Happy Fire Friday 🔥

This week's newsletter brought to you by TOTAL EXCITEMENT!! 

This past Tuesday (and into Wednesday morning) I put the final touches on my on-court and online curriculums and launched my very own training website. 🤩

These are the products of years of study, generous feedback of incredible mentors, and thousands of hours of repetitions, getting it wrong, making adjustments, and diving back in. 

Truly, because the game evolves (and I want to evolve with it) they'll never be officially "finished". But this is the furthest I've ever been in my journey to becoming a master teacher of shooting, and I couldn't be more thankful for all of the support I've received along the way.

I'm excited to bring you all along for this journey, and I'll keep you updated as things continue to grow. :)

This week, try to remind yourself what matters most.

Recently, I got to play pickup for the first time in a while, and it made me remember something I want you to remember too...

Basketball is SO FUN, yall. 

When I walked into the local gym this week, I (as usual) was the only girl playing. As I laced up, I watched everyone around me get picked up before me. I even had to obnoxiously walk around and call "NEXT" out loud to even ensure I'd get on at all.

Now, I'm cool with all this because I've been there before. As an undersized, under-athletic PG, I had to prove my worth on every court I stepped onto. I personally love to be in that underdog position. I know everyone doesn't feel this way... but for me, there's no better motivator than being doubted. 

So naturally, since all the skilled players tend to team up and act like they're the Avengers, I end up being matched up with a couple of guys who--because of their size and stature (e.g. 5'6 with a dad bod)--got sneered at by the rest of the guys in the gym.

Now, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little disappointed at first. But all any of us can do is control the controllables, so I just reframed the situation. 🙃

So I thought to myself: Especially during times like pickup when there's nothing on the line but getting better... I LOVE to play with players at a lower skill level than mine.

1) I know that I'll have more freedom to reach further into my bag than I normally would. 💰 This helps me develop and experiment with my game in a safe space where I know my teammates won't get mad. 

2) This is a prime opportunity to empower someone that often doesn't get empowered, in a space that is clearly uncomfortable for them. These are tangible moments where you have the chance to help someone grow. Or even to just light up someone's day.

The ability to make someone feel valued is a superpower.

Lead with love. 

So here's the truth about my temporary teammates: everyone in the gym, including themselves, knew they weren't skilled. Before the game, one of the guys told me he'd only played for a year or two in middle school. 👶  

So we get into the first game, and each time they missed, it was crystal clear (through their immediate apologies to me) that they had been conditioned to feel bad about it! 

So I made it my mission to get both of them a bunch of buckets. After every miss, I HYPED up their decision to still shoot, despite feeling like they shouldn't.

"I love that!! Shooters shoot!! You got the next one!!"

And let me tell you about the power of empowerment.

By the second game, my lil leprechaun friends were shooting with SO MUCH CONFIDENCE!

After just a few words of trust and encouragement, their (objectively) broke shots were finding the bottom of the net and we were literally running the court for like 45 minutes. 

Maybe it was just a little bit of luck. 

But luck favors those who keep shooting their shot. 

What a good freaking day. :)

I shared that story to make this point:

The only thing that matters in this world is how we use our moments to impact the people around us. 

Like... take a moment to imagine a world with just you in it. What would you even do with your time? What kind of life would that be?

It doesn't take much.

Do something small. 

Make a stranger smile. :)

You never know who needs a little bit of love.

And it's as easy as to give 
as the buckets you hand out daily.

Never forget what really matters.

Lift someone up this week just because you can.

Have a great weekend. :)

I'll see you next Friday. 🔥

Shooters Shoot.

BriAnna