Aloha from Hawaii

I realize we've physically been back from Hawaii for five days but my mind is still reaping the affects of the Aloha State. I can feel the rays of the sun flowing over my body; the smell of the ocean as the waves were rolling upon the sand; and the sound of the seagulls squawking from the azure sky. While the folks in West Virgina were getting hounded by snowflakes, we were on the beach allowing our bodies to feel the heat from a sun which did not know a cloud in the sky.

Yes, we went there to play basketball and I'll not say we were successful on the court. It would be a lie. I am disappointed in our season thus far. We are blatantly underachieving. Our playing continued to be below average as we lost our first contest by a single point and then won our second game by 13.

The success of the trip was not on the court, but it was in the bonding of teammates as they shared memorable moments together. Sometimes a trip can change the outcome of a season. It can create a team chemistry that practice or games cannot. In a place where there are no other friends or boyfriends or other distractions, the players had to rely upon one another for comfort, for laughter and for entertainment.

I did feel a change come over the team. It was subtle like a slight breeze gently blowing through my hair, but I could feel it. There was less tension and struggle between players. There was a feeling of family, of togetherness, of holding one another gently as if this was a moment to be held and kept forever in our memories.

Perhaps I am making this up, wanting us to change, to become the team I believe us to be, yet I feel strangely comforted by the idea of us as champions. I have never lost faith in this group, never believed they weren't good enough, never thought for a moment we couldn't reach our goals, so perhaps I sensed something which wasn't there. Perhaps I just wanted it to be so much that my mind created it, but I don't think so.

I think the trip was special, an entry point into a different season, a starting place for us to come together and begin playing like the team we are. I know I spent more time laughing at the players (I mean with the players) than I have in the past 3 1/2 months. I talked to them differently, heard more about their personal lives and let them more into mine. They became more real to me.

We did spend a memorable breakfast together before our second game. I knew after the loss from the night before when we made exactly the same mistakes as our recent loss to Concord, and I reacted with anger and distance that we had to come back together. At breakfast the day of the game, we had statements where the players had to fill in the blanks. One of the statements was: "If I could be anybody, I would be ____________ because she ___________." The player who received the compliment would then forward it on to another player.

After spending several minutes with this idea we switched the topic to: "If I could change anything about ____________, I would change _____________." We allowed the players the freedom to openly say these ideas without reactions or discussion.

After a few minutes, we switched topics again to say: "I respect _______________ because ____________." We finally ended the breakfast with three rounds of teammates sharing what we needed to do to win. No repeats of a previous statement were allowed.

It was a great breakfast and the open communication was welcome and wonderful. The players left feeling good about themselves and the past game had been forgotten. We won that afternoon not because we played but because we felt more of a unit.

I hope the time apart does not create forgetfulness, and I pray when we come back to practice on the 27th the players will remember Hawaii and how they loved one another there.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

A Little Listening Goes A Long Way

I believe this team could be really good. I dream it. I think about it and I feel it. Until last Saturday night, I hadn't seen the real team, the one I think exists. What I had seen was players struggling with their abilities, thinking too much and not allowing the game to flow through them.

As I watch the athleticism of Tarenna Dixon, Moneka Slaughter and Tianni Kelley, I know they could be amazing players. They are fast, strong, quick, and have the leap of a mountain cat. It is not their abilities which hold them back; it is their belief system. Some where along their journey, they heard they weren't good. The coaching staff has been trying to change that belief system for years.

Saturday night they showed their talents. It was beautiful. Amazing. Inspiring. I wanted to freeze the moments when they played with complete confidence so they could see the ease with which they performed. I wanted to bottle it up and give it back to them as a Christmas present. They are so good. If they could just keep that awareness close to their consciousness, then they would be able to do almost anything.

Others played well too. Chrissy Keir, the little package of dynamite, who can see the next pass five plays before it occurs. She hadn't been showing her true skills either. Sometimes she thinks at 5'1" she is too small. I don't think that at all because her height is in her vision and her passing skills. She played like she was 6'0'' tall on Saturday. I loved watching her no-look passes as they zipped through defenders to her teammates.

Tiana Beatty started to look like her old self again. Driving and dishing, weaving through defenders like they were Swiss cheese. Then there was Ali Tobias stealing passes and playing defense as if she was reading the opponents' minds.

How did this all occur? What was the event which created the change? It was the simple act of listening to the players. They wanted me to change the way I organized practices. They asked and I listened. Simple.

I hope they hold this place of confidence and play with their full abilities. I believe we can create an incredible season if they do. I hope I continue to listen.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Dumb or Blind??

No, I'm not talking about the officials. It would be natural to think that but I am not against officials nor do I think they intentionally make poor calls. The next assumption might be I am talking about my players. Some coaches do this--blame their players for not being good enough, for not handling pressure, for not running the offense or defense correctly. It can be an "us" versus "them" mentality.

I'm the sort of coach who thinks in terms of unity, of a group of people coming together rather than a separation of coaches and players. So who I am talking about being dumb or blind? It is a little bit of a description of me, of what I missed and of my moments of not being present.

On Wednesdays, I meet with our two team leaders, Lindsey Kentner and Tarenna Dixon to discuss the team and to study a leadership manual together. Usually, I start the discussion asking them if there are any team issues which should concern me. They are good about being frank and honest, telling me what they see and what needs to change.

On this particular Wednesday, they brought up the issue of playing more 5-on-5 during practice. I must say I am a fundamentalist coach, one who loves doing drills. This stems from my experience as a player when I was RARELY coached and all we did was scrimmage. I want to teach. I want my players to have the opportunity to get better which I think comes from breakdown drills.

Yet, when I listened to them I heard them. They are, after all, two excellent players who understand the game and who love the game. They are on the court, not me. They are going through practices, not me. They are the ones who have a better feel for the game.

Unfortunately, we didn't have an opportunity to change our practice before the next game against West Liberty. I didn't want to fatigue the team on the day before a game.

During the West Liberty game, I was frustrated and disappointed at how we played. I knew we were so much better but we simply weren't performing at a very good level.

I watched the game film the next day and again I thought we looked shackled, chained, unable to play freely. When I planned Friday's practice, I thought about all we needed to do in terms of breaking down our skills to get better at passing to the post. I dreamt up a hundred breakdown drills and put none of them on paper. I heard the voices of Tarenna and Lindsey and I made up a short practice with 15 minutes of breakdown drills and thirty minutes of 5-on-5.

