Loving The Life Of A Coach

Most people have no clue what goes on behind the doors of the gymnasium. Some people have this concept the coaches spend their day hanging out, talking to peers, working out in the fitness center and waiting around until practice begins as if practice time is when our day really starts. The truth is the day sometimes begins at 10:00 a.m. and sometimes at 5:30 a.m. Sometimes it ends at 6:30 in the evening and sometimes earlier but on away trips, it usually lasts until 2:00 a.m. We don't get the holidays the other staff members at the university receive as our season rolls right through Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break. Oh it is true, we now receive a seven day recovery time during the Christmas holidays because of the NCAA Division II Life in The Balance Initiative, but our peers get a four week vacation.

So what do coaches do in a normal day? Well, first of all there is no such thing as normal. Nope. Not in the world of coaching. Every day brings a hotbed of new challenges to the table. Sometimes we have to stop everything for a "crisis" of one of our players. I put the word in quotation marks because I rarely see things as a crisis. I mostly see events now as opportunities, as doorways, and as the marker for something better to come, but most of our players have not yet gotten to that philosophy of life. They still think there are good days and bad days and evil lurking around every corner waiting to grab them up and insert its nastiness. It is our job to help them see the good and the light at then end of their perceived tunnel.

When we are not dealing with academic or personal issues of our players, we are preparing for practices, doing the much dreaded NCAA compliance paper work, and recruiting which entails writing emails, making phone calls and watching tons of games. During the season, we are mostly breaking down game film pausing the film, rewinding it, taking notes and watching, watching, watching. The preparation for a single game takes hours. We have to discover through game film how to defeat our opponents and what are the keys to winning the game, and then we must sell that to our players in a way they understand it.

The life of a coach is hectic, stressful but oh-so-rewarding. It is not the wins which feel so good; it is witnessing the growth of the players, watching them as they transition to better people. It is getting an email from Ali Tobias saying thank you and telling me how I touched her life, and hearing from Mr. Carmen how Kika is now attending law school because she learned so much from playing at UC. It is watching Jihan who we literally had to babysit through classes to make certain she graduated now bring her books and computer to study for graduate school while she is visiting her boyfriend. It is knowing I have so many former players who are now extremely successful in their chosen careers.

Coaching is a crazy profession. It requires a dedication beyond the ordinary; it requires people who live with a passion for the teaching of the game. I know I am blessed to have been a coach for 22 years, and I am so grateful for each player who passed through the gyms where I coached for each one of them taught me something valuable and made me a better person.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Firing From The Hip With Chrissy Keir

There are probably not many coaches who would have recruited Chrissy Keir as she stands about 5'2" on a good day with extra padding in her high top shoes. In fact, I clearly remember the day we were recruiting her. It was in a gym on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. where teams were playing on ten courts. We happened to be sitting at her court because we were watching the point guard from the other team.

As we sat and observed, we became more and more enamored with her ability to squeeze a ball between two defenders, to see the floor, and to monitor the tempo of the game. There were many coaches sitting around us all lamenting her size commenting if she were only taller they would recruit her. I wasn't in on those discussions. What I kept coming back to was the height she played not the height she was.

So now after two years of playing experience where she has shown small bits of her game, letting passes fly from the hip on occasion, holding back just a little, letting the senior starting point guard have the glory, she has finally decided to step up and be a player. During our last two games, she was the floor general fully in command supporting her troops in the way only a general could.

In the game against West Liberty, she did all the little things that only a discerning eye could see--playing position defense, calling out screens, tracing the ball on the dribbler, recognizing the play and calling it out to teammates. None of these are in the stat column, none of these are noted by reporters or even fans, but her coaches and teammates know they all make a difference in the outcome of the game.

Not only has she been playing amazing defense, but she has begun feeling when to push the ball and when to slow down the tempo recognizing the pace of the game we want. She knows when to hold the ball and allow her teammates to get into place or when to push it for the transition basket.

But what I really adore are her passes--the ones she pulls out of her trick cap, the ones nobody sees coming except for her teammates who have learned to keep their hands up and ready. She has this ability to put a spin on the ball which makes the ball travel one way and then back to a teammate. I'm not certain how this works but I do love it when a defender tries to get to the ball and thinks she has a hand on it and then it slides away from her. There is the behind the back pass and the no look pass, the passes that graze defenders' ears as they whistle by their heads on way to the posts in the low block. When she makes one of her amazing passes, it dazzles the crowds and gets her teammates off the bench in excitement creating momentum for the team.

I am thrilled to see the floor general in complete confidence, playing in the zone, commanding her teammates to play harder and faster. If no other coach or opponent notes her importance to this team, I want her to recognize the coaches do. Thanks Chrissy for stepping up and being the player you were meant to be.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Living In Optimism

When I was younger, in my twenties, I considered myself a realist. Most people who knew me would have called me a pessimist but I thought I called things as they were and lived in reality. I had no idea reality is something which is made up in one's mind so I spent much of my time looking at things and seeing the worst possibility and believing in the "facts" other people gave me as truth. Lucky for me I dropped being a realist and signed up for optimism because now I believe in all possibilities and I seek in the best in things.

Take for instance this basketball season. Had I been coaching this team full of youngsters and inexperience in my twenties and early thirties, I'm certain I would have listened to the wisdom of all those who would have offered their belief that youth cannot win big games. I would have bought into this hook, line and sinker thinking like most people do that young players don't have the experience to play in tight situations. I would have coached the team with the mindset we would be a good team the next year and take our lumps for the season.

We started the season 0-3 losing to teams which we could have beaten, looking rather raw and incapable of doing anything remotely close to resembling solid basketball fundamentals. The coaches watched from the sideline as we boinked the ball off the backboard on easy put backs, fumbled passes, threw the ball directly to the players who were not on our team, shot a measly 60% from the free throw line and generally looked like a sandlot group of athletes who were playing basketball for the first time in our lives. It was dreadful and I could have believed we were going to drown in this ugliness, swallowing too much of the missed cues, but I chose to believe in what I knew to be this team's potential.

We have speed and more speed, players who are lightening quick and appear like shadows on the court, coming in and out of a play before the opponents can see them. We have rebounders who can jump up with with great hands grab the ball right out of the air and we have this thing called "passion" which flows through so many team members it is like electricity on the court. Because I now believe in miracles, in the creation of great events in our minds, I didn't panic early in the season; I kept the faith knowing these young women would eventually come to see in themselves what the coaching staff saw in them.

