PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Find Your Groove.
Sonya Elliott – AAU Basketball 1983
Some people have a natural shot. I’m not one of those people, but with time on the court, hard work and heart, I became a good shooter. There are better shooters for sure, but I have always been good enough to help my team and that is all that matters to me.
Learning to shoot can be a challenge. I know it has been tough for my kids because they get conflicting advise. Mom (former college basketball player and a basketball coach for 25 years) tells them one thing and Dad (former college athlete) tells them another. My daughter never wanted to do extra shooting around my husband and I, because our opinions differed. In the end it didn’t matter who was giving the correct coaching techniques for shooting (though I believe it was me), what mattered was the effect upon my daughter. The conflict caused her to stop doing extra shooting through much of high school. It was difficult for her to take on, and execute, two different opinions so instead she focused on other parts of her game. She is a well-rounded player that rebounds, passes and plays tenacious defense with the best of them, and she can score (she has a nice shot), but it hasn’t been until this summer that she has wanted to find her own space, and shoot again.
Having parents and coaches on the same page is so important. It is not always easy to find middle ground with two coaching parents, for a parent to support a coach with a different style, or for an assistant coach to follow a head coaches techniques and philosophy, however it is better for a player to have less conflict, to […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: What Are You Resisting?
Today I wrote with my friend Jenny and my daughter (our usual Thursday writing day was full this week). We warmed up our pens and our minds with the writing prompt, What am I resisting? What a great question. A question that is important to address. And the thing about answering this question, is that if you allow yourself the opportunity to open up, (even if it’s just to yourself, maybe on a piece of paper that you tear up and throw away when you’re done), if you probe the truths within your heart and soul, you will find that you know the answers. Not only to what you’re resisting, but why, and often even how best to find your way through the resistance and on to living your life to it’s fullest.
What are you resisting in your life?
WRITING PROMPT: What am I resisting? Why?
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Stop the Madness, It’s Just a Game
I was at my son’s Junior Varsity High School summer recreation game last night when some parent madness was unleashed. Now understand, I am aware of the crazy antics of some high school parents, I spent three of my five years as a varsity head coach with a few of the parent telling lies about me and trying to get me fired, these parents are out there, but this, let me remind you, was a JUNIOR VARSITY Summer Rec-Tournament game.
It had been a great game. A tough fought battle. Both teams had played aggressive, intense basketball. Both teams fired up 3-balls from way beyond the arc and the lead switched back and forth throughout the game. It was the type of game players, coaches and fans live for, and the type of game that make players and teams better, win or lose. Yes, you want to win, you want your kid’s team to win, but it is also a game. And losing with honor and grace is important, not only for the players, but for the parents as well.
I’m not sure why I even allowed myself to get involved, except for that fact that one mother held a young child in her arms as two crazed moms got in her face. About what exactly I did not know, but this was not right. Myself and several others stepped between the madness until a man three-times our size made his own wall. Still the mom’s bickered, throwing F-bombs in front of the crowd and young boys and continued as they exited the gym. One parent asked me what I was thinking stepping into the mix as I was half the size of the women. I explained I felt like I had to […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Take Heart
“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James
WRITING PROMPT: Take time to write about what is important to you and what makes your life worth living? Now take this information to heart as you live each day.
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: Food for Thought…
WRITING PROMPT: Take a look at the photo above and then write for 10 minutes! Go.
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: How to Get Your Shot Back
When I worry about making my shot during a game, when I start thinking too much, it affects my shot in a bad way. So I have learned a trick that works for me on the basketball court come game time, and that is to simply forget about my shot. If my shot is off at the start of a game, the first thing I do is focus on other parts of my game; defense, rebounding, passing and of course making sure I hustle.
It may seem odd for a coach to say forget about the one thing that you are trying to do better, but it’s worked for me as a player and when I was coaching it was one of my first recommendations for a struggling shooter. I would tell them to forget about their shot and just get out there […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: What Helps You Increase Your Daily Word Count
I went away to write for a couple of days and it’s amazing how much work I can get done when I don’t have laundry to do, dishes to wash and errands to run. When all I have to do is focus on my writing (And pet the cats and the chickens that were at my B-n-B). This, however, is not my every day life, so though I’m thrilled I got to bang out several chapters in my time away, I’m always striving to find ways to better forward my daily word count and “get away” on my normal schedule.
So far, going to the “office” (a coffee shop), for a few hours every day seems to be my most productive choice. What works best to keep you moving forward with you writing?
WRITING PROMPT: The black cat…
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