I know I was feeling upbeat before the tournament started. I knew once the tourney started, it was going to be a whirlwind. Although the setting at the IAD Center was all basketball, it was missing something that only the Frisco Fieldhouse can give. The feeling of when you take a breath of air, all you take in is Basketball. But we had to do the best under the circumstances.
I was anxious to get started to see which team was going to show up. All season we had been doing dribbling drills, basketball drills, strength and conditioning, scrimmaging boys, playing up, instilling discipline and attention to detail. All that is great, but what will be our Girl's Mindset going into the first game be.
1st game finally came and the girls showed me they came to play. But a lot of teams were making their own statements on the court. Some in such a big way that the buzz around the gym was of appointing early favorites right from the get go.
But not to be outdone, our girls started to get some praise early on. "Coach, you have a well coached team. Your girls have great fundamental bball skills." I knew that the true test was going to be under adverse conditions.
Our girls didn't let up the rest of pool play. Nothing spectacular, just taking care of business. A lot of growing up and a defensive mindset started to grow. While other teams were winning in spectacular fashion, we were just quietly and efficiently moving along.
Once bracket play started, we were in a tough predicament. The majority of 1st place teams from pool play received 1st round byes, particularly the teams making a lot of noise in pool play. Our style of play is hard to sustain for any team for 1 game much less 3 games. Plus we only had 8 players. Was that going to be enough? We were going to have to just do with what we had.
My thoughts were of lets just get this thing started. I was excited for the girls but I was extremely relaxed and confident in our teams ability.
The girls didn't let up at the start of bracket play. My sense was the Chemistry was good. Our team defense was starting to show in a Big way. Coach Drew and I pushed the girls hard to stay focused and put attention to detail.
For me one of the turning point for our chances to go far came with one simple adjustment in defense that after 3 or 4 games, our girls finally started grasping. Coach Drew was endlessly pounding into their fabric, into their DNA, make your player GO LEFT! (or Opposite their strong hand) And it wasn't just for the guards, it went for the Posts as well. Make players beat you doing something they are not comfortable with. What a concept. That concept intertwined with with our pressure defense made our team that much stronger.
Late Saturday night at 8pm was going to be a major test to our conditioning since we already had played twice and the team we were playing only once. Before the game, I overheard opponent's Parents pointing at the Poster Boards on the wall where the Brackets were posted. They were completely overlooking us and looking ahead to see what their toughest competition was going to be once they took care of us. Trash talking. Wow. Almost as if we should just call it quits before the game started. Aaaahhhh, just exactly the ammunition I needed to put in the girls mindset before the game.
Our girls started slow and the other team started hot. Their fans were going frantic but I was proud of the girls. I didn't see anyone flinch. Although we were losing and were in a big hole, we were fighting and playing hard. Things were not going well but our girls never flinched. Patience, here it comes.....
Keep working, keep playing hard, keep believing, keep clawing, keep scratching, keep up the pressure, keep forcing them left, and Boom it came!
The other team started getting frustrated, starting losing focus enabling us to make a huge run...
Islander Basketball anyone.....
But the Big Lady hadn't sung yet and we were coasting along. 9 point lead with a minute and a half went to only 2 point lead in 30 seconds. Tension filled the gym. Fans were yelling, Coaches were yelling, the court was packed and electricity filled the air. The girls weathered the storm and pulled it out with some clutch free throws and hard defense stops.
Yeahh Baby, we are in the Final 4. That's exactly what came to my mind.
It's late, we are all tired. Let's get these ladies fed and ready for bed.
The next morning came and I was pumped up for the girls.
We were playing a well coached good shooting team. We needed to put the emotions of winning 3 games the day before aside and focus. What will we still have in the tank, mentally and physically after already playing 6 games. The way we were running or lack of running, it seemed at certain points of the game that we were playing in the moon. Houston we might have a problem. Blast off hasn't taken place and it's already 28 minutes of game time past due. 2 minutes left and only a 2 point lead. Basketball instincts take over, strong guard handles, taking care of the ball, strong defense, huge rebounds and huge free throws seal our fate. Did we survive or did we just do what we needed to do? At this point who cares. We are in the Championship game.
How much do we have in the tank? Are we running in fumes? About 2 1/2 hours till show time and my thoughts and mindset leave the gym and Dallas area altogether.
My thoughts took me back in time to San Antonio. All those hard workouts the girls had endured. All the hard training, hard work and sweat comes down to this. Trying to push their buttons to make them better players, better individuals. Pushing them to the limit mentally and physically and testing them under Pressure to see how they react. I knew coming this far was not good enough, not this time.
I wanted to Win, Coach Drew wanted to Win and we made sure the girls knew what we came down here for. We didn't want them to believe, we just wanted them to Win! There was no other option.
That's what makes these girls so special...
The game started tight and slow. Almost like two great boxers feeling each other out. No one wanted to do mistakes yet that is exactly why mistakes were being done. It almost felt any team could just explode at any given moment. Players fought hard on both teams. A lot of great defense on both sides made for a lot of mistakes. Excitement and anticipation filled both sides of the stands. Other teams, other coaches, other fans filled the court to witness what was going to happen.
The little team that can........ WON!
SA Islanders are the 2013 PrimeTime National JV Girls Division Champions!
Maybe I didn't give our experience any justice in my words. Just take a look at the Picture, maybe that will do a better job. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Pictured Front R-L: Sandy Ramirez, Tara Molina, Championship Trophy, Lexy Torres, Belle Tovar
Back R-L: Coach Jesse, Erin Wimberley, Hannah Murray, Vikki Salinas, Bri Soliz, Coach Drew