I appreciate Cheerleaders, but let's face it, basketball is where it's at.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Momma Basketball
I have discovered my dream team!
As a 41 year old mother of four, I have the opportunity to coach my kids in basketball and truly enjoy the thrill of seeing them develop their skills, but I long to be out there myself; shooting, dribbling, setting picks, stealing the ball. Those few years of play in high school and some intramural games in college no longer sustain me. I was never that good a player, I admit, but I always loved the game. Now as an adult, I feel like I understand the game so much better than I ever did as a kid and I long to have the chance and the body to get back out there on the court for a real game.
Now I think I may have found a way. I wandered upon a website telling of women who are enjoying the game in spite of age. They have reformed the game to fit their physical needs, but they continue to enjoy the competition. The game is called Granny Basketball. (website)
Go to the website and check out the videos. You will be inspired by their enthusiasm.
Now, I am not Granny age. I didn't play basketball in skirts nor did we have to keep our arms and legs completely covered, but what thrilled me was to see women who many count out of the sports world still enjoying the smell of a gym, the feel of the ball, and the sound of sneakers squeaking on the court.
I would like to organize my own league of women with a few years on them, and maybe a few pounds, who just want to enjoy the competition again. I even heard once about a mom and daughter's league that allowed moms of teens and above to compete together. Being able to be out there again in a real game would be a blast. I would call it Momma Ball.
Once you begin having children and so much of life settles around you, and even upon you, you begin to look for those things that allow you to break out of the mold - to express yourself in ways that feel like may be slipping away. This granny league inspires me. Another inspiration recently has been the movie Hairspray. The character that John Travolta portrays as Tracy's mom and the way she finally lets herself go and becomes the hit of the dance-off is moving. She just has to get herself to let go of what's inside her - not being concerned with her outward appearance anymore, but only with letting out the feelings and desires she has held back for so long.
I will form a Momma's league. Look out world!
I am the Coach
I am the Coach.
To save time, assume I know everything.
Don't we wish we as coaches could get away with that. If all those parents, players and fans would just leave us alone. I've made some t-shirts, magnets, stickers and posters to help you tell them how you feel. Check them out.
Friday, September 7, 2007
"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back...play for her." ~ mia hamm
Check out these items and more for sports and basketball lovers at www.cafepress.com/sforestgraphics
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Article by RIck Reilly of Sports Illustrated
This is one of my favorite articles by Rick Reilly, the fabulous columnist for Sports Illustrated. It reminds me of the many, many games I have coached (with both boys and girls).
~~~~~
Out of Touch with My Feminine Side
You think it's hard coaching in the Final Four? You think it's tough handling 280-pound seniors, freshmen with agents, athletic directors with pockets full of pink slips? Please. Try coaching seventh-grade girls. After working with boys for 11 years, I helped coach my daughter Rae's school basketball team this winter. I learned something about seventh-grade girls: They're usually in the bathroom.
In one tight spot I was looking around madly for my best defensive guard to send in. "Where is she?" I yelled. "In the bathroom, crying," our little guard in the blue rectangular glasses said. "Her friends kicked her out of their group today." Worse, when one girl ran to the bathroom crying, three others automatically followed to console her, followed by three others to console them, followed by three others who didn't really want to go but were sucked in by seventh-grade-girl gravitational pull. This would always leave just me and the girl in the blue rectangular glasses, who would slurp on her Dum-Dum and shrug.
Students at Rae's small school are required to go out for at least one sport a year, and 11 girls came out for basketball. But you never had the idea the game was more important in their lives than, say, Chap Stick. For instance we had a forward who never stopped adjusting her butterfly hair clips, even during our full-court press. Before the opening tip-off of our first game, she came back from the center-court captains' meeting and announced, "O.K., the ref said whoever wins the tip thingy gets to go toward that basket." Well, that would be an interesting rule.
