DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: SKYE OWEN 2022 (STATEN ISLAND) ENTRY #5

Coach Welsh, Kaia, Jordan, Brie, Skye

Hey Basketball World,     

This is Skye “The Limit” 5th entry of a Diary of a Female Baller”

Enjoy the Journey!!

Monday 12/18/17

This was a busy week. It began on Monday. Monday some of the kids in my class got in trouble for misusing the technology in the school. Since they got in trouble and it kind of made the day solemn at first. So then the principal spoke to all of the older grades to make sure that we knew that the other kids got in trouble and not to do it ourselves. About an hour, later we went on a class trip to the Historic Richmond Town. It was interesting to see just how people lived in simpler times. We learned alot about how Americans lived in different centuries. It really gave you a great sense of American history. During the trip, we made flappers with the woman who was there. She cooked it on this pate hanging on top of the fire she had made. Whatever extra things they had that people nowadays would throw out they threw it into the fire. The girls and boys in the class threw wood into the fire to kindle it.  We got back to school just in time for dismissal. After school, I went to the gym to workout. It was a good workout, I went through alot of drills and worked hard. There were a few boys in the gym, so I set up a full court game of 5 on 5. My team won all the games. It gave me a chance to go up against the boys, which is always fun.

Tuesday 12/19/17

Tuesday was somewhat of an interesting day. Every 2 kids in my class got partnered up with one Kindergartner and we helped them make Christmas reefs out of green and red tissue paper, plates, glue, and crayons. We then had art class where we drew Christmas related things. Our kids final product was very nice. If you ask me it was the best. Once school was over, I finished up all of my homework. After I finished my homework, I went and worked out with my trainer. It was a very good workout. We got a lot of shots up, worked on options off the pick n Roll, and some of conditioning drills.

Wednesday 12/20/17

My school had an ugly sweater day. So I wore my sweater with a llama. Everyone had different ugly sweaters. In the morning, my class prepared for the Christmas pageant. We sound pretty good. We practiced in the church. In the later part of the day, the upper grades watched, "The Grinch who stole Christmas”. When I was younger, I used to hate that movie but after seeing it again it is really not that bad. When school was over I went to the gym. It was even better than yesterday because my brother was home from college and he went with me. My brother plays basketball in college. He has been very successful. When he comes home he always helps me out with my game.Once we got to the gym, I was able to get a lot of shots up. After I worked out, he drove me to practice. At practice my team played against the 8th grade boys team. There were 3 teams of 5. The guys in the stands were excited to watch me play . During the game, I put one of my moves on one of the boys and i dropped him to the floor and than I stripped the ball from another one of the boys that I was guarding.They got all excited. The gym went wild. It was alot of fun. We also played shooting games against the boys team. Once practice was over, we sat around and ate pizza. We laughed and joked around. We also talked about our plans for the Christmas break.

Thursday 12/21/17

We had the Christmas pageant. During school we had to do a performance in the church for the kids in my school. It was good but it wasn't as good as we practiced. There was a bit of a change in where to stood. We sang 12 songs all having to do with the story of Jesus. I thought we were pretty good at singing especially since none of us were singers or wanted to become singers in the near future. When school was over, I had to go to the gym for practice. At practice, we went over plays and a got a few shots up. We had a short practice today. Once practice was over, I went to the recreaction center to play in a few games. I played in a few games against some of the high school boys. I know exactly what time I can usually catch them in the gym. After the games, I went home ate, showered and finished up some homework. After that I had to go back to the church to do  another showing of the Christmas pageant for parents. I was chosen by my teacher to be the narrator during the pageant. It was a great experience to be on stage in front of my classmates and their parents. My class did a great job. It was another good showing. In all both Christmas pageant showings went well and everyone did a good job on their roles. After the Christmas Pageant, I went out to eat with my family.  We had a great time over dinner looking at many of the pictures my dad took during the pageant.

