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.
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