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 is done, not to mention a lot of the fun.
In fact, I’m excited for today’s practice. We will work hard, we will continue with fundamentals, the skills and drills, but we’ll have fun too. Not the fun that comes from hard work (which IS fun in its own way), but we will have some time during practice for the girls to be silly, a little reward for the hard work. We will mix in team building and relays, so that the players get to know their teammates better. A stepping stone to becoming a better team, and a reminder of this years theme.
Together We Are Strong.
