December 6, 2009
I have had the privilege of playing college basketball with Emily Haeuser for nearly three years now. As teammates who both have shared and continue to share the hopes of turning around the women’s basketball program here at Vassar, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs together, a lot of late night conversations filled sometimes with frustration and angst, sometimes with excitement and pride. Together, we have lived through three different coaching staffs in three years, a lot of losses, and a good deal of disappointment.
The result of these shared experiences? An incredible friendship and an innumerable amount of great memories. I’ve come to respect our senior co-captain, “House” as we call her, more than just about any teammate I’ve ever had. For these reasons, watching her reach the milestone of 1,000 career points in our game against Brooklyn yesterday was a special experience.
House’s 1000th point came on the free throw of an old-fashioned three-point play (her second of three consecutive ‘and-1’s, no big deal). It seemed like a pretty typical play for us: we got the ball to House, she sunk her signature lefty baby-hook shot in the paint while getting fouled, and drained the free throw to finish off the play. I was so used to seeing this exact play that I had no clue what was going on when they stopped the game to announce the accomplishment. She’s just that automatic.
Eclipsing the 1,000 point milestone is just another of House’s many accomplishments in her career at Vassar. She currently sits 7th on the all-time scoring list at Vassar and will probably finish her career in the top five. She already holds the record for most career blocks and has a good chance of snatching the all-time rebounding record before she hangs up her VC uniform. She was All-League Honorable Mention her sophomore year and Second Team All-League her junior year. But statistics are just statistics. House has been the captain of our team for the past three years and has been a continuously reliable and dependable leader. Although she has dealt with more adversity in her Vassar career than anyone else I can think of, she is always the hardest worker every day in practice and consistently shows up to play. She has truly been the heart of this program for the past three years.
It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t pull out a win for House on this memorable day in her career, as we fell to Brooklyn College, 54-48 despite an intense, gritty effort. Knowing House, I’m confident she would have traded the milestone for a win, no questions asked. But instead we sit at 2-4 and will look to keep working hard and steal a win at Western Connecticut on Tuesday night. It won’t be easy, but we’ll have our fearless leader, our House, and that is always an advantage.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Looking Back and Moving On
"While the win provided a lot of inspiration to work hard in the offseason, so did all the losses. We are too talented to have another losing record next year. We have scorers, defenders, and a lot of experience on this roster now. We will not be losing any players next year (although we will miss our student assistant coach, Shannon Fuhr) and we will surely benefit from a talented freshmen class. We definitely have the pieces to put together a better record next year and with some experienced leaders working hard this offseason, I feel confident that we will."
That was the last thing I wrote about my team and the Vassar College Women’s Basketball program. I wrote it as a conclusion to our 4-21 season which ended with an exciting double overtime win at Clarkson. Looking back on that last paragraph, I realize that all of this has held true. We are returning some serious talent to our roster. I truly believe that nobody can stop our sole senior, Second-Team All-Liberty League forward Emily “House” Haeuser. She’s the definition of the word solid. There also isn’t a quicker guard in the league than sophomore Brittany “BP3” Parks (yes like CP3, Candice Parker). Earning Rookie of the Year as well as Liberty League Honorable Mention was definitely just the beginning of Brittany’s success here at VC. She won’t be alone either, as classmate Kristyn “Temp” Tempora is sure to have a breakout season now that she’s healthy, as in, not playing on a broken foot.
All this being said, our freshmen (there’s a whopping six of them) will all be contributing. Tori, Olivia, Natalie, Ani, Sayre, and Sam all can seriously ball and it will be exciting to see the impact they have on the team as we begin our season.
While we began season officially on October 15th (I know, I know, why didn’t I write an update a month ago? I’m getting to that part), we began working out as a team regularly the first few weeks of school back in September. While all our open gyms, lifting regiments, and early morning conditioning workouts were optional, each one of us participated in all of it. When you come off a losing season, waiting around until October 15th to start preparing isn’t the answer to improving that record. So we didn’t. We’ve been working hard day in and day out and we fully plan on reaping the benefits.