Another difference between boys and girls: Girls have many questions. Our team meetings were sometimes longer than our practices. Apparently girls use team meetings as a chance to process feelings, whereas boys use team meetings as a chance to give each other wedgies. During our first meeting we had long, emotional deliberations over what our huddle cheer would be and whether we should wear matching bracelets. Then one of our best dribblers stood up, took a deep breath and said, "I have an announcement. I am not going to bring the ball up this year, because last year Sherry got yelled at by everybody because she didn't pass them the ball, and I don't want to get yelled at." As if! During one game our best rebounder slammed the ball down and stomped off the court. "Everybody's yelling my name, and I'm sick of it!" she said, and ran to the bathroom -- followed by the mandatory nine other girls. I looked at the little guard in the blue rectangular glasses, who popped her Dum-Dum out of her mouth and said, "Don't worry, Coach. She's having her period."
You think Red Auerbach ever had to deal with this stuff? Coaching girls was fun. It was rewarding. It was awkward. When they came off the court, it was difficult to know how to give them their "good job" pat. On the.... Nope. On the.... Nope. I always ended up just tapping them lightly on the top of the head. But not so I messed up their butterfly hair clips.
One thing about our team: We were always polite. One time my tallest and gentlest player tried to block a shot and accidentally hit the shooter on top of the head. Our player covered her mouth in horror with both hands, enabling the other girl to drop in a layup. "I thought I hurt her!" our player explained. I believe that started my facial tic.We lost worse than Michael Dukakis. We got creamed our first eight games, losing one 23-2 and another 19-1. Yet the girls were over it the second the games ended. (Quite often, in fact, they were over it in the third quarter.) Afterward they headed to the one place they loved to be together -- the bathroom.
Finally, in our ninth game, all heaven broke loose. For the first time we hit the cutter for a layup. Our shooting guard hit three running 15-footers. We hadn't even hit a 15-foot pass to that point. We came from behind and won 16-15 in a shootout, capped by the little guard in the blue rectangular glasses setting the most beautiful pick to free up the player who made the winning layup. In all my years of coaching, I never felt more giddy than after that win. In the delirious celebration, I grabbed the shoulders of the little girl in the blue rectangular glasses and yelled, "That was the greatest pick I've ever seen!" And she screamed, "What's a pick?"
Sports Illustrated, Issue date: April 8, 2002
Get Rick's latest book of collections from his column at Amazon.com
~~~~~
Out of Touch with My Feminine Side
You think it's hard coaching in the Final Four? You think it's tough handling 280-pound seniors, freshmen with agents, athletic directors with pockets full of pink slips? Please. Try coaching seventh-grade girls. After working with boys for 11 years, I helped coach my daughter Rae's school basketball team this winter. I learned something about seventh-grade girls: They're usually in the bathroom.
In one tight spot I was looking around madly for my best defensive guard to send in. "Where is she?" I yelled. "In the bathroom, crying," our little guard in the blue rectangular glasses said. "Her friends kicked her out of their group today." Worse, when one girl ran to the bathroom crying, three others automatically followed to console her, followed by three others to console them, followed by three others who didn't really want to go but were sucked in by seventh-grade-girl gravitational pull. This would always leave just me and the girl in the blue rectangular glasses, who would slurp on her Dum-Dum and shrug.
Students at Rae's small school are required to go out for at least one sport a year, and 11 girls came out for basketball. But you never had the idea the game was more important in their lives than, say, Chap Stick. For instance we had a forward who never stopped adjusting her butterfly hair clips, even during our full-court press. Before the opening tip-off of our first game, she came back from the center-court captains' meeting and announced, "O.K., the ref said whoever wins the tip thingy gets to go toward that basket." Well, that would be an interesting rule.
