Every day is a blessing to wake up to a beautiful day with the sun shining through your bedroom window radiating positive energy to start the day!
Today, birds were singing just before dawn in Los Angeles, California. I woke up earlier than normal to the chant of chirps, a gleam of sunlight from the blue gray sky and a Cannamazing breeze through the bedroom windows... Time to start the daily routine.
Doing the normal, visit the bathroom, wash-up, brush, go grab some water, get ready for morning workout, tuned into the World and read my daily feed from the WNBA only to read the female Women's Basketball Coach Pat Head Summitt had made her transition to Heaven after a battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
Wow, immediately thoughts filled my head about this Cannamazing woman that touched my life indirectly through her LOVE for the game that I and so many other people around the world LOVE, BASKETBALL!
Growing up a tomboy in the South, I loved playing sports with my cousins and the neighborhood kids. I had enough cousins to form teams to challenge anyone in the neighborhood in touch football and basketball games on a regular basis. I have to be honest, our family sport teams dominated the East Nashville neighborhoods!
Playing those neighborhood challenge games made me love sports. I fell over the top in love with basketball! My life became basketball in my world, but not so much from some people very special to me because they were afraid of the labels given to females who played sports back in the ancient years when I grew up. Some parents were apprehensive about allowing their daughters to play basketball because it wasn't considered "lady-like". Of course other stereotypical labels were mentioned, but that didn't stop me from loving the game. I wanted to learn and know as much as I could about basketball. I watched basketball constantly whenever it was on television, but only Men's Basketball. They didn't show Women's Basketball on television regularly unless it was the Olympics, but I read about the phenomenal players such as Ann Meyers, Lynette Woodard, Nancy Lieberman in the sports pages ( the only section of the paper I read). As I grew older, I heard about this great Coach who was turning the UT-Knoxville Vols Women's Basketball Program into contenders for the National Championship!
Well, Coach Head Summitt clearly was the greatest Commissioner EVER for USA Women's Basketball! She raised the bar higher than any other before her and has influenced other coaches to reach for greatness at levels to inspire female athletes to SOAR!
Thank you, Coach for giving a young girl the courage to runaway from home to Try-Out for your USA Olympic Basketball Team only to arrive at Thompson-Boling Arena minutes after the Try-Outs had ended! The young basketball player stood teary eyed and watched Coach Pat Head Summitt walk off the court into the tunnel. (Then I had to call one of my big sisters to make sure I had clearance to go back home without a punishment waiting for me!)
The young girl has continued to LOVE, study and follow the game of basketball because she was able to see a Coach master the game, evolve the game for females and to join Coach John Wooden as a Basketball Wizard!
Heartfelt condolences to Tyler and the Summitt Family, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Volunteers Alumni, Fans, Friends & Basketball Lovers of the world!
A Legend forever, RIP Coach Pat Head Summitt!
Basketball Wizard Out
