hey you guys.
um it would really be nice if yall would please pray for me. right now im stuck in the middle of a hard decision that i have to make and its really tearin me down. i love you ladies so much and i would really appreciate it.

thanks,
Liv

Lazily Floating Along

Hidden within the hill country of Texas near the small town of Gruene, is a beautiful emerald colored river that the girls and I visit each summer during our trip to Texas. According to Hannah it is the highlight of our trip. We all jump into inner-tubes and for about three hours, we float lazily down river allowing the current to take us wherever it will until we reach the bridge where we get out. During the trip we experience the excitement of rapids that rush us beside and up against small boulders peeking up from the water. We experience the eerie feeling of anticipation and helplessness just before we drop over a small waterfall. And no matter how hard we try to stay together, the swift current always separates us by sweeping us in-between the numerous cypress trees that occasionally rise up out of the water. For three hours, we are totally at the mercy of the river…and it is always fun!



In many ways, I think our team found itself in a similar situation last season (minus the fun). We floated lazily through the season allowing the currents of adversity to carry us wherever it would. By the end of the season, I think most of us were probably glad that the trip was finally over. I want this season to be a different experience. I want to end the upcoming season being able to say that it was fun! Although we should always prepare for and seek success, we should also prepare for adversity rather than just allowing whatever negative currents we may encounter dictate where we end up.

In essence, we need to be ready to make lemonade out of the lemons that sometimes get thrown our way. Lemonade lessons start in the gym this Friday night 5:00 to 7:00 PM.

Jess may not have watched the video, but I think she's got it!

Create Space for Your Shot

Any time you are within your shooting range and have a defender on you, there are numerous techniques that good players use to create a little more space for a better look at the basket. The video below is a great example of one technique that Haley has been working on this week during our shooting practices. It is a very simple move to use and it is extremely effective for creating that extra space to get your shot off.

Temporary Inconvenience vs. Permanent Improvement

I often I want to express a thought regarding a particular subject to the team here on the blog, but more-often than not I find myself in a sort of “writer’s block mentality” as I sit at the keyboard. I have difficulty expressing the thought in the way that I want to beyond the first sentence. No matter how hard I try and fight through it, the words just don’t seem to convey the message that I want to send. So I tend to give up and tell myself that I’ll just do it later. That mindset may work for writing, but it definitely won’t work for improving your basketball skills.

In basketball, there is only one way to improve your physical skills and that is to accept the “temporary inconvenience” of practicing over and over again until the skill becomes a natural habit, like riding a bike…being able to do it without thinking about it.

Although Sheff already leads the team in most of the offensive categories, she has been sacrificing her time and energy over the past few weeks to learn to alter her shooting mechanics in order to be able to shoot against a bigger defender and to learn to shoot coming off of a screen. In addition, she’s also learning some new ball handling methods to help her come off the dribble a little quicker against a defender. This has certainly been a temporary inconvenience, but one that will pay huge dividends for her once the season starts. I’ve already seen a major improvement in her shooting & ball handling ability and she’s only been practicing it for two or three weeks.

With summer quickly approaching, there will be plenty of time to sleep late, work on your tan at the beach or watch endless hours of TV. But once the summer is over, we will once again be squeezing-in homework, soccer & volleyball practices and who knows what else before the basketball season starts.

However, once we start our practices it will be too late to gain any noticeable improvement in your skills before our first game. Sheff has already made the choice of temporary inconvenience that will result in permanent improvement.

What will you spend the summer working on? We are the sum of our choices.

Much more intimidating than black socks!

I came across a short video of the Tennessee Lady Vols intro at a home game and couldn't help but think back to when Covenant tried a similar intro at one of our home games. Cut off the lights, had strobe lights, smoke and music and then...oops! Forgot that it takes 10-12 minutes for the lights to come back on in the gym. No, it wasn't me that did it but it was still funny none the less.