I swallowed my needs and allowed the team to play simply utilizing the rule the post had to touch the ball before the guards could shoot. WOW! I watched them play with skills I didn't know they possessed. I was thrilled at their "new moves" and athleticism, and I knew I had been dumb and blind.

The good news is I can hear. I wasn't deaf. I heard them. Now, if I can keep my hands out of it and teach while allowing them to play, I think we can be really good. I mean exceptionally good.

Lindsey asked me after practice if we were going to continue to practice like this. I smiled. She said, "Thanks for listening."

No, Lindsey and Tarenna. Thank you for sharing.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Forgive Me!

It was two days before Thanksgiving and one of my team leaders, Lindsey Kentner, approached me about allowing the team to go home on Thursday. Even though we had the day off, I had told the team I wanted them to remain in Charleston. I understood her request, the need for the players to go home, to see family and friends, to feel loved and appreciated by those who were closest to them.

Yet, I told her no. It was a hard decision, one I hated to make. It is not easy to tell a young person that sacrificing Thanksgiving with the family is necessary in order to get a win. It wasn't about being home or with the family. I would have loved for each one of them to enjoy that special day with loved ones. The problem is the fatigue attached to the travel.

We are tired. We played three games in four days last week, two of them on the road four hours away from home. Even with a day off on Sunday, the team had not recovered by Monday's practice. We were lethargic, barely moving. Worse than the physical symptoms of fatigue, our brains were not working. In the next seven days, we have three more games.

A few years ago, I allowed a group of players to go home for Thanksgiving. When they came back, we lost our next two games. They couldn't move. I swore then I wouldn't ever allow a team to travel over a single day and a half. I haven't yet.

I haven't been home for Thanksgiving since I was 17 and that 32 years ago. First as an athlete and then as a coach, I've been busy playing games or practicing. One year I was in Budapest, Hungary preparing for the World Championships. Another year, the team was on the bus driving 8 hours away for a game after having gorged on turkey and dressing. I didn't know then turkey was a natural sedative. I learned another hard lesson that year. We lost that game too.

I am not saying a game is more important than family. I don't believe that for a nanosecond, but I do know the hard work and dreams we have are worth the sacrifice for a single year. I hope they forgive me. I hope they understand I was looking out for their best interest. I hope they know they can have many more family Thanksgivings unless, of course, they choose to coach.

I am thankful this year I have this team. I am thankful for the wonderful people they are. I am thankful for their efforts. I am thankful they know their coach is just helping them find their dreams.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM!

Burning The Ships

Before every game I always provide the team with a small five minute motivational talk. Most of the time these chats are small stories I have read or heard. Last night as I was contemplating what words would inspire the team for the first game of the season, I rambled through many stories. The one that stuck was the burning of the ships.

A captain was in a war and he had taken his troops across the ocean to a battle they much needed to win. He knew if they lost this battle, they would probably lose the war. Once his men had gotten off the ships and safely to the land, he order his men to burn the ships. He told them there was no going back, no retreat. There was only the possibility of winning or dying.

I don't believe for a moment a game is between winning or dying, but it should be played with the idea of no retreat. There should be no looking back, no thought of a way out of the battle before the team. If we knew we would either die or win, how would we play? Would we not play with urgency and passion?

This is what I asked of the team: to play with determination, heart, a deep love and trust in themselves and the team.

THEY DID.

We needed to change the way we have played defense in the past. We were not aggressive enough. We were looking to detain not destroy. We needed to determine for our opponents what they were going to do, not allow them to create as they wished.

Last night was the first step in changing our attitudes. We played with the idea of going forward and creating what we wanted. If we can only play like this every night--play as if there was only one option--we would win every game.

I want them to keep this vision of the burning ships, see it in their dreams, smell the smoke of the dying embers, and hear the water gushing around the hulls. I want them to keep the resolve, the fortitude, and the fierceness of believing in the necessity of winning.

I don't want to make winning everything, and I won't burn the vans as we enter the gymnasium. I do want to make the will to win important, because it is. It is the essence of success not only on the court but in all they will do in life. I want them to know they can.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Forgetful Coach

When I was in training for the Olympics, we trained year around two times a day six days a week. No, this is not a story like the ones your parents told you about walking six miles in the snow, uphill both ways to get to school. This is a true tale.

So, when I train the Golden Eagles I think they should be able to tolerate a couple of two-a-days. They are young and fit and recover fast. They should be capable of handling a couple of days of practice where the days consist of getting up, going to practice, taking a nap and practicing again.

The problem occurs when I forget how intense I am. I tend to push a little bit. Okay, so maybe I push more than a little; maybe it is a lot. Then I forget how I ask them to think while they practice. It is one thing to just run up and down the court, but it is quite another to have to engage your brain every second of the practice.

Monday night after having two practices on Saturday and two on Sunday, I noticed how their brains had quit functioning. It is the first sign of weariness. The second is uncontrollable laughter. We had both symptoms on Monday night.

Imagine being a coach and spending fifteen minutes working on a skill, breaking it down into small portions, explaining why we do something a certain way, and then in the next drill expecting them to take what was learned and apply it into a faster, more complex drill. On paper this seems fairly reasonable, but when we moved from one drill to the next, they looked at me, squinting with that look of confusion as if the language I was speaking was in a tongue most foreign to their knowledge.

Then on top of that, imagine Shannon skipping to her next position on the court and everybody toppling over in laughter. It was cute, perhaps even deserving a chuckle, but a falling down, tears-down-the-cheeks laugh, is a little far reaching. When Lisanne tripped over her two feet, I thought we were going to have to resuscitate Chrissy who was curled in a fetal position on the court.

It was not a pretty practice.

I gave them Tuesday night off believing after 24 hours of recovery, they would return with rested legs and brains. In the middle of Wednesday's practice as they were struggling with the most mundane of skill work, I asked them if they were tired. I even quantified the question by telling them it was not a trick question. I understand players are often afraid of admitting to being fatigue. When they told me they were okay, I responded by yelling at them to get after it.

This was when I knew they were not okay. They were physically trying to pick up their intensity. Their faces showed their determination but their legs and minds would simply not obey.

Later when I asked them why they didn't tell me they were tired, they all said they thought it was a trick question. I am not like the coach who asked if his players were tired and when they said they were tired, he said, "Well, you are not in good enough shape. Let's run some more." After a while, he asked them again, "Are you tired?" When they responded no, he said, "Well, you haven't worked hard enough. Let's run some more."

