Desert Holiday Classic

December 27-30, 2023 hosted by Rancho Mirage HS. For invite or sponsorship opportunities please email [email protected]

[Desert Holiday Classic @RMHInvitational]

@Jefersonnasa_ Amazing!!!

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Curt Cignetti shares a universal truth about habits and consequences.

"In life - you got freedom of choice, but not freedom of consequence."

"First you form your habits, then your habits form you."

Every choice and action you take compounds. The small decisions you make daily - preparation, work ethic, and how you respond - those become your habits.

And over time, those habits become your identity.

You're free to choose. But the consequences of those choices aren't optional.

Your habits are shaping who you become.
(🎥IU Athletics )

[Desert Holiday Classic @RMHInvitational]

@LACourtReport Sub

[Coach Jeff Barnes @JeffBarnes52]

As an AD, one of the biggest challenges is understanding what athletes and parents truly want. Everyone says they want to win, but too often the communication I receive is centered around why practice is being missed, why workouts can’t happen, or why the commitment isn’t possible.

Winning is rarely about what happens on game day, it’s built in the unseen hours of preparation, consistency, and sacrifice. You cannot claim to want success while consistently avoiding the work required to achieve it.

Too often, “we want to win” really means “we want the rewards of winning without the discomfort of earning it.” When that gap exists, the blame often shifts to the coach instead of the habits.

Great programs are built when athletes, parents, and coaches all align in understanding that commitment comes before results. Wanting to win and being willing to do what it takes to win are two very different things.

[Desert Holiday Classic @RMHInvitational]

@coachmanfredi @FHSAthletics2 @SacBee_JoeD @cifsjs @WCPSacramento Congratulations!!!

[Mike Bales 🫡🇺🇸 @MikeBales]

He opened a food truck, and nobody came. For three weeks. Not a single customer. He parked on a different street every day, hoping to find his crowd.

Nothing.

Day twenty-two, he was about to drive home when a homeless man knocked on his window and said,
“What do you sell?” He said, “Tacos.” The man said, “I don’t have money.” He said, “I don’t have customers, so we’re even.” He made him three tacos. The man sat on the curb and ate them.

Then the man said something that changed everything: “You’re parked in the wrong spot. Nobody walks here after 5. Move three blocks east.”

He moved. He sold out the next day. His first customer was a man with no money and the best business advice he had ever received. The man eats free at his truck every single day. His staff knows: if he shows up, he eats, no questions.

The man who couldn’t afford a taco built a business that serves 300 people a day because he made him three for free, and he told him where to park.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 🙏🏻

[Jim Shapiro @jimshapiro]

33 years coaching high school football, all at the same school.

If I cloud go back to my 21 year old self, I’d tell him to relax. It’s less about X’s and O’s and more about Jimmy’s and Joes.

Make practice fun and competitive.

Make practice the best part of their day.

Celebrate the little wins.

Enjoy each day. Someday it will be your last.

[j wall ✡ @jwhaifa]

