In Joy!
Ronda
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
And the Winner is...
Rooting for my team, in style!
Oh yeah!
Gee, glad I'm not on Franklin Street tonight!
'Night, All!
❤ My Tar Heels!
Evie
Oh yeah!
Gee, glad I'm not on Franklin Street tonight!
'Night, All!
❤ My Tar Heels!
Evie
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
Sunday, April 2, 2017
What Basketball Taught Me
When I was a sophomore in high school, I tried out for the girls' basketball team. It was my Plan B after my parents quashed my dream of becoming a school cheerleader.
I thought I would make a good cheerleader because I loved being a part of Sanderson High, had a lot of enthusiasm and school spirit, enjoyed shouting for our teams, and yes, wanted to wear one of those cute pleated skirts that the other girls got to wear on game days.
However, it was not to be as my parents admonished me to "Be on the team, not just cheering for it."
And so, with perhaps thoughts of my dad's own glory days as a basketball player for his high school and college teams, I tried out for the team at my school. As a 15 year old who had shot baskets on her driveway with her dad through the years, and could barely dribble the ball through her legs, I was rightly and justly cut from the tryouts and lost all my hopes of joining the team.
A few weeks later, however, my math teacher approached me and said that one of the girls he coached on our basketball team was missing too many practices. He said that if I could commit to attending all of the practices and to coming to all of the games, he would like me to join the team in her place.
And so I said yes!
As a member at the bottom of the lineup, I played in practices like the rest of the team, learning and running through the plays countless times while helping to sharpen our starting five.
And I ran laps around the court and suicides back and forth with everyone else, though I was often red faced and hyperventilating by the time we were through.
I dressed out for games and huddled with the team as our coach marked out with x's and o's the best strategy to defeat the team before us.
I loved my team and rooted with all of my heart for them from the bench from the beginning of each game until its final moments. If there was a minute or two left on the clock when we had a strong lead, I was sometimes called onto the floor.
What emotion surged through me as I was suddenly out there and facing the other team. My rational thoughts went away as adrenalin took over as I tried to catch and pass the ball and put it up on the backboard for a possible 2.
During those moments I remember looking back at the bench to see Linda, Ann, Teresa, Gwen, Diane, Susan, and the others standing up and yelling and waving their arms and rejoicing to see their third string teammates out there doing our best in the midst of it all.
We were a team, each one with an important contribution to make, each one pulling for the other, for the team, and for the school as a whole. Yes, something greater than basketball was there, and it is with me still.
Love,
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
When You're In the Game, You've Gotta Give It Your All
If you watched last night's two NCAA Final Four matchups, then you know that they were nail biters, with the two Number 1 seeds Gonzaga and North Carolina fighting off their tenacious opponents until the final seconds of both games.
This was the headline that greeted us today in the Raleigh News & Observer:
Who will win the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night is anyone's guess, but UNC has a long record of reaching the top (34 Final Four or Championship appearances) in this league. As one announcer said last night, if you are willing to submit yourself to the coaching and players of a winning program, then that program will help you to develop and mature into a far better player than you could ever have been on your own.
And it is that kind of team spirit that allows Carolina to play effectively through injuries and adversities as lesser players rise to the occasion when their main players are sidelined in some way. When a player submits his own glory for the good of the team, then something greater is at work.
In this particular year, the player at the center of the storm is Joel Berry who is playing on two sprained ankles as he continues to provide leadership for his team.
“Sometimes you can be selfish and just think about yourself and your well-being,” Berry said. “That’s the one great thing about this program: you’re such a family to where sometimes you put yourself aside to where you start thinking about other guys.
“And I think that’s just why people [on past UNC teams] were motivated to play through the injuries. I’m the same way. Even though I’m hurting I just want to do whatever it takes to be able to help my team out.”
ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said of Berry, “He brings toughness, leadership and then he’s an attack guard. He attacks off the dribble and he’s a great finisher, even at his size. And he provides them another 3-point shooter. … That takes a weapon away if he’s not 100 percent.”
But it's Berry's teammate Justin Jackson who states the reason that UNC has the ability to win the final game on Monday night:
“That’s one of our leaders, one of our best players — any aspect you want to throw out there, he’s at the top of it,” Jackson said. “Not having that type of guy out there, it can hurt a little bit. But Coach always says the Tar Heels are playing, not Joel Berry or Justin Jackson or whoever. So whoever’s out there has got to be able to play.”
Life is a lot like basketball.
Go Heels!
Ronda
This was the headline that greeted us today in the Raleigh News & Observer:
Who will win the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night is anyone's guess, but UNC has a long record of reaching the top (34 Final Four or Championship appearances) in this league. As one announcer said last night, if you are willing to submit yourself to the coaching and players of a winning program, then that program will help you to develop and mature into a far better player than you could ever have been on your own.
And it is that kind of team spirit that allows Carolina to play effectively through injuries and adversities as lesser players rise to the occasion when their main players are sidelined in some way. When a player submits his own glory for the good of the team, then something greater is at work.
In this particular year, the player at the center of the storm is Joel Berry who is playing on two sprained ankles as he continues to provide leadership for his team.
“Sometimes you can be selfish and just think about yourself and your well-being,” Berry said. “That’s the one great thing about this program: you’re such a family to where sometimes you put yourself aside to where you start thinking about other guys.
“And I think that’s just why people [on past UNC teams] were motivated to play through the injuries. I’m the same way. Even though I’m hurting I just want to do whatever it takes to be able to help my team out.”
ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said of Berry, “He brings toughness, leadership and then he’s an attack guard. He attacks off the dribble and he’s a great finisher, even at his size. And he provides them another 3-point shooter. … That takes a weapon away if he’s not 100 percent.”
But it's Berry's teammate Justin Jackson who states the reason that UNC has the ability to win the final game on Monday night:
“That’s one of our leaders, one of our best players — any aspect you want to throw out there, he’s at the top of it,” Jackson said. “Not having that type of guy out there, it can hurt a little bit. But Coach always says the Tar Heels are playing, not Joel Berry or Justin Jackson or whoever. So whoever’s out there has got to be able to play.”
Life is a lot like basketball.
Go Heels!
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)