Monday’s Pen to Paper: Space
There may be days when you feel alone in the world or…
days when you can’t find space to breathe.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about one of these days or use one of the photos above to inspire you…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Together We Are Strong
We had basketball tryouts this week for the high school team that I coach. We pushed the girls hard for three days and I was so impressed with how they responded. Most of the girls, including many that had never played basketball before, and perhaps never been terribly active, didn’t give up even when our conditioning coach put the hammer down. It was awesome to watch these young women push themselves and discover what they are capable of. The mind is a powerful thing and in just three days I hope that some of these girls learned that they are stronger than they ever believed.
A lesson in life, as well as on the court.
What was even better to see than the tenacity on the court, was the girls supporting one another through the tough workouts. There were last season’s varsity players clapping and hollering for freshman, encouraging them to finish their run or to get in one last push up and new players to the program cheering on older players. With this type of attitude on the court, I know that as the girls continue to work together they will become even stronger.
We announced Varsity, Junior Varsity, and JV/C teams last night. We divided into three smaller groups to make sure everyone gets a lot of playing time in games. This is good for the kids and good for the parents, as over the years that I’ve been coaching parents have become more invested in their daughter’s playing time. (Another blog all its own). Basic math alone guarantees more time on the court during games when a team has 9-10 players, yet it’s still practice where the real work and learning […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Make Time To Read
It’s my job to read. When you are a writer, it’s important to read, to study your craft. Right? For sure!
That’s what I remind myself of, and tell my husband, when I sit down to read a chapter or two during breakfast and the dishes are overflowing and the laundry sits unfolded. I have to eat, so it’s a no-brainer that I should use this time to read. The only problem is one or two chapters can easily become three or four or five or more if it’s a good book, and unfortunately I don’t have time for that, it’s basketball season.
So, even though it’s my job, and I love to read. Often I have to delegate a certain amount of time and stick to it otherwise, though I would have a blast, nothing would get done. But if I don’t take that time to read, or do something I enjoy, then life would be awfully boring.
Make time to read or do something that you love, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
WRITING PROMPT #1: I like to read…
WRITING PROMPT #2: Kathy tucked her romance novel into her purse and…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Choices
Sonya Elliott EWU 1988
What makes us gravitate toward different likes and dislikes? What makes one person love to play the piano, others to love to knit or ride a motorcycle or read, or for some of us to love to play basketball? Is it just within us or are we a product of our parents and our environment? Sometimes I wonder.
Take me for example. Why do I love to play basketball? My parents didn’t play, I had no influence to take part in the game. I simply goofed around in the driveway with a basketball when I was young, watched a couple of college games in Montana and then years later tried out for our middle school team because I wanted to, and I have been playing ever since.
Even when I play badly or get beat up, I’m still drawn back to the court. In fact, as I’m writing this blog my jaw aches, my head is throbbing and my teeth hurt, because this morning when I was playing I took a flying elbow to the chin and kept right on playing. (Okay I took a few seconds to silently drop a few choice words, shake out the cobwebs, and then waited through a couple of, “Are you okay’s?” before I opened my jaw wide, to make sure it still worked, rubbed the pain from my brow and proclaimed that I was ready). But I played, and WANTED to play.
You would think such a knock in the head would make me think twice about this addiction of mine, but what’s funny is that it got me going. It pissed me off and brought out my competitive spirit. (Which I’ve learned to contain a bit. After all, I play for fun these days, I’m […]
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: What the heck is NaNoWriMo?
I’ve had friends in the past who have written first drafts of their novels by being a part of NaNoWriMo. I never quite understood what it was and have shied away from doing it, but this November I decided that if it can help me get my first draft finished sooner, why not give it a try.
National Novel Writing Month is put on by a non-profit organization to encourage writing. For the month of November, thousands of people write like crazy, working to finish their novels. The NaNoWriMo website helps writers to track their word-counts toward a goal of at least 50,000 words.
I’m excited to be on board this year, even if I’m a little behind with my word count (It’s day 2 and I’m still at zero). But not for long, from now on, it’s one day at a time until […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Patience
I played basketball with a group of high school girls at open gym this week. A great workout for me, and whether they liked it or not (between my huffing and puffing) the girls got some coaching. Not super serious coaching, more encouragement and reminders, but I just couldn’t help myself. Once a coach always a coach.
“Nice look.” “Sweet Pass.” “Stay between your man and the basket.”
I’d set a screen away and make them think about movement away from the ball. Remind them, and myself, to stay low, jump to the ball, block out. As much as I don’t like getting old and being a little out of shape, not being able to do what I wanted to do, exactly when I wanted to do it, emphasized for me how important patience is, as a player and as a coach, […]
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 […]
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