What the Jets have taught me

Well, as you all know, I have been helping with the Spring Grove Jets Girls basketball team for the past few months. The 16th of this month was our very last game. We made it to the championships, and we won the championships! The girls were all so excited, and I could see why! I was pretty excited too, and I was so proud of them! Well, this past week has been a bit rough. It's been like a roller coaster for my family, except it was more down than up, but I noticed when I have a rough time I start thinking about the girls and what all they have taught me about basketball and life. I wanted to share with you guys what each girl has taught me.

How 'bout we start with Katie! Katie is a girl with a spunky personality. Something that I remember her saying is that when someone would usually say, "Burn!" to someone else like, 'Oh! You just got served!' she instead would say, "Oh Shnap!" It would always get me cracking up laughing. On the court, Katie would play with attitude. She played like you were never going to get that ball. Katie has showed me that off the court you can be nice, but once you are playing you better be playing like you would do anything to get the ball.

Next is Molly. Molly was a bit shy at first when I met her, but after awhile she got used to me. Molly has been a player who has improved a lot this year. She went from not wanting to shoot the ball at all, to every time she was squared up to the basket she would shoot. Molly was also a player who would come to me or the other coach about questions that had to do with basketball. She asked questions about certain situations in the game that I never even thought about! Which really, I'm glad to see players like her who ask about the game. It's better to ask questions than try and fake it till you make it. Trust me, I've tried faking it till you make it. I wouldn't recommend it. Anyhow, Molly had a thing for wanting to learn more about basketball and trying to know what to do ahead of time. So that way, if the same situation she asked about comes up she knows what to do. Molly has taught me that even when you are done with school, you are never done learning. I have learned a few new things myself just because of the questions she would ask. (I didn't say everything had to do with basketball. :P )

Okay, who's next? Jasmine! Jasmine was a girl full of energy! Before practice we would all be shooting around, and Jasmine would come and steal my basketball. Her and Molly would gang up on me and make me run all over the gym just to get my basketball back. Actually, I liked running all around the gym. It would be when I would stop and breath is when I didn't like it. I was definitely out of shape, and I still am! In games you wouldn't find Jasmine on her feet and going up and down the court. Most of the game you would find her on the floor, because she always dove to the ground for the ball. Jasmine has showed me that even when you fall to the ground and are all bruised up, you gotta get back up and keep going. 

Okay, I've gotta give you guys a little bit of a blast to the past. We'll get back to Abby in the present, but we gotta take a little joyride with Devan. About around three years ago Abby was in our Rocket basketball camp. At that time I was one of the counselors at the camp. I remember when her mom would leave she would start crying and hang out with one of the other counselors. She would get used to not having her mom there, but it took awhile. By the end of the week, if I remember right, she was playing basketball with all the other girls. To make things really funny, by the end of the week Abby knew each of us counselors names. We couldn't remember her name, but every time she passed us in camp she would say our name, and we would have this confused look on our faces while trying to figure out how she knew our names. So, now back to the present. It's funny to see how Abby is today based by what I saw three years ago. She has definitely grown up and matured, but she is still hilarious! At some of our games, while we would be waiting to get on the court she would start playing with my hair. But it wasn't just playing with my hair, when I would wear my hair down  Abby would work with it and after a little bit I would look like Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I remember saying to her, "I don't remember seeing 'let hair get done' in the description for coaching." Then she said to me, "Well, then we'll add that next time." Also, Abby has a big imagination! When the Jets were getting ready to be playing at the halftime of the high school girls basketball game we were sitting in the bleachers, and Abby gasped. We were all like, "What?" And she said, "What's that?" while pointing to a water bottle that was sitting behind one of the coaches chairs. We're like, "That's a water bottle." She said, "No. Inside the water bottle." I said, "Well, it's probably grape Gatorade or Powerade." And Abby said, "Or maybe the coach is a robot and that's oil for him to drink! Or maybe he's an undercover unicorn!" Me and the Jets just all stared at Abby trying to think how an undercover unicorn has anything to do with it, but from then on me and Abby always called each other undercover unicorns. Why I am sharing these stories with you is because Abby has taught me that even when you are an adult you can still have fun like a little kid. Somedays she gets a little bit out of hand, but by the end of the day she is always my undercover unicorn. 

Wow! I type alot! Sorry guys for typing so much. Next is Lindsey. Lindsey is also a shy one. By the end of the season would be probably when she got comfortable around me, but that's alright. Lindsey was always one to be very focused on what was being shown in practice or very focused on the game, but she would also be funny at times too. Lindsey has shown me that you should stay focused in everything you do. Whether it's basketball, school, driving, or your walk with God. Stay focused, but still have some fun along the way!