Oh, it is still a work in progress and they are still trying to see the best in themselves, but they have improved from November 12th, our first game, to last night in what only could be called an amazing miracle of sorts. In our first contest, we only scored 46 points. Last night we had 44 points at half time. We have won three straight games and totally changed the pace of the way we play. In my old mind, I would have determined this was a fluke, a one time thing, but in my new mindset, I know it is only the beginning of amazing things to come. These young women will get better and better rising to the occasion, learning to see with their dreams rather than with the "facts" other people might try to sell them.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Coaching Is An Art

It is always interesting to me how the older players always believe I was tougher on them their freshmen year. Every year I hear the same tale--I'm getting softer. It is a story I've heard for the past 21 years. At this rate I should have been a marsh mellow by now.

So I listen to the upper class players and I get tougher for a few days, making them run for not hustling, perform frozen push-ups for not boxing out, jump on the heavy ropes for not using a screen. I yell louder, act tougher and everybody is happy thinking I'm back to my "normal" self. The truth of the matter is I'm a demanding coach year after year and sometimes I do get a little off kilter but never as much as the players claim. The thing is they don't put it in perspective. When they first arrive here, it feels tougher because they have never lived through the experience. First year players always feel targeted, feel they are getting the brunt of the criticism, and are certain I am on their case more than any other player. After the first year, the norm for players is the demanding practice so they don't believe I am being hard enough.

I often alternate between being extremely hard on players and giving them love. It is not uncommon for me to hug a player or slap them playfully on the back. I often tell them they are amazing or awesome or incredible. I believe all people need to hear this regardless of their age. Then there are days when I push and demand and ride them as if they have never done anything right on the court. There is a thin line which a coach must always walk; this line is between allowing a player to remain in her comfort zone and pushing her to a new awakening of her potential. It has to be done with tough love, giving praise and then demanding more.

I know they must feel as if my praise is real and valid so I give it only when they do well. I also know if they hear constant criticism even if it is meant to improve their skills they hear that they are not good enough preventing them from performing at a higher level. It is a thin rope to walk and I try to keep the balance but sometimes I fail and they falter because I haven't been positive enough.

About a week and a half ago I blasted two of my leaders in front of the team yelling at them for a lack of effort, taking them out of their leadership roles, making them run instead of doing drills. This was a calculated plan on my part. If I lost them for the season, we were not going to win a game, but I knew if they heard me and made an adjustment, it could mean success. Both of them were angry at me, refusing to look at me, wanting nothing to do with me believing I was being unfair to them and targeting them. I did target them as they were my leaders; they had to work at a different level.

Now they are playing better and being more vocal leading both through effort and voice. They will forget the practice where they were "targeted" as they play better and the team wins more. Eventually they will know I did this out of love as I wanted them to get to the next level, to be the players hidden inside of themselves.

Coaching is an art and sometimes I do well at it and sometimes I miscalculate. Hopefully, the players know my intentions are always the same--to make them the best possible players they can be.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Losing Is Only the First Step To Winning

After our third loss in a row and a loss to Bluefield State, I've had people calling me, consoling me as if a family member had died. It is interesting to me in the world of athletics how a loss or a losing season makes people get depressed and think less of themselves. I'm not angry or depressed or in a state where I have lost faith in the team or myself.

I know this group of players will figure it out. My teams historically start off slow because I teach so much. I have this philosophy about the game of basketball which includes breaking each part of the game down into a very small portion, teaching each skill exactly how it should be done, demanding the players execute everything correctly. This can result in a type of paralysis where players start to doubt their abilities and initially it hinders their talents, but when they get it, they become three times the player others thought they could be.

I have seen this occur so often that I don't panic over losing games or freshmen not playing to their potential. After all, I've witnessed players evolve from substitutes off the bench to All-Americans. I watched Jihan Williams grow from her freshmen year where I couldn't play her because she wouldn't adhere to our defensive principles to an All-American her senior year. I observed Tarenna Dixon expand from a player who couldn't score consistently to averaging a double-double her senior year. I witnessed Lisa Lee develop from high school where she barely averaged 10 points a game to becoming UC's career leading scorer.

I've watched so many freshmen struggle with our system and with their confidence that I am acutely aware of how we affect them. I've even had parents angry with me after watching their child in their freshmen year, telling me I was ruining their child only to later tell me after their child's senior year they were amazed at how good they had become.

Being a teacher means I have to have patience, to push the team when I think they ought to be pushed, but to love and hug them when they are distraught and in despair. I alternate between being incredibly demanding to being patient hopefully giving the players the feeling of confidence they need to be successful.

If I chose to put them in a system where they ran to spots and had the freedom of not having to think so much, we might be more successful earlier but I am in this for the long haul, wanting them to intimately know and understand the game. Every one of the players at UC will know why each play works, how to correctly defend it, how to read the defense and improve their individual skills. They will be smarter than many coaches and this added game intelligence will give them power; they will feel they can defeat anybody with their brains.

So when people call to console me, they must first know I am okay. I understand we are in the teaching mode and our young players are learning. What I am absolutely confident in is the faith we will discover a way to win and we will get better. We will win some games and defeat some very tough opponents before the season is over. Those who are laughing at us now and doubting us will soon become aware that we don't give up at the University of Charleston. Instead we use each game to get better, each loss as an opportunity for growth.

I am proud of how far we have come this year in only three games and I know with our hard workers and passion, we will continue to grow at an amazing rate.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Change is Good!

On Saturday night I dressed up as a good friend of mine putting on a dress with full accessories of matching earrings, bracelets, a necklace, five inch heels and then went the entire enchilada wearing make-up and pink nail polish. For those of you who don't know me that was a long stretch from who I normally am. My normal attire consists of sweats and t-shirts and occasional jeans. If I get really dressed up, I put on a nice pant suit and a shirt which I pray matches.

The only reason I mention the above is to illustrate how quickly change can occur if one has the desire. This is exactly what the Golden Eagles did on Sunday in our second scrimmage. In just a matter of five days, we shifted from a team who did not comprehend what help side defense was to a team who shut down an opponent. It was an amazing transformation--one that even I had did not expect.

On the very first team meeting, I told them there were two necessary ingredients to creating success. One was the willingness to learn and the other was the willingness to change. Many players want to keep doing the same thing and expect different results which is by the way the definition of insanity. This team, however, understands the need to change and to do it rapidly.

