We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.

- George Bernard Shaw 

            I noticed the prompt on the Athletics homepage says, “Follow the women’s basketball team through the eyes of a player.”  It sounds insightful and catchy.  I warn those looking for insight.  The things I say may not be fully understood or easily relayed to the reader.  How do I convey our lives as we embark on this 6 month journey?  I can’t.  This “thing” we do, we don’t even understand.  At least not fully.  My sister played at LCSC for 4years, and now she tells me, “I wish I would have known,” or “You shouldn’t take things so personally.”  She is a coach now, and can more easily make sense of the complexities of this game, and what it has to offer.

            We have five new faces this year; freshmen Kenna Reiter and Nichole Miller, junior transfers Lacie Titmus, Breianna Gaines, and Sadie Short.  The plan has changed, the faces, the pace, the strategies.  The goal has not changed.  The expectations have not changed.  Everyday is dedicated to becoming champions.

            This week is “Warrior Week.”  It is the last week of preseason conditioning, and introduction of fundamentals and team concepts.  Each day, a new and “fun activity” is planned, and clinics are conducted.  Our classrooms are exchanged for hardwood, and our desks replaced with the defensive stance. 

For the seniors, myself included, this is the last “Warrior Week,” the last 400, the last first day of practice.  It’s also the beginning of a lot of firsts for us.  We will graduate and start our first job, our first house, our weddings and children.  These lasts we are experiencing will help in all our firsts yet to come.

            My sister, I mentioned before, had her first child on September 14.  It’s a boy!  They named him Jaymon.  Witnessing birth left me speechless.  I am not so gifted to put the event into words.  I was in awe of the strength, focus, determination, toughness she portrayed with no drugs.  Funny it may seem, but she compared the mental strength to overcome pain with the same focus and discipline used in sports.

            This thing we do, is more than we can comprehend.  It’s a beautiful thing.  Our future is now, we have yet to understand.