A Second Meeting

Our beginnings as a team, at the start of 2010.

It was a humid Monday night when Cari and I set off to our club, El Talar. We walked down Ayacucho to Las Heras and patiently waited for the 110 to roll around. When it drove up, it was empty and we go on. By the time the bus had swept through Recoleta, it was fairly full and we shimmied our way to the back. We both grasped onto the ceiling bars like monkeys.

“I think it might be an Argentine thing,” Cari commented, “But we seem to put more focus on the problem, rather than trying to find a solution.”

We had been talking about, among other things, our team and wondering if tonight’s meeting would bring any sort of resolution. There was a persistent confusion about our common objectives as a team and we were struggling to define them. I personally was rehearsing a prepared speech and trying to calm my nerves.

We arrived slightly late, at 9:40pm, but we were not the last to arrive. The club was quiet and we kissed the formed circle of women good-evening. I hugged some of my teammates as if I hadn’t seen them in months. I realized how accustomed I had gotten to seeing them two to three times a week, at practise and games. Several minutes went by of good old fashioned club gossip with some talk of the end of year party before the final members arrived and we got started.

Lily began, “Okay, well I wanted us to get together so we could finalize some things that were left up in the air from the last meeting.”

There was a moment of silence and I realized that this was my moment to express what I had come prepared to say. I grasped my hands and straightened my posture.

“I have something to announce to the team.”

Everyone turned to me and someone quickly remarked, “You’re pregnant!”

I rolled my eyes at the traditional joke and there was laughter.

“No, I’m not pregnant.” I cleared my throat.

“I wanted to announce to the group that I’ve decided that I’m looking for another team.”

Now, I had everyone’s full attention.

“This team has been an amazing experience for me. I learned so many things this year and I’m so grateful for everything. But I feel that I’m ready for a bigger challenge; something more competitive and physically
intense.”

I saw a couple of my teammates nod their heads, as if they knew all along.

Beside me, Cynthia asked, “Where will go?”

I was happy at her question and I started naming teams that I’d been looking into.

“America del Sud…”

La Rusa nodded and suggested another club. Everyone broke up in individual conversations about where I could look.

Shortly after that, I left the meeting early. It was partly because of another appointment and partly because I realized that this was part of the process of a new chapter. I walked in the dark summer air and felt various emotions: fear, perhaps from the uncertainty of the future and excitement, because this was something new. I felt determined to find a team to challenge me in all the right ways and to learn all I could about basketball in this lifetime.

A Tournament and a Meeting

3-on-3 Baller Tournament

El Pomar

Big Man.

Do you remember a couple weeks ago I mentioned a 3-on-3 tournament that I had chickened out of? Well, I did actually end up playing and I’m so glad I did because it was an amazing experience. The environment was completely different from what I was used to and I learned many things. Some of the basics of basketball were brought to my attention.

One example was faking (or in Spanish ‘amagando’). After receiving a pretty bad block, one of my teammates reminded me: “Cinthia, all you need to do is fake. Especially when you are close to the basket.”

Another one that came up, which I’m very familiar with, was fouling.

“If you see a guy is coming at you with speed and is going up for the layup, rip his arms off.” was Oso’s little motivational speech in between plays.

The day was humid and there was hardly any air circulation in the gym El Pomar. We were all sweating like pigs and dumping water on our heads in order to keep cool. Because of the humidity, the floor was very slippery. Also, it probably hadn’t been cleaned in awhile. Apart from that, the court was beautiful (my standards have definitely dropped since moving to Argentina): parquet floor, firmly clamped rings, and metal nets that made a clinking sound when a ball passed through them.

I had a really great time and although we won 1 of 3 games, I left feeling satisfied.

On the following Tuesday, pulling out from a long weekend, the day brought the possibility of having a team meeting with my female ballers. By midday, I had received 4 texts from separate team members and one missed call. I called back to confirm that, yes, I’d be at El Talar later tonight to chat.

And at 9:30 o’clock this team meeting did go down. Twelve of us brought together chairs and sat around a long table in our club’s bar. I was tired and hungry after a long day of work, and noticed my grumpiness when the young waiter apologetically informed me there were no empanadas de queso y cebolla. I told him I wouldn’t be having anything and decided to just focus on the different voices coming from my team.