In order to prepare for our scrimmage on Sunday, we prepared differently. Coach Pike took the time to watch the game DVD with small groups of players, pointing out how they performed--the difference between what we wanted from them and what they were doing. We broke down the opponent's offense and worked on defending their pick on balls. We presented a scouting report depicting how to defend their plays and players. We walked through all of their out-of-bounds plays and offensive sets, taking the time to specifically coach the team on exactly how to defend each movement.

This was a lot of information in a short amount of time, yet the team swallowed it, let it digest and then spit it back it back out as if they had been doing these techniques for years. Oh, I know it was only a scrimmage but the implications of how quickly they learned and wanted to do better is the reason I'm so excited. If they are willing to change and grow, great things can happen.

When a victory occurs like that and I'm not simply talking about the scoreboard but the process of change, something goes off inside the team. It is a realization or recognition of potential, of the ability of greatness within themselves. This is what changes players--their belief systems. As much as we try to tell them they can do something, they have to internally believe it and once it becomes a belief, then they show their true talents.

In a matter of a five days we altered who we were. Granted we still have a long journey in front of us, but the future appears bright for players who are committed to learning.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Looking For The Go-To Player

Usually the first scrimmage game is ugly and our initial attempt at playing was not an exception to that rule at all. With only seven players returning and eight freshmen, we are experiencing some concept issues such as playing together. It is always challenging to mold players into a team but now with our youth and inexperience, it is double the challenge.

We have high school players coming in not knowing exactly what their role is, trying to discover what they can and can't do at the collegiate level. Beyond that we lost our top four scorers to graduation so our underclass players are trying to figure out who is going to step up and become the go-to player. At this point, the coaches don't have any answers. We have to wait and see who has the guts, the heart, the talent and the I.Q. to get it done.

This is probably the first time in several years I don't know who our go-to player is. I've got some ideas on who it could be but I'm waiting for that player to show me who she is. A player has to want to score and has to believe in herself. Confidence cannot come from the outside; it has to come from the inside. It might take a few games for somebody to step up. I can remember a few years ago when it took Lindsey Kentner a few games into the season to decide she could score. Heck, it took her two years to decide that when we knew it the first day she walked into the gym. When she finally decided that she was it, she became MVP of the conference.

Do we have another Lindsey Kentner lurking in our midst? I know nobody else will be exactly like her, and we will never have another Jihan Williams, Courtney Thomas, Lisa Lee, or Rachel Pike either. We could have another great player. In fact I'm certain we have several on the court right now. They just don't own that awareness yet.

I am hoping as we push them somebody will emerge as a great player or maybe several players will begin to get that feeling of accomplishment, of the inner knowing they are amazing. I am patiently waiting for greatness to emerge but I hope with my not so gentle prodding, it will be soon.

We have much to learn as a group. On the sideline as a coaching group, we couldn't even tell the team how to adjust in the scrimmage. The problem is with our youth they don't know that they don't know. So if we tell them the other team is running something which we as coaches know how to defend, but our players have no idea of what it really is we can't make adjustments. All we can do is to continue to coach, to continue to teach, to tell them little by little what they need to do. I know we will get there eventually and I truly believe in our talent but it may take a little time.

In the meantime as we are waiting for the go-to player to evolve and for others to find their strengths, we will just have to keep teaching, to continue to push and to keep believing.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

A Special Team

After our seventh practice in four days, I cannot predict the success of this team, but I can predict they will always give 100%. I am fascinated by the way they constantly put their bodies in jeopardy, diving into the chairs, the scorer's table and each other, wanting the ball so badly they will sacrifice their bodies just to grab it. They don't have to be coerced to take charges; they love taking them. It is an honor to be on the floor and to get their jersey dirty. What is amazing is it is not just one or two players doing this; it is the team.

I'm surprised by their capacity to train hard and then come back three hours later to train hard again. This is a group of players who possess a passion, a love for hustle, a determination that oozes out of their pores. They may not do the drills right or execute the technique the way I want it, but I find it so hard to get mad at them when they are doing it with every ounce of energy they possess.

This team doesn't take the criticism or discipline personally. They recognize it for what it is--the coaches' determination to make them the best they can be. If they are a second late and the team runs, they don't look at each other cross-eyed and curse; they encourage one another to get it done.

The first time we introduce a drill, I can barely stand watching it. We appear so disheveled, so out of sorts, all kind of body parts where they shouldn't be, and yet a day later when we do it again, they seem to have miraculously discovered the formula for running the drill correctly. I'm not certain how they achieve this overnight and want to ask them, but I'm afraid I'll mess up whatever they are doing.

After only six weeks of working with this group of players, I think they are special. I'm not talking necessarily about talent but about their emotional maturity, their willingness to be coached and their never-say-die attitude. They possess something which makes me want to be a better coach, which drives me to work harder to make them better. I think this is the greatest compliment a group of players can have--that they make their coaches want to be better.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Surviving The First Real Practice

The first day of official practices is coming closer and with this comes a different coaching staff. For the first six weeks, we are patient in teaching, slowing down our instruction, repeating ourselves often, showing compassion for those who struggle in the learning process. We want the best environment for learning where the players can feel comfortable.

All of that changes as soon as we step on the court for our first real training session. For the freshmen, it is as if the coaches have changed personality, as if some alien has taken over our bodies. It is written in their faces, the way their eyes widen the first time they are yelled at and in the way their cheeks fall and their mouths stay frozen in astonishment.

I would love to be a fly on the wall listening to their rendition of their first practice experience. I'm certain they are all thinking I spent the entire practice yelling at them. At least they have upper class players to tell them all will be well. The juniors and sophomores are living proof of survival, of making it through the intensity, the demands, and the insanity of having to pay attention to every small detail.

A freshman might wonder why it is essential to do something exactly as the coaches preach but an upper class player gets it. She knows why there is such a push to make the little things perfect. She understands how one small detail like jumping to the ball on defense creates so many defensive stops. She gets how that one little detail stops a cutter to the basket, allows her to help and recover on a penetration, gets her through the screen on a back screen, and helps her hedge on a down screen.

The biggest thing the freshmen have to adjust to is not the running in practice but the mental drain of having to listen and to do all the little things. Before coming to the University of Charleston, the idea of having to talk on offense was unimaginable. Now they have call to call out everything they do: call out the person's name they are passing to, call out their screens, call out their pops and dives, call out the cut off a screen. Every freshmen usually only knows one cut off a screen and I allow them to yell "curl" for about a week before I take that away from them, and the moment I ask them to use a different read like straight, slip, fade, dive, their world falls apart.

