Becoming a successful athlete does not just happen by dreaming about it, it takes commitment and hard work. There are many opportunities that exist today for a young athlete that did not exist 20 years ago. Some older people groan and wish we could go back to a simpler time with less activities being organized for young people by adults.
Several years ago I was at a get together and fell into a conversation with a man who had played football at Galesburg High School in the 1950’s. He asked me what the girls basketball players did in the summer. It was a conversation I was somewhat hesitant to delve into, I anticipated he would be critical of the amount of summer activities I had organized for the girls. To my surprise, his reaction was the opposite. He said,”I am glad you have them doing a lot, it seems like too many teenagers just sit around today.”
He proceeded to tell me about his football days with C.C. Vandyke in the 1950’s. He said VanDyke got the football players signed up on a farm crew doing detasseling corn. They started at 6am. Every break and during lunch, he got them out and they did football drills and 11 on 0. His comment,”It wasn’t fun but winning on Friday nights in the Fall was sure fun.”
The opportunities for athletes to work and improve have changed thru the decades but the bottom line is that for an athlete to be successful they must be actively engaged in the process of self-improvement. Hard work does NOT guarantee success. Sometimes when a player was not playing as much as they wanted to play or that their parents wanted them to play, they would say,”My daughter has worked so hard, they deserve to play.”
What parents and what players need to realize is that MANY, MANY players are working VERY hard in the off-seasons. It takes passion for the sport and it takes a commitment to the process.
I want to share with you an example of a girls who is working hard to develop her skills as a basketball player. Livvie is the daughter of Sean and Karla Hanlon, and lives in Colorado. Yes, she lives in Colorado despite, my efforts and her grandmother’s efforts to illegally recruit her to move in with Grandpa and Grandma in Galesburg. When Livvie comes to visit, it is very obvious that she really likes basketball. She is out in the driveway putting up shot after shot.
Massey- What grade in school is Livvie?
Sean- Livvie is 14 years old and is currently an 8th grader at McAuliffe International School in Denver, Colorado. The school has about 1500-1600 students in the 6th through 8th grades.
Massey- What was her experience with her school team this year?
Sean- Livvie’s McAuliffe girls’ middle school basketball team went undefeated this season and won the Denver City Championship. In fact, this season marked the 10th year in a row that the McAuliffe girls’ basketball program has won the Denver City Championship. The school has one tryout basketball team for boys and girls for the 6th – 8th grades (i.e. there is not a 6th grade team, 7th grade team, and 8th grade team. Just one team for the entire middle school for each gender). Livvie was fortunate to make the school team her 6th, 7th and 8th grade years, and the team finished with an undefeated record for each of those seasons.
Massey- Where will Livvie go to school next year?
Sean- Next year, Livvie will attend Denver East High School. Denver’s original and oldest public high school in the city. The girls’ basketball coach (Carl Mattei) at East High School has coached over 40 D1 players.
Massey- Now in the off-season, what does she do in terms of training? I guess I am asking, what is her "process?"
Sean- Livvie does a variety of things to train for basketball. She practices her shooting and ball handling skills at home at our court in the backyard.
She trains with a basketball trainer named Jody Hollins that trains a lot of great high school, college and WNBA women’s players. Jody is 6’10” and won a national championship as a player for Metro State University. He has a passion for training and has a knack for getting the most out of his players. This summer she will also work with Isaac Westbooks, a professional player from Ireland whose brother Aaron lives in Denver and coached Livvie’s brother Jake’s club team (Euro Star) for many years.
She goes to a facility called Redline to work on her speed, agility and strength conditioning.
She works with her club team, Team Colorado, to improve her basketball skills and playing ability.
Massey- Who does she play with on her non-school/club team?
Sean- She plays for Team Colorado. Team Colorado is the only Nike sponsored girls’ club basketball team in Colorado, and only 1 of 2 Nike sponsored teams in our region (Colorado and Utah). Livvie plays for Team Colorado’s 15u team. Livvie is one of two 8th graders (14 year olds) on this 15u team.
Her 15u team is currently an EYCL team. This sponsorship provides the club with the opportunity to compete in some of the most prestigious events in the country, like the Boo Williams tournament in Virgina that we just played in last weekend.
Massey- Describe her trip to the Boo Williams tourney? What college coaches were there? Where were teams from, etc. How excited did that make her?
Sean- The Boo Williams Nike EYBL / EYCL is an incredible tournament, filled with great Nike teams across the country. Each court had a designated area for the college coaches to sit and watch the games. At the 15u court that Livvie’s team played, there were college coaches with clipboards from Georgia State, Drake, Harvard, Delaware State, and San Diego. At the 17u EYBL courts, Dawn Staley (National Champion South Carolina) and Geno Auriemma (Final Four UCONN) among other big name women’s college basketball coaches were in attendance.
There were teams from across the country in our tournament, including an amazingly talented team from South Carolina. That team had won 61 won straight when we faced them (and they had beat solid teams at the Boo Williams tourney by 50 and 40 points). We lost to them by 19 points. But after the game their parents told us that we played them better than any other team. Their 15u team already has two D1 commits, and many of their players have played varsity basketball since 7th grade.
Livvie was very excited to get the chance to be in that environment, and compete against such great players. It was a wonderful bonding experience for her Team Colorado 15u team.
Massey- How did the Caitlin Clark season affect Livvie?
Sean- Knowing that there are more opportunities for girls basketball players is incredibly inspiring, along with knowing that because of players like Caitlin Clark, those opportunities will continue to grow. It makes Livvie work harder to chase her dreams. She appreciates the road traveled by those great players and motivates her to work as hard as she can. She can’t wait to see what Caitlin Clark achieves in the WNBA, and who is next up to help change the game of women’s basketball.
Massey- Some of the things that stood out for me about Livvie's journey in basketball.
1- She is investing a lot of time, but it doesn't seem like it is work for her. She has a passion for basketball so she is doing something she enjoys.
2- Basketball is giving her the opportunity to do some pretty exciting things and to travel to some pretty interesting places.
3- She is in an extremely competitive program. I am sure she could play for other programs that would be much more "comfortable" and less competitive.
4- She may be getting opportunities that not all young players are getting, but at the heart of her program is shooting on her own at her basket at home. That is an opportunity all players can take advantage of.
5- I am reminded of wisdom my father shared with me at a young age, "Players are made in the off-season. When you are not working on your game, your opponents maybe working on there game."
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