“What are our goals for next year?”

“Are we going to look for a new trainer?”

“Are we going to sign up for ABA?”

“What do we REALLY want?”

Two hours later, I stepped out of El Talar with Cari. The team meeting had been an open floor of individual feelings, but still nothing concrete had been decided. But for some reason or other, I wasn’t frustrated. However, I was pretty exhausted from the day and before leaving Cari at her bus stop I said: “I think it is time for me to look for another team. I want something different.”

She smiled widely at me and nodded. We waved good-bye.

The whole bus ride home I couldn’t stop thinking about what I wanted from basketball in this moment of my life.

Defense.

The Finals

Oso.

Dedication

Partido contra AAsub23

Shortly after I started playing on an all-women’s team at El Talar, I began to visualize teams as families: a group of people who come together because of aligned passions, not to mention the ability and tendency to get under each others skins. They are moments when families fight, and other moments where they celebrate, but the most important is that they are there to support each other. I’ve been thinking about this last point…however taking breaks from family every once in awhile is also very necessary.

Last week, I decided not to go to Tuesday night’s practise. This is probably the second time I haven’t gone to practise in a year. I was trying to be sensitive to my particular down-mood and there seemed to be many ‘shoulds’ revolving around my head. After about 30 minutes of indecision, I tried to just let it go, figuring that it was probably better not to go to practise with a heavy negativity. I decided to take a step back and get in touch with my motivation. And even though that night I ended up budding up with a quarter kilo of dulce de leche/vanilla/dark chocolate with almonds ice-cream, many question surfaced, revolving around my dedication to my team.

What does it mean to me to be on an all-women’s team? I have come a long way in terms of basketball and my progress is clear ever since I’ve joined the team: absorbing more of the fundamentals of basketball; being more confident and relaxed on the court; and identifying personalities that might be positive or negative. Especially coming from playing with all men and pick up ball, it is quite a contrast being on a team where you see the same faces constantly. You begin to rely on those faces to be there during practise, those voices to yell or praise you, those hands to pat your back and butt.

Being on a team is a sacrifice, but having that connection with people really does make you feel special at times, even if you don’t feel it with everyone on the team. I’ve felt a connection with certain women on my team that inspire me and I try to focus on that. However, I do believe that the ‘difficult’ relationships are just as useful and are probably more helpful with growth at a personal level.

The day after I skipped practise (Wednesday), I sent Carla a text message, confirming that night’s practise. Her reply was: “22:00. Stop spending time with your boy and come to practise! Hehe”. It made me smile and that family energy came through to me. It inspired me to go to practise and exercise putting my heart out on the court again and again. I guess we all like (and maybe need) that feeling of being part of a community, where you feel loved and needed.

Gracias por las fotos Americano Helado (con Classic).

Box In, Box Out, and Nudge

Go Carla!

These were the words of advice I received from my friend, Ned, on Saturday morning. I was chatting on the computer from my bed and I was expressing my new objectives as a post guard, down low on the key.

“I’m really focusing on getting the rebound and maintaining a really good grip on it. My team complains about how I lose the ball easily. I’m thinking of sleeping with a basketball in my arms actually.”

Communication

At the end of our game against the CAC on Sunday, I felt really shitty. My body felt like it had gone through a war and my mind was frustrated: both with my team and myself.

As I was turning to leave after changing my shoes and putting on my pants, Cari came up beside me. I didn’t see her since most of the people had already left and she surprised me with her bright red shirt. She said to me:

“Cinthia, you should know that you played well today. You got a lot of rebounds and you went for the ball. I noticed that there were moments when you lost your concentration and that seemed to be the same moment that you got passed the ball. You made mistakes, but you also did a lot of good things.”

I hugged her and felt some tears in my eyes.

Gossip

“You’re a gossip!”

These are the words that Jesus, my ball friend said to me some time last summer, while at Devoto court. I stared at him for a couple moments, taken back by his sudden charge. We had been talking about the comings and goings of other ballers and I might have gotten a bit too enthusiastic (for his taste) at the passing of information.