It is the thinking that does them in. Most of them arrive believing they know basketball but as soon as we start teaching, they think they missed Basketball 101 and skipped to the advanced class. It probably doesn't help that I have rules for everything. What are the rules to be a great offensive rebounder? Number one--go for the rebound on every shot. Number two--think rebounding angles. Number three--get around a box out. What are the rules for a cutter? Number one--set your player up. Number two--wait for the screen. Number three--go off shoulder to shoulder. Number four--read your defender. Number five--call your cut. There are others. Many others. Past players could probably recite all of them. They are scripted in their brains and 20 years from now they would be able to write them down verbatim.

But for the freshmen, all of this sounds something like we are speaking in tongues. The language is new and seems weird on their lips. The court looks the same but all the rules have changed. I know it is a tough experience and their egos suffer from the constant reminder they are failing in some area, but they will get tougher and learn and eventually be thankful for the knowledge gained.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

An Easy Week For The Weary

My parents taught me to work--that you couldn't get anywhere in life without working harder than the next person. We were a family who thought a weekend off meant going to the farm, cutting hay, fixing fence, and burning brush. Relaxation was kin to sin and so I never really learned how to simply sit and enjoy the moment as a youngster. I knew if I wanted to be successful I had to work while my opponent was resting.

I gave some personal background to assist you in understanding how challenging it is for me to provide the team with an active rest week. This is a week where we continue to train but we change the methods of our training. Instead of running timed sprint sets, we play games like Ultimate Frisbee, Gator Ball (an adapted form of soccer where you can use your hands), Hungarian Dodge Ball, Czechoslovakian Dodge Ball, and Russian Tag.

All of the games are running games involving strategies to win where I can legally watch under NCAA rules how players perform under pressure scenarios. We can determine if they grasp such concepts as ball pressure, spacing, screening, cutting and passing. We can also quickly analyze whether or not they are smart, how quickly they grasp tactics, and how competitive they are.

One of the things I love to do is to make horrible officiating calls to watch for negative reactions. I simply make up rules to the games as we go along, trying to bait a player to get angry. Whenever I am successful, I stop the game and the team runs sprints. This is meant to assist them with the idea we cannot control the officials and to focus instead on their reactions which are controllable. We believe yelling at the officials or showing anger or disbelief at a call not only angers the officials but it gives power to the opponents. Opponents can gain momentum when they feel the disruption in our belief system. We allow ourselves to be victims when we give our power away to the officials.

Active rest week is also meant to provide a mental break, to allow the players to recover from the intense work we've been doing, and to add the feeling of fun back into training. While it is true I enjoy watching them battle through timed sprint sets, I'm not so certain they feel the enjoyment as much as I do. I do know this, though, they love it when the sprints are over and feel as if they have achieved something remarkable, which they have.

This team is special and I know I say that every year, and it is because I believe it every year, but this team--there is something amazing about them. I think it is their energy; it is like they are bound together in a team energy which flows in and out of each one of them gaining power with every practice. I like the feel of being around them.

Last week was a good recovery week and now we are back to getting tougher and becoming stronger.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Journaling--The Way to Self-Awareness

Each week we spend a few minutes on a self-awareness question with the intent of helping our players know more about who they are. We believe you cannot change who you are if you are not first aware of your characteristics. Last week we asked them a three part series of questions.
1. Define mental toughness.
2. List the three players who you believe possess the best mental toughness on the team.
3. Rate your mental toughness on a scale from 1-5 with 1 being the lowest and five being the
highest and then explain why you gave yourself that ranking.

The definitions were right on target:
"Accepting Criticism and learning from it."
"Limiting negative reactions and thinking in a positive way."
"The ability to keep working hard even when things are not going your way."
"Digging deeper when you think you can't push any more."
"Staying strong in the mind no matter what obstacles you face."

Even though I loved their definitions and found them for the most part to be right on target, what I loved even more was their honesty in their self-ratings. We went around the room with each player explaining her rating. In settings like this, some players would be intimidated, not wanting to share their high rankings for fear of being considered conceited or on the opposite end of the spectrum, sharing a low ranking which might show incompetence.

These players, however, spoke without fear of judgment which proved to the coaching staff two important points--the team has already evolved to the place of unconditional acceptance and our players are willing to be vulnerable in front of one another. Many great things can be accomplished with a group of people who can accept each other for who they are but at the same time be willing to push each other to expand to a different level.

This is a team with a high level of mental toughness. It is evident in their timed sprints, when I am demanding they run faster, and instead of faltering, of feeling they cannot possibly do what I demand, they encourage one each other to get it done.

One of the best moments on the court came last week when we were running 1-80-1's which are a series of sprints building up to eight and going back down. This was after our 15 minutes of defensive slides. I was at the point where I was ready to provide them with an incentive for meeting the times when I offered to reduce the sprints sets if everybody made it. When a couple of people failed, I heard a player yell, "You have to keep running hard even if we didn't make it. It is not about the sprint sets; it is about getting better. Keep running hard."

Because she yelled that, I offered another incentive. This time they all made it.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

The Eagles at Work Giving Back

I like the idea of community service, of giving back to people, of the gift of assisting others, and of the knowledge goodness exists in the world when you take a moment to look. We ask our players every year to donate some of their time to those around them. It is also keeping with the mission of the University of Charleston which is to prepare each student for a life time of productive work, enlightened living and community service.

The past weekend our players split up into two groups to assist with the American Heart Walk and the Capitol City Challenge. At the heart walk, Chrissy, Tianni, Lauren, LeAnne, Nichole, and Frenchy performed two ball dribbling and passing drills up on stage as entertainment and as part of the official warm-up. At the end of their exhibition, they walked around and gave their basketballs to some of the children in the audience. They also tried their skills at Zumba with Chrissy showing off her extraordinary dance steps.

By the way, if you wish to catch more of the Eagles dancing Zumba, you can catch it on the University of Charleston women's basketball facebook page.

The other group of players assisted with the Capitol City Challenge pulling kayaks out of the Kanawha River and loading them onto trucks. Apparently this group of players met some Golden Eagle fans who told them and I quote, "Your coach is really intense." Quite frankly, the freshmen have no idea what intense means yet.

This is only part of the good we hope to give back to the Charleston community this year. It is my wish that our players learn to give as part of the cycle of life, because I believe good comes to those who give goodness out.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Rebuilding or Moving Forward?