Check out the link to the right (up under our Championship logo). But make sure you watch it with sound. How psychologically intimidating this must be to a smaller school playing at Tennessee. In addition, I love the fact that their fans keep clapping after tip-off until the Lady Vols make their first basket. I would love to see the crowd at Covenant pick up a tradition like that.

Are You Practicing According to Your Aspirations?

Most athletes dream of playing at the next level. To some, the next level may mean playing for their favorite college or pro team, for others, the next level may be increased minutes or maybe even earning a starting spot on their team. In either case, we can all agree that it feels pretty good to imagine ourselves hitting the game winning shot at the buzzer or of being introduced as a starter for every game. But the cold-harsh reality is that if you want to play at that next level, you have to make that your goal…not just your dream.

You have to determine what it is that you want to accomplish and layout a plan to get you there. And most importantly, you have to be prepared to pay the price to achieve that goal. That means there will likely be plenty of hard work and sweat along the way.

Make no mistake, the player you are going to be when we start our season, will be the result of your habits and what you have chosen to do to improve your game during the summer.

Hilli-Rat Strikes Again!

I heard the funniest story from Liz lastnight. Apparently Hilliary's mom took her to the DMV office to get her Learner's Permit and as the lady behind the camera was counting off "ready...1-2-3" for Hilliary's photo,at the count of three, Hilliary turned into "Hillirat" and posed for the picture. Needless to say the lady behind the camera was not too happy with the results of the photo or with Hilliary and the lady proceeded to give Hilliary a good verbal thrashing! Word has it that there may a be a slight delay in Hilliary hitting the road with her new license (until she's off restriction).

Too funny! That's our Hillirat!

Sacrifice

During the first chapel service at the Nationals tournament, we listened to motivational speaker and author Alan Williams discuss what a real teammate is. He said a real teammate would be willing to do three things:

1. They are willing to hurt for their teammates.
2. They are willing to sacrifice for their teammates.
3. They don't care who gets the credit.

I bring this up because of an incident that occurred this afternoon that few on our team will ever know about, yet after Liz told me about it, I thought it was the perfect example of what Alan Walker was talking about when he defined what a true teammate is.

Hannah D….you are an awesome teammate!

Ahhh...Home Sweet Home!

After what began to seem like a month of snow and below freezing temperatures, it's good...no it's VERY good to be home!

Although we didn't make it to the BIG dance (championship game)as originally planned, we did make it to the National Final Four. And more importantly, finished with a fantastic 4th quarter performance against Covenant Classical of Greensboro, NC. Down 21 points to start the 4th quarter, the Lady Lions showed some amazing heart and determination by cutting the deficit to only 7 points with 21 ticks left on the clock, but Classical hit a shot shortly afterward handing the Lady Lions their second loss of the tournament and a 4th place finish.

I couldn't have been prouder of the way the girls played...as if defeat was absolutely impossible. Regardless of the score...in my eyes they played one of their best games of the season.

In addition, congratulations to Rachel and Jess who were named to the 2008 NACA Division IV All-Tournament Team.

HOORA!

All-Star Game

This year, the Girl's All-Star Game didn't quite turn out the same as most of the previous games had. The West clearly had the size advantage and they played as if they had practiced together for most of the season. The East just didn't have the same unity as shown by the West and although we were able to chip away at their lead, it just wasn't enough.

Although there was one bright spot for the East at the All-Star Game. Liz not only won the 3-point Shootout, but did it shooting off of one leg. In the first 1:30 minute round, the scoreboard read 17, in the second round it read 9, and in the final round the scoreboard read 19 (which also tied the boys best shooter Stuart Beauchamp of Grace).

GAME NOTES:
The East went 19 of 75 from the floor (CCS made 13 of those 19 shots).
Rebounds - 41 (CCS had 24 of those 41)
Assists - 10 (CCS had 5 of those 10)
Steals - 21 (CCS had 16 of those 21)

Oh Lord...please send us some help!

