Tuesday is always the most difficult day of camp. The morning sessions seem to drag on and drain the girls of a lot of their energy and by the time the afternoon comes people are getting hurt, getting tired, and not playing up to how they may have been the day before (or really all spring). Wednesday is an easier day on the girls because they have been through the schedule once already on Tuesday and know what to expect.
Many chose a different positional grouping this morning in order to achieve a little variety in their week. The wing player session focused largely on navigating off ball screens and learning how to set your feet to shoot as you come off the screen. The post session continued their competitive drills and teaching of some of the finer points of post offense and defense. The Point Guards were also working on navigating screens, but it sounded like they were navigating mostly ball screens (in order to make it slightly different than the wing session). Sadly we couldn’t convince Georgia to go to the post session.
After positionals it was lunch time and then back on the round robin tournament games schedule.
The young guns came out flying with lots of energy and spirit, outright winning two games and losing a couple of leads late in close games. As I watch this young group play I admire the way they hustle, talk, and support one another. Every time someone gets a basket they are all clapping and cheering for one another, both on and off the court. In both of their wins today they beat teams that had beat them by double digits the previous day. It is easy to see why their length and energy has overwhelmed opponents all spring as it is giving even the older teams they are now playing against fits.
Rachel’s defensive awareness and soft touch around the basket has been a great addition to an already athletic team this week. She made a few plays after she switched a screen today where she tipped a pass that the other team was surprised she even got a hand on. Her growth and confidence is evident by her comfort level on the left block during one particular game, catching and scoring over her left shoulder with a nice bank shot. For someone who was almost not going to be here this week, and someone who was just at a different camp last week, Rachel has had an awesome few days.
Jaz had a great bounce back day today. She struggled with the increased speed and physicality of the game on Tuesday as the team made its move up to the higher division, but today she was pushing the ball for layups and shots for teammates with good success. More than once she shot the ball with confidence off a swing from a teammate today and she is the first to clap and smile when one of her teammates scores right now. While she is still learning to navigate the speed of the game, Jaz is really committing herself to the desire to improve every day.
The U17 Falcons came out flat this afternoon. We lacked discipline, intensity, and togetherness. Everything that we had preached to do better today was absent. After our game we ran one hard sideline just to try to send a message that this kind of effort was not why we were.
After a one game break to regroup and refocus, our girls really got back to grinding out possessions. We upset the 1st and 2nd ranked team in league one and it was a total team effort. We found our feet on defense and switched and communicated our way to frustrating the other offenses, holding them under 30 points combined.
Allie battled in the post with the toughest, meanest girl at camp versus the 1st place team. She held her own, gave as good as she got, and kept the middle of the key a place that few dared to enter willingly. Jess and Claire really worked hard to lock down the weak side rebounds that have been killing us for the better part of two days, and were back cutting hard on offense to keep the pressure on the other teams defenders. Paula was back to running the floor ahead of everybody on the other team more than once to create shot opportunities for herself and others.
Against the second place team Allie made the play of the game in the final seconds, diving on the ground for a loose ball as Dave and I yelled frantically for a time out to maintain possession (old American rule that came around to benefit us). Shannon got fouled, made 1 out of 2 foul shots, and our scrambling switching defense held the 2nd place team to one long futile attempt just before the buzzer.
Other player notes were Georgia hitting yet another three point shot (probably her 8th this week already) and Gerber’s continued presence on defense, making life miserable for the other teams best player. All of our girls have recommitted themselves to having a really positive week and it was nice to see them grind out a couple of solid wins against tough competition.
After dinner we headed out to intensity night, always a highlight of camp for our kids. Intensity night is essentially a big fitness circuit that all the kids, and coaches, participate in as a team. From planks, to push ups, to sprints, we all get super sweaty and put forth our best effort in order to show that we are a team and we do things together. At the end we participated in a camp dance contest. Our routine consisted of all the players and coaches doing the Macarena dance, with Lola executing an awesome aerial and Cala and Amy somersaulting out in front of our dance line that was led by Coach Kyle, Rachel, Jess, Georgia, and Gerbs. The highlight of the night was that all three of the coaches made it through the circuit without once needing those defibrillators that we saw them charging up earlier in the day.