Another difference between boys and girls: Girls have many questions. Our team meetings were sometimes longer than our practices. Apparently girls use team meetings as a chance to process feelings, whereas boys use team meetings as a chance to give each other wedgies. During our first meeting we had long, emotional deliberations over what our huddle cheer would be and whether we should wear matching bracelets. Then one of our best dribblers stood up, took a deep breath and said, "I have an announcement. I am not going to bring the ball up this year, because last year Sherry got yelled at by everybody because she didn't pass them the ball, and I don't want to get yelled at." As if! During one game our best rebounder slammed the ball down and stomped off the court. "Everybody's yelling my name, and I'm sick of it!" she said, and ran to the bathroom -- followed by the mandatory nine other girls. I looked at the little guard in the blue rectangular glasses, who popped her Dum-Dum out of her mouth and said, "Don't worry, Coach. She's having her period."
You think Red Auerbach ever had to deal with this stuff? Coaching girls was fun. It was rewarding. It was awkward. When they came off the court, it was difficult to know how to give them their "good job" pat. On the.... Nope. On the.... Nope. I always ended up just tapping them lightly on the top of the head. But not so I messed up their butterfly hair clips.
One thing about our team: We were always polite. One time my tallest and gentlest player tried to block a shot and accidentally hit the shooter on top of the head. Our player covered her mouth in horror with both hands, enabling the other girl to drop in a layup. "I thought I hurt her!" our player explained. I believe that started my facial tic.We lost worse than Michael Dukakis. We got creamed our first eight games, losing one 23-2 and another 19-1. Yet the girls were over it the second the games ended. (Quite often, in fact, they were over it in the third quarter.) Afterward they headed to the one place they loved to be together -- the bathroom.
Finally, in our ninth game, all heaven broke loose. For the first time we hit the cutter for a layup. Our shooting guard hit three running 15-footers. We hadn't even hit a 15-foot pass to that point. We came from behind and won 16-15 in a shootout, capped by the little guard in the blue rectangular glasses setting the most beautiful pick to free up the player who made the winning layup. In all my years of coaching, I never felt more giddy than after that win. In the delirious celebration, I grabbed the shoulders of the little girl in the blue rectangular glasses and yelled, "That was the greatest pick I've ever seen!" And she screamed, "What's a pick?"
Sports Illustrated, Issue date: April 8, 2002
Get Rick's latest book of collections from his column at Amazon.com
How to Buy a Sports Bra
I accidentally ran across this info and wanted to share it. Many don't realize how difficult and stressful something like this can be.
--------------------------------
How to buy a sport's bra
It's been more than 20 years since Hinda Miller and a friend went to their campus bookstore, bought two jockstraps and sewed them together to create the world's first sports bra.
Not many women would look back nostalgically on that era. The early sports bras were, in the words of Dr. Bryant Stamford, of the Health Promotion and Wellness Centre at the University of Louisville, "as welcome as an albatross around the neck, and about as attractive. Because it was tailored only for small-breasted women, it flattened the breasts and provided all the comfort of a boa constrictor."
Two decades later, Brandi Chastain showed the world exactly how far the garment had come, stripping off her shirt after scoring the final goal of the Women's World Cup to reveal a sleek Nike product that was both fashionable and utilitarian. Sports bras had come out of the closet.
Writing in the journal Physician and Sportsmedicine, Dr. Stamford makes the rather obvious observation that vigorous physical activity causes a woman's breasts to bounce. This action, he notes, can compromise the skin and ligaments that provide the fragile support structure for breasts, resulting in sagging. An everyday bra, plain and simple, is incapable of preventing the bouncing.
The solution, therefore, is the sports bra. Their recent prominence, however, makes the task of choosing the ideal sports bra more difficult, since the number of options has increased markedly - as has the hype, with many products making rather dubious claims.
"Finding the right sports bra is a serious decision," writes Lisa Sorrentino, the Fit X-pert at Xchrom.com. "It's just as important as wearing the right running shoes."