It all starts on Sunday, as we host Centenary College at 1 p.m. for our first game of the season. It is one thing to want to win, but it is another to truly feel like you SHOULD win. To feel that there’s no way you’re opponent put in the hours, the sweat, and the tears that you and your teammates did. To feel that you owe it to yourself and to your teammates and coaches to win. That’s how we feel. We’ve used the past as motivation, and we know now that as we continue to work harder and harder, the future will be different. We will make sure of it.
That was the last thing I wrote about my team and the Vassar College Women’s Basketball program. I wrote it as a conclusion to our 4-21 season which ended with an exciting double overtime win at Clarkson. Looking back on that last paragraph, I realize that all of this has held true. We are returning some serious talent to our roster. I truly believe that nobody can stop our sole senior, Second-Team All-Liberty League forward Emily “House” Haeuser. She’s the definition of the word solid. There also isn’t a quicker guard in the league than sophomore Brittany “BP3” Parks (yes like CP3, Candice Parker). Earning Rookie of the Year as well as Liberty League Honorable Mention was definitely just the beginning of Brittany’s success here at VC. She won’t be alone either, as classmate Kristyn “Temp” Tempora is sure to have a breakout season now that she’s healthy, as in, not playing on a broken foot.
All this being said, our freshmen (there’s a whopping six of them) will all be contributing. Tori, Olivia, Natalie, Ani, Sayre, and Sam all can seriously ball and it will be exciting to see the impact they have on the team as we begin our season.
While we began season officially on October 15th (I know, I know, why didn’t I write an update a month ago? I’m getting to that part), we began working out as a team regularly the first few weeks of school back in September. While all our open gyms, lifting regiments, and early morning conditioning workouts were optional, each one of us participated in all of it. When you come off a losing season, waiting around until October 15th to start preparing isn’t the answer to improving that record. So we didn’t. We’ve been working hard day in and day out and we fully plan on reaping the benefits.
It all starts on Sunday, as we host Centenary College at 1 p.m. for our first game of the season. It is one thing to want to win, but it is another to truly feel like you SHOULD win. To feel that there’s no way you’re opponent put in the hours, the sweat, and the tears that you and your teammates did. To feel that you owe it to yourself and to your teammates and coaches to win. That’s how we feel. We’ve used the past as motivation, and we know now that as we continue to work harder and harder, the future will be different. We will make sure of it.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The 2009 WNBA Finals: Setting the Stage for a New Beginning
Purple and yellow confetti fell down onto the court as soon as the buzzer sounded. There wasn’t an empty seat in the entire building, and the crowd was electrifying. One team rushed the court in an overwhelmingly triumphant craze before heading into the locker room to pop open a room full of champagne bottles.
No, I’m not talking about the Lakers after they won the 2009 NBA Finals.
I’m talking about this past Friday night, when the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 94-86 to win a best of five series and capture the 2009 WNBA Championship.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten that Game 5 of the series was on Friday night, but I was thoroughly impressed when my 49 year old father remembered and flicked the channel from the Red Sox playoff game we were watching (now THAT is saying something). We watched as the home team held onto their lead and celebrated their second championship in the past three years.
Watching the scene as the game ended, I was truly surprised. There were 17,313 people at the U.S. Airway Center in Phoenix, Arizona watching the game. The place was just as loud as any basketball game I can remember going to; the cheering was thunderous. As a female basketball player, I was truly impressed and flattered by what an event the game was. To see a women’s basketball game get such attention used to be a dream, and to see it become a reality was a special experience.
The moment made me think about all the differences I see in men’s and women’s sports. A men’s basketball game seems to be completely different from a women’s game. But what this game proved was that the essentials don’t change. The Phoenix Mercury were just as elated on Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA Finals. The Fever were just as disappointed as the Orlando Magic. The emotions- from the eagerness before the game to the intensity during it and the pure joy (or grief) after it are all the same. These feelings don’t change. As athletes, these are the feelings we play for. The reasons we give so much of ourselves to our respective sports. We love the nerves. We love the tension. We love the competition. Male or female, we love it. It’s what keeps us going.