There are going to be many conference coaches and fans who will think this is a rebuilding year. After all, we graduated six seniors who together in their career totaled 4,891 points, 2,544 rebounds, 1,318 assists, 238 blocks and 591 steals. Last year they represented 77% of the points scored, 60% of the rebounds grabbed and 64% of the passes which resulted in baskets. On paper it appears to be a daunting task to fill their shoes.

But paper does not have passion, heart nor hustle. It is a flimsy piece of dissected wood, unfeeling, an inanimate object which statisticians make important. I'm looking at a group of people who are flesh and blood, who in my earliest impressions make me thrilled I am their coach.

What is it that thrills me? Walking into an individual practice and seeing players already on the floor working on their ball handling, not waiting for us to enter, just getting it done on their own. Seeing players on the court as I walk up the stairs to my office working on changing their footwork for shooting. Witnessing incredible improvement from one practice to the next. Hearing Frenchy apologize to the team for not running hard enough in the sprints when last season she would have thrown me the evil eye and an attitude. Watching as Chrissy steps up in a leadership role, becoming louder and more importantly showing some emotion.

The freshmen are young. It is true. There is no way to take their inexperience out of them but with this group, I really don't think it matters. I am certain they will make up for their lack of experience with passion. When we are coaching, they hang onto every word as if the word itself will make them better. They listen and then they apply what we tell them. It is a wonderful process to observe.

Sometimes with a group of people you can simply feel their power. Their energy transcends the building and grows into a feeling so amazing it pours out of them and through the gym doors. I'm not certain where the year will take us and what our record will look like at the end, but I do know this--it is going to be a very special year.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

What A Year Can Do

I am always amazed at the growth of a player in a single year. I am reminded of this as we bring in ten, yes count them all, ten freshmen. When the rookies arrive, their faces are so pure, the innocence of living under their parents' protection still keeping their eyes and chins soft. They come with a lack of awareness and understanding of what it takes to be a Golden Eagle, thinking they had trained hard in high school and believing they know all about the sport of basketball.

In a few short weeks, they will change. Their bodies will begin to harden, the cut in their biceps and triceps will sharpen, their calves will form a split in the back of their legs, and their abs will crack and carve into the much desired washboard look.

Their minds will change as we teach them the Golden Eagle way. When they grab their shorts to bend over catching their breaths, they will be taught we never bend over here--we never show weakness. When they are running timed sprints and they fall over, fatigue, the air in their lungs depleted, they might initially think we are cruel as we tell to get up and run again. When they quit because they got away with it in high school, and now when they quit, they discover the team runs for their lack of desire. When they hang their heads over a missed shot or a mistake and suddenly find their coaches more angry at the reaction than the mistake. These are the things that start changing their faces.

I can see the growth in our sophomores after only a year and in our juniors after two years. They exude confidence and assurance, an awareness they have survived "boot camp" before and know they can survive it again.

Chrissy is confident, talking louder, leading, secure in her knowledge. The other lone junior, Tianni is communicating well with the coaches, leading by example and showing improvement in her offensive skills. Tiffany came back in incredible cardiovascular shape and believes she can run forever. Erika trimmed down, gained muscle and is more at ease with her relationships with teammates. Lauren has learned tolerance and patience, curbing her honesty to include compassion. Marilene has learned to allow her true inner self to shine more, and LeAnne gained 24 pounds of muscle, two tons of confidence and calmer footwork.

I see the potential in all of them even when they fail, even when they make a mistake and we must discipline, even when they believe they can't. I see them for who they can be--who they really are if they just reach deep enough. This is our job--to make them reach deeply.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

First Lessons

And so it begins again. The 6:00 a.m. practices. The P90x Plus weight training. The suicides. The defensive slides. The Yoga. The Challenges. The individual practices. The teaching. The lessons.

At 6:00 this morning as the mist was settling in the valley hovering over the track, we had our first lesson on discipline. A player made a mistake over the weekend, breaking our rule which states honor yourself, your team and UC. In her desire to have fun, to enjoy Saturday night, to laugh, to let her hair down, she made a poor judgment and so the team got the opportunity to learn from her error.

We spent an extra 20 minutes running sprints, bear crawling, hopping, sprinting, skipping, plank running and just overall having a grand time. When their tongues were hanging out, the sweat was dripping off their brows and their legs were quivering with fatigue, when I was just about to let them start our 12 minute challenge run, a player threw out the "F" bomb. Bummer. So I tacked on a few more sprints.

When we had completed the fun portion of the workout, I was certain none of the players would make our 12 minute run which would mean they would have to run it again on Wednesday morning. Another bummer. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised when three freshmen despite their fatigue and inexperience found the mental toughness to kick butt and make their times. After a morning of disappointment, this put a smile on my face.

Afterwards we headed to the fitness center to do walkouts which are push-ups combined with walking the hands out from the feet, going to a plank position, executing 11 push-ups and then walking the hands back to the feet. The goal is to complete in descending order 71 push-ups beginning with 11 and going down to one with an additional set of five. This must be done on my command with their chests touching or closely touching a tennis ball placed beneath them. Much to my joy, most of the players completed this test.

Our final challenge was front core abs for 2 minutes and 15 seconds, something which is not too difficult if you haven't been running and doing push-ups for the past hour. What I loved was the determination to make the time--the yelling and encouragement of teammates, the total body shake of a player who refused to go down, and the atmosphere of desire to achieve.

I was amazed at the sophomores who were stronger, who had packed on muscle, who just a year ago couldn't keep their butts from rising up in the air or their trunks from bending to the mat during any plank position. They had worked hard and had muscles to prove it. I was also surprised by the strength and passion of our incoming class.

This could be a fun season if they learn their lessons quickly.

PLAY HARD. PLAY TOGETHER.

Fact or Fiction

It is amazing how a few months can fly by in what seems like minutes and then a few weeks can last forever. Since the beginning of preseason, time has been elusive floating by us like dead wood in a flooded river. It has been so hard to grasp or hold. Recently, though, after we've suffered a couple of injuries, time has slowed down and it feels as if time is now an enemy rather than a friend. We need time to stop, to slow down, to let us recover and catch our breaths.

In the game against Seton Hill, time seemed to stop when one of our starters suffered an injury early in the game. When she went out, our timing got disrupted. We felt off kilter, a little bit rough as balls were passed to the wrong team, lay-ups were missed, and plays were forgotten.

This is our second major injury in the past two weeks which is why we could believe we need more time--time to heal, time to get other players ready, but time is not going to stop. We have to keep going. We have to find answers and we have to continue believing we can still have our dreams.

