Jesse Talaugon: Thanks.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Sonoma State softball senior and 2010-11 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Jesse Talaugon will keep her own blog this year at http://jessetalaugon.blogspot.com/, but we will keep this page up to date with any new blog posts she creates as well.)

No particular rhyme or reason behind my blog this time, just have some time to kill as I sit here and watch my little sister at her indoor practice facility in downtown San Jose. She was just added to the roster for the 16U Lady Sharks, and watching her is making me reminisce on all the time I've spent doing the exact same thing.

It's so funny and mind boggling to me that the amount of time that I, myself, my parents and my family have invested in my softball career over the last sixteen years. The never ending carpools to and from practices, the weekend tournaments that occurred every single weekend of every single season, and all the money that was poured into tournament fees, uniforms, gear, travel, etc. What sticks out most to me out of all of the sacrifices made on my behalf, because I simply loved to play and could not get enough, is all the time and effort. I used to roll my eyes and mutter things under my breath when my parents and siblings would hold it over my head, how each summer was devoted to me and the tournaments, but now I'm not even mad, go ahead because I am so damn thankful that we did all of that, because had we not the likelihood that I would be in my final year of softball having damn near reached the finish line of what is ultimately the highest level at which a female softball player can compete at. I am so grateful.

I can't help but laugh to myself as I write this because there's so many times where I have seen my sister drag her feet about not wanting to trek downtown in the middle of the week after school, homework and other extracurricular activities just for a couple hours of hitting. Mind you, I am sure that I was guilty of something similar when I was younger. Really though, myself, my sister, all of my teammates and those that we compete against are so lucky to have had these opportunities and the support behind us to achieve great things. There's no framed picture of me in my uniform or team hoodie that I can give to my parents and my family as a token of thanks and appreciation for all that they have done in supporting me reach the ultimate level of competition. I am hoping that I can show a bit of that thanks this season by doing some things I have yet to accomplish in my career at Sonoma, my family, friends, and supporters can all look forward to an entertaining season filled with thick competition.

Like I said, not really sure where all of this came from but I figure there is never really a bad time to say thanks...so "thanks". Happy Holidays everyone!

Taylor Vigil: Bounce.

Hello Everyone! So if you’re reading this now, I am sure that you have heard/read about the tough two losses we were faced with this weekend against Stanislaus and Chico State, either on the web or by Olivia Larkin’s blog post. There were many factors that went into the losing aspect of the game; things within our control and things we wished we had in our control. Things such as decision making within our offense to certain calls the refs made. While they were losses that happened they are lessons to learn from. In the words of Oly directly, “if we wanted it to be easy, this isn’t the way, we should have tried out for intramurals,” is in fact the truth. It is what makes the word COMPETE such a powerful one. It is a particular word that seems to be of importance in the context of this team for this year.

While we were given the short end of the stick this weekend with things out of our control we have to face the truths when we say that we may have taken few little details for granted that were actually in our control during both games. Yet rather than carrying the burden of the losses with us collectively it has to be, more importantly the lessons from those losses that we take with us to build on and learn from.

By going 0-2 this weekend there is one of two ways to look at it. One, we can buy into what the next day’s website said about the previous games and point fingers to only burry ourselves deeper into the negative aspect or two, we can use those negative losses similar to how we used Oly’s accident as a spark of motivation and desire to push through it all to create a will and make a way to get better. The harsh reality of it is that when a loss occurs it isn’t one person singled out but instead, for example, "Seawolves Can’t Stop Warriors in OT", or "Seawolves Fall Cold in Loss at Chico." With that being said, what do you do about it? Do you get angry and take it out on each other not realizing by doing that you’re only headed down hill? Or do you allow yourself to get angry and remember that feeling during the final seconds counting down at the end of the final buzzer, seeing the other teams faces light up with excitement knowing at the end you had been defeated, and use it against your next opponent? Or are those feelings forgotten in a few hours, or a day or even a week? These are factors my team and I are faced with, but there is no doubt in my mind that I believe full heartedly that my teammates will remember, BUT remember for the better!

