Today was our first official day of camp. It looked like most of the girls were able to get some sleep last night. It helps that it is only about 24 degrees Celsius here this week (which makes sleeping far more comfortable than some past trips).
Wake up time was 8-8:30 this morning, but the coaches were up before then as most of our brains are on school time still. We made our way up to a cute little coffee place just off campus for a morning scone and cup of coffee. It was great to sit together and share stories of past camp victories and discuss our optimism for the week. We left the little shop to pick up the pieces of our visit at about nine o clock and swung by to pick up the girls to head out to breakfast.
IHOP was our first stop to fuel up for the day ahead. Crepes, eggs, sausage, ham, hash browns, toast, and even a set of chicken fingers were consumed for energy to start the day off right. No chocolate fondue fountain at this food stop, so unfortunately we still don’t know what chocolate chicken fingers taste like.
After breakfast it was off to the Gonzaga University campus a short ways across town. Walking around some of the facilities on campus took me back in my mind to the last time I was there as a player in high school. We came to a team camp, very similar to the one the girls are on now, and we stayed in a dormitory right beside what is now the newly renovated bookstore. Most of the girls found something they liked, I bought headphones and notepad to record some thoughts about the blog this week, and off we were again.
Back home on the Whitworth campus the girls had a few minutes to poke their heads into another bookstore for swag from our host campus. The coaches headed off to the orientation meeting, leaving behind instructions for when and where the girls were to meet us for the afternoon sessions.
Our afternoons will almost always consist of a series of 25 minute games played on various courts, followed by a meal, followed by a couple of games to cap the night off. At night after the girls have had a chance to wash up and refresh they head off to an evening program sponsored by the camp with various speakers and programs while the coaches get together to talk about how the day went and have a small clinic. Most of the conversation revolves around who was successful during the day, if we need to re-tier any of the teams or the leagues themselves for tournament play, and the other typical politicking that takes place when competitive coaches are all asked to sit together for a length of time.
Our two groups of girls had an awesome first afternoon of games, losing only one game combined and wining multiple games by double digits. Although our program rarely measures itself in wins and losses, especially on the Monday of a long week, it was great to see our kids have success doing the things they have done all spring to get them as good as they are right now.
There were lots of active hands that led to easy buckets and comfortable leads. The older team dropped one game to a physical team right after dinner, but other than that was unblemished. The young guns swept through their first bout of games and will be moved up to the top tier tomorrow for some challenge both physically and mentally.
Some early game stand out moments were Jordan’s constant positive communication, Skylar’s scoring and movement up and down the court, Allie’s dominance inside, Claire’s first ever in game three pointer and Shannon’s AWESOME blocked shot.
No Gitte, that is not a typo. Shannon blocked a layup on the tallest girl of the other team. It was awesome. She had a quick two foot gather in the blink of an eye and met the girl right at the top of her jump for a stuff that sent the ball flying out of bounds.
Claire asked permission to shoot a three in our last game of the day. She was told that, “if your feet are set and you catch a pass, then sure, let it fly.” And let it fly she did... right to the bottom of the net. She was so excited to let out a yelp followed by a laugh and was full of happy tears as the game ended only a few minutes later.
Although I didn’t get to see the younger girls play very often today, all of them raved about Skylar’s ability to run down the court, cut hard through the lane, and finish at the basket. Coach Ryan said she, “played awesome today. Her rotations from help defense were really impressive.”
It was a dead sprint to see who got the first showers after the final games and the girls headed off to the evening program with wet hair, big smiles, and tired eyes. The word this week that the camp and staffers are using is “game changer”. We talked about what that means and how one can be a true ‘game changer’, both in life and in basketball.
For some this may come in the form of athletic achievements, for others this may come from the path they choose after high school or post secondary education, and yet others may become the very leaders of tomorrow in business, politics, or education. One thing is for sure, every one of the young women that come through our program have the potential to be a ‘game changer’. It is, and always has been, one of the goals of our program to help create young people with the ability to help change the world for the better. This idea of a being a game changer is just the latest piece of vocabulary that we have as coaches now to help get our kids to continue to reach for their personal goals.