Next is Victoria! Victoria is one that when she thinks too much of what she's doing or loses control of the ball, she starts having problems. When she stops thinking so much, slows down, and just fixes things one at a time, she does great! Victoria has taught me to stop controlling so much and let things go naturally. If there is something wrong or off I will know if something needs to be fixed, and I will go through each stage till it feels right again and I succeed by seeing that ball go into the hoop. Also, that goes the same when it comes to our lives. When we try and control our lives, we fail, but when we let God take over and we follow His rulebook and fix things one at a time in our daily lives, we succeed.  

Okay, let's see, Addyson! Addyson is a good girl and she's got her mind in the right place. She is a good basketball player, and I want her to know that she is a good player, but I don't want to see her become the 'All about me' show. And you know what?! I don't think I need to worry about that with her. At our game that would decide if we would go on to the championships or not, she said something that I hope I hear every player say through on my years as a coach. She said to the head coach, "Could I say something?" Tim, the head coach, said sure. Addyson said, "In this game I think we should play as a team." Addyson has showed me that no matter how good you are in any sport you still need your teammates by your side. There is no "I" in "Team". 

I'm starting to run out of basketball players to talk about. Next basketball player on the list is.....Leah! I don't mean to sound like such a girl, but Leah and many of the other girls are so adorable! Leah is small, but I've seen she never gives up. No matter how many times she misses the basket in a game she still keeps shooting! She also has a positive attitude all the time and always has a smile on her face that would make even the grumpiest person want to smile too! Leah has showed me that even when you fail you need to keep trying. I'd rather see myself fail and atleast say I tried rather than have failed already, because I didn't try. And we should all have a smile on our faces. You never know when your smile and positive attitude would brighten somebody else's dark day. I know if you would smile at me, it would definitely brighten my day!

And last, but certainly not the least, we've got Ellie! Ellie is another little girl who is small, but she comes off mighty! She is one to not say no to a challenge, even if she knows she'll fail. She has her days when her height works against her, but really, I remember those days too. I was always the shortest on the team, funny thing is, I have played every position in basketball in my ten years. I have been a point guard, guard, and even a post. Look at me now! I was the shortest, but I can shoot 3-pointers. Where I'm trying to get at, is not how good I am, because I'm still improving myself. What I am trying to say is, I know how she feels, and I know as long as she keeps working she'll get better. Ellie has also taught me to try new things. I have seen her play point guard, she likes to stick with her right hand, but in games I have seen her try and dribble with her left hand. Even if she loses the ball she still keeps trying to dribble with that left hand. I like to see players get out of their comfort zone and try new things. How are you supposed to go out for new goals on down the road if you stick with the same old, same old? You can't. You gotta give it a try and fail a few times before you succeed. 

There you have it guys! This is what each and every little Jet has taught me whether in life or in basketball. They have each taught me something that will help me personally on down the road. And really, I think every coach gets this, but each and every one of these girls show pieces of me. I was the girl who would start getting some attitude when I would start yelling, "ball, ball, ball, ball, ball" in my opponents face when they would have the ball. It's like I became a whole different beast! I was the girl who wanted to know what I should do in this position or wanted to know what to do ahead of time. I was the girl who came home from tournaments with their knees bashed up from diving so much. Just ask my mom! Haha! I am the girl who has sports induced asthma, and no matter how much it gives me grief, I do the same thing as Abby, I get back up and keep going. I was the girl, that even when all my teammates wanted to talk, I was focused on the drill or the plays. I was the girl, who at times would worry about, "Am I using the right hand on a layup?" "Oops! I used my right hand on a left hand layup." "Am I looking at the front of the rim when I shoot?" It gets to a point when you are micro managing everything. Just stop, take your time, and work on it. It's not bad to also ask help from your coach. Anyhow, I was never the greatest at basketball, but I was one that a team meant everything to me, because they were my family. I was the girl that was known to have a positive attitude on my basketball teams. Because I loved playing, even though I hated practices. And I was the girl who was open to challenges. When I went to Messiah College's basketball camp, they had this drill where you had to bring the basketball around the front of you and toss it behind you, and it would hit a toss back. (A toss back is this really springy net hooked onto a metal bar that was shaped like a rectangle.) On the first day I stunk at it, so after I came back from lunch on the second day I started training myself on the wall. I trained my left hand first since that was going to be the hardest, and then I trained my right hand. By the end of the week, I became a pro at tossing behind my back. To make it even better, as I got older and came to camp every year I went from catching with two hands and tossing with one hand, to using one hand all the way around. 

To end this tremendously long post I'll end with this. I am so glad God has given me the privilege to work with a nice coach, like Tim, and be blessed to help a great team. I am going to miss all these girls, but I hope they go on to do bigger and better things down the road. I hope they go on to be good role models, go out and show God's love, and show other girls how fun basketball really is! Basketball is not all about winning games, it's about coming together as a team and enjoying the sport we all love with all our hearts. 

                                            
                                2013-2014 Rink A Girls Spring Grove Jets


Back row, From Left to right: Katie, Me, Molly, Jasmine, Coach Tim, Abby, and Lindsey.
Front row, From Right to left: Victoria, Addyson, Leah, and Ellie.