With everyone’s thoughts and mindset that happened within the aftermath of the losses, it is the true meaning of the word ‘bounce’ that will get us where we need to be in our near future. Bounce is defined as something that leaps away suddenly; refuses to accept and sends back; spring away, spring away from an impact. A word that became popular after both our losses back to back this weekend within the locker room, yet should be a word ALWAYS remembered. A word that when we hear we think of those specific feelings of the final buzzer counting down with just seconds to go, remembering we came up short. But by remembering the powerful feelings in retrospect to this word ‘bounce,’ it is a reminder of what we have been through as a team and what we shall use to instill in our next opponents to come. By using this anger we once felt in a positive way, we can take it out on teams in the future. Also meaning that we will be the team talked about in our opponents locker room in which THEY need to bounce back from.

Considering the weekend, we have gone off track- or shall I say, astray from where we have been in the previous weeks, although it is no one’s fault it is just how the cards were dealt out. It doesn’t have to be looked upon as something negative either. The week simply presents itself with a new day, a new chance and a new opportunity to seek improvement.

Now bear with me because the way I see it is you have the waves within the sea, a paddle boat, a group of hard working talented women and a shore they are all in search of finding. Therefore, with the week continuing on as the waves in the sea that cease to never stop, similar to a ticking clock that never pauses for even a moment, there are 14 of my fellow sisters that I look to beside me all impacted in a small paddle boat. Each person trying to handle the fact that everything we got we got the hard way, like the small paddle boat and each person I look to, myself included, realizes with everyone rowing the boat, the shore becomes something of easier possibility and within our reach. A possibility to be successful yet again and do so by taking five steps forward rather than three steps back. A possibility I believe in, a possibility that can become a reality for us all.

You better believe that you can count on hearing about our successes in the near future because I know and trust in all of my sisters that we will be back out on the practice ground finding and achieving a way to become better. We have decided to make our practices a more realistic and pressure filled environment similar to how the actual games are played. And with this week’s practices you already know we will have a game plan ready to destroy and deploy our upcoming opponent’s this weekend in our CCAA/GNAC tournament we are putting on here at Sonoma State. So come support and watch us in action this 12-10-10 (Friday) and 12-11-10 (Saturday) at 7pm!! And hear me when I say, we will be ready!!

Jesse Talaugon: YES.

A new post from me is extremely overdue, I am thinking that my lack of writing may be due to the madness that has come from applying for graduation, transferring units, appealing classes, trying to relocate for my job after graduation along with team related things like dealing with the loss of two players, readjusting to the smaller team, getting everyone on the same page, creating team goals, and assessing what actions need to take place this Christmas break to ensure success when we return in January.

We have come a long way since fall and our team is definitely making strides as far as strength and conditioning is concerned. The natural and raw talent that each girl on this team possesses is incredible and every single person is holding themselves accountable and putting in the extra work. This may be taking us a little longer than most teams or more time than we had anticipated coming in this past August but I feel that our primary concern and focus as a team right now is coming together and getting everyone on the same page. In our last sports psychology meeting we really discussed in depth how each person was feeling about the team, the program, and what is to come. We did an exercise where we were able to gauge each persons comfortability with certain topics and it opened up everyone's eyes and laid out on the table what we need to work on as a team and what areas we are excelling in.

My personal goals for this team is to increase the competitiveness with one another, between each position player, from infield to outfield, pitchers and catchers, middles to corners, and even between the team and our coaching staff. The playing field is very even and we worked a lot this fall on getting better, improving our skills, and being the best but now I would just like to see who exactly feels they are the best and deserves that starting spot. I feel that this will pull out the competitive edge that I might not have seen just yet in every single one of us and it inevitably brings out the best in each individual. We have recognized that we are not playing for ourselves but for the team and the program and we're no longer going to hold back because we know it could hinder our possible success.

This last weekend we had a team bonding event at coaches house where we ate lots, laughed even more, did some activities that had us open up even more with one another, and what seemed to be the most difficult for me was when we did our secret Santa gift exchange. The person giving the gift had to state something that they were proud of themselves for doing and then explain something that they were proud of their teammate for whom they were giving the gift to. We all kind of laughed it off and poked fun at the idea most likely because if felt awkward and uncomfortable but coach quickly assured us that this was a skill set we needed to acquire and be comfortable with. There is a great deal of things that I am proud of myself for but have never put it into words and shared it with a large number of people even if they are my teammates and close friends. I explained not very eloquently and rather emotionally that I am simply proud for still being here and doing what I am doing. With both athletics and academics when there were quite a few who doubted me and simply told me no and that I was not cut out for this caliber of play or when I endured what very well could have been a season ending injury, I am proud for sticking with this and fighting through it. I have never once regretted doing any of that because it has all been so worth it for me and I am so looking forward for whats to come from this team for my final season. I came across this quote and found that it was rather fitting and pretty inspiring, so enjoy and I'll catch all of you up on life over intersession....

