These Girls are Amazing!!!

It is one thing to win...It is another thing to shut a team out for an entire half. I had never seen it happen...Well, that is what the girls did today. But, let's backtrack a little to yesterday. In our game vs. Baltimore yesterday, we were up twelve with 5 minutes to go in the first half when the head coach of Baltimore began to taunt Lindsey by sarcastically yelling at her to shoot. I immediately walked over to the opposing coach and said to him with a shocked look, "Did you just talk trash to one of my girls?" I said this repeatedly until the referee stopped the game and reprimanded this disgusting man. I do not mind losing games, but I do mind an intimidating unprofessional bully who calls himself a coach, and this was not acceptable. And how did Lindsey respond to this? She hit a half court shot at the buzzer of halftime. (By far the best shot in both the boys and girls' tournament) Okay...Back to today. We now are coincidentally playing the same team today in the semi-finals of the playoffs, and our girls did not forget what had happened. They came out in a full court press and dominated the game scoring baskets off of steals, and passing the ball like a professional team...AGAIN!

By halftime, we were winning 24-0. 24-0? Unreal. I am so proud of them. The second half went smoothly, and I do not even remember the score, but every possesion the girls passed to each other until they made a layup. They were weaving the ball around like a 1950's team...

Now I have some good experience teaching the game, but I have learned it is always the players who make it work. The girls are awesome basketball players. I was so amazed at each of their abilities, and more importantly, I was so happy for them to feel great about their team effort and individual plays as well.

We are at the point where I ask the girls what they want to do giving them guidance, but trusting them in how they feel about what plays we are running. It is as much fun as I have had coaching games since college, and that was in 2004. Here are some highlights:

Jen has played flawless defense creating turnovers, and her ball handling and passing are beyond her years. Her intensity is like a pro, and she is shooting the ball well.

Lindsey is similar to Jen, hitting 3's, leading the team in assists, and of course hit the shot of the week.

Emily has more rebounds than any girl in the Maccabi games, and she is the catalyst in our fast break. She also is as unselfish as any player around.

Erica is our most versatile player playing guard and forward, and always makes the extra pass. She is so dependable for a coach and has given up some of her scoring for the other girls, even though she is a strong shooter.

Danielle has dominated the game on defense not only blocking shots 10 feet out of bounds, but she is a constant presence in the paint scoring and rebounding.

Samantha A. has played great copying her older sister with scoring, rebounding, and blocking shots. She is a great teammate and has been a pleasant surpise as she has little experience playing ball.

Sam F. had her best game stealing the ball every few possesions, setting up her teammates at the point, and she scored at least four straight baskets in the second half today.

Allie has been our 6-man, coming off the bench with energy on defense and offense. She is one of the most intense players on the court, and she stepped in for a charge today and took a hard hit to the head. Despite missing the second half from the fall, she was a pivotal part of our halftime shutout, and I am so proud of her. Tomorrow she will miss the game as she has a mild concussion, but if it was up to her, she would play.

Once again, I am so proud of the girls and cannot wait until tomorrow for the finals at 10:30 at the Akron JCC. I will forever remember today thanks to them and win or lose tomorrow, I know that they are learning the game and getting better.