On Friday night, Corey Gaines’ Mercury felt every bit of elation and victory that Phil Jackson’s Lakers felt back in June. As a female athlete, I’ve understood this universal feeling since I started playing competitive sports. But watching 17,000 others grasp the idea was nothing short of impressive. The 2009 WNBA Finals, aired on ESPN 2, saw a 73 percent increase in viewership and a 33 percent increase in ratings since last year’s finals. Diana Taurasi (Finals MVP winner) has become a household name over the past decade. Female athletes are getting the credit they deserve, and for myself and I’m sure all women playing sports, that is truly inspiring.
Female athletes have come a long way over the years, as has the WNBA. Friday night’s game was an indicator that this is just the beginning for both.
No, I’m not talking about the Lakers after they won the 2009 NBA Finals.
I’m talking about this past Friday night, when the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 94-86 to win a best of five series and capture the 2009 WNBA Championship.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten that Game 5 of the series was on Friday night, but I was thoroughly impressed when my 49 year old father remembered and flicked the channel from the Red Sox playoff game we were watching (now THAT is saying something). We watched as the home team held onto their lead and celebrated their second championship in the past three years.
Watching the scene as the game ended, I was truly surprised. There were 17,313 people at the U.S. Airway Center in Phoenix, Arizona watching the game. The place was just as loud as any basketball game I can remember going to; the cheering was thunderous. As a female basketball player, I was truly impressed and flattered by what an event the game was. To see a women’s basketball game get such attention used to be a dream, and to see it become a reality was a special experience.
The moment made me think about all the differences I see in men’s and women’s sports. A men’s basketball game seems to be completely different from a women’s game. But what this game proved was that the essentials don’t change. The Phoenix Mercury were just as elated on Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA Finals. The Fever were just as disappointed as the Orlando Magic. The emotions- from the eagerness before the game to the intensity during it and the pure joy (or grief) after it are all the same. These feelings don’t change. As athletes, these are the feelings we play for. The reasons we give so much of ourselves to our respective sports. We love the nerves. We love the tension. We love the competition. Male or female, we love it. It’s what keeps us going.
On Friday night, Corey Gaines’ Mercury felt every bit of elation and victory that Phil Jackson’s Lakers felt back in June. As a female athlete, I’ve understood this universal feeling since I started playing competitive sports. But watching 17,000 others grasp the idea was nothing short of impressive. The 2009 WNBA Finals, aired on ESPN 2, saw a 73 percent increase in viewership and a 33 percent increase in ratings since last year’s finals. Diana Taurasi (Finals MVP winner) has become a household name over the past decade. Female athletes are getting the credit they deserve, and for myself and I’m sure all women playing sports, that is truly inspiring.
Female athletes have come a long way over the years, as has the WNBA. Friday night’s game was an indicator that this is just the beginning for both.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Tough Road, A Hopeful Ending
March 10
I apologize for how long it’s been since I’ve last written. Liberty League play tends to consume the majority of our time and it seemed particularly hectic this year.
Looking at our league record you would get the completely wrong picture of how the end of our season went. We began league play with some close games that we just couldn’t turn into wins, including close losses to William Smith, Skidmore, Clarkson and eventual Liberty League tournament champion Saint Lawrence. Things really started to come together for us as freshman Brittany Parks broke out as a scoring sensation while Emily Haeuser continued her stellar Vassar career both in scoring and on the boards. Freshman forward Kristyn Tempora also showed her numerous skills with some breakout games and clutch shots. With three legitimate scoring threats and the likes of Jenica Law and Sarah Warner stepping into their roles on the defensive end and myself, Brianna Brazell and Emilie Haft starting to hit some shots as well as Eleanor Albert contributing offensively and on the boards, it looked like things were really coming together for us.
