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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Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Thousand words or at Least Ten Minutes
A picture is worth a thousand words right? or a least 10 minutes of writing practice. Take a look at the photo below and get to work!
WRITING PROMPT:
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Bring Your Team Together with Fun
I felt a little guilty last week. I went away and took some time for myself. I had a good excuse, I turned 50, and though I shouldn’t need an excuse to take some “me” time (everyone needs to “refill their cup” from time to time), my birthday did make it easier to spoil myself.
So I went to Utah. I hiked five to seven miles every morning in Snow Canyon Park, practiced yoga, did rehab on my shoulder and wrist, read, wrote and relaxed. One day I even tried water aerobics (good for my shoulder), and the crazy thing was that by the end of the class, though I was smiling, I felt a deep sadness. You might be thinking, “well you did just turn 50,” but that wasn’t it. The water aerobics class made me miss coaching.
Kind of an odd […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Fuel Your Passion
If you love to play basketball it makes it easier to work at practice everyday. Having passion for your sport or activity makes working hard easier, but it doesn’t mean that it will always be easy. Practice is practice, and it’s not always fun.
If you’re finding it hard to get out of bed and get to work on the court, take a moment to listen to your body and mind. Sometimes it’s a matter of pushing yourself a bit more but there are times when you need a break.
Is your body hurting, not sore, but hurting? Take a short break to heal.
Do you feel burnt out? Have you lost your passion? Your love of the game can get covered up by expectations and stress. Will I make Varsity? Will I start? Will I be good enough to play in […]
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