Friday 12/22/17

The last day of the school week, Friday my school had a sing along in the gym. This is the first year my school has ever done anything like that. Each grade in the school had to sing a song on the stage in the gym. Since my class is the oldest class in the school, we sang 3 songs instead of one. When the sing along was over we went back to the classroom to watch “ Elf “ and eat snacks. The energy in the school was very good. I think it’s because everyone is looking forward to the Christmas break. Many of my friends were looking forward to staying home and spending time with their family. When school was over, I went to the recreation center to play in a few games. After the Rec, Center, I had a game with my school team. We won. It was a pretty good day.

Saturday 12/23/17

I got up early and went to a funeral. It made me remember that you need to cherish the days that you live on this earth and make each day an interesting one because you do not know what your future will hold. When I left the funeral, I went to a workout with coach Walter Welsh (IEXCEL) my AAU coach. We took a lot of shots and did some ball handling stuff. It was a great workout as usual. He also sat us down to discuss some things. He wants to get us ready for the up coming AAU season.  Once practice was over, I had to hurry home to help my mom cook dinner and clean up for the Christmas Eve party that we were having at our place. It was going to be a long evening.

Sunday 12/ 24 / 17 _- Christmas Eve

Christmas eve, Sunday I went went to workout with my coach Walter again. It was yet another good workout. We got a lot of things done. We got alot of shots up again. I thought it was really nice that he got us in the gym the last 2 days and we were able to get a workout in on Christmas Eve. We will definitely be prepared for this AAU season. I realized that since I had been working out so much and had been busy, I forgot to get a couple of gifts so I went to the mall and got the gifts I needed. The  mall closed early but luckily I had gotten everything. I also had to finish helping my mom clean up around the house. I was looking forward to the Christmas Eve party that we were having. We had a lot  of family and friends that came over. We had a lot of food. It was also nice because I got to spend time with my younger cousin from Florida and my older cousins. As soon as it hit 12:10 am,  my brother and I exchanged gifts and we both got each other nice stuff. It was an interesting Christmas eve. We had a lot of fun at the party.

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: SKYE OWEN 2022 (STATEN ISLAND, NY) ENTRY#4

SKYE OWEN & BROTHER

Skye Owen

Monday 12/11/17

I went to school. It was a good day because we have been preparing for the Christmas pageant and the Christmas sing along. It’s hard to believe it’s Christmas already, it’s like these last months have gone by in the blink of an eye. Today, we exceeded our goal for our gift collection. Throughout November and December my class has been collecting gifts for kindergartners at a elementary school in Staten Island. We collected 150 brand new gifts. Some of us also volunteered to gift wrap the gifts. We gift wrapped all 150 gifts. On Thursday the kids are supposed to be coming to our school to open their gifts. After school I went to the gym to workout. It was a great workout. I also had a chance to play against some of the boys. Many of the boys are in high school and had just gotten out of practice. We were going hard. My team won all the games.

Tuesday 12/12/17

I had a full day of school. It was an okay day. After school I went to workout with my trainer. The workout was challenging which was good. I went threw new and different drills. When the workout was over I headed home. Throughout the workout I was feeling a little sluggish but I dusted it off and kept going. When I went home I was so tired. as soon as I got through the door I went to the table and just rested my head for about 10 minutes. When my mom got home my mom and dad felt my neck and my forehead and both said I had a fever. So when we took my temperature with the thermometer it had turned out that I had a 102 degree fever.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY 12/13/17 & 12/14

Wednesday and Thursday were not great days both days I spent the entire day in the house. On Wednesday my fever was still 102 degrees. By the end of Thursday my fever had went down back to my usual temperature. It was awful being sick my head felt bad. On Thursday my brother came back from college which was great. It was nice to see him and be able to spend time with him again.

Friday 12/15/17

I was feeling better. I had a half day of school so I decided to go. The day went by fast because it was short. When school was over I went to the gym. After the gym I went home to relax because it had been a long day especially since I was just getting over being sick. I spent the rest of the day relaxing. Some of my friends went ice skating but I couldn't go because I did not want to do to much since I had just been sick the day before.