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the No's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." -Nike

Happy Holidays :)

Taylor Vigil: The Lightning Bolt

Hi to all out there reading and supporting our Sonoma State Seawolves. My name is Taylor Vigil and on my behalf of the Sonoma State Women’s Basketball team, I am a little nervous when it comes to writing my first blog post, knowing that anyone can judge, read and comment on this post. I have decided to share with all of you. So please be gentle.

As I sit here at this business desk in the comfortable Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott before our big game against Stanislaus, I have come to realize many things before me. Such as the strength and empowerment my team has taken on within just a few previous weeks. Yet it is not what we are now that has gotten us here, but rather where we have been that created an opportunity for success.

My coach once told me along with my team that during season everything we got, we got the hard way. While I knew nothing was going to be easy, she went onto say that there will be times that a lightning bolt will strike upon us, yet it is the counter aspect of our reaction that will either make us or break us as a whole. If you were to look up the definition of a lightning bolt, you would find that it is defined as an abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth; accompanied by a loud thunder cap or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage, the word may also have been a description of meteors, or of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies.

Now switching gears just momentarily, for those of you who have been keeping up with the blogging and know my fellow team captain Oly Larkin, then you know that tragedy had struck our team with a significant injury on her behalf. She had been struck by a speeding taxi walking through the crosswalk and taken to the hospital immediately. As a team, when we were hit with the news not knowing the details of the situation and filled with worry by not being able to see her, we became lost without her. Speaking for my teammates as well as myself I can honestly say that I became frantic. Not knowing when the number one knowledgeable person who I look up to for advice, comfort and support as an all around teammate would be back and playing on the court yet again was mind boggling. Luckily, she had no broken bones, but needed time to heal her significant bruising and become stronger to walk again. All I could think about was her; a senior who put all her hard work in along with her talents she brought to this team now would have to come for a screeching halt. How was this fair to her? How could we continue to grow as a team and move forward in a positive direction with such a fatal negative impact that affected everyone? And yet, it hit me, and I thought back to what my coach told me about a particular lightning bolt that would strike down and I realized its time had come. Only I came to find that it was a lightning bolt for opportunity. Yes- it struck us off guard and affected everybody involved with our team, but it was a bolt that ignited a spark of hope. We were able to take the negative effects of the lightning bolt that knocked us down and turned it into something we could use as a flash or a glimpse of a positive mindset. If we could be the team to get through something so destructive as this, we could be the team to overcome it all.

My definition of a lightning bolt may be different from yours, but the way I see it is as an abrupt electric discharge that causes destruction to a specific person, place or thing that creates and impact upon those who all surround it. It is with that lightning bolt that may cause destruction, failure, or negativity to what it impacts, however, it is when you realize that without failure success cannot become possible that a real winner is born within. What is success without failure, really? I believe this was the lightning bolt that may have brought destruction upon us, yet we used it to our advantage to be successful. I can honestly say I am thankful for this lightning bolt because I look back and see Oly’s injury was a blessing in disguise for this team which helped us pull away with few phenomenal wins against not just Hawaii Pacific or Academy of Art but also, Humboldt State! Everybody throughout the team came alive and looked to the opportunity to step up as a chance to rise above the negative facts we were faced with and pulled away as a stronger, more together team-which goes without a shout out to them team to tell them how proud I am of them all! Oly may not be out there with us doing what she normally does best but it is the underlying impact she has had on all of us. I realize she might feel as though she has been doing nothing at all by not being out there but it is the “little details” she does and may not see that impacts us significantly. She is our eye’s and ear’s bench side and collectively as a team we are her leg’s court side.

It is the fact that we are a team with many parts but form one body. And although those parts are many each body part is important and matters because they all come together to form one. I found each role is important. The foot cannot say to the hand because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, nor can the eye say to the ear because I am not an ear I do not need you. It is because the body was made up with each part equal so there shall be no division. Without this family carrying this message there is no room for improvement. Our opportunity to get better lies within and is there for the taking to build on. Sitting here excited to see what the weekend brings with our games against Stanislaus and Chico are filled with high hopes. So for those of you reading this, keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck. With time we will see Oly in our, what we hope, near future back out there on the court again, but in the meantime I now have to leave you to get ready for my game. I hope this has impacted you as much as it has for me and helped you see things clearly in the aspect of what a team should stand for and maybe even a message to take with you into your future when life gives you the short end of the stick. Because one day everything you have you may have the hard way!