Here, then, are some of the key aspects to consider before purchasing a sports bra:
FIT
A crucial criterion, obviously. The bra must fit in such a manner as to control breast motion without causing discomfort or any difficulty breathing. Dr. Stamford urges you to give the bra "the jumping-jack test" to be sure it is up to snuff. The entire upper body should move as one unit, he says.
Ms. Sorrentino advises that women learn and, more importantly, accept their bra size. Taking your measurements is a good start, she says. The majority of the problems with poor fitting bras are about wearing the wrong size. Accept yourself. If you've always wanted to be a C cup, but you measure out a B (or vice versa), get the B size. Don't buy the size you wish you were." And take note - your size in a normal bra might not be exactly the same in a sports bra.
SUPPORT AND CONTROL
There are two types of sports bras: the "encapsulation version", which has molded cups and provides firm support, and the "compression' type", which flattens the breasts against the body. The experts agree that larger-breasted women are usually better off with the molded-cup models, especially those that feature minimal neck- to-navel stretch in the fabric. That said, some women find that depending on the activity they're engaging in, and the amount of vertical movement it demands, they may need to own two different types of sports bras. Ms. Sorrentino also warns women to be on the lookout for "dead bra" - the moment when the fabric loses its functionality. "If you hand wash and line dry your sports bra instead of machine handle, it will last about twice as long." she observes. On average, a machine-handled sports bra will last about six months. (Chafing, by the way, is a typical complaint of women who use sports bras, and it's a problem that can be solved in part by ensuring minimal movement of the breasts within the bra. "Those with sensitive skin might want to apply Vaseline, or, better yet, a fabric-friendly product like Bodyglide between you and your sports bra," Ms. Sorrentino suggests.
FABRIC
The goal here is to prevent sweat from accumulating, and this is best accomplished with a bra that's a blend of at least 50 per cent cotton and a "breathable" material (such as Lycra mesh). Dr. Stamford points out that "cotton provides more comfort than synthetic materials, reduced stretch, and greater support." It is also widely advised to ensure the bra is lined under the arms and the breasts with a material that "wicks away" moisture.
SEAMS
Here's a manufacturing detail you probably wouldn't concern yourself with when shopping for a bra, but would later lament if it proves painful to you. Although the quality of sports bras has in general improved in recent years, some still have poorly placed seams that can irritate or promote chafing. The solution: look for cups that are seamless (or have covered seams) and insist on hooks or fasteners that are covered with fabric and cushioned for maximum protection.
STRAPS
Again, something you might not worry about in the store - but don't overlook the fact that straps can interrupt your physical activity and prove a real nuisance when they slip. "Choose wide non-stretch stretch straps for best results," Dr. Stamford recommends. "In addition, a wide Y-back panel can help increase support." Some sports bras offer a two-hook back for an adjustable fit.
APPEARANCE
Hey, we all want our sports bras to look good and fashionable, especially those who figure on wearing the bra on its own without a shirt. That said, don't fall into the trap of buying on looks alone. If the bra doesn't meet the other criteria, you won't want to keep wearing it, no matter how stylish.
http://www.caaws.ca/girlsatplay/stuff/features/bra.htm
Reprinted from the Ottawa Citizen
--------------------------------
How to buy a sport's bra
It's been more than 20 years since Hinda Miller and a friend went to their campus bookstore, bought two jockstraps and sewed them together to create the world's first sports bra.
Not many women would look back nostalgically on that era. The early sports bras were, in the words of Dr. Bryant Stamford, of the Health Promotion and Wellness Centre at the University of Louisville, "as welcome as an albatross around the neck, and about as attractive. Because it was tailored only for small-breasted women, it flattened the breasts and provided all the comfort of a boa constrictor."
Two decades later, Brandi Chastain showed the world exactly how far the garment had come, stripping off her shirt after scoring the final goal of the Women's World Cup to reveal a sleek Nike product that was both fashionable and utilitarian. Sports bras had come out of the closet.