Saturday  12/16/17

I thought everything was going to be a nice and cool day. When I got up my left eye was closed shut. My mom took me to the doctor and  the doctor said I had conjunctivitis or other known as pink eye. I had just gotten over being sick and now I was sick again. The doctor gave me a prescription for eye drops to help heal it. It was frustrating because I wanted to hit the gym to go and play some games and get some shots up but instead I had to take it easy again. I went to get my hair done and my brother came with me because he wanted to get the tips/end of his hair died like a light brownish color. When it was done his hair looked nice. The we went home. I had a game and I really wanted to go but my parents wouldn't let me because within the first 24 to 48 hours pink eye is contagious. So instead my mom took me to this thing called the hip - hop nutcracker. It was a good show but it was kind of odd to see a story told without words. It was based on modern and hip hop dance but they moved very smoothly. My mom and I had a great time.

Sunday 12/17/17

Sunday, I got up early to go workout with my trainer. It was a good workout that worked on both my shooting and off the dribble moves. I worked out with the high school boys again. It was good to go workout with the boys.  It a good way to challenge myself and stay sharp. We got alot of shots up and worked on finishing around the basket. After the workout, I went to get something to eat then went home. I still was not feeling very good. My family and I left the house surprisingly early to go to the movies. We were going to see Star Wars. Star Wars:The Last Jedi was a great movie. It was action pact and was interesting. It was longer then I expected it to be but it was still  very good.

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: SKYE OWEN 2022 (STATEN ISLAND, NJ) ENTRY #3

SKYE OWEN

Hello basketball world, welcome to Skye "The Limit" 3rd entry to a Diary Of A Female Baller. Enjoy the journey.

Monday
It was a pretty good day. When I arrived at school, my teacher told us that one of our old classmates would be returning to the school. Everyone was stoked. He was our classmate for a few years and left this year. It was great to hear that he is coming back to the school and will be able to graduate with us. The teachers gave us a lot of work to do in the classroom. At lunch, I hung out with my friends. We joked around a lot while we ate. After school, I went to the gym. At the gym, I worked on some of my weaknesses and got in a few games against some of the older boys.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, school was interesting. We didn’t do much because lately we have been preparing for the Christmas pageant. I'm looking forward to the Christmas pageant.We are going to put on a Nativity scene. We have also been practicing the Chris Brown X-Mas song “This Christmas". I hope we sing it at the Christmas Pageant. I also had violin class which I take every Tuesday at my school. It’s a lot of fun. I played a song and my teacher critiqued me. I have been playing the Violin for 3 years now. I have also studied the piano. My teachers were in a good mood today, so they did not give us any homework. When school was over, I went to Barnes and Nobles to get a few good books. After that I went to the gym to workout.

Wednesday

When I went to school I took 2 tests. I think I did good on both of  them. We did not have gym class because my school had a spelling bee. I would have much rathered gym though but it was okay. The spelling bee took about 2 hours in order to get a winner. After school, I stayed in school to finish up all of my homework. Once I finished my home-work, I went to workout with my trainer. I worked on my shot and he had me do a lot of running. It was a good workout as usual. After the workout, I went to go watch a few of my fellow IEXCEL AAU  members play for their high school team. It is also a high school that is interested in me attending, so it was good for me to support my IEXCEL members but also to get a look at the team and the coach.

Thursday

Thursday was a pretty good day. I went to school and a kid who was in my class last year came back. It was exciting because everyone in my class was stoked to have him back. For the first 45 minutes of school work, I have never seen the kids in my class so focused and quiet. It was because for the first 45 minutes the principal was our substitute teacher. It was funny to see all the kids in my class completely change. For the rest of the day we had a different substitute. Once school was over, I went to the gym and played in a few games. The games were good and a lot of fun.

Friday

It was a pretty busy day. I visited a potential school that I may be attending. The principal had me shadow 3 different girls from different classes. One hour I was in Physics with one girl and then next hour I was in a Latin class with another girl. One of the girls had a free period and we played ping pong for the hour. That was a lot of fun. It was a very good experience. I pretty much knew all the girls that I shadowed for the day. I played basketball with 2 of them throughout the years. I stayed at the high school the entire day. It was interesting and nice to meet new people. Once the day was over, I went to workout with my trainer. It was a good workout. I went through a lot of drills and also worked on my shot. After I worked out, I went to a party that one of my friends was having. It was a lot of fun. I knew almost everyone at the party which was good. We joked around. I had a great time.