More to come as the week continues. Thanks as always for the support, in every way that you offer it.
Go, Falcons, Go!
Wake up time was 8-8:30 this morning, but the coaches were up before then as most of our brains are on school time still. We made our way up to a cute little coffee place just off campus for a morning scone and cup of coffee. It was great to sit together and share stories of past camp victories and discuss our optimism for the week. We left the little shop to pick up the pieces of our visit at about nine o clock and swung by to pick up the girls to head out to breakfast.
IHOP was our first stop to fuel up for the day ahead. Crepes, eggs, sausage, ham, hash browns, toast, and even a set of chicken fingers were consumed for energy to start the day off right. No chocolate fondue fountain at this food stop, so unfortunately we still don’t know what chocolate chicken fingers taste like.
After breakfast it was off to the Gonzaga University campus a short ways across town. Walking around some of the facilities on campus took me back in my mind to the last time I was there as a player in high school. We came to a team camp, very similar to the one the girls are on now, and we stayed in a dormitory right beside what is now the newly renovated bookstore. Most of the girls found something they liked, I bought headphones and notepad to record some thoughts about the blog this week, and off we were again.
Back home on the Whitworth campus the girls had a few minutes to poke their heads into another bookstore for swag from our host campus. The coaches headed off to the orientation meeting, leaving behind instructions for when and where the girls were to meet us for the afternoon sessions.
Our afternoons will almost always consist of a series of 25 minute games played on various courts, followed by a meal, followed by a couple of games to cap the night off. At night after the girls have had a chance to wash up and refresh they head off to an evening program sponsored by the camp with various speakers and programs while the coaches get together to talk about how the day went and have a small clinic. Most of the conversation revolves around who was successful during the day, if we need to re-tier any of the teams or the leagues themselves for tournament play, and the other typical politicking that takes place when competitive coaches are all asked to sit together for a length of time.
Our two groups of girls had an awesome first afternoon of games, losing only one game combined and wining multiple games by double digits. Although our program rarely measures itself in wins and losses, especially on the Monday of a long week, it was great to see our kids have success doing the things they have done all spring to get them as good as they are right now.
There were lots of active hands that led to easy buckets and comfortable leads. The older team dropped one game to a physical team right after dinner, but other than that was unblemished. The young guns swept through their first bout of games and will be moved up to the top tier tomorrow for some challenge both physically and mentally.
Some early game stand out moments were Jordan’s constant positive communication, Skylar’s scoring and movement up and down the court, Allie’s dominance inside, Claire’s first ever in game three pointer and Shannon’s AWESOME blocked shot.
No Gitte, that is not a typo. Shannon blocked a layup on the tallest girl of the other team. It was awesome. She had a quick two foot gather in the blink of an eye and met the girl right at the top of her jump for a stuff that sent the ball flying out of bounds.
Claire asked permission to shoot a three in our last game of the day. She was told that, “if your feet are set and you catch a pass, then sure, let it fly.” And let it fly she did... right to the bottom of the net. She was so excited to let out a yelp followed by a laugh and was full of happy tears as the game ended only a few minutes later.
Although I didn’t get to see the younger girls play very often today, all of them raved about Skylar’s ability to run down the court, cut hard through the lane, and finish at the basket. Coach Ryan said she, “played awesome today. Her rotations from help defense were really impressive.”
It was a dead sprint to see who got the first showers after the final games and the girls headed off to the evening program with wet hair, big smiles, and tired eyes. The word this week that the camp and staffers are using is “game changer”. We talked about what that means and how one can be a true ‘game changer’, both in life and in basketball.
For some this may come in the form of athletic achievements, for others this may come from the path they choose after high school or post secondary education, and yet others may become the very leaders of tomorrow in business, politics, or education. One thing is for sure, every one of the young women that come through our program have the potential to be a ‘game changer’. It is, and always has been, one of the goals of our program to help create young people with the ability to help change the world for the better. This idea of a being a game changer is just the latest piece of vocabulary that we have as coaches now to help get our kids to continue to reach for their personal goals.
More to come as the week continues. Thanks as always for the support, in every way that you offer it.
Go, Falcons, Go!