All season I have had this feeling where it seems like it was us versus the world, and spending a weekend in West Lafayette only reinforced that feeling.
If I had to pick what I loved most about our team, the answer would be our hearts. We love deeply, we stand up (or kneel) for what we believe in, and we fight fiercely when one of us gets hurt or is mistreated.
Now what happens between the lines stays between the lines, but I will say this weekend taught our team one thing. It is all about US. When voices from the stands tried to get into our heads; there was always a teammate or coach right next to you saying, "all about US." Those three words we kept repeating reminded each other the only thing that was mattered was US.
Let me speak to 'US' for a second and why I am proud of what that looks like on our team. Our culture starts at the top with our coaching staff who inspires every person to be their individual self. They teach us how to respect one another for who we are as unique individuals and empower us to stand boldly in our beliefs, body image, and way of life. 'US' is a powerful combination of different colors of skin, different political views, different sizes of bodies, and different choices in how to demonstrate what we believe in.
There is only one area that we are taught how to be alike in and that is how we treat people and play the game. Our team is full of some of the biggest competitors I have ever known but they maintain such class and respectfulness while playing. Playing for Coach Kate we are held to a high standard in the classroom, on the field, but the biggest requirement is being good to the game. 'US' is 22 women who are all good to each other, the opponent, and the game.
While I did not talk specifically about the four-game series like I normally do. I found the more important message to come from this weekend's recap was in who we were as a team and how proud I am in what that looks like. At the end of the day opponents and games come and go, but what remains is who we are. Moving forward into our last regular-season matchup versus Nebraska, the focus stays on one thing: US.
If I had to pick what I loved most about our team, the answer would be our hearts. We love deeply, we stand up (or kneel) for what we believe in, and we fight fiercely when one of us gets hurt or is mistreated.
Now what happens between the lines stays between the lines, but I will say this weekend taught our team one thing. It is all about US. When voices from the stands tried to get into our heads; there was always a teammate or coach right next to you saying, "all about US." Those three words we kept repeating reminded each other the only thing that was mattered was US.
Let me speak to 'US' for a second and why I am proud of what that looks like on our team. Our culture starts at the top with our coaching staff who inspires every person to be their individual self. They teach us how to respect one another for who we are as unique individuals and empower us to stand boldly in our beliefs, body image, and way of life. 'US' is a powerful combination of different colors of skin, different political views, different sizes of bodies, and different choices in how to demonstrate what we believe in.
There is only one area that we are taught how to be alike in and that is how we treat people and play the game. Our team is full of some of the biggest competitors I have ever known but they maintain such class and respectfulness while playing. Playing for Coach Kate we are held to a high standard in the classroom, on the field, but the biggest requirement is being good to the game. 'US' is 22 women who are all good to each other, the opponent, and the game.
While I did not talk specifically about the four-game series like I normally do. I found the more important message to come from this weekend's recap was in who we were as a team and how proud I am in what that looks like. At the end of the day opponents and games come and go, but what remains is who we are. Moving forward into our last regular-season matchup versus Nebraska, the focus stays on one thing: US.