I am not that coach, BUT I am the coach who forgets how demanding I am and the one who forgets to cut back practice time. I forget we do more in two hours than most teams do in four. I forget how hard I ask them to go every drill.

Bless their hearts that they keep trying to give even when their legs are too weary to move and their brains can't keep signals straight. Bless them that they will forgive this forgetful coach.

ONE HEART! ONE DREAM!

Feeling Better But Not Taking Any Excuses

After our second scrimmage, I was able to calm down a bit. Just a week ago, I was on a rampage seeking out the competitive nature of the team. I felt I had to reach down inside their chests and pull it out of them. I was exhausted from the strain of pulling and I'm certain they were pooped out from having to give more than they believed they had.

While we didn't perform awesome in our second scrimmage, we did manage to look better and to compete. This was what I wanted--passion. I wanted to see it on their faces and feel it coming out of their pores. I wanted to smell it on their breaths and hear it in their voices.

I know this: if we will compete as if our hearts would break in half without the victory then we will win games. If it means so much to them they will go outside of who they are to play, then we will be champions.

Often times they want to tell me this is not who they are as if that excuse will mean something to me. I see it for what it is--an excuse not to be better. If they tell me they cannot shoot outside, then I tell them to work on their shot. They can shoot outside if they practice it. If they tell me they are not fast enough, I tell them they are smart enough to appear fast. If they tell me it is not in their nature to talk loudly on the court, I tell them then winning doesn't mean enough to them to change.

I believe they can do whatever it is they really want to do IF they get rid of their fear about it. They fear failure too much. If they have an excuse, then they can rationalize why they can't get it done. If I don't accept excuses, then they must face themselves. This is scary!

Cruel aren't I?

I've seen players get outside of themselves to become amazing. Two years ago, we had a player named Kika Carman, a quiet person who barely spoke loud enough for us to hear her when standing right next to her. When she was a freshman, we always had to ask her to speak up during positive circles. Nobody could hear what she said. By the time she was a senior, she was a no-nonsense captain who told teammates what they needed to do, when they needed to do it and how. She wanted to win. Her leadership took us to a 26-7 record.

So, no I don't accept their excuses. I know they all can be better than the players I see today on the court. I've seen others come before them who became more. They can too.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Coach Gone MAD?

I've worked diligently over the past few years to get rid of my anger. I've read books, processed past experiences, discussed my history and spent time in meditation and prayer. I've felt a lightness in my heart and joy on my tongue for several months UNTIL our first scrimmage game.

While we have been known to play poorly early in the season, I was distraught over the lack of competitiveness shown in the scrimmage. Passion is something which I know must exist in order for teams to win. There is no substitute for wanting to win and be willing to put everything on the court in order to do so.

After watching the game footage, I seethed for several hours and allowed the anger to stew and get nice and hot. When practice time came, I was ready to let the team know what my expectations were.

Imagine after all the positive words, all the time spent encouraging that some wild maniac shows up for practice.

Don't worry parents. There was no abuse. No balls thrown at your daughters. No words said which weren't carefully chosen to make them become better. There was some spittle coming off my lips, a few veins popping out of my neck, a red hue covering cheeks and throat, and then, there was fire coming right out of my eyes, but nothing which could have caused physical harm.

The problem is this: they are much better than what they showed. They needed to break through their ideas about what they could and could not do. Using anger to get them to move past their limitations isn't my chosen path. I'd prefer just to ask and to watch them grow.

I have learned, though, anger used in the right manner can produce positive results. It is not something to be utilized daily, and it should not be the corner stone of our practice time. Monday, though, it was what was needed.

After I threw my temper tantrum, a qualified two year old's fit, they responded. Ali penetrated to the basket and scored. Tiana picked up her on-the-ball defense. Lindsey became more aggressive on offense looking for her shot. Tarenna decided she could become a scorer outside the paint, and Mo showed her rebounding capabilities.

I, on the other hand, got totally worn out. Exhausted. Pooped right down to my little toe. This mad coach stuff is hard on the heart and the body. Hopefully, I won't have to go back to it this season, but I will if it is needed. They need to know they can become awesome and if it takes me getting out of my comfort zone to make them get out of theirs, then that is what I will do.

I just hope it is not too often. Let us hope our next scrimmage is more promising.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Creating Masterpieces From Catastrophes

Last Wednesday I was the speaker at the Lions Club here in Charleston. My topic was "Creating Masterpieces From Catastrophes." From my blog last week you would know I don't really believe in catastrophes--only opportunities. As always, it is far easier to speak these words than to practice them.

There were six points I presented at the meeting:
1. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.
2. Don't take anything personally.
3. Give your best and forget the rest.
4. Think of every "crisis" as opportunity.
5. Make laughter a part of every day. Find reasons to smile.
6. Look for and accept your "angels" meaning those people who come into your life as mentors and teachers.

I was pretty proud of the words I had presented. They sounded positive and strong rolling off my tongue. Then a couple of days later I had to practice what I had preached.

It is far, far easier to say the words than live them!

Before our first practice on Friday, one of our players quit without any rhyme or reason. She was a phenomenal player with an incredible future ahead of her. It is a longer story than I have time for here, but suffice it to say we had invested much effort into getting her into school, going to classes and feeling a part of the team.

We could have been devastated, angry and vengeful. We could have wasted a lot of energy into those emotions which would have taken us the wrong direction. I will not say it was easy to simply drop her and go forward. I was hurt by her abandonment of the team who had given so generously to her and who had loved her. I was mad she broke her promise to me to finish this season. I was upset she had blown this opportunity to move forward in her life.

Yet I knew this event was a lesson, a gift and an opportunity for us. Although it wasn't clear exactly how this was going to help us, I knew from experience this was going to make us stronger and better.

We presented her departure as a small, matter-of-fact event and went forward with our training. A couple of days later, Tiana Beatty said to me, "Her quitting is a great omen. The last time she quit, we got to the national tournament and won our first game. This time we are going all the way."

I couldn't have received a better gift.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Trouble in Paradise???

Did the subject line get you interested? If you are a parent, did you fear this was about your daughter? Were you eager to hear the "bad" news?

Oops. I lied. I just wanted to grab your attention. There is no trouble here--only opportunities for growth. For certain there are lessons to be learned, but I don't view those as trouble.

