Monday’s Pen to Paper: Reminders of this Precious Life
I love fall. The crisp air, the change in the color of the trees, the different angle of light that is cast by the sun in the cloudless sky. The urge to hunker in a bit, to drink more tea, to connect with myself again after the frenzy of summer. These are just a few of the things that I love, yet fall is one of the most difficult times of the year for me, which honestly, kind of pisses me off.
I can be out walking my dogs and breathing in the cool air, minding my own business, and be brought to tears. It has been many years since I lost a loved one in the fall, but as you may know, there is always a place deep inside one’s heart where there is sadness, along with the happy memories, when someone you love dies. A scar. A wound that heals over time and allows you continue living, but a scar nonetheless.
So every once in a while, sadness will sneak up on you. You might have to bite your lip when you hear a certain song or smell a certain smell. I often feel a tightness in my chest when I smell fresh-cut grass. And there is just something about the fall air that gets me. That beautiful clean crisp air is the same air I breathed the day I lost my fiancé. The same day that I thought my life was over.
But my life wasn’t over and I learned that it was okay to allow myself to feel the pain and use that ache in my heart as a reminder of how precious life is. It is the fall, and the conflict it brings within my heart, that continues to […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Offense sells the tickets. Defense wins the games.
Sonya Gaubinger Elliott – Eastern Washington University – 1987
A quote that has always been a driving force in the way I play basketball, and coach basketball, is, “Offense sells the tickets. Defense wins the games.” I LOVE defense. I love playing it, and there is nothing better than coaching or watching a team that plays intense and cohesive team defense.
Personally, I was not born a good shooter, which may have something to do with my preference for defense. But even as my shooting improved with practice, my defense is what got me into the game, and made things happen on the court, and I always had it to focus on if my shot was off. You can always play tough defense if you’ve got heart and hustle. And when you play tough defense, it will spread like wildfire to your teammates. And when each and every player on a team is working together, it is a beautiful thing.
When you’re on the court make sure to put as much, or more, energy into the game when you are on the defensive end of the court (or if you’re a coach emphasize defense), because if the other team can’t score, the final score will of course, be in your favor.
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
I love using a photograph or a painting as a writing prompt. You know the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, you don’t need to go the full 1000, but take a look at this photo a let your mind and pen go wild.
WRITING PROMPT: Look at the photo above and write.
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Practice + Heart + Hustle = Reaching Your Dreams
Since becoming a parent, I’ve realized that, to a certain degree, each and every one of us is hardwired at birth. Born with certain tendencies. My son and daughter have different wiring, different ways about doing things, even though they were raised in the same house. But no matter your hardwiring, there’s an equation to living that will help you in following your hopes and dreams, practice plus a whole lot of heart and hustle.
If, for example, your dream is to make the varsity basketball team for your school, you’ve got to put the work in, practice. Get up early, or stay up late, and go to the YMCA or the closest park to shoot and work on your ball handling, expand your knowledge and go to camps or ask your coach for help, go to open gyms and consider select team options, put in the work. If you want to write a book, write, take classes, read books, put in the work. If you want to learn a language, take lessons and practice, put in the work. You get the idea.
And then there is Heart and Hustle. These make all the difference in the world when you’re on the basketball court. Playing with heart means pushing yourself to be your best, as well as inspiring your teammates. Playing with heart moves you to go above and beyond, to fill the lane every time down the court, to trap like the Tasmanian Devil, to dive after loose balls. Heart and hustle will get you through the good and bad of each and every practice. If you play with heart, win or loose, you will leave a game with no regrets. Don’t get me wrong, you may have wanted to play better, […]
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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PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Old Man Strong
There is something to be said for experience. When I play basketball these days, physically I can’t keep up with the girls who are half my age, but there are times I still feel strong. Not in the way that I pull down rebounds or run the court, but in my knowledge of the game, my understanding of what makes a winning team. When my son can’t get the upper hand wrestling against my husband, he complains, “It’s not fair, you’re ‘Old Man Strong.’”
Old Man Strong = Experience.
My husband is a three-time state wrestling champion and a former college athlete. He has muscle memory and more important a history and knowledge of how to use his body. A different but very real strength that is often more powerful than the ability to lift more weight.
Why am I telling you all of this? […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Because You Can
Injuries suck. I’ve been babying a bad wrist and knee all summer. These injuries make everything hard to do, the chores and the fun stuff. My daughter has been rehabilitating a knee injury. This morning when we were working out together she said, “I can’t stand doing the elliptical machine, not playing basketball is killing me.” Boy, do I know what she means, there is nothing like playing a game of basketball or doing something that you love to get your workout in. And unfortunately, most people don’t truly understand this until the time comes when they can no longer play.
My husband hasn’t been able to play much basketball for quite some time because he has bad knees, but recently he hurt his back and he couldn’t do anything at all for about three months. Since his recovery, he has been working […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Blocking Out
Yesterday morning when I was playing basketball a teammate of mine went flying by me to the hoop when a shot went up by the other team. I on the other hand was stepping toward my man to block him out (also known as boxing out). I was taught that it didn’t matter if I got a rebound only that my man should not get it. If everyone on your team has this mentality in the end, someone on your team will get the rebound, because by blocking out, the defense has control and have better position to get to the ball.
Blocking out consistently is not an easy task and not an easy skill to instill in players because the player generally has to move away from the basket and away from the action. It doesn’t seem right, but it can make […]
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