As a team, we could call it quits. We could convince ourselves we now have a solid reason for losses. We could tell the story we lost to Seton Hill, because a starter was out of the game. However, the coaching staff doesn't believe in telling this story. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game. We made a three pointer to go ahead and all we needed was a stop. When we failed to get the stop, we had a chance to score to tie it up and we didn't make it. We lost the game because we failed to execute, not because a starter was on the bench.

The difficulty now is to make certain our players can distinguish between fact and fiction. We can still tell the story we want. We can still create the outcomes we want. We don't have to buy into a pity party. Self-pity is always an enemy and never a friend.

In order to get the point across, we played a game called fact or fiction. Each player was given a card which had printed on one side the word "Fact" and on the other side the word "Fiction". We came up with 41 statements which the players had to decide were fact or fiction.

Some of the statements were meant to be funny:
Coach Winn's eyes increase in size by three inches when she is mad.
(FACT)
Coach Testa dresses fly for the games. (FACT)

Others were meant to make teammates think.
Lauren is too slow to get on the ball stops. (FICTION)
Tianni's biggest opponent is her own mind. (FACT)
Tianni cannot overcome her self-imposed limitations. (FICTION)
Frenchy isn't competitive enough to become a great basketball player. (FICTION)
Mo is a big defensive stopper. (FACT)
Mo is limited to being only a defensive player. (FICTION)
Encouraging each other and sticking together is overrated. (FICTION)
We are not a comeback team. (FICTION)
When we lose, we never learn from the experience. (FICTION)

We wanted them to realize we get to tell our story and whatever story we tell is the one we create. If we want to chose to believe we can no longer win with injuries, it will become our story. If, however, we are strong enough to tell a different story like winning with the challenges we face, then we will make that story come true.

I have faith in our story-telling abilities.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Imagine me taking a sandwich size baggie into the locker room and telling the players this was what we were going to use to pack for our upcoming three day trip. They laughed, of course, but waited to see if I was joking. After all I had made them take a single carry-on bag on our trip to Hawaii. For those of you who don't know me, I am a minimalist.

I can pack for a month in a single bag and am happy if I don't have to make clothing choices. It is one of the perks of being a coach. I can wear the same colors day after day after day and nobody questions my attire. It eliminates so much hassle when I can open a drawer not having to think if it matches.

I was joking though about packing their essentials in a baggie. Well, actually the essential part wasn't a lie. We were going to take the most essential thing we would need in a small plastic bag.
We were going to take our strengths along with us. On this trip I couldn't risk leaving any of them at home.

We had every player write something she wanted each teammate to take with her. It was supposed to entail something not so obvious or maybe a little more detailed than a simple line about whether she was a good shooter or a great rebounder. We wanted 18 different notes. This was done on small slips of paper which were then deposited in a player's "luggage bag." Each player received 14 notes from teammates plus four notes from the coaching staff. We sealed the bags and I took them with me for safe keeping.

When we got to our destination, we sat down in the locker room and gave out the bags. Each player was allowed to blindly grab five of her notes to share with her teammates. We went around the room sharing the funny, heartfelt, compassionate, positive and loving notes. As players read the notes, high fives and smiles were given to the players who had sent the essential messages.

This exercise defines this team--devoted to one another, full of loving kindness and a willingness to share joy, pain, laughter, wins and losses. This is not just team chemistry; it is a group of players who truly admire one another. It is deeper than the simple act of working together. It is bond which will not stop when the games do.

I love this team because they exhibit such love for one another. This is why they survive tough games and why they find a way to win when the odds are against them.

I am proud to be associated with them and am basking in every second I get to share with them.


ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

The End Is Just The Beginning

As I watched the Golden Eagles perform in our last two games, I was dismayed at their lack of . . . well everything. They were slow to recognize defensive rotations, forgetful when it came to calling screens, incapable of running an offense, and their shooting was abysmal. While they won the games, it was not their talent but sheer will power that pushed them through their weak moments. They were not themselves.

How can a team forget who they are? How can one week they appear to be invincible and the next week look as if they have just recently begun playing the sport?

If it were simply about techniques or tactics, we could resolve the issue quickly in a couple of practices. I knew this was not the case. They were not playing anywhere near their talents. There was something more going through their heads.

As the coaching staff discussed the issue, we came to realize we were getting near the end of the season. While this happens every year, this particular year we have six seniors who have been friends and teammates for four long years. Rather than anticipating the joy of every game, they have been wanting to extend every moment, to delay the inevitable. They do not want their collegiate basketball careers and friendships to end.

While we cannot stop time or rewind the clock, we can assist them through this process and help them know this is but one chapter of their lives. On Monday, we had each player write down five goals for the next year, five goals for the next five years, and five goals for the next 10 years. We then went around the room sharing our goals. We wanted them to see they had much more in life to enjoy, much more to experience and much more to love.

This first step was a solid one in assisting them with thinking about the future. The next step was much more difficult. We needed them to confront what they didn't want to think about--the end of the season. Gathering the seniors only, we sat in a circle and spent 45 minutes in a powerful discussion. Our first topic was to discuss what each of us would miss from our experiences at UC. The rules were that no repeats were allowed, no discussion and no comments. We went around the circle ten times. There were some tears and some quiet moments when some of us had to find our voices.

Using the same rules, we then spent time sharing what we could take with us from UC. Each player had a jar with a lid and a label which said, "Bottle It Up. UC." When a player said something she wanted to take with her, she wrote it down on a slip of paper and put it in her jar.

Hopefully our exercises have moved them beyond their concerns and fears about the future. It is hard to be in the moment when you are steeped in worry and anxiety. I want them to love each second and be fully present in it so they can play with all their talents.

It is far better to enjoy each second than to waste it on the future. If we will focus on the moments we have, we will be the talented team we are.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Beating the Blues

Last week we almost lost to the worst team in the league. The team had only won a single game all season. Many people have asked me the question: "How could you almost lose to that team?"

Actually, it was really easy. The first step our players had to do was to not take our opponents seriously--to believe all we had to do was show up and the game was won. The second step was to not prepare ourselves mentally--to not get in that same mental place we did before every game. The third step was to panic when things were not going well and to start doubting ourselves.

Fortunately, our seniors didn't falter. All their panic was internally hidden and their words and actions were strong. We continued playing together despite not actually being mentally there on the court, and we believed somehow we were going to win.

