Four years ago, our daughter headed upstairs looking like the high school senior that she was. A while later, she came back down looking like the Golden Girl she was hoping to become. And off we headed to CoMo to her first Golden Girl College Prep Clinic.
Several such clinics followed, and finally tryouts. After finals, she raced home for prom, and to monitor social media to see if she made the team. She had barely arrived at the Arrowhead Club for the dance when the announcement was posted. A loud cheer was heard from her high school classmates, and an MIZ-ZOU chant filled the air.
Our daughter was a Golden Girl!
And she was off and dancing. There were several appearances before she attended her first class. The KC Zoo. Tiger Caravan. Columbia business events. Summer practice. Band Week. Freshman Tiger Walk. Then came football, and a 93-degree scorcher for the opener, with fans, band members, cheerleaders, and Golden Girls falling like flies.
Her mother and I tried not to miss a performance over the ensuing four years. Women’s and men’s basketball. Competition dance events. Tournament games. Road football (Kentucky, Georgia and Fort Worth this year were a blast). We took it all in.
There were challenges along the way. The coach of 22 years, who selected our daughter to the squad, was fired. Veteran teammates were cut. Covid. Scholarship money (small as it was) was virtually eliminated. But those were minor. The Girls now have strong champions on their side with AD Desiree Reed-Francois and President Mun Choi. In fact, this year we made Dr. Choi an honorary #GoldenGirlDad, and Desiree gave a shoutout to our daughter in her May Update email.
Recently, we attended our final year-end banquet for the Senior Seven, and this weekend was commencement for each. It was a helluva fun ride, Tiger fans. Thanks for taking good care of our Girl!
Several such clinics followed, and finally tryouts. After finals, she raced home for prom, and to monitor social media to see if she made the team. She had barely arrived at the Arrowhead Club for the dance when the announcement was posted. A loud cheer was heard from her high school classmates, and an MIZ-ZOU chant filled the air.
Our daughter was a Golden Girl!
And she was off and dancing. There were several appearances before she attended her first class. The KC Zoo. Tiger Caravan. Columbia business events. Summer practice. Band Week. Freshman Tiger Walk. Then came football, and a 93-degree scorcher for the opener, with fans, band members, cheerleaders, and Golden Girls falling like flies.
Her mother and I tried not to miss a performance over the ensuing four years. Women’s and men’s basketball. Competition dance events. Tournament games. Road football (Kentucky, Georgia and Fort Worth this year were a blast). We took it all in.
There were challenges along the way. The coach of 22 years, who selected our daughter to the squad, was fired. Veteran teammates were cut. Covid. Scholarship money (small as it was) was virtually eliminated. But those were minor. The Girls now have strong champions on their side with AD Desiree Reed-Francois and President Mun Choi. In fact, this year we made Dr. Choi an honorary #GoldenGirlDad, and Desiree gave a shoutout to our daughter in her May Update email.
Recently, we attended our final year-end banquet for the Senior Seven, and this weekend was commencement for each. It was a helluva fun ride, Tiger fans. Thanks for taking good care of our Girl!
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