PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Give It a Rest
All of my life I have been active and when I’m on the court, I go all out, but I also know how important it is to have my body working. I spent time in a wheel chair when I was 24 years old, I’ve been on crutches a couple of times, and I’ve sprained ankles, torn ligaments and fought tendonitis and when I’m hurt it’s a lot more difficult to do the things I want to do, so I do what I can to stay healthy, which sometimes means giving my body a break.
Recently my daughter went in for her second knee surgery in less than a year. The doctors had to stitch down the meniscus and she was given a three-month timeline for getting back on the court. After her first surgery many questioned her then two-month timeline. “My meniscus tear only took 3 weeks”, “I was walking the next day.” I suggested she work hard on rehab but even more important, listen to her body. It is more important for her knee to be healed for the long run.
As athletes we must learn to really listen to our bodies. We are taught to push ourselves to the limit, to go beyond what we are capable of, that’s what good athlete’s do, but we also need to understand that our bodies are our temples, our vehicles for living the life we want to live.
Without a healthy body you can’t run the race, play the game, climb the mountain. So if your body needs it, give it a rest.
Would rest have made a difference for my daughter last year? No one knows for sure, she waited two months while doing rehab so that shouldn’t have […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Picture is Worth a Ton of Words
Use this photo as your prompt and get writing…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Developing Better Handles
I wasn’t born with very good handles. I played small forward most of my life and had to run the point from time to time, so I worked on my ball handling, but I’ve never felt terribly comfortable bringing the ball up the court against tough one-on-one defense.
I did however get better throughout my career from practice, lots of practice. And I learned after my career was over, how much the body can learn and adjust if you push it. After being in an accident and shattering my right arm (my shooting arm and favorite hand to dribble with) I had to do most everything with my left hand. And you know what? My left hand got better at everything. Way better. My body retrained itself to use my left hand. Of course once I regained use of my right I lost some of the agility because I didn’t work to keep it, but it did show me how much my body is capable of.
Sonya Elliott getting out of hospital bed to work on PT – 1991
Work on your ball handling, and even better yet, do things around the house with your off-hand. If you’re right handed, brush your teeth with your left, brush your hair, eat your cereal, drink your milk. Even do your chores, if you have them (hopefully you have them), dust, vacuum, weed. If it’s important to you, even doing these small things on a regular basis, can help your game.
So give it a try, push yourself to use your off-hand and add some new ball handling drills to your regimen while you’re at it!
For ball handling drill check out my blog, Hope for Better Ball Handling…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Taming the Beast
I miss paper!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving trees. But I miss my printed documents and card stock. My paperback novels. My non-fiction books and lifestyle magazines. And of course my newspaper and the feel of its pages between my fingers when I read my daily dose, not to mention the quanitative measure of it.
When I have the sports section in hand, I have a finite amount to read. I can sit down at my kitchen table, drink my coffee and know that in half an hour (give or take a few minutes) I will get basic local, regional and worldwide sports news. When on to the next section I know I will learn what’s happening in my community, then another section and I travel around the world. All over a nice hot drink, emphasis on hot.
News in the digital era runs my coffee cold, then empty. The amount of stories is infinite. A person can read about a subject, then link and read more, and link, and link and link and link. It has become a never-ending time suck.
And can I trust the news is real? I am never quite sure anymore (That is another blog in and of itself).
It wasn’t that long ago that I lived without it all. No internet. No Facebook. No Instagram. No Twitter. Just a lame excuse for an email. Ten years ago when my kids were in elementary school I was at a PTA meeting when the president suggested that the school no longer offer paper newsletters.
“What if a parent doesn’t have or use email?” I asked.
“Then they need to move into this century.” She replied.
I was one of those parents. I didn’t want to receive my kid’s newsletters via email because I knew […]
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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LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Better Together
This summer my kids have helped to inspire me and keep me active. In June and July it was my daughter, together we hiked, went to our local community center and lifted weights and did track workouts. This month my son and I decided to work on our abs. He suggested that we would have to pay the other person a dollar if we didn’t do an ab/core workout each day. I was in.
We did one track/ab workout and did a couple of core workouts at home. Then yesterday he suggested that we mix it up with running, push ups and yoga. I agreed. I can use all of it, how could I go wrong? I get in a workout, and get to spend time with my son. It’s a win/win.
Is there someone who you can workout with? Put together a plan to help one another stay fit, and have fun […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: The Trust Factor
My daughter and I helped at Ballard High School’s basketball camp this summer. We talked to the campers about what it means to be a good teammate. When I posed the question to the girls, they came up with lots of great ideas: encourage your teammates, cheer for your teammates, high-five your teammates. I agreed, all great ideas. Together we came up with a bunch more, and in the end I emphasized one I feel is extra important, thanking your teammates.
When I was coaching at West Seattle I encouraged our players to say thank you out loud or simply by pointing across the court to their teammate and making eye contact with them. Whatever it took to thank their teammate for a good pass, an important block out, for their help on defense, or for anything deserving of a thank you. Showing gratitude for teammates on the court helps build […]
LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Beach Bum
I live near a beach and when the kids were young almost every weekend we would walk to the beach. It was a good haul. A couple miles, but a couple miles of fun. Walking, talking and through most of the kids lifetimes, catching. We usually brought a football and once we hit the beach my husband would toss the ball to the kids and they would run and dive and catch the ball and then run it back to him like a golden retriever and then it would all start again. We loved walking to the beach.
Recently, the sun was out and my husband and I were having coffee on the front patio and I looked at him and I said, “walk/ride to the beach?” it was just the two of us, and our dog Bruno, but we did it, I walked with Bruno (I prefer to walk) and […]
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