A big congratulations goes out to Jordan and Shannon for being selected to the camp all star game that will be taking place tomorrow afternoon against the female camp counselors. I will make sure to add more about this tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure I made a note of it.
Lastly, the theme of the day is “True Word”. The general message to the kids was that what you say significantly influences those around you. What you say to yourself and others matters. This really goes hand in hand with the mindset concept that has been a focus for us all week. Those that are in a positive frame of mind and carrying confidence as a player will naturally be able to be more supportive of one another with the words that they say out loud. It is something that we truly attempt to instill in our kids when they first come into our program. Any girl that has played for me over the last few years knows that I value this positive team interaction more than most, and if you don’t point, touch, or acknowledge a good play somehow on the court during a game, you’re probably getting subbed off to be reminded of this.
As game changers our girls are truly in a position to use their influence others within their schools, families, peer groups, and communities. Our girls, from U13 to U17, have the potential to be leaders on their respective teams and in their respective situations. It starts with the words that they say. But those words need to lead to actions that have a positive impact on those that are around them. We heard a great quote in our coaches meeting today from the head athletic trainer at Gonzaga University. “If you know it, and you don’t do it, then you don’t know it.”
We say it every year as the girls leave our program to go back to their various schools and teams: don’t let this energy, this leadership, and this confidence that you play with in our club season, fade during the school season. This game of basketball gives our young ladies a chance to be great at something. It gives them a place in a school or a community that can often be intimidating to find your own way in if you don’t have a ‘thing’. Basketball can be that thing for our girls. We ask a lot from the young ladies in our program. We ask that they commit to a team for at least 14 weeks in the spring. We ask that they communicate with their teammates and play with spirit and excitement. We ask that they be positive with their peers, their teammates, and, most importantly, themselves. We ask them to play hard, play smart, and play together. This week, and going forward, we are asking them to be game changers.
Many chose a different positional grouping this morning in order to achieve a little variety in their week. The wing player session focused largely on navigating off ball screens and learning how to set your feet to shoot as you come off the screen. The post session continued their competitive drills and teaching of some of the finer points of post offense and defense. The Point Guards were also working on navigating screens, but it sounded like they were navigating mostly ball screens (in order to make it slightly different than the wing session). Sadly we couldn’t convince Georgia to go to the post session.
After positionals it was lunch time and then back on the round robin tournament games schedule.
The young guns came out flying with lots of energy and spirit, outright winning two games and losing a couple of leads late in close games. As I watch this young group play I admire the way they hustle, talk, and support one another. Every time someone gets a basket they are all clapping and cheering for one another, both on and off the court. In both of their wins today they beat teams that had beat them by double digits the previous day. It is easy to see why their length and energy has overwhelmed opponents all spring as it is giving even the older teams they are now playing against fits.
Rachel’s defensive awareness and soft touch around the basket has been a great addition to an already athletic team this week. She made a few plays after she switched a screen today where she tipped a pass that the other team was surprised she even got a hand on. Her growth and confidence is evident by her comfort level on the left block during one particular game, catching and scoring over her left shoulder with a nice bank shot. For someone who was almost not going to be here this week, and someone who was just at a different camp last week, Rachel has had an awesome few days.
Jaz had a great bounce back day today. She struggled with the increased speed and physicality of the game on Tuesday as the team made its move up to the higher division, but today she was pushing the ball for layups and shots for teammates with good success. More than once she shot the ball with confidence off a swing from a teammate today and she is the first to clap and smile when one of her teammates scores right now. While she is still learning to navigate the speed of the game, Jaz is really committing herself to the desire to improve every day.