My daughter got detention for defending her late Marine father — but when FOUR MEN IN UNIFORM walked into the school the next day, the entire building went silent.
"Mrs. Harrison, you have to understand: Grace’s behavior was completely UNACCEPTABLE. We respect your husband’s service to this country, but..." her teacher said.
My 14-year-old daughter sat beside me, her eyes glassy.
The day before, one of her classmates had made a joke about Grace not having a father.
He was a Marine. Grace was only three when we lost him.
So when that girl laughed and said, "Maybe your dad just didn’t want to come back," something inside Grace snapped.
She shot to her feet so fast that her chair slammed to the floor.
Through tears, she shouted,
"My dad was a HERO. Don’t you ever talk about him like that again!"
She was the one who got detention.
She barely said a word the whole way home. That night, I found her sitting on the floor in my husband’s old sweatshirt.
"I’m sorry I got in trouble," she whispered. "I just couldn’t let her say that about him."
My heart cracked wide open.
The next morning, the school called an emergency assembly.
I assumed it had something to do with Spirit Week. A few minutes after the first bell, Grace texted me from the auditorium.
Then my phone rang.
"Mom..." she whispered, her voice shaky. "You need to come."
I stood up so fast I knocked over my coffee.
"What happened? Grace, are you okay?"
There was a long silence on the other end.
"Mom... four men in uniform just walked into the school."
"Hide right now. What’s happening? I’m calling the police!"
But Grace laughed.
"No, Mom, they’re not doing anything bad. You have no idea WHAT JUST HAPPENED! Just get here, please!" she said, before the line went dead.
I didn't bother grabbing my purse. I threw my keys into the ignition, my heart hammering against my ribs, and sped to the high school. When I burst through the double doors of the auditorium, I stopped dead in my tracks.
The room, packed with over eight hundred teenagers, was completely, eerily silent.
Down the center aisle stood four imposing figures in impeccable Marine Corps Dress Blues. The brass buttons caught the overhead lights, and their crisp white covers were tucked sharply under their arms. I recognized the man at the front immediately. It was Staff Sergeant Miller—my late husband’s closest friend and squad leader. I had called him in tears the night before, just needing someone who understood the weight of the disrespect Grace had faced. I hadn't expected him to do *this*.
The principal, Mr. Davis, stood awkwardly at the podium, looking completely out of his depth.
Staff Sergeant Miller didn't wait for permission to speak. He stepped up to the front, taking the microphone from the stand, and his booming, authoritative voice echoed through the massive room.
"We apologize for the interruption, Principal Davis," Miller said, though his tone suggested he wasn't sorry at all. "But we received word that a young lady in this school was being disciplined for defending the honor of a fallen United States Marine."
A collective gasp rippled through the student body. The teacher who had given Grace detention slunk back into her seat in the front row, her face turning crimson.
Miller’s heavy gaze swept across the bleachers. "Where is Grace Harrison?"
Grace stood up slowly from the middle row, still wearing her dad’s oversized sweatshirt.
"Come down here, Grace," Miller commanded gently.
As she walked down the bleacher steps, the three other Marines broke formation and fell perfectly into step behind her, creating an impromptu honor guard. They escorted her to the center of the floor.
Miller turned to face the silent crowd. "Captain Mark Harrison didn't just 'not want to come back.' He gave his life pulling three wounded men out of a burning transport vehicle in the middle of a firefight. I know, because I was one of those men. None of us standing here today would be breathing if it weren't for Grace's father."
The silence in the room was absolute. You could have heard a pin drop. A few rows up, the girl who had made the cruel joke the day before was staring at her shoes, visibly crying.
Miller turned back to Grace and dropped to one knee, bringing himself to eye level with her. He pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a gleaming Challenge Coin from their old unit.
"Grace," he said, his voice thick with emotion but loud enough for the microphone to carry. "Your father was the bravest man I ever knew. You stood your ground yesterday, just like he would have. You protected his honor, and now, his squad is here to protect yours. We have your back. Always."
He pressed the heavy metal coin into her palm, stood up, and then all four Marines snapped a crisp, perfectly unified salute to my fourteen-year-old daughter.
Tears streamed down Grace's face, but they weren't tears of anger or shame anymore. She stood tall, squared her shoulders, and returned a clumsy but beautiful salute of her own.
Suddenly, from the back row of the bleachers, a single student stood up and started clapping. Then another. Within seconds, the entire auditorium erupted into a deafening standing ovation. Even Mr. Davis and the teachers were on their feet.
I hurried down the aisle, wiping away my own tears, and wrapped Grace in a massive hug. Staff Sergeant Miller tipped his head to me, a fierce, protective glint in his eye.
Before we could leave the building, Principal Davis rushed over to us in the hallway. He looked thoroughly chastised.
"Mrs. Harrison, Grace," he stammered, wringing his hands. "I... I want to formally apologize. The detention has been completely wiped from her record. We will be handling the bullying incident with the other student appropriately, and frankly, I think our staff needs a heavy refresher on empathy."
Grace squeezed the coin in her hand, looking up at the four men in uniform who had dropped everything to stand by her side. She didn't need to say a word. The message had been delivered loud and clear.
Captain Mark Harrison had left a legacy of courage behind, and that day, an entire school learned exactly what it meant to be a hero's daughter.

