PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: No Regrets
I don’t yell much at the players that I coach, but sometimes it’s necessary. We are in the middle of District Playoffs and after my recent pre-practice talk on No Regrets and being intense in practice, I had two girls walk to our first drill. I was not happy.
I blew the whistle and went “old school.”
“On the baseline!” I yelled. “A set of lines!”
The first set of lines was ugly. The girls finished and then trotted to grab some balls for Scramble Passing. I snapped. In the past my daughter, who is one of my players, has told me that when I raise my voice and get after them in practice she smiles on the inside because she knows me well enough to know that I’m not really mad, that I’m just trying to pick up the energy in practice. This time I was mad.
“On…the…line!”
I got after a couple of players. My blood boiled. They have all worked too hard to let their dreams die without a fight.
Part of me wanted to keep going with more lines. I’ve seen it done before, even been that person on the line running, tired and angry. Fired up. But two lines was enough and we finished our practice with more intensity.
Part of sports, and part of life, is learning to push yourself when things are tough. We have a sign inside our locker room door that reads LEAVE IT ALL ON THE COURT, because if you do that, give every once of energy when you are on the basketball court or toward a goal in life, win or lose you can have no regrets.
Monday’s Pen to Paper: No Rules
I wrote a poem last week. I wanted to do something special for my friend Jenny for her birthday. I’m known to write silly rhymes, but I’m not the type to write a serious poem. I have never taken a poetry class. Never even read much poetry.
So when I sat down to write, I stared at the blank page.
Finally, I wrote some words. I crossed them out. I wrote some more. Then crossed them out. Then, instead of trying so hard, I simply thought of Jenny and of our friendship. I jotted down what came to mind. I liked what I saw. I shifted words, played with the rhythm, the thoughts. Linked them in my mind and on paper.
Was this poetry?
Perhaps there are no rules to creating something you like. Something that you can share with others. An artful expression of thought…
FRIENDSHIP by Sonya Elliott
Thursday
True freedom. Open.
Pens will flow.
A place
Joined at the heart.
Friendship.
Connected souls
Thinking, growing, teaching.
This I know.
In comes the light
With mindful breaths.
Together.
WRITING PROMPT: Grab your pen and take a stab at poetry…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: The Battle Begins
It’s time for playoffs. Each game is tough. Last night the basketball team that I coach was determined to win, but so was our opponent. The game was a battle.
We came out on top with a 40-39 win over the 5th ranked team in the state.
I crawled into bed after midnight. I couldn’t sleep. You would think I would have slept like a baby, but it’s playoffs, the battle has just begun.
You gotta love it…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Snow Angels
Seattle is a wet mess this morning, but over the weekend we enjoyed a winter wonderland. It was quite unexpected. Usually there are warnings on the news, Winter Storm Watch-baton down the hatches-prepare for the worst. This time my husband and I were enjoying our “date night.” Dinner and a basketball game when the snow hit.
I was glancing out the window, a bite of Chicken Marsala half-way to my mouth, when I first saw it coming down.
“Hey, look, it’s snowing!”
This didn’t change date night, only made it better. Growing up on the east side of the state of Washington, where the weather is more extreme, snow doesn’t scare my husband and I when it comes to driving, so after dinner we made tracks through the white streets and ventured across town to the basketball game. Besides we figured it would be gone by the time the game was over.
When we walked out of the gym two hours later we found more snow.
Beautiful.
On our way home we saw an even more beautiful thing – two young men pushing a stuck car out of the road. I was reminded of when I was a kid growing up in Montana and my brother and I would spend hours digging and pushing cars out of the snow in front of our house.
This night, the process slowed traffic because the car the boys had been in was still moving slowly as to now also get stuck on the now icy slope. A small row of cars, one of which was ours, crept along, and we watched as the boys quickly freed the older mans car and waved as he drove away.
As the boys jogged passed our car, on their way to catch their driver who […]
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: Finding Focus
I have homework due…yesterday. I’m not sure if the fact that it isn’t finished yet is because basketball consumes me this time of year, or if I’m simply avoiding getting to the real work on my young adult novel. Writing is a lot of fun, but it is hard work too. And writing a synopsis goes into the hard work category for me.
Today however, between picking up new basketballs at Baden Sports and getting a new score book for the JVC squad (whose game I will be coaching as well as the varsity game today) and coaching two games, I will make myself take a few moments to breathe and focus on my writing.
WRITING PROMPT #1: Take a moment to sit and breathe. Why do you write? What do you want to achieve with your writing? What stories are inside you? Write a list of your thoughts on writing.
WRITING PROMPT #2: […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: TEDx TALK: Always Believe In You
A link to my TEDx TALK arrived yesterday. I was nervous to watch it and when I finally did, late last night, I broke out in a cold sweat. Of course I noticed my mistakes and that my family photo didn’t get included in the video, so I added it here, (You’ve gotta love our matching Schat’s Bakery shirts), but overall I was happy. I’m glad that I spoke and hope that the message that I shared is helpful and inspiring.
Tedx Talk by Sonya G. Elliott…
Always believe in you | Sonya Elliott | TEDxSpokane
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. How do you respond to setbacks or tragedy in your life? The speaker shares her ideas, looking internally, on how to find success and overcome hardships.
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