The U17 Falcons came out flat this afternoon. We lacked discipline, intensity, and togetherness. Everything that we had preached to do better today was absent. After our game we ran one hard sideline just to try to send a message that this kind of effort was not why we were.
After a one game break to regroup and refocus, our girls really got back to grinding out possessions. We upset the 1st and 2nd ranked team in league one and it was a total team effort. We found our feet on defense and switched and communicated our way to frustrating the other offenses, holding them under 30 points combined.
Allie battled in the post with the toughest, meanest girl at camp versus the 1st place team. She held her own, gave as good as she got, and kept the middle of the key a place that few dared to enter willingly. Jess and Claire really worked hard to lock down the weak side rebounds that have been killing us for the better part of two days, and were back cutting hard on offense to keep the pressure on the other teams defenders. Paula was back to running the floor ahead of everybody on the other team more than once to create shot opportunities for herself and others.
Against the second place team Allie made the play of the game in the final seconds, diving on the ground for a loose ball as Dave and I yelled frantically for a time out to maintain possession (old American rule that came around to benefit us). Shannon got fouled, made 1 out of 2 foul shots, and our scrambling switching defense held the 2nd place team to one long futile attempt just before the buzzer.
Other player notes were Georgia hitting yet another three point shot (probably her 8th this week already) and Gerber’s continued presence on defense, making life miserable for the other teams best player. All of our girls have recommitted themselves to having a really positive week and it was nice to see them grind out a couple of solid wins against tough competition.
After dinner we headed out to intensity night, always a highlight of camp for our kids. Intensity night is essentially a big fitness circuit that all the kids, and coaches, participate in as a team. From planks, to push ups, to sprints, we all get super sweaty and put forth our best effort in order to show that we are a team and we do things together. At the end we participated in a camp dance contest. Our routine consisted of all the players and coaches doing the Macarena dance, with Lola executing an awesome aerial and Cala and Amy somersaulting out in front of our dance line that was led by Coach Kyle, Rachel, Jess, Georgia, and Gerbs. The highlight of the night was that all three of the coaches made it through the circuit without once needing those defibrillators that we saw them charging up earlier in the day.
A big congratulations goes out to Jordan and Shannon for being selected to the camp all star game that will be taking place tomorrow afternoon against the female camp counselors. I will make sure to add more about this tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure I made a note of it.
Lastly, the theme of the day is “True Word”. The general message to the kids was that what you say significantly influences those around you. What you say to yourself and others matters. This really goes hand in hand with the mindset concept that has been a focus for us all week. Those that are in a positive frame of mind and carrying confidence as a player will naturally be able to be more supportive of one another with the words that they say out loud. It is something that we truly attempt to instill in our kids when they first come into our program. Any girl that has played for me over the last few years knows that I value this positive team interaction more than most, and if you don’t point, touch, or acknowledge a good play somehow on the court during a game, you’re probably getting subbed off to be reminded of this.
As game changers our girls are truly in a position to use their influence others within their schools, families, peer groups, and communities. Our girls, from U13 to U17, have the potential to be leaders on their respective teams and in their respective situations. It starts with the words that they say. But those words need to lead to actions that have a positive impact on those that are around them. We heard a great quote in our coaches meeting today from the head athletic trainer at Gonzaga University. “If you know it, and you don’t do it, then you don’t know it.”
We say it every year as the girls leave our program to go back to their various schools and teams: don’t let this energy, this leadership, and this confidence that you play with in our club season, fade during the school season. This game of basketball gives our young ladies a chance to be great at something. It gives them a place in a school or a community that can often be intimidating to find your own way in if you don’t have a ‘thing’. Basketball can be that thing for our girls. We ask a lot from the young ladies in our program. We ask that they commit to a team for at least 14 weeks in the spring. We ask that they communicate with their teammates and play with spirit and excitement. We ask that they be positive with their peers, their teammates, and, most importantly, themselves. We ask them to play hard, play smart, and play together. This week, and going forward, we are asking them to be game changers.