Unfortunately, we hit some bumps along the way and hit a bit of a slump toward the end of the season. Losing takes a toll on teams no matter what, even if you are playing well, and we began to let it wear us down. We slipped up in our last home weekend against Skidmore and Union and continued to play below our expectations at RPI the following Tuesday. We headed into our last weekend of the season – a six-hour trip up to Saint Lawrence and Clarkson – with two options. We could finish off the season playing below our potential and just tack on two more losses to our record, or we could start playing with the desire and focus that we had in the beginning of League play. After a long team talk, we all made it clear that the latter option was our choice.
We faced Saint Lawrence first, and although we lost by a considerable margin, we played much better as a unit. Our team defense was greatly improved and we were communicating and working together. Our turnovers plagued us as well as the inability to hit shots. But we woke up the next morning knowing we should beat Clarkson. Before the game even started we believed it was our game for the taking. Tied at the half, Clarkson built a lead as large as nine points early in the second period, but we slowly chipped away at it and were able to tie the game with less than six seconds left as Jenica Law hit a runner in the lane to send us into overtime. With our leader, Emily Haeuser, fouled out, everyone else on the team stepped up. Foul trouble again hurt us in overtime, with Eleanor Albert and Brianna Brazell fouling out as well, leaving our bench close to empty. We were able to lock down on defense in the last possession in overtime, and prevailed in the second overtime thanks to big shots from Brittany Parks, Kristyn Tempora, myself and again Jenica Law.
The atmosphere was incredible. It was their senior day and their home court, but we were able to win by playing great team defense and hitting big shots when we needed them. When the buzzer sounded, I ran to Britt and grabbed her with excitement. We found the rest of our team in the middle of the court and celebrated a victory that can set the tone for what is to come from this program. It was a long trip home but we couldn’t have ended our season in a better way.
While the win provided a lot of inspiration to work hard in the offseason, so did all the losses. We are too talented to have another losing record next year. We have scorers, defenders, and a lot of experience on this roster now. We will not be losing any players next year (although we will miss our student assistant coach, Shannon Fuhr) and we will surely benefit from a talented freshmen class. We definitely have the pieces to put together a better record next year and with some experienced leaders working hard this offseason, I feel confident that we will.
I apologize for how long it’s been since I’ve last written. Liberty League play tends to consume the majority of our time and it seemed particularly hectic this year.
Looking at our league record you would get the completely wrong picture of how the end of our season went. We began league play with some close games that we just couldn’t turn into wins, including close losses to William Smith, Skidmore, Clarkson and eventual Liberty League tournament champion Saint Lawrence. Things really started to come together for us as freshman Brittany Parks broke out as a scoring sensation while Emily Haeuser continued her stellar Vassar career both in scoring and on the boards. Freshman forward Kristyn Tempora also showed her numerous skills with some breakout games and clutch shots. With three legitimate scoring threats and the likes of Jenica Law and Sarah Warner stepping into their roles on the defensive end and myself, Brianna Brazell and Emilie Haft starting to hit some shots as well as Eleanor Albert contributing offensively and on the boards, it looked like things were really coming together for us.
Unfortunately, we hit some bumps along the way and hit a bit of a slump toward the end of the season. Losing takes a toll on teams no matter what, even if you are playing well, and we began to let it wear us down. We slipped up in our last home weekend against Skidmore and Union and continued to play below our expectations at RPI the following Tuesday. We headed into our last weekend of the season – a six-hour trip up to Saint Lawrence and Clarkson – with two options. We could finish off the season playing below our potential and just tack on two more losses to our record, or we could start playing with the desire and focus that we had in the beginning of League play. After a long team talk, we all made it clear that the latter option was our choice.
