October 27
My body has never been as happy with me as it was this past weekend. After four straight days of double sessions, my teammates and I were given the weekend off to rejuvenate and relax. It is fair to say that every single one of us needed it. Muscles were sore, legs were tired, and in general, we were just worn out. This was expected of course; we worked extremely hard over the week and it was clear that we had already improved immensely in the short time we had been practicing.
The best part about having the weekend off became apparent at the beginning of practice on Monday. It seemed weird at first, because now that it is no longer fall break, people are actually on campus and we are attending classes before practice again. But as soon as we started stretching and running, it was clear that the rest had definitely done us some good. We were moving a lot faster than we had been at the end of last week, and everyone seemed very excited to be back in the gym after the weekend off. General movements including sprinting, cutting, and defensive slides seemed like they took very little effort compared to last Friday’s practices. As a team, we looked fresh both mentally and physically, and that translated into a great practice, which is particularly crucial in the beginning of the week.
What a lot of programs don’t seem to value enough is exactly what my teammates and I experienced today in practice. Many see a weekend off as a day or two that we are not practicing or honing our skills or improving as a team. But in this case, having an extra day off allowed us to perform much better in practice. We got more out of practice than we would have had we practiced on Saturday, and that was because our bodies were given the rest that they were demanding from us.
We began practice with our usual sprints, passing and weaving drills. We then moved into 4 on 4 half court breakdown before beginning a half court shooting drill, stationary ball handling, and a full court dribbling drill that allowed us to practice our crossovers and other moves. We finished practice with about fifteen minutes of full court play and then our typical cool down. While we had definitely worked hard and had been conditioning during practice, it was clear that both physically and mentally, we felt much better than we had just a couple days ago. My teammates and I all knew exactly why that was. Sometimes, a little rest goes a long way.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Basketball: The Ultimate Rollercoaster
During our post-practice team talk last Friday, I shared with my teammates and coaches a metaphor that an old coach told me about in high school. The metaphor relates the game of basketball to a rollercoaster ride. Just as a rollercoaster has big climbs and big drops, basketball tends to have extremely great sequences followed by rather negative ones. We might go on a 10-0 run at the beginning of the game, and then see our opponent go on a 10-0 run just minutes later. It’s a game of ups and downs, just like a rollercoaster ride. After explaining this to my team, we all agreed that the comparison was definitely valid. Little did we know we would be living the rollercoaster ride just days later.
After single practices Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday night, we had our first of five straight days of double sessions on Tuesday. While almost the entire campus takes off for October break, we stay on campus to begin the most strenuous part of our season. This, of course, doesn’t sound very appealing, but what I realized today was that I actually enjoy this part of the season, as physically exhausting as it can be. To have an entire week to focus on getting into shape and preparing for the season is a great advantage. At the same time, we don’t have to worry about classes and we have more time to take care of our bodies and bond as a team. So while our fall break experience doesn’t seem so pleasant on the surface, I actually deeply appreciate the advantages the week gives us and so far, I have been enjoying the extra time.
So when we began our first of two sessions today at 10 o’clock, I had a really positive attitude. My legs were sore and I was definitely tired, but I was determined to not let that get in the way of practice. That mindset, however, got harder and harder to keep as practice moved along and I became more and more fatigued. We did our usual stretching and sprints to open practice, followed by full-court passing and weaving drills. We moved into 5 on 0, practicing our offensive transition sets and a simple motion offense. We then finished practice with a 4 on 4 half court shell drill and our usual cool down routine. But when we walked into the locker room after our two hour workout, the team, as a unit, didn’t feel good about the practice. We missed too many layups, we made too many mental mistakes, and we were not really competing with one another in the shell drill. We didn’t need our coach to tell us this; we saw it for ourselves. So when coach told us he thought we could do better, each one of us was already thinking the same thing. We told each other we needed to do better in our second session later in the day, and that is exactly what we did.
We came to our 6 o’clock practice ready to play basketball. We were focused, energetic, and most importantly, we pushed one another. We looked as if we were moving five times faster in our full court drills than we were in the morning session. We never stopped communicating and we were truly working to improve individually and as a team. We took the shell drill much more serious and were really competing with one another. The atmosphere was so more energetic than it had been earlier in the day, and that was definitely reflected in how we played. After practice, we all felt really good about how much better our effort was. When my coach asked us how we felt about the day as a whole, one of my teammates chimed in “ROLLERCOASTER!” We all laughed, but it was clear that we all knew she was right. Basketball is the ultimate rollercoaster, and we were just beginning our ride.
After single practices Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday night, we had our first of five straight days of double sessions on Tuesday. While almost the entire campus takes off for October break, we stay on campus to begin the most strenuous part of our season. This, of course, doesn’t sound very appealing, but what I realized today was that I actually enjoy this part of the season, as physically exhausting as it can be. To have an entire week to focus on getting into shape and preparing for the season is a great advantage. At the same time, we don’t have to worry about classes and we have more time to take care of our bodies and bond as a team. So while our fall break experience doesn’t seem so pleasant on the surface, I actually deeply appreciate the advantages the week gives us and so far, I have been enjoying the extra time.