We might have a few instances where players "forget" to go to class or struggle with turning in their assignments on time. In these instances, we gently prod them to do what is right. By gentle prodding, I mean making their teammates run more on conditioning days or maybe even kicking them out of practice until they come to the awareness school is important. (You might be wondering if this is gentle what the hard stuff is, but I'll save that for another blog.)

Last week we had a player who temporarily lost her notebook and didn't have her journal answers prepared on time. She bargained with me to not make the team run because of her failure. When she offered to run 10 suicides if I wouldn't make the team run additional sprints, I agreed. I'm not certain she was happy I so quickly agreed with her offer, and I don't know if she learned not to lose her notebook or if her lesson included never offering to run 10 suicides for her teammates. I'd prefer she learned not to lose her notebook.

My view is every day is an opportunity for the players to get better and to discover something about themselves. I don't believe there are mistakes. Mistakes are chances to get better, to expand, to listen and to learn. So when a player comes to me who has experienced a mistake, I want to know what they have learned. It does not mean they are free from consequences for their actions, but I am interested if they have grown to a new level.

We had some players who made poor decisions over the weekend. Since it was over the weekend, you might be able to guess what those decisions involved. I can remember when I was a student-athlete and had a few poor decision-making weekends. Fortunately, I paid for them which made me learn how to make better choices. I am hoping that the 30 minute butt-breaking workout I put them through on Tuesday will enlighten them. If not, the next lesson will be tougher.

Some people learn lessons slower than others. For those people the consequences become tougher each time. The important thing I want them to learn is to admit their mistakes, be willing to grow from them, and finally to forgive themselves. After suffering a consequence the continual beating up of self serves no purpose. Forgiveness allows them to go forward with confidence and clarity.

Is there trouble in paradise? Never. There is only opportunity.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

New Found Wisdom

Last week as we were doing our positive circle which is a an opportunity for each player to share something positive, I asked what they had learned since the beginning of the year. We took turns sharing our positive thoughts for the day.

Not many players loved what I said during my turn. I said, "I have learned players can be pushed further than I believed." While I thought this was an incredible new awareness, I found when the players groaned they were not necessarily aligned with my new found wisdom.

Pushing players is what coaches are supposed to do. It is our best way of making players expand who they are. So many of the young women I coach box themselves into a small space where they are guided by the thoughts "I can only do this or that." Such silly thoughts.

Yesterday the players ran 18's which is a little sprint set where the players build up from one to two to three to four court lengths and so on until they reach eight sprints then they reverse the order and come back down the ladder. I suppose it wouldn't have been as difficult without the clock and the times we had arranged for them. It was the all out sprint which created problems.

I can always tell when something is difficult when players start hitting the wall. This is when the asthma kicks in, players hyperventilate, cramps occupy their calves, a hamstring is strained and their legs are wobbling so hard they have difficulty standing up.

Since nobody passed out and Lindsey Kentner and Ali Tobias were still running, I assumed all was well. When these two get tired, I know I have made the workout too hard.

Five players out of 15 made the times for all the sprints. This is what I wanted--making the workout challenging enough that players had to go all out and risk everything to make the times. It is the risk I want--the heart, the drive, the ability to reach inside and pull something more out of themselves.

I want them to be willing to risk it all on the court, to leave their hearts and minds there. To be so exposed as to feel vulnerable yet to know that by risking they can receive the greatest of all gifts--becoming the very best they can become.

Even though not all of them made their times, they pushed themselves. They tried with every ounce of their beings. This was success and I was pleased.

While they are counting down then number of days until official team workouts (October 15th), I am still thinking of ways to push them further. They will eventually love me for it even if right now that thought is far, far away from their minds.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

What Makes a Player Tough?

Every week we take a few minutes to ask our players a question. The question is often directed toward self-awareness in the hopes our players will take the time to listen to their internal voices. All personal development starts with self-awareness.

Last week I asked them to write their definition of mental toughness. There were some great definitions.

"The will and power to push past the doubt in a situation and believe that obstacles are mere challenges."

"The toughness in your mind when your body is past the point of exhaustion and your mind takes control and pushes you forward. It is also being able to move on to the next play with no reaction or thought."

"Mental toughness is staying calm in pressure situations, is getting up after you fall, and is adapting to any situation no matter the adversity."

"To me, mental toughness is when you have nothing left and you're fighting yourself and your mind to think and be positive. Also, it is not allowing anything negative to enter your mind."

After they had written their definitions, I asked them to rate themselves on a scale of one to five with one being the lowest and five being the highest. I was pleased the seniors all rated themselves as a four. A five rating would have been better but a four means they believe in themselves. The others . . . well they were not as confident. They still need to see themselves in a different light. They still need to believe they can achieve.

It is all a matter of the mind!

What I would like to see in each player is the ability to recognize their negative thoughts, to work on replacing them with positive thoughts and to know the power which comes with this process. Negative thoughts are limiting. They have no place for players who want to be mentally tough.

Negative thinkers expect the worst, place the blame on others, fail to trust themselves or others, take on a poor me attitude and cannot see they are responsible for creating what they are experiencing. Due to the way they think, they feel hopeless, worried, fearful, angry and frustrated.

Positive thinkers look for the best in all situations, seek solutions, seek help from others, know what they want and have a plan, and are willing and ready to receive inspiration. They find joy, happiness, success, achievement and fulfillment.

Mental toughness is not something players are born with; it is something they receive from their beliefs. The great thing is every player has the ability to control her mind. It is as simple and as complex as that.

Not one player who thinks she cannot do something ever achieves it. NOT ONE! This is the mind talking. This is controllable.

What I want from every player is her willingness to listen to what she tells herself, to stop the negative thoughts from getting in her way, and to replace them with positive thoughts. When she is able to do this, she is mentally tough and the court is hers to own.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Active Rest Week

Last week as we pushed our players, provided a few necessary lessons about going to classes, and asked them to get tougher, I kept reminding them next week was active rest week. Our upper class players in full awareness of what was to come were able to push themselves through the challenges.

The freshmen on dead legs and bodies which were sore from toenails to the crown of their heads wanted to know what active rest week meant. Finally, Tiffany Scott, a rookie from Sylvania, OH, gave me the best definition I've ever heard. She said, "I was talking to my mom and telling her we had active rest week next week. She asked me what that meant. I told her I didn't know but everybody told me it was the best thing ever. It was just like Christmas!"

