PeaceLoveBasketball Friday:
I put on a basketball camp this week for girls between 2nd and 8th grade. Our high school players coached the young athletes. The campers had a blast. All were exhausted by the last day, campers and coaches alike. But oh to see the smiles. A good reminder of why I coach.
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Worth A Thousand Words
When I look at a photo I can be transported into a different time, place, even world sometimes, and how much fun to write about it…
Writing Prompt: 
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: What Is Success?
My daughter is reading “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell for her AP Literature class this coming fall. The book discusses what it takes to become a high-achiever. My daughter translated it to me in her 16-year-old perspective (I have not read the book), “Mom, to be successful, a person must put 10,000 hours in the activity they choose. In fact, parents start their kids playing hockey, at 5 years old, so they can put in enough hours to go Pro.” As an athlete, I know the value of time and effort. But I also know that there are tons of kids that put in the time and don’t make it to the professional level and sometimes even if they do, is it true success?
Does a 5-year-old child really know what they want to do, want to be, when they grow up?
I encourage my kids to play several sports, to try different things, play an instrument, read, make an attempt at art. My daughter wanted to take drama last year but got put in to a wood shop class and found out she LOVED it. How fun to try something new and find that you love it. It might be hard to put in 10,000 hours and still get out and try new things.
I have a story I have told a million times. It explains why I’m careful about pushing my kids. My husband would say I don’t push enough, so I know there is no perfect answer. But here is my story.
My mom went to college to study voice, to become an opera singer. She loved singing. A classmate of hers started singing at a young age with much pressure from her mother. She also studied voice at the Mozarteum […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Good-bye Perfection
Sometimes I get stumped by perfection. Let me explain. I used to be a perfectionist. You would never think so if you saw me now. I have learned to let it go…sometimes.
When I was young, my room was clean, everything had its place. In high school (even in math class) I would rewrite my homework before I handed it in because I wanted it to be neat. I know, crazy right? Like I said if you saw my house now, you would never believe it.
I have slacked, but that perfection instinct is still there. For example, on our family vacation to the east coast last month, I was planning to keep a journal. I wanted it to be perfect. Daily journal entries with impeccable handwriting, and since my photo albums are all digital now, I was excited to add brochures, metro passes and ticket stubs too.
I had planned to write everyday, that didn’t happen, so I wanted to just drop it, not keep a journal of our trip. “Sonya, it doesn’t have to be perfect,” I told myself, “It’s just for you to look back on, remember this time with your family.” I made myself jot notes when I could. My writing was messy, real messy. I wanted to stop. I fell behind and my ticket stubs, metro passes and random papers were piling up. I wanted to throw them in the garbage. I made myself toss them in an envelope.
“They don’t have to be in order Sonya.” I reminded myself.
On the 4th of July (after our vacation) when I was waiting to pick up my daughter from the ferry dock, I wrote and wrote. It was sloppy, but I finished detailing our trip. The next day I thumbed through papers and […]
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: 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 […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Me Time
Check out my friend Jenny’s article on summer. Take some time with your kids, but don’t forget about you!
Summer Isn’t Just About the Kids.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about things that are important to you. Things that inspire you, revive you, fill your cup…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: FREE-day
PeaceLoveBasketball T-Shirt
Today is FREE-day Friday, and what does that mean? It means that YOU have a chance to win a FREE PeaceLoveBasketball Shirt! All you have to do is add your favorite motivational quote to the comments section of this FREE-day blog between now and August 15th, 2014 and you will be entered in a drawing to receive a free t-shirt!
I’ll start with one of my favorites…
“There is no limit to the goals you can attain, the success you can achieve – your possibilities are as endless as your dreams.” – D. Crowe
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