Tournament Time

Ah, the smell of March Madness. This time of year reminds me of watching the games with my dad when I was little and hearing the screams of my brother from upstairs when the buzzer beater would fall to create a huge upset game. It is crazy to think that some other little girl is now watching our team in the tournament with her dad, wishing that someday that could be her on the court fighting for a national championship.

Our team has come so far this year. We have dealt with injuries, battles on the court and a hard schedule. In my eyes though, we have thrived in this madness. We have never backed down from a challenge. This became really apparent to me when we came back from Christmas break after playing the team that shall not be named, and went into a slump for about a month. Our team was faced with the chance to either continue on that downward slump or rise up above it and start to build our energy towards the tournament. We clearly chose the latter. Our team changed our energy, and changed our focus to Stanford Basketball. What we can do, and what we can accomplish rather than the other team. To me, we are peaking at just the right time with this new energy and focus: Tournament Time.

The last part of the season is when the team is the closest in all aspects. Everyone is fighting for one more game, one more practice, and yes one more bike workout. It is scary to think that every game we play now may be the last time the 2009-2010 team puts on a Stanford jersey and all that it represents before the game. That thought only encourages us more to get on the floor, be scrappy, do whatever it takes to advance. Because just as I was told when I was a little girl watching on TV, as I am now a woman playing on the TV, you must SURVIVE TO ADVANCE.

Jayne