So when we began our first of two sessions today at 10 o’clock, I had a really positive attitude. My legs were sore and I was definitely tired, but I was determined to not let that get in the way of practice. That mindset, however, got harder and harder to keep as practice moved along and I became more and more fatigued. We did our usual stretching and sprints to open practice, followed by full-court passing and weaving drills. We moved into 5 on 0, practicing our offensive transition sets and a simple motion offense. We then finished practice with a 4 on 4 half court shell drill and our usual cool down routine. But when we walked into the locker room after our two hour workout, the team, as a unit, didn’t feel good about the practice. We missed too many layups, we made too many mental mistakes, and we were not really competing with one another in the shell drill. We didn’t need our coach to tell us this; we saw it for ourselves. So when coach told us he thought we could do better, each one of us was already thinking the same thing. We told each other we needed to do better in our second session later in the day, and that is exactly what we did.
We came to our 6 o’clock practice ready to play basketball. We were focused, energetic, and most importantly, we pushed one another. We looked as if we were moving five times faster in our full court drills than we were in the morning session. We never stopped communicating and we were truly working to improve individually and as a team. We took the shell drill much more serious and were really competing with one another. The atmosphere was so more energetic than it had been earlier in the day, and that was definitely reflected in how we played. After practice, we all felt really good about how much better our effort was. When my coach asked us how we felt about the day as a whole, one of my teammates chimed in “ROLLERCOASTER!” We all laughed, but it was clear that we all knew she was right. Basketball is the ultimate rollercoaster, and we were just beginning our ride.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A Season for Change
October 15
Along with all of the other NCAA Division III basketball programs nationwide, Vassar women’s basketball begins its season every year on October 15th. This year, I realized, that is about the only thing that won’t be changing for my teammates and I. With Luke Ruppel, the new head coach, Summer Quesenberry, the new assistant coach as well as some new teammates, I found myself not knowing what to expect when 6 o’clock practice rolled around today.
But as soon as my teammates and I stepped onto the floor, I knew exactly what to expect. The positivity, competitiveness, and camaraderie that players and coaches alike brought to each drill really impressed me, and I instantly knew that this season was going to be a special one.
We began practice with a dynamic warm up and then moved into skill work. Ball handling was first, and we followed that with a 30 minute full court dribbling drill that required us to make a single move three times each way down the court, twice on each side, and there were six moves. With our roster being relatively small this year, there were no lines, so the drill was continuous. We were all beyond tired, especially in the second half of the drill, but we persevered by continuously cheering each other on to keep our mind off of our shortness of breath and sore legs. It was at this point when I realized what a great team dynamic we have, and this is just the first day of the actual season. The positive atmosphere continued into shooting drills, the defensive shell drill, and practice-ending sprints.
I walked back into the locker room with my teammates feeling very optimistic about the practice and the season ahead. As I walked in, I looked on the white board and saw the ‘quote of the day’ that will be posted before each practice. Today’s was from Jimmy Valvano: “Think of where you were, where you are now, and where you want to be.” We haven’t decided where we want to be as a team yet, but by the looks of the first practice of the 2008 season, the bar is going to be set high. Change for Vassar women’s basketball is definitely on the way, and I for one, am very excited about it.
Along with all of the other NCAA Division III basketball programs nationwide, Vassar women’s basketball begins its season every year on October 15th. This year, I realized, that is about the only thing that won’t be changing for my teammates and I. With Luke Ruppel, the new head coach, Summer Quesenberry, the new assistant coach as well as some new teammates, I found myself not knowing what to expect when 6 o’clock practice rolled around today.
But as soon as my teammates and I stepped onto the floor, I knew exactly what to expect. The positivity, competitiveness, and camaraderie that players and coaches alike brought to each drill really impressed me, and I instantly knew that this season was going to be a special one.
We began practice with a dynamic warm up and then moved into skill work. Ball handling was first, and we followed that with a 30 minute full court dribbling drill that required us to make a single move three times each way down the court, twice on each side, and there were six moves. With our roster being relatively small this year, there were no lines, so the drill was continuous. We were all beyond tired, especially in the second half of the drill, but we persevered by continuously cheering each other on to keep our mind off of our shortness of breath and sore legs. It was at this point when I realized what a great team dynamic we have, and this is just the first day of the actual season. The positive atmosphere continued into shooting drills, the defensive shell drill, and practice-ending sprints.
I walked back into the locker room with my teammates feeling very optimistic about the practice and the season ahead. As I walked in, I looked on the white board and saw the ‘quote of the day’ that will be posted before each practice. Today’s was from Jimmy Valvano: “Think of where you were, where you are now, and where you want to be.” We haven’t decided where we want to be as a team yet, but by the looks of the first practice of the 2008 season, the bar is going to be set high. Change for Vassar women’s basketball is definitely on the way, and I for one, am very excited about it.
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