So this week according to Tiffany, we are on Christmas break. This is not exactly the truth. There are no presents involved, no holiday dinners and no festive activities. We are, however, giving the players an opportunity to recover, to allow their bodies a chance to rejuvenate and their minds a chance to catch up to what we've been teaching.

What are we doing this week? In place of running sprints and then running some more, we are playing games. Since NCAA rules don't allow us to have a basketball, we play ultimate frisbee, gator ball, Hungarian dodge ball, and other games which involve a lot of running.

The difference in training is really in their minds. There is not a clock or a timer, no extra punishments for not making the times; only a consequence of sprints for the losers. There is still running involved and sweat . . . lots of sweat.

In weight training, we change our P90X Plus routine and provide something a little less challenging. We don't want them to lose their edge they have gained by pushing them the past three weeks; we do want them to feel revitalized and eager to return to tougher practices.

What Tiffany doesn't know is when the players come back from "Christmas" we push them harder. I guess none of the upper class players explained that concept to her. Oops!

So next week we increase the number of sprints they run, decrease the amount of time they run them in, and we push harder in individual practices. I'm not certain what the upper class players call this week and I probably don't want to know.

Hopefully they enjoy the holiday this week while preparing their minds and bodies for the challenges to come.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Getting Tough With P90X

A few years ago I was sick and unable to get out of bed, running a high fever with chills and aches all over my body. Since I am not a television junkie and, in fact, not a person who likes to be still for longer than 25 minutes, the illness was driving me crazy. I needed to move even when going to the bathroom five steps away was enough to completely exhaust me.

Lying in bed, mindlessly watching game shows and old movies, I found an infomercial for P90X which is an extreme workout. So I watched and visualized myself working out, and then when I was getting better and my thoughts became more rational, I realized it was my players who should be getting the benefit of an extreme workout. Right then and there I purchased the entire P90X package.

In fact, not only do I have the original series, I actually have all of Tony Horton's workouts which by the way the Golden Eagles have come to love. Well . . . not all of them. In fact, I'm pretty certain the newcomers are not very fond of P90X. It is the way they shake and nearly pass out which makes me think this. Upon further review, maybe it is just the coaching staff who loves the workouts.

What I love about the workouts is how much they challenge the players. Who wouldn't want to try to do a combination of lat pulls and push-ups for two minutes? Who wouldn't want to do a lunge while executing a bicep curl or a tricep hammer curl? Who wouldn't want to do a combat push-up for a minute and a half? Who wouldn't want to go from one challenging exercise to another with only a 20 second rest?

The problem I've found is not the exercise; it is the puddle of sweat accumulating at the players' feet. This puddle seems to grow in size and depth until the sweat has formed a miniature swimming pool. With the sweat pool all around them, their hands tend to slip during push-ups and their feet slide every which direction. If they wouldn't sweat so much I'm certain the exercises would be easier.

While I understand P90X is probably not sport specific for basketball; it is a mental toughness workout. When players can go through a 40 minute workout with only two 30 second breaks, continue through an exercise when their breaths are pounding in their chests and their muscles are next door to total exhaustion, then I know they will be able to talk themselves through a double overtime, a week with three games in it and a long road trip.

If the P90X is not enough, we manage to do a little 40 minute conditioning workout before hitting the weights. Our goal here is simple enough: we want the players to sprint so hard they feel their heartbeats in their toes. If they are able to stand up and walk easily out of the gym after a conditioning workout, we have failed to make them better. Somebody should be on the floor unable to move, struggling for breath and praying thankfully that sprints are over for the day.

Preseason is about mental toughness and mental toughness is what the game is. If we can succeed in creating the right mental attitude now, the games we play will be so much easier.

I believe we are on the right path. I love the heart, the desire and the passion and I love TONY HORTON and P90X.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

There are memorable moments every preseason--moments where athletes push past their self imposed limits, where they gain muscle and watch with wondering eyes in the mirror as biceps bulge, where sweat is left in puddles at their feet as they run past the final line in suicides, and when a leader is formed by a moment of pure passion.

While I could write about any of the above with a certain amount of awe and pride, I want to share with you the moment when a leader was born.

Last week as we were running timed suicides, the players kept forgetting to touch the lines. We believe every line should be touched because it is a sign of doing the little things right. We can't allow small things to slip. Small things become larger events and we want our players to live up to high expectations.

With each misstep, the players suffered a consequence of a minute of planks or a minute of boats. Both of these exercises are tough enough on their own but within the confines of fatigue, they become much harder. Holding a plank after sprinting all out feels like having an elephant sit on your back as you hold yourself completely level on a horizontal plane.

We had gone through about seven of these when Lindsey Kentner decided enough was enough. Before I continue with this tale, you should know a little bit of history about Ms. Kentner. She is a level-headed, intelligent and calm player who in the midst of the greatest game will never blink an eye. She is not one to cheer or pound her chest or do cartwheels even after she makes the most impossible of shots. She just shoulder shrugs and sighs as if this is an every day experience.

In fact, prior to this moment I am about to divulge I don't believe I ever witnessed more of an emotion than a slight smile curling on the edge of her lips. Oh, there was the one time when she mildly raised a fist in the air after hitting the game-winning three point shot. That was an extreme display of emotion for her.

Then the improbable happened. She exploded. She ranted and raved. She told her teammates in the most passionate tone that their behaviors were simply unacceptable. It was not the single curse word she let slip which made her point; it was her passion. She didn't just want her teammates to come up to the next level; she implored them to get there. NOW.

It was beautiful--such an act outside of who she was that I almost called practice right then and there. She had to reach so deep inside herself, to touch a place where she never went to get there. This is what we want from our players--to reach out and touch a place inside themselves they didn't know existed. This is growth. This is expansion. This is success.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

The Power of VIsion Boards

Our first team meeting was more than impressive; it was almost surreal. Over the summer I had requested the players to make vision boards which would include pictures, phrases and words of what they wanted to accomplish this season. The boards are to remain on the wall near their beds or on their ceilings or some place where they can see them on a daily basis. The purpose of the vision boards are to assist them in visualizing their dreams.

During the first meeting, each player got up in front of the team to display her vision board and to explain what the board meant to her. It was immediately clear the players took the homework assignment seriously. They had cut out photos of championship trophies, teams celebrating, nets being cut down and UC teammates celebrating the conference championship two years ago. The boards reflected not only a vision but a feeling. I could almost feel each player's dream as she held up her board.