After the game, the coaches were not mad. We didn't throw things in the locker room, nor did we curse out the team. We simply reminded them how important it was to arrive every game prepared and to take each game seriously. Then we walked out of the locker room and laughed until we cried. We were so bad it was comical. Of course, it would not have been funny if we had lost and it really wasn't funny then but the alternative was to be mad and angry.

The question, we asked one another, was how did we move the team off this performance and to the next one? We knew we didn't need to linger on this game. This was not who we were. After discussing the matter, we came up with a game plan.

The next day at practice, we gathered around in a circle and put the game tape on the floor in the center of us. We then purged ourselves of the game. Each player got to make a comment of what event transpired in the game that we never wanted to see again, and then that player got an opportunity to smash the game film. When we had gone around the circle and the tape was now in little bits of rubbish, we left the game behind. Then we went back around the circle and asked each player what was great about this team we wanted to keep.

We wanted to keep: great team chemistry, defensive intensity, the inside-outside game, the ability to push the ball, the fun on the court, the positive team leaders, the noise from the bench, our three point shooters, our hustle, and our love for one another. We knew this was who we were. The rest was already gone and vanished from our thoughts.

I believe if we would have lingered on that game, pushed how bad we performed on the players, got in their faces and yelled at them, the game would have impacted our next performance. Because we let it go, we were able to get back on track and find a way to win in our next two games.

I applaud our players for knowing who they are and not allowing a single performance to get them down.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

The Unsung Heroes

There are many roles and responsibilities on a team. Some of them appear to be more important than the others because they gain the attention of the media or the fans. How many points a player scores is highly visible. Even the most uninformed fan can tally up baskets. Players who can make flashy passes are high on the list of the notable. Rebounders also can catch the eye of the newspaper guy.

All of these categories are essential to winning. I don't wish to downplay how critical they are to success. I am one of the best in the pulpit about the role rebounders play in victories. I do, however, want to discuss the players who never receive the limelight, who never get to slam high fives, and whose rare slap on the back comes at the end of a game after the victory is already assured. These are the players, the unsung heroes, who silently go about their jobs with the rare acknowledgement of others.

They are the ones who sit the bench yet have to come to practice with enthusiasm and determination. They have to suffer the same consequences the starters and the main substitutes do if they fail to do the drill correctly. They are never excused from the sprinting, the weight training, the video sessions, or the walk-throughs. They are expected to perform each of their duties the best they possibly can, and yet their reward is a few muttered thanks from the coaching staff and teammates.

This is a dirty, thankless job. Imagine being the player who loved so much to play that she spent her junior high and high school days neglecting social activities to practice, then achieving a college scholarship to discover herself on the bench. Nobody wants to do this job. It takes a player with tremendous character and love of her teammates and the game to watch from the sideline game after game after game, to be the one who is responsible for cheering from the bench, counting down from ten when the shot clock is winding down, calling "wolf" when a teammate is about to get the ball stolen from behind, and yelling "black" when the opponent's shot clock is about to expire.

I know how hard it is to sit the bench. I did it once and I was a terrible failure at it. All I cared about was myself, not the team, not our success. I wanted everybody else to be as miserable as I was. I was selfish and a horrible teammate. So when I say I understand the challenges of being the players on the bench, I mean it.

Today, I want to thank those players who rarely get in the game but who are always there for their teammates. Julianne Smith is a senior who is always in the game, watching from the sidelines and offering advice to the starters when they come to the bench. Shannon Zasloff is central to the laughter of the team. She keeps tight moments light and offers continual support. Lisanne Comeau never gives less than 100% in practice and always offers encouragement to her teammates. These women are the backbone of the team and have accepted their roles as critical to the team's success.

I applaud them now. Their roles on the team are the most challenging and they have accepted them with grace and honor. They have fulfilled them with integrity and have used them to better the team.

Thank you for being great teammates and for doing your best at your roles. You are appreciated.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Superhero Ali T

For this blog I would like to play homage to Ali Tobias or Ali T or Al or "A" as we lovingly refer to her. Around Christmas time, Ali came to the coaching staff with a dilemma. She needed to take a Praxis exam in order to graduate. The only dates available for the exam were the same dates we played games.

Now Ali is an amazing woman. She has more than once taken 21 credits in a semester and still achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA. Last semester she took 11 class hours while student teaching (a total of 29 credits) and playing basketball. Even with all her super hero skills, I did not know how she was going to take an exam on the same date we were supposed to be playing. This was a task even The Dynamic Duo would pass.

After consulting with the coaching staff, we agreed she could take the exam at Shepherd University on the morning of our game. In order to understand the magnificence of her feat, let me do a little history of the events surrounding the test.

We had just played four games in a nine day stretch against three opponents who had great records and ranked above us in the conference. Two of those games were on the road. On Thursday night, we played Wheeling Jesuit University at home where Ali played a significant role scoring 20 points. Friday morning at nine a.m. we departed for the long 5 1/2 hour drive to Shepherdstown.

Upon arrival at Shepherdstown, the team had about 45 minutes to rest before we met for an hour of scouting. At 5:45 p.m. we departed for practice, thinking our practice time was at 6:00. Since the practice time was actually 6:30, we were at the gym longer than we had anticipated, not departing until 7:45. Once back at the hotel, we went to eat which took over an hour and a half. There was no down time for the team. That night after watching more video on Shepherd, I brought Ali back into the room for a short 20 minutes session on some new things I had caught.

The next morning, Ali departed for her test at 7:00 a.m. At 1:25 p.m. as I was entering the extreme panic phase, Ali entered the locker room to get her uniform for the game. Without lunch or rest or her usual pregame warm-up, Ali had a short 30 minutes before tip-off.

Fortunately for the team, Ali in her silent but determined way, went about her business on the court as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just another day for a superhero. She scored 16 points, played incredible defense and led us to another tough victory on the road.

Thank you Ali for giving more than any coach has the right to ask.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

Leadership In The Trenches

It is not easy being a leader. I tell this to my team leaders every year when they think they want to the the ones to lead. They think being the team captain is important; it gives them status or a critical role on the team. They are right. What they fail to understand is how difficult it really is.

When you are a leader, you cannot take criticism personally. If a teammate criticizes you, you have to take what is important and let the rest go. You cannot be afraid to speak your mind-- afraid of what your teammates might think of you. You have to be able to say the tough things, to get on teammates when they are not performing, to encourage them to play harder, and to think of their needs first.

It is a lonely position. It is not one where you are hoping to be liked; it is one where your primary goal is to be respected. When you are the leader, you are isolated from your needs. Teammates don't think you need to be encouraged or pumped up. They don't look to support you; they want you to support them.