Saturday

On Saturday I mostly stayed in because of the snow. I did not think that it was going to snow as much as it did. I went to the gym about mid- day. Then when I got home I found out my game had been cancelled because of the snow. It was disappointing because I was really looking forward to playing. Since it was somewhat of a chilly day my mom and I went to the movies to see Daddy’s Home 2. It was a funny movie. At the same time, it was kinda weird though. The movie is about how a dad tries to get along with the step dad to his kids. At the end of the movie there is a twist. After the movie we went to get something to eat then we went to Barnes and nobles to get one of the books I needed for the book club I joined. The book club is at my school. I am reading the book called, “ the five people you meet in heaven “ by Mitch Albom. So far the book is interesting. I have to read more of it to find out what it is really about. So far the book has somewhat of a “ Scrooge “ theme with the main character meeting his past place where he lived.

Sunday

I got an early start to my day on Sunday unlike Saturday. I got up early and went to meet with my other trainer. It was a good workout because the trainer helped me improve my shot. After I worked on my shot I worked out with the high school boys. It was more challenging than working out with the girls and it was better. After I worked out my mom, me and my dad went to get something to eat. When the lunch was over I went to the mall. When I left the mall I headed to Barnes and Nobles then home.

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: SKYE OWEN 2022 (IEXCEL) ENTRY #2

SKYE & DAD

Hey Basketball World

Here is my second entry of a Diary of a Female Baller,  I hope you enjoy the journey and remember Skye “The Limit”.

Monday 11/27/17

After a long vacation break, I had to go to school today. The break was nice because it gave a me chance to relax and enjoy my family. I had a half day today because we received our report cards. I was very happy with my grades. I always do very good in school. My favorite subject is math. My mom and dad are always telling me how important it is to do well in school and get good grades. I stayed after school and was able to get my homework done. Once I finished my homework, I went to the gym and got some shots up.  

Tuesday 11/28/17

On Tuesday, I shadowed a student at a high school. It was a very interesting day. In the morning,they performed a spin on a few of shakespeare’s stories. It was interesting and put the difficult Shakespeare language into simpler terms. I look forward to reading the books because I will have a very good understand of the language and what everything means. I also got to hear a poet named “ Kayo “ recite a great poem called “ How do you Know ? “ The poem really made me think about how people try to dull you down when they do not know the answers or when you begin to think to far out the box. The poem also spoke about how the greatest people thought out of the box and were called crazy. I had a pretty good day at the school. After the day ended, I went to workout with my trainer. It was a good workout, it gave me an opportunity to work on my shot. We got alot of shots up, worked on finishing around the rim and discussed some Point guard situation stuff. Once I got home, It was time to get something to eat and go to bed.

Wednesday 11/29/17

Today as I said in entry #1, Thursday is my favorite day of the week. Even though I had a test in the morning, it was still a good day. I did very good on the test as usual. I stayed after school and was able to finish my homework. I went home and got something to eat. Then I had to go back to school for practice. We have a game tomorrow, so practice was 2 hours long and we practiced with the boys. A kid on the 8th grade boys team can dunk. The team is good for us to practice against because they challenge us. The guys try really hard to beat us. They do not take it easy at all because the loser has to run two 16’s. Also everyone always wants to believe their team is better than the next.

Thursday 11/30/17

Thursday I went to school as usual. It was somewhat of a slow day. At recess, some of my friends and I decided to wrap the Christmas gifts, the kids in my class collected gifts for those who cannot afford it. So far we have collected 75 gifts but our goal is 115 gifts. I am really surprised by how many gifts we got but it's a good surprise. After School, I had an orthodontist appointment. While I was at my doctor’s appointment, I was able to get my homework done. I went back to the school for my game. It was a good game and the gym was packed. A few of my classmates from the 8th grade boys team came to the game to show us support and cheer us on. We won the game. I stayed in the gym after the game shooting and just joking around with my friends. I was super sore from all the running, so I took an ice bath. It is very cold for the first 5 minutes but once the 5 minutes are over your body  just goes numb. It was a good thing I did this because I would have been very sore the next day.