We faced Saint Lawrence first, and although we lost by a considerable margin, we played much better as a unit. Our team defense was greatly improved and we were communicating and working together. Our turnovers plagued us as well as the inability to hit shots. But we woke up the next morning knowing we should beat Clarkson. Before the game even started we believed it was our game for the taking. Tied at the half, Clarkson built a lead as large as nine points early in the second period, but we slowly chipped away at it and were able to tie the game with less than six seconds left as Jenica Law hit a runner in the lane to send us into overtime. With our leader, Emily Haeuser, fouled out, everyone else on the team stepped up. Foul trouble again hurt us in overtime, with Eleanor Albert and Brianna Brazell fouling out as well, leaving our bench close to empty. We were able to lock down on defense in the last possession in overtime, and prevailed in the second overtime thanks to big shots from Brittany Parks, Kristyn Tempora, myself and again Jenica Law.
The atmosphere was incredible. It was their senior day and their home court, but we were able to win by playing great team defense and hitting big shots when we needed them. When the buzzer sounded, I ran to Britt and grabbed her with excitement. We found the rest of our team in the middle of the court and celebrated a victory that can set the tone for what is to come from this program. It was a long trip home but we couldn’t have ended our season in a better way.
While the win provided a lot of inspiration to work hard in the offseason, so did all the losses. We are too talented to have another losing record next year. We have scorers, defenders, and a lot of experience on this roster now. We will not be losing any players next year (although we will miss our student assistant coach, Shannon Fuhr) and we will surely benefit from a talented freshmen class. We definitely have the pieces to put together a better record next year and with some experienced leaders working hard this offseason, I feel confident that we will.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Winter Break: Work and Play
January 16
I had never been to Chicago before our team visited last week, and one of the many things I learned from the six-day trip to the Windy City was that it is indeed one of the country’s greatest cities and also one of the coldest.
More importantly I learned a lot about my teammates. The trip allowed us to leave everything else behind and focus on each other and on basketball. The first few days there we prepared for our two games. We rested most of Sunday before an afternoon workout and then worked out Monday morning in the hotel before practicing Monday night. Despite our focus and hard work over the first couple of days in Chicago, it was obvious that the break had affected our level of play. Our game against an impressive Elmhurst team was a tough loss in which we seemed out of sync and frazzled. The following night against North Park we were more in sync, but we again struggled from the field and ended up losing, although the lead changed hands throughout the entire game.
We were all frustrated - we came to Chicago to come away with at least one win and felt that we definitely could have done that. We used Wednesday night to talk to each other about what we felt went wrong in both games and what we needed to do to get out of our funk. It was clear that everyone felt better after talking and we woke up Thursday ready to leave the games behind us and enjoy our day in the city.
We started off at the aquarium in downtown Chicago before walking around the infamous Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs). Afterwards, we met up with five Vassar alumni who were kind enough to treat us to dinner at Giordano’s, home of the best stuffed-crust pizza in Chicago. Talking to the alumni was enjoyable and helpful - it was amazing to hear about all the differences and similarities between their experiences at Vassar and ours. One of the alumni, Bill, even had one of the same professors as I did, twenty years earlier. Bill also offered to help out those of us interested in law school (he’s written several books in the field of law). Each of the alumni had an interesting story to tell about their experience both at Vassar and after, and they all urged us to contact them next time we were in Chicago. Two were nice enough to be our tour guides down the Magnificent Mile, where we walked up Michigan Ave and did some shopping at the various stores on the street before going up to the top of the Hancock Building, where we were awed by the striking view of Chicago we had from NINETY-SIX stories up!
Despite the weather, we managed to make it out of Chicago on Friday afternoon and were back on campus at about 11:30 p.m. While we enjoyed our trip, we had not forgot about our struggles on the court and went right back to practicing on Saturday morning. Although we had Sunday off, captain Emily Haeuser led us in a shoot-around that night. We all wanted to be at our best for our game on Wednesday and for the beginning of league play the following weekend. We worked hard at practice on Monday and Tuesday. Our focus was on box out drills, running our transition offenses, and practicing our denial defense.
