I went to a conference this week for women who are college administrators.  The conference does an outstanding job of honoring pioneers in women's sports as well as those who are continuing to make a difference for our female athletes.  I found it very cool that many of these women got their start in the sport of basketball.

Whether they had been players or coaches or both.  Many of them lit up when they found out I was a coach and said "Basketball season is about to start"!  Even in the airport I heard one say, "Every October 15th I still get that feeling that I should be starting practice with my team".  

October 15th is our official start date.  We have 2 practices under our belt as I write this post.  Our team is excited and engaged.  Our leaders have done their best to prepare themselves and our team for the journey that is ahead of us.  We remind ourselves everyday to focus on the process.  It is in the process that we become a team, that we build the skills and chemistry that will lead to success.  In the process we will fail over and over and then learn what is takes to be successful.

Those outside of our team will judge us by the results on the scoreboard.  We will judge ourselves by a much higher standard.  Did we become 1% better everyday, did we stay in the bubble, did we learn to trust ourselves and each other?  Am I a good teammate, did I respond to failure productively, did we refuse to beat ourselves?

These are the questions we must answer during the process.  The results on the scoreboard will be what they may-but the answers to these questions are paramount to truly being successful on and off the court.

One of the many great things I learned at my conference is that 97% of top female executives across 5 different countries had ONE thing in common - they all played a sport when they were young!  



You can follow me on Twitter @CoachBain
Facebook at Regis University Women's Basketball Fan Club

Race for the Cure

Volunteering at the Race for the Cure is an annual tradition for our team.  The girls get up early and support the thousands of racers that participate each year.  This experience is always gratifying and moving for our team.  A reminder to be grateful for all we have and a time to admire those who have faced down extremely difficult challenges.

I want to take the time to recognize a friend of our program this year.  Jess Adams was a volunteer coach with us several years ago and has remained a fan of team from her home in Boston.  She was diagnosed last year with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Jess didn't miss a day of work last year and managed to go through 12 rounds of chemo, two surgeries and 8 weeks of radiation.  Did I mention she has 2 kids under the age of 5?

So, as we getting ready to embark on a long a grueling season, I'm glad we choose to participate in events that helps us keep our perspective.  We are so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to play a college sport.  Having the support of teammates and working together toward a common goal is a powerful and life-changing experience.  The difficulties and challenges are great.  There are times when we wonder why we are putting ourselves through the pain when it would be so much easier to just give up or give in.

At the end of a season or playing career, we look back at how far we have come and sometimes barely recognize the person we were when we first started.  Being on a team transforms us and brings to light qualities we did not know we possessed.  Our friend Jess had her team that helped her through her life-threatening season.  They inspired and transformed each other and none of them will ever be the same.

Please join us and support us as we get ready for our 2014 season.  Go Rangers!