Monday’s Pen to Paper: Fear
WRITING PROMPT: Make a list of everything that you are afraid of. Choose one of your fears and write some more…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Dance With the Girl That Brung Ya’
I’ve been coaching for 25 years, and with every team that I’ve had, I like to keep things simple, focus on the fundamentals. That doesn’t mean that I won’t throw in a triangle and 2 defense or adjust my offense, but that’s once the players know the fundamentals and understand the basic offenses and defenses that we are running.
When talking about the importance of fundamentals, my husband always brings up wrestling (He was a State Champion wrestler and his dad, also his coach, is a Hall of Fame Wrestling Coach) He’ll watch a wrestling match and say to me, “Why is that guy trying that crazy move? He should stick with the basics; a Cradle. A Half-Nelson. My dad always reminded us before the State Tournament, ‘Dance with the girl that brung ya’.'”
I haven’t pulled out that quote in practice, but I like what it says. Instead of trying all kinds of crazy things, especially as you advance into playoffs, remember and focus on what got you there. Maybe you have killer man-to-man that has worked for you all season, stay with it. Not that you can’t toss in a Box and 1 or something to adjust to the team that you are playing against but don’t forget your man-to-man and the fundamentals that made that work for you.
Dance with the girl that brung ya.
Think about how this might apply to your life…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Follow
I just figured out how to follow or subscribe to a blog. That may seem a little CRAZY as I have been writing a blog for several years now, but there you go. That is my computer savyness in a nutshell. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing, I just stumble along and figure it out as I go.
I’ve never really had the desire to follow blogs, because frankly, I don’t have the time. My inbox is currently at 3352 unread messages (I am not kidding here, I just checked). Recently however, I have been interested in keeping up with a few blogs, but I can never seem to surf my way through the interweb on a consistent basis to find them. And when I go on-the-line, (anyone getting my movie references here) I’m usually writing my blog and don’t have a lot of time.
As of last week, I figured it out and I am officially following three blogs. www.heartwriter.com, www.thegardenofeva.com and yes, my blog, sonyaelliott.com.
When I first came to this revelation, I wondered, out loud, how would one follow my blog if they wanted to? And who would want to? And why? But it seems as that’s the reason my blog is here, right? For people to read. So I looked at my website and realized that there was no way to follow me. Somehow, I have four followers (yes, I said four), so I know it is possible, but then I thought (not out loud this time), that perhaps when I changed to a WordPress blog, something happened.
Does it matter what happened? No. I just decided to fix it. Add a subscribe button. This in itself was not […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Attitude Is Everything
During the summer my daughter is often a sub for my basketball teams. A couple of weeks ago, she played for one of my teams that she’s never played with before and after the game she climbed into the van and said, “That is the least fun I have ever had playing basketball.”
I agreed with her. (well since I’m old there may have been a few times in my life that have been worse, but it certainly hadn’t been fun.) What made the game bad, is that there were two women who complained the whole time and basically barked out orders. Nothing my daughter, or any of us did, was right.
The overall energy was negative. I could feel it, and as a 17-year-old playing in a women’s rec-league, my daughter could really feel it. I thanked my daughter for helping out (we were short players) and assured her that she wouldn’t have to play with that team again, nor did I want her to. If there is anything that is important to me, it is that my kids enjoy the sports that they participate in.
My daughter plays on my Thursday night league, but those teammates, encourage and support her and make her feel a part of the team. Having and sharing a positive attitude is so important and makes a huge difference on the court and in everything you do.
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
-Winston Churchill
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: 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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