Our effort undoubtedly paid off Wednesday night as we fought our way to a much-needed victory at Hunter College, 79-71. Freshman Kristyn Tempora posted her second career double-double with a remarkable 22 points and 12 rebounds while Emily Haeuser again proved to be a force with 20 points and 16 boards. Also contributing was freshman Brittany Parks with 15 points and a career-high eight assists. The win was definitely a team effort as sophomore Jenica Law contributed 10 points and seven boards and classmate Eleanor Albert had two key “and-1” layups. The defensive play of sophomore Brianna Brazell also proved to be clutch down the stretch. Our ability to hold onto a lead in a hostile atmosphere was very promising and particularly impressive considering our youth and inexperience. This is exactly the way we want to be playing as we head into league play.
It has been great spending the last few weeks bonding as a team, but we’ve also been working hard and with Liberty League play starting up today, we are ready to focus on basketball and getting wins. On Wednesday night, we told each other we were not leaving the gym without a win, and we plan on bringing that same attitude to Hamilton tonight and to William Smith on Saturday.
I had never been to Chicago before our team visited last week, and one of the many things I learned from the six-day trip to the Windy City was that it is indeed one of the country’s greatest cities and also one of the coldest.
More importantly I learned a lot about my teammates. The trip allowed us to leave everything else behind and focus on each other and on basketball. The first few days there we prepared for our two games. We rested most of Sunday before an afternoon workout and then worked out Monday morning in the hotel before practicing Monday night. Despite our focus and hard work over the first couple of days in Chicago, it was obvious that the break had affected our level of play. Our game against an impressive Elmhurst team was a tough loss in which we seemed out of sync and frazzled. The following night against North Park we were more in sync, but we again struggled from the field and ended up losing, although the lead changed hands throughout the entire game.
We were all frustrated - we came to Chicago to come away with at least one win and felt that we definitely could have done that. We used Wednesday night to talk to each other about what we felt went wrong in both games and what we needed to do to get out of our funk. It was clear that everyone felt better after talking and we woke up Thursday ready to leave the games behind us and enjoy our day in the city.
We started off at the aquarium in downtown Chicago before walking around the infamous Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs). Afterwards, we met up with five Vassar alumni who were kind enough to treat us to dinner at Giordano’s, home of the best stuffed-crust pizza in Chicago. Talking to the alumni was enjoyable and helpful - it was amazing to hear about all the differences and similarities between their experiences at Vassar and ours. One of the alumni, Bill, even had one of the same professors as I did, twenty years earlier. Bill also offered to help out those of us interested in law school (he’s written several books in the field of law). Each of the alumni had an interesting story to tell about their experience both at Vassar and after, and they all urged us to contact them next time we were in Chicago. Two were nice enough to be our tour guides down the Magnificent Mile, where we walked up Michigan Ave and did some shopping at the various stores on the street before going up to the top of the Hancock Building, where we were awed by the striking view of Chicago we had from NINETY-SIX stories up!
Despite the weather, we managed to make it out of Chicago on Friday afternoon and were back on campus at about 11:30 p.m. While we enjoyed our trip, we had not forgot about our struggles on the court and went right back to practicing on Saturday morning. Although we had Sunday off, captain Emily Haeuser led us in a shoot-around that night. We all wanted to be at our best for our game on Wednesday and for the beginning of league play the following weekend. We worked hard at practice on Monday and Tuesday. Our focus was on box out drills, running our transition offenses, and practicing our denial defense.
Our effort undoubtedly paid off Wednesday night as we fought our way to a much-needed victory at Hunter College, 79-71. Freshman Kristyn Tempora posted her second career double-double with a remarkable 22 points and 12 rebounds while Emily Haeuser again proved to be a force with 20 points and 16 boards. Also contributing was freshman Brittany Parks with 15 points and a career-high eight assists. The win was definitely a team effort as sophomore Jenica Law contributed 10 points and seven boards and classmate Eleanor Albert had two key “and-1” layups. The defensive play of sophomore Brianna Brazell also proved to be clutch down the stretch. Our ability to hold onto a lead in a hostile atmosphere was very promising and particularly impressive considering our youth and inexperience. This is exactly the way we want to be playing as we head into league play.
