Sonya Elliott – Page 34 – Back on the Court

PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Defense wins the games

I was watching some young kids play pick-up basketball the other day and I was amazed at how often they played just one end of the court, the offensive end. Both teams were letting three-pointers fly and they made them a lot, but it was hard to watch the rest of the game. There was almost no defense being played. Players were just looking for the glory shots, the three-pointers.

Does it really matter if you can drain a three-point shot, if you can’t, or often won’t, play defense on the other end of the court? I don’t think so. In fact, the ability to hit three-pointers tends to make a lot of players lazy. They assume the ball is going in and don’t follow their shots.

Of course as a shooter, you should think that you’re going to make your shot, but you must crash the boards anyway. (You will miss at a few over your lifetime.) And each time you score, make sure you get down the court on defense to keep your player from scoring. Don’t forget to work on all aspects of your game, as the old saying goes, Offense sells the tickets. Defense wins the games.

PeaceLoveBasketball: Girls Not Tough Enough? Bring It On!

There was a time when girls played six on six basketball, three on offense, three on defense, because according to The Women’s Basketball Rule Committee the game was too rough for girls. Though this rule was put into action in 1899, it’s how I learned to play when I was in grade school, and when I was in college there were still three states that played this way. Oklahoma was the last state to change to five-on-five basketball in 1995; seven years after I graduated from college.

Girls not tough enough? Please.

Learn more about how Title IX changed things for women in this country and how it affected me throughout my lifetime of sports in Can I Play? Dreaming In the Wave of Title IX at AwesomeSportProject.com.

Monday’s Pen to Paper: Ten Short Lines and Go

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My friend Jenny and I write every Thursday. Most days we write a quick letter to one another to catch up on our week. Last week we wrote ten short lines about our previous week. Mine started…

Ping Pong Pandemonium
Not-so-sweet 16
Gone are many dog days & days & dogs. Peace.
Title IX article

You get the idea. Just little snippets into what happened. Then we chose one of the lines and wrote for eight minutes. Now it’s your turn to give it at try.

WRITING PROMPT: Jot down 10 things that happened last week. Pick one of them and write some more.

PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Check Your Tone

“Are you just going to stand there?” The question, not directed to me, came with a harsh tone and a stare at player on the opposing team yesterday morning when I was playing pick up ball. The coach (and mom) in me cringed as I back-peddled on defense. Then the question was followed by several more choice words of advice. I’ve heard it all before, negative coaching and yelling from parents, players and fans over the years and I don’t like it. I watched the young player who had received the question, hunch over a bit. His eyes lowered. I know the yeller meant well, he wants the player to get better, learn to hustle, to be a better teammate, and I’m sure he didn’t see a thing wrong with his question. But is this the best way?

I don’t think so. Unfortunately, it happens a lot. Earlier this week while watching a high school boy’s rec-league game I listened as one of the boys hollered at his teammate and rolled his eyes. “Give me the ball! I’m open!!!” His teammate was surrounded in the key. His post player could have gone up for the shot or kicked the ball out to a waiting guard, so it didn’t hurt to let him know there was an open man to release to, but it was the tone, a “hey stupid why don’t you get me the ball” tone as opposed to a “hey teammate I’m right here to help you” tone. Help bring your team together with positive energy.

When I was playing yesterday morning, against the young kid who’d received the not so subtle brow beating, I was quick to say, “way to hustle,” when he hustled, and, “nice pass,” when he did just […]