In order to reach our goals, our players must feel and visualize their dreams making them as real as possible. Faith is just that--acting on something as if it has already occurred. It is faith in our future which we are visualizing and feeling.

The ability to visualize and feel with intense emotion an event which has not yet occurred is a precursor to success. If our players will feel as if they can accomplish a championship, then they are very close to achieving one. If they cannot get that feeling in their heads, then we have no chance of success.

Acting upon an event as if it has already occurred changes everything. The players work harder. They believe. They push. They encourage. They desire. If they know they can, then they train as if they can. Practices become a quest rather than a drudgery.

I am a believer in the power of dreams and I see that power in each player as she gains strength in the dream of the team.

It is early but I feel the heartbeat of this team and it is a strong one.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Saying Goodbye to Katy Arick

It was a successful year in terms of the journey, the miles of emotional growth the players ascended, but yet it ended so much shorter of our desired outcome. We had dreamed from the beginning to get back to the NCAA Regional Tournament, to be back in the WVIAC Championship game, yet we fell short of all of goals.

We won 20 games which for most programs and players is a positive outcome, but for us 20 is short of our expectations. On average, we have won 22 games a season with some seasons like the 2005-06 year being an incredible one with over 30 victories. Sitting back and evaluating the year, we know had we won the close ones at the beginning of the year, we would have been a different team. It is winning the close ones early which provides confidence and assurance of good things to come. Losing those games places doubt and anxiety in the brain.

It it true we were in every game with opportunities to win them. We were never blown out and never so deep over our heads against talent that we knew there was no hope. In the nine games we lost, we lost by an average of 4.7 ppg. They were close; they were heart breakers. One bounce of the ball, one missed free throw, one foul, or one missed call could have been the difference. These are the games I still feel deep within my soul. The wins I have already let go.

Mostly I feel for our lone senior, Katy Arick. She had some real ups and downs as a player not due to her lack of effort or determination but due to knee injuries and other team personnel issues. Her freshmen year, we were relatively successful winning 23 games while losing only 8, but we missed the regional bid by bowing out early in the conference tournament. Her sophomore year was one of the worst in UC recent history with us not reaching the 20 win mark and teammates who didn't share in the dream of winning. The junior year was remarkable in that we turned a 17-10 record into a 26-7 record, winning the conference, the conference tournament, and the first game in the regionals. This year, being the lone senior on the team, she had wanted so much more.

She gave her best, diving for loose balls, playing on a bum knee, never complaining, stepping up to take charges, saying the tough things to teammates a leader has to say, and finally scoring 1,054 career points. I want her to feel good about her achievements and what she gave to the program. I know I do and I know Katy's accomplishments will not stop now for she has a bright future. She will be a successful businesswoman. In just four years, she has managed to earn two undergraduate degrees and a Master's Degree in Business Administration in Leadership. WOW!

I am thankful for her attitude, her laughter, her intelligence, and her willingness to be coached. She was always gracious to her teammates and to her coaches, and she was a competitor in every sense of the word. I will miss you Katy. Thank you for four wonderful years. I wish it could have ended better.

Turning on The Light

I know I have not kept regular blog days this past few weeks. I am having a difficult time prioritizing what is most important: recruiting, scouting opponents, preparing for practices or writing the blog. Unfortunately, the blog keeps getting pushed to the back because I know without the others I won't have a job for long and the blog . . . well, the blog is just for fun.

This week I want to mention a single player--one who is been on the team for 2 1/2 years but who has not received much attention. She is strong, powerful, athletic, quick, plays solid defense and can score, and she did all these things in preseason never allowing herself the opportunity to show up in games the same way she did in preseason practices.

We have waited for her to become the incredible player we told her she was, but she didn't buy into what we told her until recently. In the past three weeks, she has found her inner light and has begun to shine in every aspect of the game. As coaches we are astounded by what she is accomplishing and at the same time aware she had this talent all along. Our amazement is that she has finally allowed herself to be the superb player we all knew she was.

I am thrilled for her, excited when she does something good and am hopeful this new found confidence will shine in other areas of her life. We want our players to believe they can become anything, accomplish the seemingly impossible. It is what we preach on a daily basis, but alas we cannot reach into their brains and flip the confidence switch. They must do this for themselves.

Moneka Slaughter found that switch. It took her a little longer than I would have preferred but she found it. Some people go through life never believing, never seeing their talents; they surrender to what they believe life has given them. BUT Mo, well she has found the strength to change, to seek something better for herself, and as a team we are all behind her and cheer her on when she makes a steal or blocks a shot or catches the ball with one hand and slaps into her chest.

This week I give three cheers for Moneka and I hope this is just the beginning of a life full of confidence and fulfillment.

Loving The Journey

There was a psychology teacher who was giving her class an oral exam on the chapter of mental illnesses. She asked the question: "What would you call a person who is exuberant one moment, pacing up and down screaming at the top of her lungs and the next moment is sitting down, head held between her hands sobbing?" A student in the back row raised her hand and replied, "A basketball coach!"

I know the feeling--total exuberance, excitement, a feeling of euphoria, the moment when all seems to come together. I know this feeling. It was the home game against West Virginia Wesleyan when all our shots fell, when the defensive timing was right, when all the players were on the same page. And then again, I felt the joy of winning in Glenville where they hadn't lost a home game, where the crowd can be a bit rough, and when they created 28 turnovers yet we still found a rhythm and a way to win.

And only a short two days later in the game against Davis and Elkins, I felt the sobs, the tears, the heartache of watching the Golden Eagles fall after two such decisive victories. It is like this for a coach and team--the coming together, the feeling of complete and utter joy when the journey takes a turn toward our goals and dreams, and then the disappointment and pain when the road seems to curve too far and the dream disappears from view.

Sometimes we forget that life is a journey and a season is a segment of life, of this journey that we are here to travel. We forget a journey is this great opportunity for growth, to extend ourselves, to create new possibilities. What we think we want is to get to the end of the rainbow, to sit at the pot of gold without taking the trip. We believe we would be content with the arrival of our dreams without the journey, but the problem with that is we would not be the people we are.

