Phase 2 - Day 2

Well Day 2 is in the books...almost. Still have some film to tidy up before bed.

I zonked out pretty hard last night and apparently they pounded on the door and rang the phone but I never got up. One of the assistant coaches ended up getting a key to get into my room around 11:30. I had forgotten to hand in my visa forms for the China leg of the trip. I was too tired and forgot. So I got them for him and then crashed again. I slept HARD until 7:15AM when the alarm went off.

We headed over to breakfast which was boiled eggs and cereal. Not quite a tim's bagel and coffee. We had a quick team meeting afterwards and then went to practice. During our meeting, Allison took the team through a visualization exercise which was very powerful and moving. A nice way to kick off the camp.

Our first practice was a good energy, high intensity practice. Good competition and dusted off some rust. Looked OK for 6 weeks off.

We broke for lunch which was much better than breakfast. The team doctor, Doug Richards, was out for the first day with us from Toronto. I met him before I was fascinated to listen to him talk. Today was no different. He is a brilliant man and has some interesting info and stories. He talked about his time with the Raptors which was interesting. At the end of lunch he gave us Dr. Doug's 3 rules for international travel.

1. Don't get hit (statistically most fatalities of canadians travelling to other countries is because of getting hit by bad drivers)

2. Don't get bit (be careful of the bugs and other animals)

3. Don't eat shit (eat stuff that you can peel or has been boiled or you will shit...a lot)

After lunch we headed to Starbucks for a coaches meeting. When we came back I headed to the grocery store to get some water and a few snacks for the week. Our second practice was at 5:30 and it was pretty BLAH. Not great energy but we did get a lot of shots up.

We ended practice and headed over to supper which was good. Roast beef, potatoes, rice. Good stuff.

After dinner we had a quick coaches meeting and then a film session. At the end of the session I showed them some different film. It was a setup for the jokers of the group, Megan and Janelle. I showed a few clips of last year and set up by talking about how slow we were at running our offense. About 3-4 clips in the screen changed and it became a video of Janelle and Megan AKA Muffins and Pearl. That is their rap names and they have been doing videos for a few years. This one featured everyone's name and it was HILARIOUS.

So now I sit here contemplating the day and what lies ahead. I picked up some great new drills today and a nice zone set or two. Lots of good things here. It is always like basketball school when I am here. I can't help but think about the coming year though. Hopefully by the time I get back we will be done recruiting and ready for the year. When I return I am taking most of the rest of the time off until training camp to rest and recharge.

Still awake????? OK, let's read on.

I looked at some notes from the book I just read and I came across an interesting point. The author stated, "Sometimes we have to see what we don't want , to know what we do want."

I couldn't agree more with this. I remember starting at CBU with the shittiest team in Canada. I wanted to be a winner right away but it didn't happen. Going 1-22 was not a waste though. It seemed like shit at the time but it made me see what I didn't want and has driven me to get to what I do want for our program but it is not all scoreboard results.

I jump ahead to this year. We had another strong season. 16-4 and 1st in the AUS. Winning with a team that wasn't supposed to. A run to nationals and a few baskets away from the national final while coming home with the bronze. Many say "Woohoo what a great job". I say bullshit. While it may have been one of my best years from a technical standpoint of getting a team ready to play, I failed miserably in building a cohesive unit. The year was not fun or rewarding in terms of what really matters. Yes winning is nice but not when it comes with a price. By the end of the year it was dread and a feeling of "let's get this over with". When the final buzzer went off in Windsor and we won the bronze, I was happy. Happy for some part of winning but mostly happy because I could try to put this failure behind me.

So I read this book and another section jumps out at me.

"Every crisis offers an opportunity to grow stronger and wiser; to reach deep within and discover a better you that will create a better outcome. So while this is your crisis, what matters most is what you do with it."

I have chosen not to dwell on the season. It was what it was. We had some bad chemistry and a relatively shitty experience. So what do I do with it? I come back motivated to build a team, challenge it to get better every day both on and off the court. I will not let anyone disrupt the chemistry on our bus this year. We should have the talent to make a deep run but not if we are a disruptive group of individuals. I have pushed myself to re-examine my methods and refresh myself with new ideas on how to build our group of young ladies into a powerful team.

The evaluation of self is never final so I will continue throughout the rest of the summer and the year to see what I can learn. I owe it to our 5th year players to make it the best year I can. I cannot and will not let them down. They have put so much time and effort into making us great and they have believed in me as their leader. Now I have to prove to them that I can take our bus on that glorious ride to our final destination. Definitely an interesting challenge.

So now the day wraps up as always. More film. People say "you are so lucky, you get to travel and see the world". I love it and will never complain but it is not what some might think. My days are filled with meetings, practices and sitting in front of a computer or video screen. IT can be tiring and it is not a holiday. But hey, I could be sitting in an office doing the same shit every day but that little round ball keeps it interesting.

Until tomorrow