Friday 12/1

On the last day of a business week, Friday I wasn't feeling well in the morning so I stayed home. I went to see the orthopedic physician. Then I went to meet with my trainer in the afternoon. It was a good workout. After that my dad and I went to the movies to see “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”  The movie was about a lawyer who was great and had special memorizing abilities. He had to adapt to the times around him. Even though he was an older lawyer who wasn't used to modern technology or modern tactics of addressing situations. Later that evening, I went to the recreation center in Staten Island where I played with the boys. Each week we choose teams when we arrive. My team made it to the championship game and we won. Although the teams may vary, my team has won the last five times.

Saturday 12/2

Saturday I woke up later than usual and I still wasn't feeling well but I had a game and I wanted to play, so I drank alot of liquids. My throat was a little sore but I still did the count for my team. Before the game, I went to the gym to warm up. It was tough to get up and play in the game but I did and a lot of people came up to me and said by the way you played, I could not even tell you how sick I was going to the party this kid in my class was having but since I wasn't feeling well I just got some soup. After the game, my family and I went to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant. We laughed a lot and enjoyed the food. My classmates and I were planning to go to Great Adventures, we didn't because three of them got sick.

Sunday

On Sunday, I got up at about 6 am to go workout with one of my trainers. It was a good workout because I got a chance to work on my shot and my handle. After the workout, I went to meet with the coach of one of the schools, I am considering attending. It was a very cool meeting. I have known him for a few years now. I thought it was nice of him to take time out on a Sunday to meet with me. He is a very good coach. When I got home, I just relaxed for the rest of the day.

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: SKYE OWEN 2022 (IEXCEL) ENTRY #1

SKYE OWEN

Hello  basketball world,

My name is Skye “The Limit” Owen. I am in the class of 2022 and play my AAU ball for IEXCEL. Thank you to Gthing for giving me the opportunity to take you all on my day to day journey. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as i do.

Monday   11/20/17

The first day of the week, Monday started and ended as just another normal day. When I first arrived at school I remembered that I had a religion test so I studied during the morning assembly. I was in class when she taught the stuff that was going to be on the test, so it wasn't to hard to memorize the answers cause I kind of already knew them. Other than that in school ,I just went through my normal classes in the morning. For the latter part of the day, my classmates and I took photos that would go in the yearbook. We were asked to make a 1 and 8 with the students in the class. It took a while for us to figure this out. The photographer and gym teacher were shouting from the roof ,directing the teacher to tell us where to go in the schoolyard . It was chaotic and kind of funny ,we thought we were all done and then they had us do the 18 all over again on the front lawn ,which took a while again. Then we went back to the schoolyard and took photos with our friends. I chose where and how we should pose for the photo and it came out nice. After school was better than during school because I went to the gym. I was able to get a lot of drills done and work on some of my weaknesses. On slow moving days like Monday and Thursday going to the gym is obviously the highlight of my day.

Tuesday  11/21/17

On Tuesday, I went to visit a high school that is interested in me attending.The coach is very nice and has been watching me play for a few years now. The principal and the president of the school were also very nice. The president gave me a tour of the school. Once the tour was over, we were taken to the principal’s office who gave us more information about the school. That visit ended about mid- day. So I got something to eat and headed to meet with my trainer. My trainer worked me out very hard. It was a great workout. I went through a lot of drills that are practical for game situations. Once I left my trainer, I went to watch a varsity practice at a high school that is interested in me coming to their school. I really enjoyed watching the practice and the girls were going very hard. The drills were good. It was killing me that I was only able to watch because I really wanted to play and join the practice. The coach was very cool and seemed pretty knowledgeable. After the practice, I went home and prepared for school the next day. I was looking forward to it because we were going on a class trip.