I look at the players who are on the court and I am thrilled with who they are today--who they created themselves to become. I think of Tarenna and the young woman who used to put her head down with every missed shot, who quit at the first taste of adversity and who now has the strength and maturity to push through bad shots. I remember Tiana who took every coaching critique personally and who got too angry to receive any tips from her teammates and who now can listen, shake her head in the affirmative and continue to play hard. I remember Lindsey who just a year ago when she missed a shot would quit shooting, believing she wouldn't make the next one. And now, this tremendous shooter, just keeps shooting knowing the next shot will fall. How about Ali and Katy? Ali was the teary-eyed player, who when things weren't going well couldn't get her confidence back and today she fights through the tears, not letting them fall, keeping them in check and allowing herself the ability to get back on the court and play with toughness. And Katy? Well, Katy was the player who could never make the time for the 12 minute run until this year. She was the player who couldn't play back-to-back games tough until this season.

Who would they be without the journey? Who would they be without this opportunity to get better? I am thankful for the journey, for the ups and downs, for the challenges that get placed in front of us, because in the end, we are here for the growth, for that opportunity to become better people and players. What we must learn to do is to enjoy the journey no matter where it takes us having faith our dream is still real.

Playing on Pluto

Sometimes the game can eat you up, tear up your insides, making your intestines jelly and your stomach cement. It can make you go crazy as you watch perfectly good players become aliens from another planet, substituting spaghetti for brains and tombstones for hands. When you look into the eyes of your players and they are glazed over, a sheen covering their pupils, making them appear glassy and reflective, then you know they have left planet earth and are taking a trip far, far away in a different galaxy. This is the time coaches appear insane, doing things fans believe should qualify them for the loony bin. We cajole, make jokes, plead, jump up and down, yell, and scream encouragement all while attempting to bring our players back to the court.

Last week was one such game as I watched helplessly from the sideline as the Golden Eagles forgot who they were. Every offensive principle we had taught was thrown into space somewhere orbiting Pluto. We build our offense on ball reversals and the inside-outside principle, spreading the defense, making them shift side to side until we find the hole, the split, the opening to take advantage. When we play in this fashion, we are strong, utilizing the strengths of each of our players. When we forget and start to pretend only 1/4 of the floor exists and the paint is toxic to our touch, then we don't perform as well.

Defensively was perhaps worse, if possible, than our offense, as we allowed our opponents every opportunity to do exactly as they pleased. Our defensive principles rest on the concept of taking something away the offense wants to achieve. We study their game, their individual players and come up with a plan which will limit or disrupt what they do well. When we give them what they desire, our defense falls apart.

This happens once or twice a year when perfectly good players are lost in their own bodies. It is a phenomena every team experiences; it is not limited to the Golden Eagles. A coach only hopes it occurs on a night when the opponent is weak enough her players can fight through it and still claim a victory.

The danger in playing such a game is players tend to start believing the bad game is who they are--not all the other games when they played as somebody else who inhabits their body on a daily basis. What does a team do to recover? How do they go back and ask their bodies and brains to operate on normal?

This is the million dollar question--the one if I answered correctly would net me a book deal, a new house in Montana and early retirement. While I do have an answer, it is not easy to provide because it requires players to manage their thoughts--to listen intimately to their daily inner conversations, and to change the negative thoughts which swirl around their brains telling them such nonsense as they are not fast enough, smart enough, quick enough, etc. The mind is a powerful tool and we rarely spend time cultivating it, tending to it as if it were a beautiful garden providing us with all the nutrition we would ever need.

The power is always in the thought. Those players who are great BELIEVED they were great long before any coach or parent or sibling told them so. They knew it to be true. I tell my players all the time how good they are, what talents they possess, how they can become better, feeding them positive words for their garden, but if they can't hear me and always answer with a but then I can't help them. For example, if I tell them they are a great three point shooter but when they hear me, they add "but only when I am wide open and get three seconds to shoot the ball" then they have limited their belief system.

Since I couldn't get into their brains to rewire them, I did the second best thing and asked to write down 10 positive things they gained from the loss, 10 ways they played better when they were enthusiastic and motivated, and to list each of their teammates and a great thing about them and then the one thing which if they changed would make them better. I then had them share their thoughts with one another, hoping the words on paper would filter through into their brains.

We have not played a game since departing planet earth, but we have practiced and the team appears normal . . . at least as normal as they can appear with a crazed coach pushing them to get past their self-imposed limits.

The Blessings of Being a Coach

Sometimes as a coach I feel absolutely blessed by the members of my team. They make me smile. They make me laugh. They make me feel young. They make me proud. During the game against Ohio Valley last Thursday night was one of those nights when I was in such a state.

We were not playing well, shooting the ball rather poorly, slow to transition to defense, forgetting to box out. We were in the gym physically but had left our brains somewhere on the rather slow-moving van ride in the sleet and snow between Charleston and Vienna. The athletes from Ohio Valley were giving us all we could handle, bringing their best and making us sweat.

Tarenna and Tiana, two of our consistent starters, were struggling with their shots, feeling a little out of sorts and beginning to feel the consternation which comes with doing less than their best. Their attitudes started to falter and they began to look toward the negative side of themselves and teammates. A year ago, Tarenna would have continued the down slide letting herself tumble into the abyss of negativity. She would have doubted her skills and performed at a lower rate. Tiana would have gotten angry, mad at her teammates and coaches and would have shown frustration on her lips, eyes, jaws, on every limb and every particle of her being.

BUT that was a year ago. This year that is not who they are. They have been transformed into strong women, women who believe in their abilities, who see the power of enthusiasm. After half time, they came out dressed in smiles, determination and self worth. They carried themselves differently, taller and stronger, powerful women in maroon shorts and shirts.

During the second half, they left all doubts behind and became the heart and the strength of the team. They encouraged others and stepped up their games. They played with the heart of warriors, battling for rebounds, sprinting the floor on transition, and taking the ball to the hoop without fear.

I sat back on the bench and smiling felt that parental feeling which comes when a child does well, when she reaches an apex, an epiphany, the top of the world. I felt that way then, the parent loving the child, loving what the child had become. They gave a gift to me that day--the gift of emotional maturity, of a child growing into a woman, and I felt blessed.

A Team Player

Every coach who coaches a team sport understands the challenge of getting players to buy into the concept of team. Players, by nature, want to be individually successful. They want to start, to get playing time, to score points, to grab rebounds, to be the one who made the assist. They want to feel important.