It has been great spending the last few weeks bonding as a team, but we’ve also been working hard and with Liberty League play starting up today, we are ready to focus on basketball and getting wins. On Wednesday night, we told each other we were not leaving the gym without a win, and we plan on bringing that same attitude to Hamilton tonight and to William Smith on Saturday.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Back Together Again
January 3, 2009
After a two week break for the holidays, our team reunited on Friday night for a 6 o’clock practice. While we all admitted that we weren’t exactly eager to come back so quickly, leaving behind family, friends, and the holidays, as soon as we saw one another and got to talking we were all thrilled to be back together. Almost all of us are living on the same floor in the intersession housing dorm and to make the reunion even sweeter, we will spend six days in Chicago to play two games and have some fun while we’re at it.
On Friday night Coach eased us back into our normal practice routine, but we went hard in our nine a.m. practice today. As expected, we definitely had to shake off the cobwebs and get used to playing with one another again, but the energy and positivity was there through the entirety of both practices. We sprinted at the beginning and end of practice and did a lot of full court drills to get our legs back in shape. We went through plays to refresh our memories and scrimmaged for a little bit before finishing practice with a few sprints and heading into the locker room to discuss the specifics of our trip.
Right now it is 11 o’clock on Saturday night and most of us are finishing up packing and resting a bit since we have to meet up at the gym at 1:30 to drive to the airport. While our travel schedule is a little crazy, we are all just anxious and excited to get going. Chicago may not be the warmest place at this time of year, but it’s a chance for us to see a beautiful city (at least that’s what I’m told, I guess I’ll find out!) and enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes during the season we are so busy between practice and academics and other activities that we don’t all get a chance to really appreciate one another as anything but basketball players. Although we are going to Chicago to win two basketball games, the trip will give us a chance to appreciate our teammates and coaches not just as part of our team, but also as our friends and as the kind and fun people they are.
It was great to see family and friends and get some rest over the winter break, but being back with my teammates has proved to be just as good a feeling.
After a two week break for the holidays, our team reunited on Friday night for a 6 o’clock practice. While we all admitted that we weren’t exactly eager to come back so quickly, leaving behind family, friends, and the holidays, as soon as we saw one another and got to talking we were all thrilled to be back together. Almost all of us are living on the same floor in the intersession housing dorm and to make the reunion even sweeter, we will spend six days in Chicago to play two games and have some fun while we’re at it.
On Friday night Coach eased us back into our normal practice routine, but we went hard in our nine a.m. practice today. As expected, we definitely had to shake off the cobwebs and get used to playing with one another again, but the energy and positivity was there through the entirety of both practices. We sprinted at the beginning and end of practice and did a lot of full court drills to get our legs back in shape. We went through plays to refresh our memories and scrimmaged for a little bit before finishing practice with a few sprints and heading into the locker room to discuss the specifics of our trip.
Right now it is 11 o’clock on Saturday night and most of us are finishing up packing and resting a bit since we have to meet up at the gym at 1:30 to drive to the airport. While our travel schedule is a little crazy, we are all just anxious and excited to get going. Chicago may not be the warmest place at this time of year, but it’s a chance for us to see a beautiful city (at least that’s what I’m told, I guess I’ll find out!) and enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes during the season we are so busy between practice and academics and other activities that we don’t all get a chance to really appreciate one another as anything but basketball players. Although we are going to Chicago to win two basketball games, the trip will give us a chance to appreciate our teammates and coaches not just as part of our team, but also as our friends and as the kind and fun people they are.
It was great to see family and friends and get some rest over the winter break, but being back with my teammates has proved to be just as good a feeling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