Oly Larkin: Stani and Chico Weekend

Hello To All,

I wanted to first start off with thanking everyone for being very supportive of me and just keeping me smile. I honestly couldn't get through this without my family, the team, coaches, and our parents. As you know, we traveled up to Stanislaus and Chico this weekend. Practice last week was planned out where the first two days we focused on Chico's stuff and then Wednesday and Thursday was Stani. After practice Thursday, we watched some film and had a hour or so down time to go home take a shower and get some food. Personally, I know your dying to hear this, I got a burrito from El Rancho =).

Thursday also marked the day that Dr. Aflac came to our training room to evaluate some of the student-athletes that needed further assessment on their injuries. I have never needed to meet Dr. Aflac so I was pretty anxious to hear what he had to say about my right knee. Along with me, Aly Henington had to see him as well for her foot. She seems to have a sharp pain on the bottom of her right heel that was to believed to be plantar fasciitis (sounds more like a fungus if you ask me!). Dr. Aflac turned out to be quite the comedian. He suggested for Aly to just amputate her foot and to never play basketball again! We both kinda laughed awkwardly, not familiar with his keen sense of humor. He gave her a few options to try when taping her foot, so hopefully one of them will work so the pain is minimized cause you need your foots, I mean feet, to run! As for I, it was all good news. It turned out nothing from the previous MRI or other doctors were that much different. I have a bone contusion in my anterior medial femoral condyle, which just is a fancy word for a deep bone bruise on the outside of my lower right knee. Dr. Aflac had jokingly said he could still see the "Buick" bumper mark on the side of my knee, that made me laugh. According to him, I can run, jump, and start cutting. So I started running this weekend while we were away and it felt pretty good. I can not wait til I practice. I don't think I have wanted to be able to practice in my whole life!

Now to the games. We played Stani first at their place. I felt that everyone was pretty excited for this game. We were ready to compete and to see if our hard work in practice paid off. The whole game was close. We exchanged leads seven times in the first half, and only was down by one at the half. In the locker room, we just re-iterated that we needed to make sure we were boxing and holding for the rebounds and valuing the ball. At the end of game with like 13 seconds to go, we had two great opportunities to win the game. We had good looks but the ball didn't fall for us so we went into overtime. Welcome to the CCAA. This was our first overtime and definitely not our last. In OT, we just didn't have the momentum to separate from Stani. We ended up losing by five points, but it wasn't the losing part that was the worst part. It was the kind of game where you are like man, if we did a few things a little different maybe we would have had a different outcome maybe we would of won or still lost. It just left a bad taste in our mouth. We couldn't dwell on this lost for much longer, because we had Chico the following night. Chico is a team that has a history of being a solid team so it was important that we took what we didn't do in the Stani game and got better/learned for the Chico game. It's always harder to play the Saturday games, take from a senior. Your mind is saying YES I can do it, but your body sometimes doesn't get that memo. We started kind of flat and stagnant only hitting only five field goals in the first. I think the Chico game was a game of mental lapses. We just couldn't take control of what we wanted to do. I know its hard to hear, and believe me its hard to write about losses but someone has to do it. Our coaches deal with all the time, and that's how we get better. We have all been there, that moment when you lose a game or didn't meet your expectations. It's like you have a bad feeling in your stomach, maybe you want to cry, maybe you are pissed, or maybe you just shut down. All these responses are quite typical and actually normal. There seems to be two paths to look at these loses. How do we effectively get over these defeats? The fact that we went 0-2 this weekend means nothing if we can't take it and grow. I know I don't want to feel like that again. Sitting on the bench, watching, listening, has helped me understand this. We all want to be successful, but success isn't necessarily measured in wins. If we did everything that we said we were going to do, and did it successfully the Chico game most likely would have been close or we might have went on a run on Stani in OT but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have won. "Success is the completion of anything intended." In other words, success is finishing what you planned to do. Notice how success isn't defined in wins or how much money you make. I think this is important. If we finish what we plan to do, we wouldn't get the short end of the stick we would get the whole BRANCH perhaps!

Next weekend we have our CCAA/GNAC tournament that we are hosting here at SSU. I am excited to play some of the top teams in the nation. It will be a good experience for us. I am going to continue doing rehab and all I can to get the team prepared. I hope to see you there!

Oly the SENIOR