Wednesday   11/22/17

Wednesday, my favorite day of the week . It was a fun filled day that led from one activity to the next. My class went on a trip to the tenement museum in Manhattan. The tenement museum is a museum filled with artifacts from the Sweatshop era ( late - early 1800’s ). It was interesting because we went inside of the building where the immigrants lived. They had staples in the walls to keep the building from collapsing. My class was split up into 3 groups of 12. We got to chose our groups so my friends were in my group . After a while, some of the kids in my group started to get headaches because the room was small and the their bodies may not have been used to the fumes. When we got back to school from the trip, it was about 12:00 pm, so we went to lunch and after lunch we had gym. When the day was over, I talked to my friends outside then went to the gym to workout. When I was at the gym my mom called and told me that my aunt from Florida was with her and that she was going to be staying until Monday. This was great to hear because i hadn't seen my aunt in about a year. When I got home my mom and aunt were there laughing in the kitchen about a joke. Then I found out from my dad that not only was my aunt going to be there till Monday but my brother was also coming to visit from his college till Monday. It would be great to spend time with both him and my  aunt. Since I didn't have school the next day, I stayed up until my brother got home it was only about 11 o'clock pm. My Brother and I talked for a little and then watched TV and did some strength and conditioning work like I do everyday.

Thursday  11/23/17

Thursday, Thanksgiving day was both an early and busy day. I got up at 5am and went to the gym to workout because I knew I wasn't going to have time during the day to because I was going to help my mom cook. When I got home I went to lay back down and then an hour or 2 later my mom woke me up saying that she needed some help cooking. So I helped. I cooked the candied yams and my mother cooked her family famous macaroni and cheese. It was great she had cooked 3 pans of it because we were expecting many people to be at my other aunts house for Thanksgiving. Each of the cooks in my family are assigned a couple of things to cook. My grandmother cooked the turkey and ham, that was delicious. My other aunt brought the pies and her great pineapple upside down cake . There was more food but way to much to name each one.  It was a long day.

Friday  11/24/17

On Friday or “ Black Friday” my mom, my brother and I went shopping . We ended up splitting from my brother. So I went to the stores with my mom while my brother shopped by himself. The mall was crowded. You could tell everyone was intent on buying something they wanted. There was a certain flow of the walk that almost everyone in the mall understood and followed. They were all walking on the right side of the mall. Most of the time I don't usually like shopping but this time I did. When we first got to the mall we went to meet my cousin who was visiting from her college in Pittsburgh. My grandmother and mother helped my aunt pick out an outfit. I usually do not like black Friday shopping but this year it was great.  

Saturday  11/25/17

Saturday morning I woke up pretty early and then woke my brother up so he would take me to the gym. Even  though my brother did not work out with me it was a lot of fun having him in the gym. We joked around and also did drills. I was able to get a lot of shots up because he was there and could rebound for me. We first went to my grandmother's house to see how she was doing and to see my aunt who is leaving on Monday. After that my dad called my brother and my mom and dad met my brother and I at my grandmother's house and then we headed to the movies. We went to  see “ Thor ragnarok “ it was a good movie with lots of fighting and action and a couple of funny jokes. I personally thought justice league was better but that is just my personal opinion.

Sunday   11/26/17

My Sunday began with an early workout with one of my trainers. It was a great workout. I got to play against a few high school girls, work on my shot and finishing around the rim. When I got home my brother and I watched 2 episodes of “Stranger Things” on Netflix. It is a pretty good show, then I headed to the gym again to warm up for my game. The game was good. This week we had no team practice because of Thanksgiving but we still did great. After the game I headed to my grandmother's house again because my cousin, aunt , and brother visit was coming to an end. They are going to be leaving tomorrow.  We all talk about different things  and crack jokes. It was nice to be able to spend time with all of them because I do not see them much.

CHECK OUT SKYE OWEN ON A DIARY OF FEMALE BALLER THIS WEEK ON 11/27/17

IMAGE PROFILE: GABBY ROSS

Name: Gabby Ross

AAU Team: New Jersey Sparks

Class: 2023

Position: Guard

State: New Jersey

Strengths: Control

Profile: Skilled point guard with great size, not the flashy type though. Coachable... Size... Strong... Finishes at the basket... Plays under control...

IMAGE PROFILE: KAYLA HOPSON

Name: Kayla Hopson

AAU Team: New Jersey Sparks

Class: 2023

Position: Combo-Guard

State: NJ

Strengths: Athletic

Profile: Lead guard with great athleticism to help complement her game. Quick off dribble... Slasher... Leaper... Fast... 

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: ANIYAH BOSTON 2023 (CENTRAL JERSEY CARDINALS)

ANIYAH & MOM

Hey guys,

Here is my last and final week of “Diary of Female baller”.  Thank you all for taking the time to read my diary entries for the past 8 weeks.

