno Christian.

There were a lot of expectations that the coaching staff and I had for this year’s team. After struggling the past two years to produce many victories, we believed that our efforts in the summer and the off-season program would help us be a very competitive and successful team this year.

With a host of veterans returning and a group of JV players who had a great previous season, we were confident that we would have talent, depth and experience. Yet as the season unfolded, we opened up our box of chocolates and found something very different than what we had assumed.

This year we lost eight players who we thought were going to be part of the varsity basketball team. A couple kids transferred, two decided not to play, another two were academically ineligible and then two who could play blew out their knees. These were good, talented and experienced kids.

They would have definitely helped us as a team and our pursuit of competing at the highest level possible. But they ended not being able to participate or play this year. We ended up playing the majority of the season with eight remaining players. With those kids we experienced illness and injury that at times forced us to play games with six or seven players. I couldn’t have scripted a more bizarre and unfortunate script for our season.

Yet through all the trials, setbacks and disappointments, I had the most enjoyment I’ve ever had as a coach. Why? Because I ended up with eight young men who worked hard, stayed together and enjoyed one another.

We didn’t end up achieving all the goals we had for the season or winning as many games as I thought we were capable of. But we played hard and never gave up. The boys were willing to go through this season with just each other because they believed in one another and were committed to giving their best to each other every day.

And along the way we played some good basketball. I’ll always remember the Mendota game in which we basically played with six players and trailed by 8 points in the fourth quarter. With 12 seconds left on the clock we put the ball into the hands of Landon Martens [’10] and he executed the play we called to perfection and made a tough layup to win the game for us.

The celebration of that victory was tame compared to the jubilation that exploded from the bench when Michael Raymer [’09] heaved a three-pointer from his hip and, defying the laws of science and mathematics, miraculously banked in a shot to defeat Parlier by one point. This was a Parlier team that had won 14 games in a row and lost only to Division I teams and Fowler.

We followed that win up with an outstanding effort against Riverdale, who had defeated us only weeks earlier. These were victories that the boys earned by their hard work, execution and willingness to never give up.

There are plenty of other memories that go beyond the basketball court: trips to San Diego and San Luis during Christmas breaks; the pre-game meals after school that turned into confessional time for us; the early morning practices that the boys hated but always showed up for; the scooter; and the end-of-the-year meal at Worlds Sports Caf