We have arrived safely in Spokane for another adventure for the Falcons U17 and U15 programs.
The drive down always has a unique vibe to it. It is different for every team and every group of kids that comes to camp, I imagine, and this one was different than the last time I came on a team camp trip with the program.
This is the sixth year that Foothills Falcons club basketball has come to a team specific camp in the US and the 5th different group of athletes that we have brought in those six years. This is the second time I have been a part of one of these trips as a coach (and if you’re interested in the highlights of the trip two years ago, feel free to check out the July 2014 section of this blog. A mom told me it goes nice with a glass of red or white.)
This year marks the first year that Falcons club basketball will bring two teams to the same camp at the same time. I think it is the reason for the mixed vibe throughout the group on the way down. We have brought fifteen athletes, 7 ‘sophomore and juniors’ and 8 ‘freshmen’. That is what they would be characterized down here as anyways. Back home we just call them U17 and U15 respectfully.
Two years ago the players, and myself, were unsure of what the week would hold in store. There was a lot of nervous excitement on the drive down that was palpable between the bouts of sleep the majority of us succumbed to.
This year half of our athletes have been to camp before and know exactly what to expect. Their mindset appears to be one of unfinished business and an understanding of exactly the obstacles that lay ahead of them. The other half of our group are some combination of nervous, excited, and unsure of themselves. Mostly our younger players are just trying to catch some sleep in between the obnoxious death metal rendition of the song ‘Mama Mia’ being shouted from the back of the party bus.
Today was our easiest and most laid back day of the trip with lots of stops on the drives, jokes, music, and generally getting to know one another. It was the Golden Corral for dinner and the girls took full advantage of the American buffet style restaurant. They have everything from prime rib to steamed vegetables to Mexican style fajitas. Complete with a full array of desserts including a chocolate fondue fountain and a soft serve ice cream bar. From Jess trying to convince Claire to eat a chocolate covered brusselsprout to Dave, Claire, Kalla, and Rachel eventually eating chocolate covered jalapeno’s, it was a great night that resulted in a fit of giggles leaving the restaurant and a healthy sized ‘food baby’.
After dinner the girls had some journal time, both as a team and as an individual. Coach Dave led us through a discussion about goal setting. Each girl selected four things they wanted to accomplish this week. These things varied from something simple like “I want to improve my dribbling and shooting skills,” to deeper things like, “I want to get to the point where I trust in everyone of my teammates completely.” As a group one of our goals is to think of ourselves as a group of 15 young ladies, not as two individual groups or teams.
Coach Dave also shared one of his favourite poems with us. A copy of the poem is in each one of the girls journals. It is a poem that some may be familiar with (it has been in popular media before in movies such as Coach Carter) by Marianne Williamson. The poem is titled “Our Greatest Fear”:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Source: http://skdesigns.com/internet/articles/quotes/williamson/our_deepest_fear/
It really sums up what our goal is for being here as individuals. In fact, it sums up what our goal is for the girls that really come through our program.
Two lines really stand out for me:
1) There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
2) And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
So much of what we do within our program deals with empowering our young ladies. We try to teach them not to feel as though they need to “shrink so that other’s won’t feel insecure”. We want our ladies to grow to the point where they are all shining together, 5 girls playing defense against one basketball. 5 players working to get a great shot on offense. 60 young women who grow to understand where we fit in on a team, what our role is on that team, what we do well and how to embrace that to “let our own light shine” so that others may feel empowered to do the same.
Tomorrow we are off to do some shopping in the morning before camp gets underway in the afternoon.
More to come as the week goes on.
Go Falcon’s Go!
The drive down always has a unique vibe to it. It is different for every team and every group of kids that comes to camp, I imagine, and this one was different than the last time I came on a team camp trip with the program.
This is the sixth year that Foothills Falcons club basketball has come to a team specific camp in the US and the 5th different group of athletes that we have brought in those six years. This is the second time I have been a part of one of these trips as a coach (and if you’re interested in the highlights of the trip two years ago, feel free to check out the July 2014 section of this blog. A mom told me it goes nice with a glass of red or white.)
This year marks the first year that Falcons club basketball will bring two teams to the same camp at the same time. I think it is the reason for the mixed vibe throughout the group on the way down. We have brought fifteen athletes, 7 ‘sophomore and juniors’ and 8 ‘freshmen’. That is what they would be characterized down here as anyways. Back home we just call them U17 and U15 respectfully.
Two years ago the players, and myself, were unsure of what the week would hold in store. There was a lot of nervous excitement on the drive down that was palpable between the bouts of sleep the majority of us succumbed to.
This year half of our athletes have been to camp before and know exactly what to expect. Their mindset appears to be one of unfinished business and an understanding of exactly the obstacles that lay ahead of them. The other half of our group are some combination of nervous, excited, and unsure of themselves. Mostly our younger players are just trying to catch some sleep in between the obnoxious death metal rendition of the song ‘Mama Mia’ being shouted from the back of the party bus.
Today was our easiest and most laid back day of the trip with lots of stops on the drives, jokes, music, and generally getting to know one another. It was the Golden Corral for dinner and the girls took full advantage of the American buffet style restaurant. They have everything from prime rib to steamed vegetables to Mexican style fajitas. Complete with a full array of desserts including a chocolate fondue fountain and a soft serve ice cream bar. From Jess trying to convince Claire to eat a chocolate covered brusselsprout to Dave, Claire, Kalla, and Rachel eventually eating chocolate covered jalapeno’s, it was a great night that resulted in a fit of giggles leaving the restaurant and a healthy sized ‘food baby’.
After dinner the girls had some journal time, both as a team and as an individual. Coach Dave led us through a discussion about goal setting. Each girl selected four things they wanted to accomplish this week. These things varied from something simple like “I want to improve my dribbling and shooting skills,” to deeper things like, “I want to get to the point where I trust in everyone of my teammates completely.” As a group one of our goals is to think of ourselves as a group of 15 young ladies, not as two individual groups or teams.
Coach Dave also shared one of his favourite poems with us. A copy of the poem is in each one of the girls journals. It is a poem that some may be familiar with (it has been in popular media before in movies such as Coach Carter) by Marianne Williamson. The poem is titled “Our Greatest Fear”:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Source: http://skdesigns.com/internet/articles/quotes/williamson/our_deepest_fear/
It really sums up what our goal is for being here as individuals. In fact, it sums up what our goal is for the girls that really come through our program.
Two lines really stand out for me:
1) There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
2) And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
So much of what we do within our program deals with empowering our young ladies. We try to teach them not to feel as though they need to “shrink so that other’s won’t feel insecure”. We want our ladies to grow to the point where they are all shining together, 5 girls playing defense against one basketball. 5 players working to get a great shot on offense. 60 young women who grow to understand where we fit in on a team, what our role is on that team, what we do well and how to embrace that to “let our own light shine” so that others may feel empowered to do the same.
Tomorrow we are off to do some shopping in the morning before camp gets underway in the afternoon.
More to come as the week goes on.
Go Falcon’s Go!