PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: From Facial Hair To Underwear: Routines, Rituals & Superstitions
I wore the same pair of underwear for all but one basketball game over my three years of middle school, and you guessed it, that one game when I didn’t wear them, we lost. And though this is way too much information already, I will clarify that yes, I did wash them between every game. This is only one indication of how crazy athletes can get when it comes to their superstitions.
If you asked me now if I really believed that it mattered what underwear I wore to the middle school games, I would say no, and even back then, if pushed, I would have said no. Yet, once it all started and the winning streak was happening I just figured it didn’t hurt. Fortunately, I didn’t continue that superstition into high school and college but I did have little rituals that guided me into game time as do most athletes.
How many times have you seen hockey, baseball or football players let their facial hair grow as they head into the playoffs trying to get that extra edge for the win, even if it means believing in supernatural intervention. Most athletes understand that superstitious actions don’t really affect the outcome of a game (Just like I didn’t really believe I needed to wear my lucky underwear), but once they put a certain ritual into play and the outcome is good, they often choose to continue with the ritual. Dr. Michaéla Schippers a co-author of “The Psychological Benefits of Superstitious Rituals in Top Sport: A Study Among Top Sportspersons* states that athletes often know that superstitious rituals are not rational, but since on a top-level the differences are so small, they think they can’t afford to take the risk to abandon the superstition.
According […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL & PEN TO PAPER: Writing Wisdom
When I was coaching I gave journals to all of my players and to the kids who came to our summer camps. I found that writing was a good way for them to set personal goals, learn about team concepts and discover things about themselves and each other.
Some players cherished their journals and even brought them home and used them on their own throughout the season. Others simply left them in their lockers for the times when we had organized writing exercises and goal settings. But I loved that every time we wrote in the journals, noses went straight to the page and pens where scratching away. The girls had things to say, thoughts to be written. I believe that all the players and campers benefitted from the experience in one way or another as it gave them the opportunity to delve into their thoughts on the importance of teamwork, attitude and work ethic, and also gave them a space for personal introspection and self-evaluation.
For the high school teams, I had the players write down basketball goals as well as some life goals, and then I tried to give a variety of thought provoking writing prompts. I used questions like: What does team mean to you? Give three things that you can do to help our team be successful this year. Name three goals you have for this season. What steps will you take to achieve these goals? What are three goals (non-basketball related) that you would like to accomplish this year in school? What would you like to be doing in five years? There are so many options to get your team thinking.
Journaling for campers (4th– 8thgraders) was similar, I just added questions that were a little easier to answer and to discuss if the girls wanted to. I […]
PEN TO PAPER: Working Inspiration
Are you looking for something to write about? Try writing a list poem of the jobs you’ve had over your lifetime and see what happens.
In a recent conversation with a friend, I explained how I bought one house in a short sale and then used a 1031 Exchange to find a house in a better neighborhood. Over the evening my past as a forklift driver and a Licensed Massage Therapist came up. She knew me as a fashion model. She laughed, “I’d like to see a list of all the jobs you’ve had.”
My Jobs
Deli Worker
Forklift Driver
Retail Sales Person
Pizza Delivery Person
Waitress
Fashion Model
Basketball Coach
Apartment Manager
Licensed Massage Therapist
School Volunteer
PeaceLoveBasketball Design/Owner
Writer/Author
Public Speaker
Real Estate Investor/ Rental manager
Mom
A poem? Well, not really, but a dredger of stories for sure. Just writing the list brought back all kinds of memories, and all sorts of possibilities. Give it a try!
WRITING PROMPT 1: Write a list of all the jobs you’ve had in your lifetime.
WRITING PROMPT 2: Pick one (or two) of them and keep on writing.
PEN TO PAPER: The Process of Perfection
Sixteen years ago I built a deck onto a rental house. It took time, I had never built a deck before. My tenants, two young women who were published authors, were in awe of what I was doing. They would peer out the back door from time to time and say, “That is so cool, I want to build a deck someday.” I was working to write my memoir at the time and thought, I want to publish a book someday. Instead I was wasting precious writing time with my nose in my Home Depot deck book, planning and building.
I love to write, yet it’s often hard to sit down and do it. Why is that? Could it be that life gets in the way? Sometimes. Is it fear that perhaps what I’m writing isn’t good enough? Quite possibly. And for me it has a little bit to do with the fact that I feel satisfaction when I’m using my body, so when I’m working on a blog or my book, I feel like I’m not “doing” anything, like I’m wasting time.
Of course when I’m writing I know I’m not wasting time, but the process can seem never-ending and fruitless. That perfect poem, that perfect essay, that perfect sentence, seems to elude me and there is a reason for this, nothing is ever perfect. Perfection is simply what we strive for but it’s not the real goal. The real goal is a story that can be shared. And when we get the results we want down on paper it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.
I’m working to appreciate the journey of creating a story. I remind myself daily that the pieces I write will not be perfect, just as life is not […]
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PEN TO PAPER: VOTE!
The election is coming up quick, so I am writing this blog to encourage people to vote. If you read my blog you know that I am concerned about women’s rights and equal rights, I am pro-choice, I believe in science and I am deeply concerned about the environment, so my vote goes to Joe Biden. Most of you have already decided who you will vote for in this election, but if you are on the fence, I’ve included a chart of news sources and links to check out, because getting your voice heard is important, and being informed from a broad base of news sources is equally important. It doesn’t matter whether you are democrat or republican, what matters is that we bring the nation together. Young, old, white, black, women, men, Buddhist, Catholic, gay, straight, and everything in between. We are all people.
When I was young I wasn’t […]
Life Inspired Fitness: Inspired by de Tour
Watching the Tour de France last month inspired me. I’m not out biking every day in a yellow jersey, or trying to be King of the Mountain, but I had fun following the stages and learning more about the race. And it got me excited about pulling out my bike the next sunny day. I of course know about the race, I know of Lance Armstrong (his cancer, his comeback and the controversy around him) and I’ve watched parts of the race over my lifetime. I know that the race has many stages (twenty-one to be exact), and that the winner of each stage gets to wear the yellow jersey. But that was about it.
This year I checked the leaders each day (2020 overall winner was Tadej Pogacar), and learned that with each race, a rider can win the green jersey as well as a polka dot jersey. The green jersey […]
PEN TO PAPER: Reboot
I used to post a pen to paper, that included a writing prompt, every Monday. It was always a good way for me to kickstart my writing for the week, so I’ve decided to go back to that routine. If you’re a writer please join me. If you’re not a writer, you can join me too. It can be fun to ponder writing prompts even if you don’t have time to write (though it only take 5-10 mins).
I like to give a couple of prompts, but if the prompts I give don’t spark your interest, feel free to use your own. Or if you can’t decide, my friend Jenny and I often grab the nearest book, open it up and set our finger on the page and go with the closest word or phrase. The key is to simpy write.
Write on!
WRITING PROMPT #1: What does reboot mean to you?
WRITING PROMPT […]
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