With the last practice of the season wrapped up, the only thing left to do now is to wait. With the exception of Sheff, Heather and Lea (who have All-Star "duty" this weekend)the rest of the team will get two or three days of much needed rest before going into the Nationals tournament.

After watching Chelsea try and practice on Thursday night, odds are that she will likely not dress out for the tournament. In addition, Heather is still feeling the effects of the flu (conditioning) and now Hilliary & Jess are both getting sick. I feel like we need to hire a team doctor just to get through the last week of the season!

But all things are happening just as God has planned it. We should always remember that nothing happens to God's own without it first going before the throne for His approval. We may not fully understand the "why" behind the things that happen, but we do know that it is to serve His purpose in the end.

4:13

And the winner is......

Freedom Life Academy of Montgomery, AL (currently the #2 seed NACA) is hot on our heels for the #1 spot. Being that we lost to Central over the weekend, I fully expect to drop one or two spots (and it could even be three or four spots). However, Freedom Life helped us out a little on Friday by losing their final game of the regular season.

The final ranking before the tournament will come out this afternoon and there is likely going to be some movement in the rankings.

Current ranking is as follows:
#1 Covenant – Panama City, FL (20-6)
#2 Freedom Life- Montgomery, AL (15-4)
#3 Tabernacle – Hickory, NC (10-3)
#4 Shining Light – Greensboro, NC (13-1)
#5 Landmark – Cincinatti, OH (15-3)
#6 Covenant Classical – Concord, NC (8-7)
#7 Sweethaven Academy – Portsmouth, VA (10-4)
#8 Covenant – Sevierville, TN (11-5)
#9 Greater Gwinette – Suwanee, GA (8-15)

The rankings are based on several factors including wins/losses, strength of schedule and points scored/allowed. For instance, Shining Light (#4) has a better record at 13-1 than Tabernacle (#3) which has a record of 10-3, yet Tabernacle has played stronger teams throughout their regular season.

In addition, there are a total of 12 schools entered in the tournament, so three of them have not been ranked.

Only the strong will survive.

How Do You Measure Success?

As I sat this morning, emptying out my gym bag from the Final Four tournament, I came across the small Ziplock Snack bag that one of you girls placed our torn up game goals into following the Grace game (because I had left our big bag on the bus). I couldn't help but notice how small the bag containing those little torn up pieces of paper was in comparison to our normal gallon sized bag. But in that moment, I saw something that was so obvious, that I couldn't believe I had taken it for granted this season. The small amount of paper in that snack bag following the Grace game equaled almost half of the goals accomplished in the entire 2001-02 season for the Lady Lions (back when a win was a big deal).

You see, whether in the game of basketball (or in our daily lives), you can't measure success by the scoreboard at the end of the game or by the size of a trophy. Instead, the only real measure of success is based upon the goals that we set for ourselves and whether we have done our best to accomplish those goals.

 We went undefeated in the East.
 We made it to the Final Four.
 We had four players named to the All-Conference team (last year we only had three).
 We beat three public schools (with only 44 kids in our high school).
 We had 11 teams in our Club 30
 We held three teams to less than 16 points.
 We improved our defense (last season 17.3 SPG to this season's 23.9 SPG)
 We improved our rebounding (last season 30.5 RPG to this season's 35.5 RPG)
 We improved in every aspect of our game.
 We played every minute of every game, not for ourselves, but for each other.
 We started the season as a "team" and we ended that way.

Let Central relish in their victory and polish & admire the trophy. Because deep down inside, I believe it will be back at Covenant next season.

Setting Us Up for Success

A wonderful thing is happening to the team right now.

Just as we are primed and ready to head into the Final Four with plenty of momentum, Chelsea suffers a foot injury that will likely end her season. Then the night before we leave for the Final Four, Heather gets the flu and will miss the tournament. Two starters out. A tough road ahead? Maybe, maybe not. You see, I believe God is setting us up for success. That's right success! God doesn't use the mighty & strong to show the world His glory, no, He uses the lowly and weak - the underdog so to speak.

