Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Mother’s Love
I’d like to share an excerpt from my memoir, Back on the Court. In this piece, I am 25 years old and have recently been released from the hospital after being in a tragic accident where my fiancé was killed and I was critically injured. I am being moved into my parent’s house just days before I was supposed to be getting married…
A Mother’s Love
One more sip of water and I swear I’ll puke. I’m about to burst and I’m buzzing on a Percocet high that keeps me floating in this unwanted nightmare. More water means another trip to the bathroom, which means another transfer and more pain.
Slumping forward in my wheelchair, I drop my head and close my eyes. My water glass sits untouched. The air behind me thickens, and then dissipates slowly as mom lets out a muffled sigh and walks heavy footed down the hall to the bathroom. She’s unnerved, but I’ve had four large glasses already today, this one can wait.
I’ve been eating, sleeping, and sitting in this house for 13 days now and I want out. I’m with people I love, but I don’t care. I hate my mom for taking a leave of absence from work and being with me all day, for trying to help me get better.
I hate the way the gold wire rims of her glasses accent her caring eyes.
I hate the way she cooks my favorite foods and tries to mask her disappointment when I don’t show any enthusiasm.
I hate the way she manages to think of my every need before I do, as a good mother should. And she is a good mother, a great mother, and right now I hate her for that.
Mom walks back into the kitchen […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: AAU, Summer Camp or Sun Bath? What To Do This Summer?
Are you (or one of your kids) a high school basketball player or athlete? Then what you choose to do over the summer is a valid question and the answer is not always a simple one. The answer comes from a more important question, what do you want? Do you want to work on your game and become a better basketball player? Then you have some options. First, attending a few individual camps is a good way to get some specific work done. You get college level coaches and players working with you to become better, and nothing is more powerful. I had a blast when I went away to camp when I was young. We played a few games of course, but I got a lot of skill work in and I improved a ton. The drills helped my game and I had fun living away from home for a week, meeting other players and working with new coaches. I loved it.
Team camps are a little different, they are good team building but not as good for work on the fundamentals of the game, which is a big change since I was young. When I went to a team camp, we did skill work all day and a few games with our teammates at night. Now Team camps are mostly games, games and more games. Good yes, but practicing is how you become a better player, so it was a little disappointing when I took one of my teams a few years ago and there was no individual work. Still the girls got to know one another better on the court and had fun, so it was worth it.
Playing AAU gives you a ton of game time but is often more […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Knowledge is Power
My tennis lesson this week was a reminder in coaching. A reminder on how important it is to understand what level you are coaching, and to coach to that level. Don’t assume that all your players know what you are talking about, especially if they are new to your program, or camp, or training. Be sure to ask questions and explain the little things.
Make sure that everyone is on the same page.
When using sport specific vocabulary take extra care. Yes, kids and adults can usually figure out what you’re talking about on their own. I figured out that the service line was not the line that you serve behind this week at tennis and when I was a kid I eventually learned what sideout meant when I joined volleyball in high school (though this one took me a while), but help your players out, build their knowledge. When coaching, try to read your players, if you notice a questioning look, address it. There may be others who learn from that teaching moment.
Take care not to bore player with long explanations. There is nothing worse. Eyes will glaze over and players will tune out. I know what I am asking is not an easy task, and I was not perfect at it (you can ask some of my players). Just do your best to keep explanations short and to the point, but get them in there, and then keep your practice moving.
Remember knowledge is power.
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Try Something New
I had my first tennis lesson today. This is new for me, because although I volley with my husband for exercise on occasion during the summer, I’ve never officially played the game. And though I’ve managed to get by with athleticism and my junior high school PE class knowledge, I thought it would be nice to step up my game (and get a good workout in the process).
Originally I was thinking about signing up for road races, but I’ve been fighting false sciatica for almost a year and have a hard time running. So I landed on tennis as a good option. It would be competitive (which I like) and since I’ve got a lot to learn, I have room to grow, to get better. Do I remember how to score? Kind of. Love,15, 30, 40, Duce, add in/add out, game? Something like that. Do I know how to correctly hold the racket? Not exactly. Did I know what my instructor was talking about during the lesson? Some of the time. But when she asked me to go to the service line, I went to the baseline thinking that’s were you serve the ball. Right? Wrong. But even though I looked a little lost and more like a basketball player, not a tennis player, I held my own.
My racquet is another story. It was given to me by my boyfriend over twenty-five years ago. The instructor checked it out and then loaned me a different one, but the new racquet was so light I kept missing the ball. I went back to my weighted Pro Kennex and, with relief, was able to hit. Although now I’m typing with ice on my shoulder (maybe the lighter racquet would have been better).
The good news […]
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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Monday’s Pen to Paper: Home Sweet Poem
My daughter was home for spring break and we made a point to write together. She is a Creative Writing major in college so there is nothing sweeter than sitting down at my computer and looking across from me to see her poised at her Mac ready to write. We usually start with some prompts (she has a page on Pinterest gathered specifically for this purpose), and then move on to our blogs or other writing that we’re working on.
On one of our prompts we decided to write a poem. She wrote a poem recently for her college class that really moved me. It’s a poem directly addressing America as a person. I find her work so powerful, but poetry scares me. The last time I learned anything about poetry was during my grade school English class, I’m 50 […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Hope for Better Ball Handling
Some people just have a natural feel for the ball but even if you start out with great ball handling skills there is always room for improvement. And if you are a player like me, a player who has never been terribly comfortable handling the ball, there is still hope. It’s called hard work.
If you put in the time, you will improve. I spent most of my career putting extra time on the court, and though to this day I’m still not very graceful with the ball, I can get the job done. When I was in college, I could help get the ball up the court against a press if I had to, and I actually loved running a fast break. And that’s only because I worked at it.
I’m still not crazy about bringing the ball up the court. I spent my life […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Dancing at the Tournament
It’s tournament time! Both the boy’s and girl’s team at West Seattle, where I used to coach, are headed that way. I can’t wait to cheer them on. When I was coaching, playoffs, League, Districts and the State Tournament meant a different kind of fun, a hunker in and take a closer look at our team type of fun. What makes us successful? How do we build on that and make our base stronger? Of course, I studied our opponents but in the end I focused on our team, our fundamentals and our strengths. As my father-in-law (Hall of Fame Coach) used to say when it was time for State, “Dance with the girl who brung ya’.” (Read more)
Go West Seattle Wildcats!
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