While this is what I want my players to desire, I also want them to accept the role which most benefits the team. Those roles when viewed by outsiders appear to be less significant but in the scheme of the team, they are of high value. Every team needs a player willing to be the screener, the one who gets the shooter open or a defensive stopper who refuses to allow the opponent's number one scorer to get her points or a rebounder who boxes her player out every time so a teammate can grab the ball. None of these stats are charted nor noticed by the media, but they are instrumental to the success of a team.

Every single player is of value to a team whether they are practice players who hustle every drill or scorers who get the nod for player of the week. In a team, every individual has to note her significance and build on it to create the unity needed to accumulate victories.

I think for the most part, we have team players but there is one player who has over the years bought into the team concept totally without remorse. After our game against Davis and Elkins, Katy Arick came to me asking if the possibility existed she could rest in our next game knowing our opponent was one who had yet to win a game. She has played throughout most of her career with knee pain, still throwing her body on the floor after any loose ball and taking charges even when the player dribbling toward the basket is thirty pounds heavier than her.

When I told her I would allow her to rest if she knew she needed it, but that the possibility existed she could potentially score a thousand points this year if she played in 30 games. Without hesitation she said, "Scoring a thousand points would be nice but it is simply not that important. Winning is important."

I knew she meant it. She left the idea of statistics behind her first year on the team, realizing winning was more fun than scoring a few points. She has been the ultimate team player since, doing what she can for the team, sacrificing her body and being the ultimate team leader. I am thankful for Katy's attitude and effort, for her willingness to play through pain, and for her recognition that what she does on and off the floor is incredible. She has made my life on the coaching floor so much easier.

Thank you Katy!

Letting Go and Believing

What does a coach do when she knows she has the makings of a great team but the team hasn't fully bought into that knowledge? I believe the Golden Eagles have the intelligence, the athleticism, the work ethic, the team chemistry, and the leadership to be awesome, yet we sometimes play as if we are tentative, afraid of what the outcome of the game might be, fearful perhaps there will be dire consequences. I've never seen a player shot for missing a basket, nor one executed for making a mistake.

Here is what I understand. I understand we are good but we are sometimes not aware of our own talents. This is not a new concept; it is the oldest play in the book. It is the card of unworthiness we all pull out on occasion, believing somehow we are not good enough to receive blessings. It is the negative drum beat we play, beating the same rhythm of unworthiness some coach or teacher or friend sold us when we were younger.

We have several players who can knock down the three pointer and shoot it with such consistency opponents have to respect them. We have intelligent players who can read screens, anticpate the defense and get an open look off reading a fade or a slip or a curl. We have a low block player who no defensive player can get around because her feet are so quick. We have players who can penetrate to the basket or stop and pop the jump shot. We have good free throw shooters and rebounders who can fly close to the rim. We have defensive players who can play opponents to their weaknesses. We truly have enough to be one of the best.

It is not the mistake or the error which haunts us; it is our ability to it go. It is not that we are not an awesome team; it is our ability to believe it. It is not the lack of skills our players have; it is our lack of recognition of those skills. We are so close to being great, to finding the winners within our bodies I get giddy with anticipation. If the team can hold onto the thought of greatness, let go of past mistakes, and believe in our talents, then we can create the future we so much desire.

Joy, Laughter and Success

This team is unique and different as all of my teams have been, but this one seems to generate energy off of fun and laughter. When they laugh together, they find unity and when they find unity, they play well. So in lieu of my usual intense self, I've had to relax with them and just enjoy the moment which quite frankly has made my life easier and less stressful.

As they have discovered fun, they have become stronger in their play. In our most recent two games, both of our opponents made hard runs at us, closing the gap within the final minutes, pushing us to change our tempo and our approach to the game. During timeouts when the game got tough, I looked into the eyes of our players and I didn't see fear or anxiety but the relaxation which comes only through faith and joy.

Some teams get angry at one another when things get tough, some scream and yell, others panic, or find fault with their teammates, but this team has decided somewhere in that vast mysterious part of the body called the brain to reach for joy. In the game against UPJ, as I gathered my coaches away from the bench during a timeout to discuss strategy, the players had already decided what they wanted to do and had found some manner of lightness with which to present it. By the time I got to them, I could see they had already made the resolution and pact to win, yet they politely gave me their attention as if trying to make me feel good about my efforts.

Winning to them is important but more importantly they want to feel good about what they are doing. They want to love the game and to love playing the game. By doing this, they have found the true key to success which is passion for what they are doing.

I am happy to be a part of what they are generating on a day-to-day basis. I have to keep reminding myself of who they are and how they operate--that they are fun-loving people who want the best from life. So the most important thing we can keep doing as a group is to continue to have fun, to laugh, to find the joy of doing our best and to allow those things to flow through us. I believe by doing this, success will simply flow and we won't have to strive hard for it.

Where Did They Go--The Dynamite Kids?

What happened to the dynamite kids, the ones who loved the anticipation of the last second of the game to see who won? Did they disappear into Christmas cheer? Did the holiday spirit envelope them? Did they forget the essence of who they were during their seven days of vacation?

Let me first determine I am okay with change. Change is inevitable as people evolve and these young women have evolved! Wowser! All of a sudden, there was confidence, an inner glow of knowing, of assurance, of the awareness they were good. It was as if they suddenly understood their talents.

In the first game after the winter break, we became the team that the Golden Eagles are known for--an intense, focused team with great defense, offensive play centered on togetherness, and players who knew their roles and performed them to perfection. We had inside-outside play with Tarenna solid in the low block, great three point shooting from Lindsey, Ali, and Chrissy, penetration to the basket from Tiana and Chrissy, substitutes coming off the bench to keep the momentum flowing and fast break lay-ups from a variety of players.

Defensively, we started to play our scouting report, defending the opponents to their weaknesses, and making them do things out of their comfort zone. Finally, we are talking more on defense, rotating to the open player and feeling comfortable getting out in the passing lane to get deflections and steals.

I am not sad the dynamite kids have disappeared or at least gone on furlough for a while. I am comfortable winning by twenty points, sitting down at the end of the game, breathing regularly and allowing everybody on the team to get playing time. For a moment, it felt to me like the teams I coached in 2005 and 2006 who played with such force and determination they regularly defeated opponents by 20 points. I liked that moment, watching the players on the court perform as I knew they could, watching them moving with ease and confidence, free of self doubt and full of passion for the game.

I hope the Dynamite Kids stay on vacation replaced by these women I saw on the court. While I loved the thrill and excitement of hanging onto the edge of every game, I'm okay with watching confident players doing what they do best.