Now that doesn't mean I think we are lowly & weak or that we are the underdog, but when the other teams see that we are missing two starters, they will perceive us as weak. Then WHAM!!! We give 'em a taste of what 4:13 is all about!

By the time the tournament ends, every team there will KNOW the power we have behind 4:13.

Prayer Needed

When things that others say about you start to get you down and make you feel beaten, take time to stop and pray. It’s sometimes tough to remember that we are to exhibit patience with those who oppose us, remembering that the real battle is not against them, but rather against the evil forces influencing their minds and hearts.
(2 Tim. 2:25-26)

Please pray for every member of our team this week and let God fight the battle.

4:13

We're Back!

The latest NACA National Rankings are out...and guess who's back in the #1 spot? Our 58-22 win over Maranatha, combined with Freedom Life Academy's loss last week was enough to convince the NACA. From here on out we must take care of business in a BIG way to stay in the #1 spot.

HOORA!

Another Surgery

As many of you have probably noticed over the past few weeks, Liz doesn’t seem to have the motion in her knee that she should have by now. Her Physical Therapist has been pushing her hard (to the point of tears) and it hasn’t helped. She went back to the Andrews Institute this morning for a follow up and her surgeon thinks it’s probably excessive scar tissue and he’s scheduled her for arthroscopic surgery tomorrow. He's putting her under and will aggressively take the knee through the full range of motion in an attempt to break up the scar tissue. She'll also be back on the pain pump for a couple of days, and swollen again, and yes... back on crutches - AGAIN! Keep her in your prayers. She’s been depressed lately and I can certainly understand why.

Basketball Team Scores Again

The Lady Lions captured another "crown" of sorts on Friday night as the team representative (Liz) was crowned Homecoming Queen. (Check out Chelsea & Olivia in the background)

Sheff & the Youngbloods

They may be young, but they know how to play! Sheff (the only "old timer" on the floor) Lea, Rachel, Hannah, and rookie Rebecca Newby (left, who came out of the stands and dressed out for the game) held their own on Friday night in a very impressive win over Maranatha. They played the 3rd & 4th Qtrs without a breather so the rest of the team could leave early for the Homecoming festivities.

Great job ladies!

Good News!

Freedom Life Academy (Montgomery, AL), which currently sits in the #1 spot (NACA), helped us out a little on Thursday night by losing. They are now 14-3 (we are 17-5) and their next game is against a team they beat earlier in the season by only 1 point (41-40). If they lose that game, we've got a 50/50 chance at moving back into the #1 spot (provided that we take care of our business from here on out).

Keep your fingers crossed!

The latest NACA National Rankings were released yesterday and our 28-point loss to Bethlehem knocked us out of the #1 position. We dropped to #2. Although being ranked #2 in the Nation is still quite an accomplishment for Covenant to be proud of, it does not get us the first round bye that we REALLY want going into the National Tournament.

Freedom Life Academy from Montgomery, AL (currently #1) has a record of 14-2 with only three games left. If they win all three games, they’ll end their season at 17-2 compared to our record of 17-5 (after we wrap up the regular season against Maranatha). 17-2 vs. 17-5 …that’s pretty much a no-brainer for the NACA to rank.

However, we have the opportunity to finish in the Regional/Final Four tourneys at 21-5 and may get the nod over Freedom Life Academy if they end up dropping a game or two in their post-season tournament.

Let’s not waste the opportunity that still lies before us.

Nobody ever remembers who finished second…except the guy who finished second.

Towel Boy headed to the Final Four?

The seeding for the upcoming East Regional Tournament is pretty much set and there are few (if any) questions surrounding which team will likely blow through the pack to win the East. But there is some mystery as to who will end up accompanying Covenant to Bainbridge for the Final Four.

