Friday, February 27, 2009

Seton Girl's Basketball

After a long, hard season, the team I help coach lost in the 2nd round of state playoffs. A couple years ago my coach from high school, Karen Self, invited me to come back as her assistant. The first year was a pretty rough bunch and really tested whether I felt it was worth it. The next year I took off coaching because we were getting married and I wanted to have the evening time I knew I would need for planning and organizing. Last year I returned to coaching Varsity girl’s basketball for Seton Catholic High School. I loved playing for Karen and definitely miss being around the sport. It is so hard to give up basketball. I think the hardest part is that my career ended due to injuries. I have always felt that basketball was taken away from me and since it wasn’t my decision to stop playing, that’s hard. But coming back as a coach is different and yet still fills my love for basketball. I originally thought I would practice with the girls more but my first year coaching I re-injured my knee during practice and have yet to really return. I am just not meant to play basketball at such a high level I guess.

Well our team this year was AMAZING! The girls work hard, get along and HAVE FUN! It’s a blast being around them and getting to know them more. The loss last Friday to Flagstaff was a hard loss. We definitely were the better team but it just didn’t go our way. I am torn because I am so excited to have free evenings with my family again and yet I miss seeing the girls everyday. I am really looking forward to our end of season party just so we can all see each other and hang out again. The girls are great with Jarem and love on him so much. I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to coach. I feel torn as a mommy to be away from Jarem so much and I deeply miss hanging out with Eric after work. I’m sure it will only get harder as our family grows.

Karen is an amazing coach. She has four kids, a supportive husband, and the most dedication to her team. I have never met a coach like her. Her knowledge and passion for basketball far surpass me so it is so fun to just be around her and hear her talk about the sport. After playing I feel pretty knowledgeable about basketball. But when I hear Karen talk it brings me to awe of how much there is to learn when coaching.

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