HighSchoolElite.com's Player Journals- Parker 2

Frank's notes:
Twice named Illinois' Ms. Basketball, Naperville Central rising senior Candace Parker has had a busier start to her summer than most people have throughout an entire year. Parker, a 6'4" do-everything player, was named both USA Today and Gatorade's top female player of the year nationally this past year. In helping her Redhawks to a Class AA State title, it was her school's first tournament appearance ever. She has helped guide her team to an 87-11 record in her three years with the Redhawks.

These last couple weeks have flown by! I have enjoyed my summer vacation, but I have been extremely busy. School let out on June 10, so now I am finally a senior! Man, that is so hard to imagine. I remember my first day of high school, and now I am one year away from graduating: scary how time flies.

Naperville Central's Candace Parker is the first women's high school player to dunk more than once during games.

I did not get much of a break. On the June 11 I left for Colorado Springs to attend the Youth Developmental Festival at the Olympic Training Center. When I first saw it I was amazed at how big and beautiful it was. When we bused from the airport to the training center, we went from mountains and being in the middle of nowhere, to this big athletic complex. The head of U.S.A basketball, Carol Callan, explained to us that the complex was built to help improve U.S.A sports in the Olympics. Thousands of athletes stay at this facility, some are permanent and others are temporary. All athletes stay in a dorm and eat in the cafeteria. You can eat as much and as often as you wish, and it is at no cost to you. Staying there was sort of like a mini college experience.

The first day consisted mostly of check-in, meetings and practice. The Developmental Festival teams were broken down based on region: north, south, east and west. I, along with four other Illinois members, girls from Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio, represented the North squad. Dorothy Gaters, from Marshall in Chicago, was our coach.

Our first practice was a little rough. After stretching and jogging, we began to do some drills. We were broken down into posts on one court and guards and wings on the others. After the first couple trips up and down the court, I was dying. I had heard so much about the altitude and how thin the air was, but it was only then that I truly understood what that meant. I got sick, dizzy and was dehydrated. After the first session of practice, I went back to my room and slept for hours.

Some of our seminars that we attended were very interesting and fun. Ann Meyers, a Women’s basketball icon, delivered a very moving speech about the evolution of the game. She was on the first Women’s Olympic team in 1974. She could not participate in the following Olympics because she signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers. At the time, all U.S.A participants in the Olympic games had to be amateur, so when she signed with an N.B.A team, she signed away Olympic eligibility. Although, she never participated in a game with the Pacers and was cut from the team after training camp, she inspired women to keep working hard to establish a Women’s Basketball League.

In another seminar that we attended, a nutritionist came in and spoke with us about our daily diet. We learned about how the food we eat affects our body. One fact that I will take with me forever is that your brain works on 95 percent carbohydrates. The nutritionist provided us with a lot of detailed information that can help improve our overall performance.

The last seminar that we attended was the most fun. A woman came in and gave us media training. This seminar was really involved as she picked on numerous athletes and asked them tough questions. Afterwards, she explained how to answer those questions and how to handle reporters. We had so many laughs at the variety of answers given by teammates.

We practiced a few more times on Thursday the 12th, and then geared from Friday to Sunday to play the festival games. We ended up winning only one game and losing four. I did not have one of my best tournaments to say the least, but I did have a great experience. Just being out there, I realized that that is where I want to be. Seeing how hard the athletes train for the ultimate goal of the Olympics, motivated me when I returned home. I met a lot of new people and experienced a number of new things. I hate to lose, but in doing so, I learned. During our down time, we talked, laughed, had water fights and just hung out. The best thing that happened to me while I was out there was establishing new relationships with girls like myself.

I returned home on Sunday night tired and longing to sleep in my own bed. I only stayed home for three days because on Thursday my parents and I left for Tennessee. I was going to attend the school’s elite camp and hang out with the coaches and team. It was an eight-hour drive, but we made it finally on Friday. This whole weekend was so much fun! I enjoyed the experience of getting to know the campers, but ultimately enjoyed just hanging out with the team and getting to know the coaches. The facilities are second to none. The locker room includes a big screen TV, individual showers, a meeting area, a kitchen, a pool table and a lounge. The Lady Vols treatment is unbelievable. On Saturday night, I was up until like 4 a.m. just talking and laughing with the girls. It is amazing the rumors going around, and it was great to finally get all those cleared up. The whole camp ran smooth. I learned a lot of things that I will definitely take back home and work on.

The highlight of my trip was probably the pick-up games at night and the all-star game on Sunday. The campers played the Lady Vols on Sunday and lost by nine. It was a great experience and it allowed me to see the different tempo of college basketball. After the camp concluded, I spoke with the girls and coaches and then my parents and I headed off for home.

I am looking forward to settling down these next couple days. I am exhausted! Until next time, I will holla at you!

PLJ
CP#32