March 27, 2006
Throughout the season an Illinois women's basketball player will post her thoughts on fightingillini.com in a weekly blog. This week freshman Danielle Gratton talks about Spring Break and takes a look ahead to the offseason and next year.
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Women's BasketBlog - March 27, 2006 - Danielle Gratton
Spring Break!!! No classes for a week. Something that any college kid would look forward to right? Well, I guess that means I am not an average college kid because I was hoping for a short spring break. I wanted us to go as far as we could in the WNIT and that meant a shorter break. After all, you don't go to a tournament to participate, you go there to compete (or dominate). As you know, we unfortunately came up short and as a result our season came to a close.
We are now faced with saying goodbye to our seniors. No longer will we see J's swagger after she just hit a three, no longer will we hear Brit's voice echo throughout the gym, and no longer will we see Mags dishing out assist after assist. One thing is for sure; there will never again be a team like this one. After all, there never is. Each team has a little something different, something that makes them unique. Something that when you look back, there is nothing to do except smile and shake your head. The 05-06 season ends, but not without remembering the adversity we overcame, the pressures we experienced, and the lessons that we've learned. However, just as in life, the ending of one thing marks the beginning of another.
You know what that means. It's time for the beginning of the 06-07 basketball season. Oh right it's only March. Well this is when our work for next season begins. As the saying goes, "champions are made in the off season." Our Nikes will remain in our lockers for a very short time before they are laced up for postseason workouts.
I guess I should talk about what I have been up to lately with Spring Break and all. As I mentioned no classes for a week will bring a smile to anyone's face. On top of that, I got to go home and enjoy some home cooked food. With all that aside, I got to enjoy March Madness. There I was, watching team after team giving all they had. I was getting chills from the amazing finishes and I caught myself dreaming of the day that I'd be playing in a NCAA tournament game. It was then I realized I am past the stage of dreaming this scenario. There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming the dream in order to make it come true. The way I see it, next year we can make it happen.
I mean playing in the NCAA tournament was a dream of mine since I was younger. You wouldn't believe how many game winners I have hit to advance in the NCAA tournament. Of course all of them have been made on my driveway, with shouting neighbors who didn't welcome a bouncing ball as a goodnight lullaby. Even with a hostile crowd I guess I still had a home court advantage. Nonetheless, it's something I always thought would happen, going to the "big dance". One thing I have promised myself throughout the years is to play every game as if I was still the little girl on the driveway. So if you see me go crazy when Lori Bjork hit's a three or when Wigs makes her baby hook, it's because basketball is not just a game to me, it's a way of life. I count on savoring every assist I can dish, every minute I can play along side a teammate, and every team I am a part of. I play with my heart and that is one stat that no one can measure. Every game I will play with emotion because each game is in some way a part of me.
I know I know I am rambling. So what do you have to look forward to next year? Besides good games, phenomenal plays, and maybe the second sumo challenge; you'll see, in each one of us, a little girl that loves to play the game. Except the little girl is now a woman, the driveway is now an arena, and the neighbors are now screaming fans. One thing that won't change is the girl's heart that lay within.
So I hope you`re ready for next season and the dreams that will follow. Until then...
Go Illini!!
Danielle Gratton #35
