And so it Begins! by Chelsea Peck '12

For some, the changing of the leaves, the bitter cold breeze, and the shortening of the day means the beginning of the winter season, but for the members of the Lady Spartans Basketball Team, it means only one thing… the beginning our official season (basketball season that is). (Chelsea pictured on right w/ Sarah Milligan)

When you step out onto the floor on the first day of practice, the atmosphere is something that you really can’t put into words. Each player contains so much energy and excitement. It is essentially the day that you have worked for since the end of the previous season. New faces, new talents, and new skills all come together to create a new team, our team. The first day is full of expectations, some of nerves, joy, excitement, and even fear.

As a second year player, I had a lot of expectations for this season based off of last year. The first three practices of last season were definitely the most difficult practices that I had experienced thus far as an athlete. Therefore, when I stepped out onto the floor this year, the memories of the sore body and the conditioning came flooding back. As a team, we all had the common understanding that practice was going to be difficult, but in the end, we all knew it was definitely worth it and that no matter what, we were going to get through it.

Practice started with the usual jump roping and stretching. With the resounding word “team” echoing through the gym, our huddle dispersed and practice officially began. We ran through a series of competitive drills that stressed the importance of teamwork and pushing one another to get better. By the end of the two hour practice, our bodies were sore. It was an effort to make it through the last five minutes of conditioning, but we knew, together as a team, we not only could do it, but we had to do it. Our practice ended the same way it began, with a huddle.

The second and third days were similar to the first day. We started practice off with a huddle and ran through a series of difficult drills that pushed our limits. Although it was a struggle to get through each drill, we went through it together, as a team. Our wills were tested and our bodies were sacrificed as we made it through each drill. After the last ten minutes of conditioning were completed, a sigh of relief came across the team. Well, it could have been a sigh of relief or just catching our breaths but either way, we had made it through our first three days of practice. These first three days have set the bar and the expectations for the rest of the season and although they were difficult and a struggle to get through, we made it through, all together, the 2009-2010 Spartans. (Pictured left, members of the team jump rope to begin warm-ups.)