Now I do not think towel boy deserves much in the way of praise or even discussion, but he may be the only one that can mix things up a bit during the Regional tournament. I fully expect Emmanuel to whip up on Tallavana in the early game, but towel boy will have his work cut out for him in the afternoon match up with Grace. These two teams are pretty evenly matched. Grace defeated Emmanuel in Bainbridge by 10 points (with the hometown refs) and Emmanuel defeated Grace by 4 points in Dothan. So who will have the advantage on a neutral court?
Normally, I would say that Emmanuel has history on it’s side. Over the past few seasons, Emmanuel has entered the tourney and played well-above their seeding. But that was with Christine Spivey (graduated in 2007) and more importantly, that was without “towel boy.” Unless he inspires them with a really cool looking towel or maybe a new way to wave it, Emmanuel will likely be in a dogfight with Grace, until Grace pulls away in the 4th quarter and wins by 10-12 points.

I think Grace is the only team in this tournament with something to prove. They have a handful of girls that have grown up in the shadow of Sarah Flowers (graduated in 2007) and the pedestal she was put on at Grace. Much in the same way that Liz & Jess had to endure the non-stop comments about their upcoming season after Covenant’s dynamic-duo (Samantha & Summer) left. Expect Grace to respond the same way our girls did - with something to prove. In addition to being motivated, they have a new coach that is looking to show that he can win it all with a girls team and he has the coaching pedigree to do it. Keep in mind that his varsity boys teams have spent quite a few year’s perched on top of the Eastern throne and he’s looking to show that he can do it again, but this time with a girl’s team.

Prediction: Covenant & Grace headed to the Final Four. But keep your fingers crossed for towel boy. I’d love to hear his comments if he knows that he’s headed to the Final Four.

GREAT News!

As most of you already know by now, the Lady Lions firmly positioned themselves as the #1 seed in the upcoming Regional Tournament with a dominating 67-23 win over "Towel Boy & the Towelettes."

As good as that news is, I received even better news yesterday before the game. The National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) began a National Ranking of member schools this season and their first poll was just released. Where pray-tell are the Lady Lions in this poll? Why I'm glad you asked....we are ranked at #3 in the Nation (NACA Div IV) and ranked at #2 in their power ranking. The poll has our record listed as 11-4 and since we are currently 15-4, the next poll (due out on Jan 22) should show us moving closer toward that coveted #1 spot.

HOORA!

The Silence is Deafening

As we hit the half-way point on our conference schedule, we’re 6-0 and in 1st place in the PCC East Region. That’s’ a good thing. The down-side is that there’s not much drama to build around as we enter the final stretch leading into the Regional playoffs. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily want a lot of drama, but it sure makes for some great basketball.

Looking back on last season, the most memorable games were the ones with some type of drama attached.

Do you remember the Grace newspaper article where Grace said that PCCS was the best team in the conference because they beat Grace by 15 points? Then we showed Grace that maybe they should keep quiet after we beat them by 36 points (they only scored 37 for the whole game against PCCS).

Or how about the endless drama that always seemed to accompany the PCCS games? Most of the drama with PCCS started in our rotation game where a few of their girls were crying during the game due to fatigue & shin splints. Then Rachel was knocked out cold and they got a 20-minute rest period to catch their breath while the EMT techs loaded her into the ambulance. We made up a 10-point deficit in a minute and a half and ended up losing by 2 points as the clock ran out. To add insult to injury, the newspaper had the front page picture of Sharee towering over Rachel (on the floor). The revenge game was born on that night.

Or how about when Mr. Thompson started running his mouth before the Championship game saying that Covenant would need our best three defenders to triple team Sharee if we wanted to stop her. We put Liz on Sharee to start the game and Liz held her scoreless in the 1st quarter.

And how cool was it to play mind games with PCCS by “occupying” their locker room before the Championship game and then taunting them for 15 minutes from across the hall?

This season, it seems the only drama swirls around the bus breaking down or how horrible the referees are.

As cliché as it probably sounds… I miss the good ‘ol days.