Monday’s Pen to Paper: Back to Basics
This week I need to go back to the basics. Stop over-thinking and worrying, and instead reestablish my writing goals and just sit down and write.
Join me, grab your computer or a pen and paper and lets get to work…
WRITING PROMPT #1: Three writing goals that I have set for myself are…
WRITING PROMPT #2: Lucinda scanned the area around her and then with great care picked up the…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Learning to Love Mornings (or at least appreciate them)
One of the players that I coach asked if I could open the gym at 6:15 AM so that she could work out. YES of course! (Who can say no to that kind of enthusiasm? Especially from a 17-year-old Senior). It’s not basketball season, so I can’t coach, but I can open the gym and let my team, and anyone from the high school, use the facility.
I scheduled to have the gym Monday and Wednesday mornings since I play basketball Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the YMCA. And I decided that if I was going to be at the gym, it would be a good opportunity for me to get back into good shape. I’ve been nursing a bad hamstring for a while so I haven’t been working out the way I need to, to stay in basketball condition and this lack of movement has also started to rearrange my body in a way that I’m not crazy about.
6:15AM? A win-win.
I’m really not a morning person, but I’m learning to use the dawn hours to my advantage. This Monday and Wednesday I put together a light “Crossfit” routine and told the kids at the gym, “This is what I’m doing this morning, feel free to join me.” And they did. (Though something tells me they didn’t join me in my soreness.)
Afterward, each player grabbed a basketball and did whatever they wanted to do. Most shot around and I just rebounded (since I’m not allowed to coach). But, I was smiling. How could I not be, when there were a group of girls that had given up sleep to hit the gym.
Find ways to enjoy all the hours of your day…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Encourage Creativity
I’m considering taking a year-long writing course. It would be a big commitment with my schedule, but I also know it would help me to keep some focus on my writing, which is not alway easy as coaching basketball seems to consume a majority of my time and energy. I love basketball, but I also love to write, so sometimes I have to take extra steps to make that happen…set some goals…establish some deadlines. A class is one way to do that.
What are some ways that you can encourage your creativity?
WRITING PROMPT: Robert wasn’t the type to set goals but times had changed…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Sometimes Finding the Good in Life Means Picking the Right Cup
I didn’t have the best day yesterday.
I suppose it should have been, as it was my 20th Wedding Anniversary and the Seahawks won. But I was feeling kind of melancholy. My husband was meeting friends from out-of-town to watch the football game, my national commercial call back was cancelled (the chance for a BIG job, gone), a scheduled open gym for my basketball team (with colleges coaches in attendance,) also cancelled. And I’d spent much of the day picking up the house and buying food and drinks for guests that were to roll in after midnight.
But it could have been worse. I know, I’ve had worse.
Still, as my kids headed to bed and I sat down alone on the living room couch, sadness crept in on me (and a couple of tears.) But it didn’t last. Sometimes that’s all I need, to acknowledge the sadness. Then it’s time to brew tea, grab a book, curl up on the couch and listen to Bruno and Sassy’s soft snoring. To feel the good around me and remind myself that my family is healthy and we have a roof over our heads. That I’m lucky enough to be married to my best friend and that, life is beautiful.
And it doesn’t hurt to pick the right cup.
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: The Power of Positive
I love quotes. I use a couple of my own from time to time and I love finding quotes that fuel me.
If I talk to one of my kids before their games I always end with, “Play hard and have fun!” When I sign my memoir I use, “Always believe in you.” And when I was coaching I searched out quotes to encourage and inspire. Our locker room walls were covered in quotes, my coaches and I would text quotes to the players and I would use quotes in my pre-game speeches. Our team was surrounded with positive energy, added fuel to the fire of our intended goals.
During the five years that I was head coach, I watched the energy change with our team. My final year, we were in no way perfect, but we grew as a team and placed […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Change Is Life
There have been a lot of changes going on in my life, and though basketball and writing are still priorities for me, it’s been, and will continue to be, a challenge to settle into a new path.
Last spring I left my position as head basketball coach at the high school in my neighborhood and started closing out my PeaceLoveBasketball business because I was ready for a change. I decided to focus on my writing and put energy back into modeling (and catch up on projects that I had let go over the last 5 years). Then summer hit and so did even more change. The usual sports camps and family vacations took place of course, but then my daughter had heart surgery, our dog had two surgeries, and I lost my grandmother just as my daughter was headed off to college.
A lot of […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Time For A Date?
This summer I haven’t had many dates. Not with my husband or with my writing, and that’s a bummer. Fortunately I have my Thursday writing date with my friend Jenny. Those have been consistent every week (though not always on Thursday since it’s summertime), but beyond that it has been difficult to fit writing time in. The “must do’s” often sneak ahead of my writing, but one way I find time is by making a date with myself, putting it on the calendar and then escaping to a coffee shop or the beach, like a real date. Maybe I should try the same with my husband.
WRITING PROMPT #1: Where is your favorite place to write? Why?
WRITING PROMPT #2: Kendra peered out from behind the curtain as her date made his way to her front door…
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