My three girls are good at basketball. During a decade of balling they have earned numerous trophies of skill and merit. About half of the trophies shown in the accompanying photo are for basketball, many are for soccer, with the balance for academics.

My middle girl, Sara, is an extraordinary point guard despite being what could be considered small for basketball.

On her own initiative, Sara began playing basketball in the second grade. Even then her speed and hand-eye coordination were evident. What I did not realize until her fourth grade season was that her real superpower was initiative.

For the second and third grades the youth league games were played on half courts. The goals were lowered to nine feet. She was the best on her teams and usually the best in the league. Being that they were little kids with short courts and lowered goals, I did not grasp the importance of her initiative.

My proud dad-brain could see that she dominated the games. Her obvious athleticism in full view, I did not consider the real reason why she dominated.

A leader should always consider why. (Thank you, Andy H.)

Beginning in the fourth grade, her team played on a full court with goals at the regulation height of 10 feet. More pertinent, the league allowed girls from the fourth through the eighth grade to play on the same teams. As you can imagine, there was a huge difference in size and maturity between the fourth-grade girls and the sixth, seventh or eighth graders.

Despite being tiny by comparison, I knew that Sara had the speed, ball-handling and passing skills to be an effective point guard. However, I assumed that rebounding was out of the question, until my fourth grader reminded me to…

…never underestimate anyone.

During Sara’s first game as a fourth grader, I sat a few feet from her team’s defensive basket. The other team missed a shot. The rebound came off the rim in front of me.

In a swift moment I lost sight of Sara. At her position she was on the opposite side of the mass of larger players positioning themselves for the rebound. Then, out of nowhere, Sara ran under the basket to snatch the rebound from the air. Without breaking stride, she sped down the sideline toward the offensive basket to the sweetest layup I ever witnessed; before or since.

I jumped up hollering, “That girl is a baller! That girl is a baller!”

Why was I excited about a rebound and a layup? Because in that moment I realized that Sara had that rare and valuable virtue required for a victorious life…initiative.

She was down the court with the ball before the bigger girls realized what was happening.

Over her two hundred games thru high school graduation, many people noticed the athleticism. I saw her real superpower…initiative.