I agree that females tend to get more excited over juicy gossip, in comparison to males. If I were to use my team as an example, this would hold true. But it is one thing to gossip on the outdoor courts, but within a team, these types of conversations can be like poison. In a recent practise, this issue was raised by Karina A. (our captain) in front of the team.

“I’m tired of people saying negative criticism behind others’ backs. If you have a problem with what someone does or says…say it to their face!”

I immediately gained a new found respect for Karina, and also for the legitimacy of our whole team, as a serious entity. Her addressing this issue alleviated some internal squalls that, if left sitting for long periods of time, would become stale and the stink would be pretty horrible. I believe that this was necessary and relevant for both present and future disputes within the team. It is inevitable that some gossip will occur, but limiting it is important for a healthy team.

Women aren’t the only ones who gossip; men do it too.

On the Bs.As. Courts, I’ve seen guys trash talk other ballers from afar, and when they step on the court together, they compliment them. I’m not sure if it is the competitive environment, jealousy, or another hidden factor, but what it is clear to me that this type of ‘back stabbing’ communication is just a part of human nature.

Karina’s words really resonated in me: “We need to learn how to give criticism and how to receive criticism.”

Luck

During our last game against Obras S.A., I was hearing a lot of this:

“Que pelota de mieeerda!”

“That ball is shit!”

“Que hija de puta que no quiere entrar!”

“That bitch of a ball doesn’t want to go in!!”

“La concha de su hermana..que mala suerte!!!”

“******* – what BAD LUCK!!”

And by the end of a terrible game, when we’d lost 43-30 even Cate’s comments on the game hinted at this bad luck:

“We have a reality here; Some of us have been playing for a short time and we have many things to work on. The truth is… the ring wasn’t in our favor tonight.”

I don’t believe that luck plays a major role in sports. I believe in practice…endless practice. Blood, sweat, and tears sort of stuff. Shooting again and again and again until you can do it with your eyes closed (or your arms fall off).*

That being said, I am probably not the best example. Although I train three times a week and play on my own time as well, I know that my life situation right now doesn’t allow a basketball drenched life. Maybe in another moment, or maybe it will never come.

Cate’s final words, at the end of a game, always makes me ponder.

“This is what always happens: we are winning and we get confident. We the start to completely lose focus. We need to work on being consistent with our concentration.”

I agreed with her on that point. I believe the best our team can do is practise not just physical drills, but concentration drills. Every day that goes by playing basketball, I am more and more convinced that the mental aspect way surpasses the physical in importance. Not just basketball, but any sport.

*I don’t know if it is true, but I’ve heard it said that Kobe Bryant, one of my favourite ball players, takes 1000 shots a day, to practise.

Experimenting with Toughness

In the middle of shooting drills at Tuesday’s practice, Karina Aguilera turned to me, with the intention to tell me something:

“During the last game I noticed-”

She was cut off, quickly running to take her turn at a 3-pointer in the line. Ten minutes later we were able to continue the conversation:

“In the last game, I noticed something: the opposing team was easily able to steal the ball from you…small swats and off rebounds.”

Ganamos!

Partido Obras.

Post it!

Tiro libre Julie.

Y ese chiquito? Hehe..

Our sixth game of the season to Obras Sanitarias was our first win and by the end of it, I was drained. It was more from the concentration than the physical exertion. At the very beginning of the game, Cate had reminded us about the importance of our separate energies coming together and functioning as a team:

“Working together as a team means supporting each other through the mistakes and losses.”

An Email

This is a translated email: written by Marcela and sent to the team after our recent game.

Re:Re: Absent with Notice
To: El Talar team
From: Marcela
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 7:55AM

Hey girls,

I’ve already talked to some of you, commenting on the last game: I think you played great! I’m not sure that many of you are aware of the rival you faced. Carla was telling me that you weren’t doing any of the things that you practiced during the week and I told her that these girls weren’t letting you do anything.

I saw you run like never before, and play each ball to the max, but it was impossible against so many factors: their physical training, age, and basketball knowledge. Last year, we never played a team at this level. Please don’t get down; we must keep training, and unite our strength and courage.
Good luck and keep working on it!

Marcela