Monday 11/13

Today was a good day. In my History class, we started looking at a video about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark expedition in History which was actually cool to learn about. In math class the units and liter project I was working on had to be decorated which meant I had to add some color and pictures to it. In gym I had to play California Kickball. After school my grandpa picked me up and took me home, where I did my homework and studied until my mom picked me up. Today I went to a workout with Coach Kerry from G.R.I.T basketball, which was pretty intense. He pushed me to perform above the level I was comfortable at. After the workout I headed home, showered, ate dinner and started to prepare myself for tomorrow.

Tuesday 11/14

Today in History, we finished the rest of the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark expedition video and had to answered questions about the video. In my Language Arts we finally finished the book “The Giver”.  In gym, they gave us a choice of what we wanted to do and of course I chose basketball. For the rest of my classes today we had reviews, because we will be taking our last test of the marking period. After school my grandpa picked me up and we went to Mcdonalds then home. I headed to the basketball warehouse which was a good workout as always. After the warehouse I headed home and prepare for the next day.

Wednesday 11/15

Today in school was full of reviews in my core classes of the work we did over this marking period. Tomorrow is test day for some of my classes. My aunt picked me up today and took me home where I just studied some math problems. At 5pm I headed up to Rutgers Prep for the last day of Fall Training. Im gonna miss seeing my Cardinal teammates, and cant wait until Spring season. After training I headed home and started to get ready for bed. My mom told me she checked my grades online, and as of now that  I had 5 A’s and 4 B’s. She stated that she wants me to finish this marking period strong and to set a goal for myself to get more A’s for the next marking period.

Thursday 11/16

Today I had tests in my math, language Arts, and History class, and I think I did well in all of them. In gym we didn't do anything because of the marking period ending. So I just talked to my gym teacher about basketball and our school upcoming season which starts in Jan. Today my mom ended up picking me up from school, and since our team exodus practice was cancelled we went to open gym instead. I stayed there for 2 hours just shooting from all different spots and my mom was rebounding for me. After we left we headed home

Friday 11/17

Today I had a test in my science class and ended up leaving right after my test. My mom wanted to leave a little early for VA so she picked me up at 12, and we stopped to get food before we got on the highway. I then started doing some of the homework I was able to get from the class I knew I was missing today. We reached VA at 7pm, and before going to the hotel we stopped at Panda Express. Once we got to our hotel, I was able to see a few of my teammates before heading to my room. My mom wanted me to get rest so I started getting ready for tmrw. 

Saturday 11/18

Today was the first day for the Rose 7league, and we ended up going 1-1.  After being in the gym all day, a few of the players along with our parents went to Applebee’s. We ate, laughed, and singed. After we left the restaurant we headed back to the hotel where the team got together to celebrate our teammate Nat’s birthday. After having cake, I went up to my room to get ready for tomorrow because we have an early game.

Sunday  11/19

Today is the final day of session 1 in the Rose 7eague, and we won our game this morning which now puts us for 2-1 for the weekend. Right after game, my mom wanted to head straight back to NJ. I got home around 5pm and at 6pm, we was invited to go to a Rutger University VS West Forest game. I know my mom was tired but she took me to the game anyway. This was my very time seeing Rutgers play, and I must say they have a good team. RU ended up winning too. After the game I saw some of my Cardinal Fam and stopped to chat with Kristen Somogyi and them. I then headed home and started to get ready for school because its back to school tomorrow.

Before I end this, I would like to take this time to thank Lonnie from “Gthing” for giving me this opportunity to share to the world on how I spent my days in and out for the past 8 weeks. Thank you for supporting n providing coverage to all of us female basketball players especially to Middle School ball players as we continue to grow and prepare for that High School platform. I also would like to thank my mom for taking her time to type up my writing in email to send over to Gthing.

Happy Holidays and good luck to everybody in their upcoming basketball school season.

