PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Always Be Prepared
As a coach it’s important to be prepared. To be prepared for upcoming games, for your upcoming season and especially for your practices. Yet at the same time, you need to be flexible. When I was coaching I would spend a lot of time planning for the approaching season, what skills and concepts we should work on in practice and when. And though the plans often changed as the season progressed, had I not started each season with a plan, our teams would have struggled.
As an assistant coach I remember thinking that ten practice days (the mandatory practices needed to play in the first game) was plenty to get a team ready for the first game. As a head coach, there is never enough time. There is a lot to cover before that first game, especially if you have a lot of new players learning your system. As head coach I always felt rushed, yet I tried not to rush, especially when it came to the fundamentals. Make plans for your season and observe your team to make sure your players are on pace with the team goals. Are your players understanding and implementing the things you’re working on? If not, slow down and adjust. You’ll feel like you’re behind, like you won’t have enough time to get to all the things you want to cover, and you’re probably right, but that is normal.
One thing that helps is to start with the basics. I always focused on fundamentals and our basic offenses and defenses and then added more as the season progressed. There are so many things to go over in practice (even with a well established team), fundamental skills, offenses, defenses, presses, press breakers, inbound plays, and conditioning to name a […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Why Do We Write?
This week I was reading about creating, and why we do it, and what keeps us going. As a writer, it’s easy to forget, it’s easy to wonder why the hell we spend hours upon hours jotting down words and then rearranging them into unsatisfactory combinations, until we find that we kind of like them, or we give up. Oh, occasionally there are the moments when we are truly happy with the results, but that is not often and comes with a lot of work and so we wonder, why? Why do we torture ourselves this way? And then we get a reminder. Sometimes it’s a nudge, sometimes it’s a 2×4 across the head, but whatever it is, it resonates with us, and keeps up going.
That’s what happened to me when I read this one line. “We write to share.”
Ah, yes. That’s it. And it’s also the reason we sometimes don’t write, because we are afraid that what we have to share is not worth it, but it is. What I have to say, what you have to say, is worth it, for someone, maybe not for everyone, probably not for everyone, but what we write will resonate with someone out there, therefore it must be written.
So, I’ve allowed that thought to inspire me this week, to remind me that I have things to share, stories that are always whirling around in my head. Living with wonderlust and my Blue Bomber (VW Vanagon). My scattered writing life and my battle with putting words on the page. Why a high school coach needs an attorney. Raising kids (or at least trying). My life as a not-so-famous fashion model. More on surviving death and loss. My love affair with rental houses and real estate. My […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Which Defense is the Best?
Defense is my favorite part of the game and man-to-man is my favorite defense. It’s my favorite to play, my favorite to teach during practice, and my favorite to use when I’m coaching a game. I also believe that every player should be taught man-to-man and play a lot of man-to-man, even though it’s not always the perfect solution in a game.
Players and teams should be taught man-to-man because it can be effective against opponents and because when players learn man-to-man, they learn the basic fundamentals of defense. I used the “10 to Win” Westside Rules of Defense when I was coaching at West Seattle. These rules set a precedent for what was expected; for players to stay low and close out aggressive but under control, to keep their hands up and out and to read their opponents, to jump to the ball when a pass was made, to keep their man out of the middle, to read passing lanes and bump cutters, to block out, to play help defense, to talk to one another and to be ruthless when an opponent picked up their dribble, and to never get beat back.
These defensive rules are essential when playing man-to-man defense, and they elevate zone play. There is nothing worse than a 2-3 zone where five players stand in the key, arms down by their sides. This happens a lot at lower levels, when kids are not taught the man-to-man fundamentals and explained how they translate into zones. In a good zone, players bend their knees, see the ball and any players in their area, close out, bump cutters, block out, talk, you get the point, they don’t just stand in their areas.
When […]
Monday’s Pen To Paper: Finding Space to Breathe
Photo Credit: Jeff Zaruba
Wow, 2017 flew by. There were good times (those seen on Instagram) and not-so-good times, but because of the ups and downs, it was fulfilling and interesting, and a year that I wouldn’t change for the world.
However, I am always looking for ways to make life better and I believe what will do that for me in the coming year is to work on slowing life down so that I can better appreciate every moment. Relishing the positive and understanding that when shit happens, I need to breathe and take a moment to myself then move toward happiness.
It’s not easy, especially when the real bad times hit. I’ve fought to save my job, I’ve battled injuries and I’ve lost loved ones and it took a lot of strength and courage to keep moving forward. But every day life can be tough sometimes too. When terrible things happen I know I have to buck up and move on, but at time it’s the little things, the sprained wrist, the sore shoulder, the sick dog, the sick kid, the dead toaster, the flat tire, and the constant battle with laundry and dishes that drags me down.
Life can be challenging that way, even as a half-full kind of gal. I’m not a jump up and down, happy-go-lucky, big smiles all the time type person. In fact, occasionally my husband will even ask me if I had fun at a party or something we did together, and I’ll be surprised by his question, because I’ve had a great time. I just tend to keep my joy at a whisper. I see the good in life (maybe quieter than some); still there are times when I struggle to stay positive day after day after day. If […]
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.
Blog
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Can I Play? Dreaming In The Wave Of Title IX
The recent loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left me heartbroken. I didn’t have a personal connection to her, but what I know of her, I love, and I am grateful for how she fought for women’s rights and equal rights.
It is because of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (and many other strong women before my time), that I have the right to vote, that I have access to birth control, that I was able to get a credit card before I was married and that, if I want, I can buy a house without my husband’s signature, to name a few.
And of course there’s Title IX (which bans sex discrimination and sexual harassment in federally subsidized educational programs, including athletics). This 1972 Education Amendment is what opened up doors for me to play the sport I love at the next level and get a better education, and for that […]
PEN TO PAPER: Wants & Needs
There’s a feeling in my soul right now that has inspired me to blog again. Maybe I’m working through anger and frustration about what is happening in the world with the pandemic, the coming election and the onset of fires across the west coast. Or perhaps it’s simply the fact that I’m at home a lot these days. Whatever the case, I’m finally doing more writing. And I like it.
I haven’t felt such a strong urge to write for a while. Not like this. Other than my Thursday’s with Jenny, my writing time has been more of a grind. Sonya, you should work on your book. Sonya you should blog. I want to finish my book, so I sit down and write and rewrite and write some more, and I’m always glad that I do, but it’s been hard.
I love the feeling that […]
LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Tracking Your Success
At the start of the pandemic, my husband, son and I, set goals to stay in shape and do core workouts daily, so I made a chart so that we could track what we did. It worked. At least for me (the boys didn’t keep up with the chart even when they were working out). When my chart ran out, however, so did my consistent workout schedule.
I’m pretty good at letting life inspire me to get some workouts in and stay in shape, but part of staying healthy for me these days includes working on my flexibility and mind, so I’m trying to include yoga and meditation. I even added those categories to my chart, which is where the chart was really helping me.
When I was young I was always busy, playing basketball and running around. I’m still busy, just not as busy, and for some reason for me it’s easy […]
Follow Sonya