Dear Hoopsters,
First of all, thanks for letting me creep on all your practices and games, take your time for interviews, and nag you for extra help and information over these past few months. It's been an incredibly long project and maybe a little weird for you ladies but you all helped me out a bunch!
When I first started this project, I wasn't exactly familiar with every single one of you and I wasn't sure what to think. I really didn't know if you would even want me to do the project at all. Needless to say, I had assumptions and made misjudgments based on what others have said and things I've heard.
In my interviews that I had with some of you, a common question I asked was, "How do you think other people perceive the Hoopsters?" The only answer I got was that people often think of you ladies as stuck up, rude, self centered, etc. As I continued my project, this answer started to bug me more and more.
Throughout the course of three months, I have been "all up in your business" as some would say. When you knew it and sometimes when you didn't, I was observing you, taking notes, and seeing how you interact among yourselves and others (creepy I know ;)). But what I found wasn't a group of snobby and rude girls. I found a group of girls that laughed, told me stories, and welcomed me on the first day I observed. I found a group of ladies that were helpful, encouraged each other, and had lots of good fun. And I found a group of athletes that knew their game, knew their jobs, and worked as a team to put on some great performances.
Above all, you ladies proved to me that you love basketball and you're all pretty darn good at it! You're more than deserving of respect for that no matter what happens outside of basketball. Girls are girls and stuff happens. You know as well as I do that with high school comes silly drama and pointless problems but you girls really knew when to deal with it and when it didn't matter. I never saw you bring an outside problem onto the court or have an issue from practice leave the court. Of course it happens, but if it ever did, you kept it cool and down low because I sure never noticed. This is something that's hard for other teams but you did a fantastic job of controlling it.
Every single one of you surprised and impressed me from the very first practice I attended. I just could not believe how many drills you had, how much vocabulary you had to know, and how much effort you had to give. On top of that, you moved so quickly between drills and knew what do even when you weren't told. You made me definitely have a whole new level of respect for basketball players and an incredible amount of respect for you all in particular.
One of my favorite quotes is "no matter what you do, there will be critics." So even though people misjudge you at times, never stop believing in yourselves. You are incredible athletes with all of high school left ahead of you. Show everyone that you're more than a silly stereotype. You are hard working, fun-having, lots-of-laughing ladies.
I could go on and on but I'm sure you don't want to sit here and read for forever. But I will leave you with the wonderful words of a very wise and cute character. "Promise me you'll always remember you're braver than you believe, you are stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - Winnie the Pooh :)
Keep it up! :) Thanks for a wonderful project!
--- Reh :)