Me and my biggest supporter and my #1 fan (My mom)

IMAGE PROFILE: ANTONIA BATES

Name: Antonia Bates

AAU Team: East Coast Prep

Class: 2022

Position: Combo-Guard

State: New Jersey

Strengths: Length

Profile: Big guard who is still developing, as is raw as they come. Bates has the intangibles to be good. Long and skilled... High IQ... Quick... Attacks... Coachable... Attacks... Lanky  

IMAGE PROFILE: MADISON McDANIEL

Name: Madison McDaniel 

AAU Team: Team Takeover

Class: 2024

Position: Guard

State: Maryland

Strengths: Calmness

Profile: Plays well in Takeover offense, you would've thought she was seasoned already. Confident and Poise... Court awareness... Not afraid of contact... Can handle the rock... Calm...

DIARY OF A FEMALE BALLER: ANIYAH BOSTON 2023 (CENTRAL JERSEY CARDINALS) ENTRY #7

ANIYAH BOSTON

Hello everyone, hope you guys enjoy my week 7 entry of “Diary of a Female Baller”.

Monday 11/06

Today I didn’t have school, and my mom didn't go to work either. We spent our afternoon shopping for a coat and then went food shopping. I also had to shop for some supplies for my project that is due next week. At 630 I left to attend a High School workout at the Woodbridge Club with Coach Andre from Point 2 Prove Training. I was the only girl to attend out of 20 boys and I found it funny that none of the boys wanted to pair with me using my girl ball so I had to train using their balls. Coach Dre had us working hard in the gym, we worked on ball handling, lay ups, and jump shots from 3 spots. At 8:30 I headed home where I showered and ate dinner. I also decided to bake some cookies and just watched a movie with my mom until I fell asleep.

Tuesday 11/07

Today I didn’t do much. I spent the day with my aunt. We watched 2 movies on Netflix until my mom called telling me to start working on my math project that is due next week. My mom ended getting home late so I didn't get to make it to the basketball warehouse. So she just cooked then had me watched a playlist on Youtube that her friend put together for me which was full of basketball fundamental videos.

Wednesday 11/08

This afternoon I continued to work on my math project and just chilled out until it was time to head out. At 530 I headed to Rutgers Prep for fall training with Kristen Somogyi. Fall training is almost coming to an end, and I’m going to miss seeing my Cardinal family every week and cant wait until the Spring season start back up. After training I stayed for a quick 2 on 2 scrimmage with Toni, Mack, and Olivia. After that my mom came to pick me up and we headed home and she helped me finish up and complete my math project.

Thursday 11/09

Today other than being in the house during the day. My mom was working late so her friend took me to my conditioning class that I go to every so often. I thought I would be sore after but I actually felt energized and wanted to go play some basketball, but instead we went to go eat. My mom met us at Fridays and I had a lobster tail with my meal that was soo good. I then went home and chilled for the rest of the night.

Friday 11/10

This morning my aunt took me for my sports physical for school basketball so I can be able to try out on the 27th. I also submitted my final piece to my application for the NJ seeds Scholar program, so now I wait until January to see if I am accepted. After work my mom took me to open gym because I wanted to work on my foul shots and shooting. After hour or so we then headed to the mall where I bought me some nike pro leggings and nike socks. From the mall I went home so I can get some rest because of game day tomorrow.

Saturday 11/11

Today was championship day in the NY Cup Tournament. We first played Top Notch Ballers and since we won that game we then had to VS Harlem USA/ MilBank in the Manhattan division championship game. This was a good game, and we ended up winning by 1 point and now we advance to the next game. Our next game we VS the Bronx Division winner which was Hoopers 8th grade. Although we fell short by 10 points, I must say we played really good against an 8th grade girls. Today we received trophies for coming in 2nd place and medals. As I headed back to NJ my mom friend said something very important to me. He said nobody likes to lose, but for me to take this lost as a learning experience. For me to learn as a player what I need to improve as a individual and what is needed to improve as a team. By the time I reached home I was so tired, so decided to get ready for bed early especially since I have practice in the morning.

Sunday 11/12

Today I had to be at practice at 9am in the Bronx. Once practice ended and we had fruits, juice, and snacks waiting for us. I then left practice with my mom. On our way home we stopped at her one of her cousins house but they wasn't home. After I got home I showered and fell asleep until my mom woke me up for dinner. For the rest of night I will just relax because its back to school tomorrow.

See you all next week for last and final entry.