When you are having a bad game failing to play to your potential and you are a leader, you still have to be a leader. You can't allow your performance to affect your leadership responsibilities. When you are sick or sad or feeling a bit out of sorts, it doesn't matter. You still have to be the one to get the team going, to fill the emotional hole and to encourage them to do their best.

A leader doesn't get a day off. Nope. She always has to be on the court emotionally for her teammates. She has to be willing to do the extra things--dive for loose balls, take a charge, yell from the bench or get in a teammate's face who needs it. She has to call team meetings, communicate with her teammates about practice times and hold the team together when they seem fragile.

It is not a role for the faint of heart. It is not a role for those who are self-centered. It is not a role to be abused nor to make those below you work for you. No, it is a job only for those who are mentally tested, who have endured the challenges of life and who desire something so much they are willing to get outside of who they are to make dreams happen.

I've never glorified the position of team leaders. I know it is a tough one. Heck, I have to live it every day except I have a bit of an advantage; I'm not leading my peers. I'm older. I've got more power. I hold the edge of the disciplinarian, and I've been working at being a leader for 21 years . . . and yet still I fail at it. The team leaders have to do what I do without my advantages. Their jobs are tough. No doubt about it.

I almost feel bad for the leaders when I get on them. ALMOST. The thing I know is I cannot feel sorry for them or take pity on them, because they are the keys to our success. When they fail in their jobs, the team fails.

We lost our last game due to poor leadership. I hate to say it but it is true. We lost because we went into panic mode, and there was no leader there with composure, with the emotional strength to get the team back on track. We went downhill quickly, pointing fingers, whining and blaming teammates. Our leaders felt bad for themselves--their performances. They wanted somebody else to step up, to take up the slack. They wanted somebody else to pick them up, to bring them composure and encouragement.

I know the feeling. There are days I want that. I want another person to take over, to have the responsibility for our successes and failures, to call the right plays, to make the correct substitutions, to adjust defenses when the opponents are running a play. Ultimately I take responsibility even when I don't want to take it. Like now. If our leaders failed, then who was leading the leaders? That would be me.

I know our seniors can do better. They know they can. They get sidetracked sometimes and forget how capable they are. They forget they are strong enough and they have the inner strength necessary to do what is asked even in the most challenging of situations. When they remember, we will win and win and win.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM!

Learning How To Celebrate

When I first came to the University of Charleston ten years ago, we celebrated every victory. We were thrilled to simply win a game. This tradition only lasted a season as we quickly became a good team who expected to win games. The more games we won, the less it seemed we felt inclined to feel good about a victory. We hated the losses, cried about them, cursed at them, and lost sleep over them, but the victories . . . well, we just kind of let them slip right by us.

I think it is time we instituted a mandatory celebration after each win. I don't mean a throw-it-in-your-face kind of celebration. I simply mean we should take the time to feel good about each accomplishment. If we choose to only beat ourselves up over the losses, all our energy is going toward the losses and none to the wins.

After we won a game last week, I made the players get up in the locker room and do a little celebration dance. A day later, we had the locker room decorated with crate paper and balloons and gave out noise-makers to our players while we sat down to watch the game tape. It should feel good to win.

I think if all we do is focus on the losses, then we are essentially doing the same thing a team does at the end of a game when they are playing not to lose instead of playing to win. It is a recipe for disaster putting your focus on the negative.

So we are learning how to celebrate all over again. We will not put a show on in front of the opponents, but once we get behind closed doors we are going to party. Life should be fun. Playing should feel good, and winning, well . . . winning should feel like sunshine after a week of rainy days.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM.

A Game Can Last A Lifetime

I've coached games which were long--longer than a car ride across Texas, longer than a plane ride to Africa, longer than it takes to swim, run and bike a triathlon. The moments in these games don't even tick; they don't have a sound that goes with time moving. The moments in these games are like a slow ride into eternity.

Most of these games are ones in which we are playing poorly, where the players eyes are glazed, their minds have separated completely from their bodies, and timeouts are useless forays into a swamp of confusion. Most of them.

On Thursday night, it wasn't the entire game which moved excruciatingly slowly; it was the last three minutes. In those last three minutes, an entire NFL season could have been played.

We had a ten point lead with three minutes and five seconds to go. All we needed to do was protect the ball, take good shots, play smart defense and we were assured the victory. This is the point where a coach usually looks at clock and feels relief not the desperate need to pray for the right ending which I must now confess I was doing.

We fouled. They made the first free throw and missed the second. We pushed the ball down the floor and missed a lay-up. They scored a lay-up. We were up 62-55. They pressed. We got the ball inbounds close to the end line where Ali Tobias was trapped with the ball. As the seconds ticked and the official counted, the bench collectively held our breath. Ali called a timeout, and as a unit we exhaled.

As we came out of the timeout, we were able to get the ball inbounds safely, get by the first three defenders and then, we passed to the wrong jersey color. Praying, cursing, watching desperately from the sidelines as the Vulcans looked to score a certain lay-up. We fouled. They made two free throws which made the score 62-57. I looked at the clock. Only seven seconds had passed.

When the ball came out of the basket, we quickly pushed it up the floor beating the press and then stopped, waited for them to resume their traps, and looking quite helpless, we stood transfixed on the court perhaps waiting for a moment to tick by, or waiting for time to move. Then they had the ball again, scoring another lay-up (62-59) and we were still waiting for the time to move.

A nine point lead had elapsed into a three point lead, and the neon numbers of the score clock on the wall were stuck in a time zone where only the Vulcans could make it move. I called a desperation timeout and made a passionate speech about the need to play for the victory. We were playing not to lose which is always the precursor to a loss. You must, I screamed, play to win.

Tiana Beatty's eyes were glued to mine during the speech, and we connected in a way only coaches and players can. On the next possession when she received the ball, she shot it with such certainty that it sailed perfectly out of her hands into the net. With a five point lead, the time finally felt different. It wasn't as fatal. We could make the clock move; we could shift the numbers on the scoreboard.

There was still time to play. In fact, we scored four free throws. They scored four points. We crossed the mid line of the court five times. I practiced breathing and mentally moving the numbers on the score clock.

When the buzzer finally did go off, time flew by and we were done. The celebration was completed, the post game talk over, the parents and fans gone, and the time without any thought to lingering went right to the preparation of our next opponent.

ONE HEART. ONE DREAM!