Elle has never played sports. Since 6th grade is an excellent time to try new things, we encouraged her to sample a couple of them. She tried volleyball and made the B team, enjoyed it and learned a lot. Next came basketball tryouts. She made the B team and has been on fire for basketball ever since! After the first couple of games, she started dropping buckets with ease. Her coaches kept making comments about her ability to make a basket and using that to encourage the other players. Our inexperienced B team lost every game, but the improvements they made along the way were so impressive--they had awesome coaches! In the playoff game, however, they won 10-6. Elle scored 6 of the 10 and it was a wonderful way to end the season. As academic as Elle is, I suspect that her ability to make baskets has something to do with a mathematical calculation--you know, angles, momentum, force...ha ha.
At the end of the sports seasons, 4 awards are given to outstanding players. Elle received the same award for both volleyball and basketball. It's called the Total Release Award and it's given to the player that gives her all both at practice AND at games.
