The Bubble Highlights the First Week of PracticeAmanda McCarthy, October 22, 2009
It has been about a full week of official practice now and I'm proud to say it has been a week filled with intensity, hustle, and most importantly - learning. Each time we step between the lines, we look to increase our intensity as well as our focus to learn something new.
On the court this week with the Lady Privateers...
All in all, this week has been very productive. We have learned a new offense, a new fast break formation, a new out of bounds play, and lastly a new press. Through all the learning, our team carried one theme and that was to finish each play. On our team, boxing out is a must! In our practices when a shot goes up, first you will hear SHOT and then immediately after, you will see everyone check their player and then make contact with a box out.
To stress the idea of exactly how important rebounds are, our coaches use a fiendishly clever tool. To the average observer this tool poses no obvious threat. It seems harmless, even it's name seems harmless,
“The BUBBLE”. No big deal, right? WRONG! To the basketball player whose total focus is to get the ball in, this tool is a demon that's starred in many a shooters' nightmares. You see
“The BUBBLE” goes over the rim so that every shot is a
MISS! AAUUGGHHHH! Every play must be finished with a
BOX OUT! Box outs aren't the only things you'll notice in our practices. The words "ball", "hole", and "third ma"n are embedded in each one of our heads. In transition defense, someone must stop the ball, grab the hole, and pick up third man and the other two players must hustle back and match up. Communication is essential for this transition defense to work!
In the classroom with the Lady Privateers…
We are all preparing for upcoming exams and revising papers. All the girls have scheduled meetings with their individual advisors to pick classes for the spring semester. Along with studying for exams and scheduling meetings, the freshmen, "the Unexpected Seven", compiled and tweaked personal resumes with our team advisor.
Off the court and out of the classroom…
On Tuesday, we attended the volleyball game for Breast Cancer, wearing our pink shirts in support of the cause. As usual, our coaches were there selling pink Crocs to show their support. On Wednesday, we went to the Rec Center to meet with our favorite instructor for our thirty minute power abs class. On Thursday, we scrimmaged the football team. As for the weekend, our team is scheduled to practice Saturday morning 7-9 and then depart to an undisclosed location for a team retreat! This retreat should prove to be nothing short of interesting because as I mentioned before our team is filled with all different personalities and characters!
GO LADY PRIVATEERS!
