PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: New Beginnings
A new coach was named at the high school where I was head coach for five years. It’s a weird feeling to know that the girls who I have grown to care about and love, will be led by someone new. Yet, I also know that they will be fine, that learning to work with a new leader on the court will be good for them. It is a great lesson for life, because throughout their lifetime they will experience a lot of change, they will have to work with new bosses and a variety of co-workers, and figure out who they are, and how they fit in, along the way.
I have heard that the new coach is quite the opposite of me, and there is nothing wrong with that. All coaches have different styles. Pat Summit, C. Vivian Stringer, Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, all have had excellent results through different teaching methods. But what is important is that a coach has the best interest of the team in mind, because not only is a coach helping to develop young men and women, but in the case of high school basketball where there is no recruiting, a coach is working with the team they are given, so they are helping them to become better, stronger athletes, teaching them to work together on the court and creating a season that, win or lose, the players can be proud of.
I wish all the best to my girls and their new coach and I can’t wait to cheer them on to another successful season. Go Wildcats!
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Change
This is an exciting time. My daughter is about to graduate from high school, but you know what, as excited as I am for her to go off on her own and start living her own life, it’s really hitting me this week on how much I’m gonna miss her. In fact just writing about it gets me a little teary eyed.
Oh, I know she’ll be fine, I know that she will experience amazing things, and meet new friends, and grow as a person, but damn it, I like having her around.
Change is hard, I get it and know how to deal with it, but it doesn’t mean I always have to like it.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about changes that are happening in your life. How do they make you feel? How do they affect your life?
Variety is the Spice of Life: Say NO to playing select sports year-round
Say NO to playing select sports year-round.
My daughter is doing her senior project on this subject. Her instructor wasn’t crazy about the idea, but my daughter was adamant that it was an important topic and stuck to her guns. I agree. Today’s young athletes start specializing way too early and often for all the wrong reasons.
When I was young we played select sports because we loved to play. We wanted to play more and try to be the best. Today young athletes (often with pressure from their parents) play because they believe it will give them the upper hand for an athletic scholarship. But what most don’t understand is that playing one sport year round not only costs more than college itself, it often puts young athletes in harm’s way emotionally and physically.
Fact: Less than 2% of high school athletes receive an athletic scholarship to help pay for college, of those very few are full-ride scholarships.
Fact: Playing year-round sports from a young age leads to overuse injuries and burnout.
Early and continual play of a specific sport does not come with a guarantee of a college athletic scholarship, but it does come with a big price tag. Select sports teams are big business these day. Playing on a top-level team can cost between $8000-$10,000 a year. Yes, I said one year. And many parents pay for private lessons for the athletes as well. The money spent on these programs could go to their college tuition and their high school programs, many of which struggle with funding. (When I took over a head coaching position the program had $4 and 4 uniforms. This is unacceptable and another blog all its own).
I’m not saying athletes that love a specific sport shouldn’t play […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Life In Triple -Threat
I had the opportunity to speak to the seniors at my old high school. And when I talked to them about setting goals and making choices, I brought basketball into the mix. It may not seem like there is a connection but let me explain.
When I play basketball my goal is to win, and in order to do that, our team must get more points than the other team. So, I play tough defense and every time I catch the ball, I catch it in triple-threat position, facing the basket (my goal). Triple-threat means I am a threat to the opponent in three ways, I can shoot, pass or drive. I must read the defense, assess my options, and make a choice. Just like I do in life.
If I’m open and in my range, I might shoot the ball. If I see my teammate cutting to the basket, I might pass her the ball for a shot, or if the defense is in my face, I might drive to the hoop. Just like in life, you look at your options and then make a choice. It may not be the perfect choice, (you may miss your shot or make a bad pass) but if you have your goal in mind, it’s okay, keep moving, try again.
It’s when you let go of your goals and dribble away from the basket, that you get into trouble. I explained to the seniors, that to me, skipping class and partying when you want to get a college degree, is like dribbling away from the basket, with your goal out of sight.
Life is about setting goals and making good choices, or like I like to think of it, catching the ball in triple-threat, ready to help my team […]
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: Are Women Coaches Bullied?
photo credit: Paul Moseley
I’ve spent over half of my life coaching and every minute was worth it. Not for the money of course, I volunteered for eighteen of the years that I coached and the others I was paid next to nothing (As you know high school coaches don’t coach for the money). But it was worth it because of the opportunity to work with the players (mostly girls) and teach them about basketball, a sport dear to my heart, and through basketball help them learn about life. How to set goals, work hard, work as a team, win and lose with grace and also how to have some fun in the process.
Over the years, my players inspired me, entertained me, and taught me to be a better coach and a better person. But coaching high school was […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Spring has Sprung
The cherry trees are in bloom and I’m sneezing from time to time and every once in a blue moon we have some sunlight, so I’m calling it spring. And my daughter informed me that it was officially spring yesterday, so there you have it, it may not feel like it at times, but it’s official. Spring has sprung!
WRITING PROMPT #1: What does spring mean to you?
WRITING PROMPT #2: Selma couldn’t stop sneezing, she…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Enjoy The Madness
It’s that time of the year again when everyone works from home so they can sit with their computers in their laps and their eyes on the TV watching college tournament games. And though watching the games is plenty of fun, every year my husband and I ramp up the intensity with a bet. The bracket winner gets an hour massage and more important, bragging rights. (I’m looking forward to ANOTHER massage).
My husband and I are also in a bracket where losers owe winners a drink. My friend and her family fill out their brackets and the winner gets their request granted from the rest of the family. Maybe sister has to play games all day with winning brother, mom cooks favorite dinner and dessert for winning daughter, this fun competition gives another good reason to gather as a family and have […]
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