Rising Stars Girls basketball is about playing intense and highly competitive basketball. We are about young ladies who are committed to basketball, ready and willing to learn, and have aspirations of playing in college down the road. However, our program is first and foremost about creating life experiences for kids both on and off the court. The following is a glimpse at why I am so passionate about what we are about!
Rising Stars Life Experiences – Come Participate in the Journey!
To attempt to put this into perspective, I have included a clip from the last page of my 10 page trip summary report to the parents following our 2012 17U season.
“We were truly blessed this season with no major injuries over the course of 45 games and no major travel incidents. To go 17-1 during the evaluation period and 39-6 on the season is simply outstanding and you should truly be proud of you Star on the court. More importantly, you should be proud of your Star off the court as these young ladies earned it. I am so proud and privileged to have coached this team of young ladies. Thank you parents for all your support this season!
For those of you willing to endure one more crazy long paragraph, I must add a bit of background to the limo ride. I realize that I am getting a bit nostalgic here, but that’s the beauty of being the author. As most everyone knows, Diana loves candy. Diana is also my only remaining 8 baller from our original team back nearly a decade ago that has made it through her last season on my team and will be heading on to play basketball at Oklahoma State next year. To say I admire and respect her loyalty is a drastic understatement. She has been recruited by other clubs in central Texas and beyond for the past 4 or 5 years and yet has always stayed true to our team. When we drove through Old Town Sacramento Monday night, Ms. Sherelle commented on the old time candy stores they had. So, my rambling all comes together in that we headed back to Old Town Sacramento in that Limo Tuesday night in part so that I could take my Captain to a candy store in a fashion deserving of all her commitment over the years. I apologize to my first year families, but the nostalgia goes on a bit further. Amy came two years after Diana, and the three of us have been all over the state and beyond for the past 6 years, including a phenomenal season ending trip to Chicago their 8th grade year. Hanna and Brianne came on board 3 seasons ago and we added North Carolina and New Orleans. Two seasons ago, Charisma, Raquel, and Ashley joined and we took in Portland and Nashville. This year, Alex, Alyssa, and Abigail have made this season great as we took in Kansas City, Baton Rouge, and California. Over the years, we have visited Duke, North Carolina, Portland University, Texas A&M, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Tulsa, Kansas State, LSU, Houston Baptist, Stanford, University of San Francisco, Cal-Berkeley, and Sacramento State. As a team, we have taken a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan over looking Chicago, had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows to the background of the Pacific Ocean on Cannon Beach, Oregon; climbed a waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland; rode a carousel on Pier 39; and hiked through the Giant Sequoias in Tahoe National Forest and many, many more memorable events. Throw in the broken hanger, microwave fire, shattered van window, nack for getting into locked gyms and getting photographs with male basketball players, singing and playing charades with the entire K-STATE women’s basketball program, walking down the LSU football tunnel onto the field with my team, and the list goes on and on and on. The life experiences on and off the court that I have had the pleasure to share with these young ladies over the years has truly changed my life for the better and I hope and pray has been a positive influence on theirs.”
Sincerely, Coach
Rising Stars Life Experiences – Come Participate in the Journey!
To attempt to put this into perspective, I have included a clip from the last page of my 10 page trip summary report to the parents following our 2012 17U season.
“We were truly blessed this season with no major injuries over the course of 45 games and no major travel incidents. To go 17-1 during the evaluation period and 39-6 on the season is simply outstanding and you should truly be proud of you Star on the court. More importantly, you should be proud of your Star off the court as these young ladies earned it. I am so proud and privileged to have coached this team of young ladies. Thank you parents for all your support this season!
For those of you willing to endure one more crazy long paragraph, I must add a bit of background to the limo ride. I realize that I am getting a bit nostalgic here, but that’s the beauty of being the author. As most everyone knows, Diana loves candy. Diana is also my only remaining 8 baller from our original team back nearly a decade ago that has made it through her last season on my team and will be heading on to play basketball at Oklahoma State next year. To say I admire and respect her loyalty is a drastic understatement. She has been recruited by other clubs in central Texas and beyond for the past 4 or 5 years and yet has always stayed true to our team. When we drove through Old Town Sacramento Monday night, Ms. Sherelle commented on the old time candy stores they had. So, my rambling all comes together in that we headed back to Old Town Sacramento in that Limo Tuesday night in part so that I could take my Captain to a candy store in a fashion deserving of all her commitment over the years. I apologize to my first year families, but the nostalgia goes on a bit further. Amy came two years after Diana, and the three of us have been all over the state and beyond for the past 6 years, including a phenomenal season ending trip to Chicago their 8th grade year. Hanna and Brianne came on board 3 seasons ago and we added North Carolina and New Orleans. Two seasons ago, Charisma, Raquel, and Ashley joined and we took in Portland and Nashville. This year, Alex, Alyssa, and Abigail have made this season great as we took in Kansas City, Baton Rouge, and California. Over the years, we have visited Duke, North Carolina, Portland University, Texas A&M, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Tulsa, Kansas State, LSU, Houston Baptist, Stanford, University of San Francisco, Cal-Berkeley, and Sacramento State. As a team, we have taken a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan over looking Chicago, had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows to the background of the Pacific Ocean on Cannon Beach, Oregon; climbed a waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland; rode a carousel on Pier 39; and hiked through the Giant Sequoias in Tahoe National Forest and many, many more memorable events. Throw in the broken hanger, microwave fire, shattered van window, nack for getting into locked gyms and getting photographs with male basketball players, singing and playing charades with the entire K-STATE women’s basketball program, walking down the LSU football tunnel onto the field with my team, and the list goes on and on and on. The life experiences on and off the court that I have had the pleasure to share with these young ladies over the years has truly changed my life for the better and I hope and pray has been a positive influence on theirs.”
Sincerely, Coach
