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, […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Big Magic
Last week I had the pleasure of seeing Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, speak at Benaroya Hall. It is alway helpful to hear that I’m not alone when it comes to the struggles of getting work done and when this information is followed up with thoughts on how to move forward in the writing journey, I am inspired and itching for my pen.
Ms. Gilbert’s idea of creativity and fear being a package deal makes sense. I have written a book and I know I can do it, but there is always this little something that works to drag me down in the process of writing another one, this fear perhaps that it can’t possibly happen again. It takes a lot of work to pull thousands of words together in a way that makes sense and that meets one’s fancy. So knowing that fear is common place, a part of the deal, helps to remind me that it is normal and that I can simply move along, and in time, with work, my new book will come together.
I can’t wait to dive into Big Magic and read other tidbits that can help me to bring my story together, although I know that nothing can do that better than sitting my butt in a chair, grabbing my pen, and getting to work. Write on!
WRITING PROMPT#1: What are you afraid of?
WRITING PROMPT#2:Candice bent low, ducked her head and entered the darkness…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Get Ready for Basketball Season!
Basketball season is around the corner and for the first time in a long while I’m not preparing to coach, but instead preparing to watch. Simply watching is bound to keep me busy as I will be supporting my son and the boys basketball team, and of course I will be cheering on the high school girls team that I used to coach, and though I will miss being a part of their season as their coach, not coaching will also allow me to travel and watch my daughter who is playing basketball in college. I can’t wait!
If you’re a fan, parent, coach, or a player, here are some great basketball books to get you pumped up and ready for the season!
In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle (Memoir) by Madeleine Blais
Brief Garland (Memoir) by Harold Keith
Back on the Court : a young woman’s triumphant return to life, love & basketball (Memoir) by Sonya G. Elliott
Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn by Larry Colton (Memoir)
Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph (Memoir/Coaching) by C. Vivian Stringer
Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior (Memoir/Coaching) by Phil Jackson
They Call Me Coach (Coaching) by John Wooden
[…]Monday’s Pen to Paper: Guns – Know More. No More! – Be Heard
I was fortunate that my husband told me about the Umpqua College shootings last week (my daughter goes to college in Oregon), he saved me the moment of panic that he went through when he first got word that there had been another massacre at a college campus. What is happening in this country? Can we not see that loosing so many lives in this way is crazy?
The United States has more gun murders than other developed countries.
The United States has the highest rate of gun murders in a developed country and has had more mass shootings than days in 2015. These are frightening statistics. Of course I understand that there are many pieces of the puzzle, many issues involved when a person chooses to take another human beings life, let alone several, but the biggest piece of that damn puzzle has a gun on it, and it needs to be put in place. Controlled.
I normally stay away from ranting and raving and politics, yet at the same time isn’t that the reason that writer’s put words on paper, is for their opinions to be heard? Well, this is one of those moments. We as a nation have to make a change. Does there have to be such a line between Democrat and Republican? Can’t we come together and say LET’S SAVE LIVES? My Facebook newsfeed has been blowing up. And there are definitely two strong opinions out there but in the end how can we not agree that there are too many guns out in this world. Too many lives being lost.
I worry about my husband when he rides his motorcycle and a worry about my son when he plays football, but […]
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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