[Blake Arthur @BlakeArthur24]

There it is! The AmEx lives on! See you next year! @KESQ @kendallkesq @Tarp1969 @PGAWESTGOLF @LaQuintaCA @PGATOUR @PGATOURComms

[♡⃝ @wine_x13]

I was sitting in my car crying in the Target parking lot. Just got the call. Didn't get the job. Third interview that month. Rejection after rejection. Felt like I'd never catch a break. This old man knocked on my window. Startled me. He was holding something. I rolled down the window. "Sorry to bother you dear, but you dropped this." Handed me a twenty dollar bill. I looked at it confused. "That's not mine." He smiled. "Yes it is. You
dropped it getting out of your car. Have a better day." Walked away before I could argue.
I knew what he did. There was no twenty. He saw me crying and wanted to help without embarrassing me. Sat there holding that twenty dollar bill sobbing even harder. But different tears. Good ones.
Used it to buy groceries that week when I was almost out of food. Got a job two weeks later. Better than the one I didn't get.
First paycheck I withdrew a twenty. Kept it in my wallet. Waited for the right moment.
Found it a month later. Woman at the gas station. Card declined. Counting change. Crying quietly. Walked over. "Excuse me. You dropped this." Handed her the twenty. She looked confused. "I don't think—" "You dropped it by your car. Have a better day." Walked away like that old man did.
Saw her face in my rearview mirror. Same tears I had. The good kind.

[Crazy Vibes @CrazyVibes_1]

I’ve been a third-grade teacher for twelve years. You learn a lot about a kid not by how they read, but by how they act in the cafeteria.

Two months ago, I had a new student transfer into my class. Let’s call him Leo. Leo was eight, small for his age, with shoes that were a size too big and a smile that never quite reached his eyes.

Every day at 11:30 AM, Leo would sit at the end of the lunch table. He received the free hot lunch from the cafeteria—usually a slice of pizza, an apple, and a carton of milk. But I noticed something strange. He never ate the pizza. He would eat the apple, drink half the milk, and then carefully wrap the pizza in a paper towel and slip it into his backpack.

By 2 PM, he would be completely exhausted, struggling to keep his head up during math.

On a Friday, I kept him inside for a few minutes during recess. I asked him gently why he wasn't eating his main meal. He looked at the floor, his cheeks turning bright red, and mumbled, "My little sister doesn't go to school yet. She gets hungry around 3 o'clock. I bring it home for her."

My heart dropped into my stomach. This eight-year-old boy was sitting in my classroom, starving himself all afternoon so his toddler sister wouldn't have to cry from hunger at home.

If I called the office or made a big deal out of it, I knew he would feel ashamed. Kids carry pride just like adults do; it’s just packaged differently.

The following Monday, I brought my lunch to the cafeteria and sat across from him. I opened my lunchbox and let out a dramatic, frustrated sigh.

"Leo, you won't believe this," I complained, holding up a massive, overstuffed turkey and cheese sandwich and a bag of pretzels. "My husband packed my lunch today, and he put mayonnaise on this. I absolutely hate mayonnaise. I can't eat this."

Leo looked at the sandwich, his eyes wide.

"I'll tell you what," I said, leaning in like we were making a secret deal. "If you give me your apple, I'll trade you this whole sandwich and the pretzels. Deal?"

He hesitated, looking for the catch, before slowly sliding his apple across the table.

I took a bite of the apple, and he devoured the sandwich in three minutes flat. He still wrapped his cafeteria pizza in a paper towel for his sister. But for the rest of the day, he had energy. He raised his hand. He laughed.

We made that "trade" every single day for the rest of the semester. My husband never actually packed my lunch, and I love mayonnaise.

Charity isn't about grand gestures or writing big checks. Sometimes, true generosity is just eating a cafeteria apple so a little boy can be a kid again, instead of a provider.

Anonymous

[Miles Commodore @miles_commodore]

Do you remember this high school basketball team?

[Desert Holiday Classic @RMHInvitational]

@Tarek_Fattal Looks like fun!!!

[LA Court Report @LACourtReport]

The Mater Dei Monarchs celebrating their championship at the Desert Holiday Classic

[Desert Holiday Classic @RMHInvitational]

15-0 Corona Del Mar down 3 with three to go!!! @DesertSunSports

[LA Court Report @LACourtReport]

Tuesday Schedule at the Rancho Mirage Desert Holiday Classic

[SVSJ-Rhett Workman @snovalleysports]

@mountsihoops rebounds at @RMHInvitational and now has shot to go to tourney title game again!

https://t.co/lhd1ZLYPI1

[B & N Productions @bandnproduction]

Join us today for Day 2 coverage of the
@RMHInvitational. We will have coverage from Rancho Mirage Gym 1

https://t.co/la4wdpiUFk Schedule on next posts

Watch LIVE streaming on

@NFHSNetwork

[Desert Sun Sports @DesertSunSports]

Players to watch at the 2025 Desert Holiday Classic https://t.co/tJInBCyYwb