Writing in the journal Physician and Sportsmedicine, Dr. Stamford makes the rather obvious observation that vigorous physical activity causes a woman's breasts to bounce. This action, he notes, can compromise the skin and ligaments that provide the fragile support structure for breasts, resulting in sagging. An everyday bra, plain and simple, is incapable of preventing the bouncing.
The solution, therefore, is the sports bra. Their recent prominence, however, makes the task of choosing the ideal sports bra more difficult, since the number of options has increased markedly - as has the hype, with many products making rather dubious claims.
"Finding the right sports bra is a serious decision," writes Lisa Sorrentino, the Fit X-pert at Xchrom.com. "It's just as important as wearing the right running shoes."
Here, then, are some of the key aspects to consider before purchasing a sports bra:
FIT
A crucial criterion, obviously. The bra must fit in such a manner as to control breast motion without causing discomfort or any difficulty breathing. Dr. Stamford urges you to give the bra "the jumping-jack test" to be sure it is up to snuff. The entire upper body should move as one unit, he says.
Ms. Sorrentino advises that women learn and, more importantly, accept their bra size. Taking your measurements is a good start, she says. The majority of the problems with poor fitting bras are about wearing the wrong size. Accept yourself. If you've always wanted to be a C cup, but you measure out a B (or vice versa), get the B size. Don't buy the size you wish you were." And take note - your size in a normal bra might not be exactly the same in a sports bra.
SUPPORT AND CONTROL
There are two types of sports bras: the "encapsulation version", which has molded cups and provides firm support, and the "compression' type", which flattens the breasts against the body. The experts agree that larger-breasted women are usually better off with the molded-cup models, especially those that feature minimal neck- to-navel stretch in the fabric. That said, some women find that depending on the activity they're engaging in, and the amount of vertical movement it demands, they may need to own two different types of sports bras. Ms. Sorrentino also warns women to be on the lookout for "dead bra" - the moment when the fabric loses its functionality. "If you hand wash and line dry your sports bra instead of machine handle, it will last about twice as long." she observes. On average, a machine-handled sports bra will last about six months. (Chafing, by the way, is a typical complaint of women who use sports bras, and it's a problem that can be solved in part by ensuring minimal movement of the breasts within the bra. "Those with sensitive skin might want to apply Vaseline, or, better yet, a fabric-friendly product like Bodyglide between you and your sports bra," Ms. Sorrentino suggests.
FABRIC
The goal here is to prevent sweat from accumulating, and this is best accomplished with a bra that's a blend of at least 50 per cent cotton and a "breathable" material (such as Lycra mesh). Dr. Stamford points out that "cotton provides more comfort than synthetic materials, reduced stretch, and greater support." It is also widely advised to ensure the bra is lined under the arms and the breasts with a material that "wicks away" moisture.
SEAMS
Here's a manufacturing detail you probably wouldn't concern yourself with when shopping for a bra, but would later lament if it proves painful to you. Although the quality of sports bras has in general improved in recent years, some still have poorly placed seams that can irritate or promote chafing. The solution: look for cups that are seamless (or have covered seams) and insist on hooks or fasteners that are covered with fabric and cushioned for maximum protection.
STRAPS
Again, something you might not worry about in the store - but don't overlook the fact that straps can interrupt your physical activity and prove a real nuisance when they slip. "Choose wide non-stretch stretch straps for best results," Dr. Stamford recommends. "In addition, a wide Y-back panel can help increase support." Some sports bras offer a two-hook back for an adjustable fit.
APPEARANCE
Hey, we all want our sports bras to look good and fashionable, especially those who figure on wearing the bra on its own without a shirt. That said, don't fall into the trap of buying on looks alone. If the bra doesn't meet the other criteria, you won't want to keep wearing it, no matter how stylish.
http://www.caaws.ca/girlsatplay/stuff/features/bra.htm
Reprinted from the Ottawa Citizen
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