Baseline!

Walking into Parowan High School's gym, you will see what seems to be about a million different lines in all sorts of widths and colors. There are a couple lines that I became very well acquainted with during my time playing under the reign of Coach Lance Stubbs -- a firm believer in the fact that physical conditioning breeds mental toughness, as well as physical stamina.  At the end of each practice, the whole team would see a small glimmer in his eye and the whistle slowly raise to his lips as the time for sprints was upon us.  With a voice that needed no added effort to resonate through the nearly-empty gym, he piped the word, "baseline".  A few suppressed sighs later, the entire team was line up on the baseline, ready to hear what Coach Stubbs had in mind.  He would either say "sprint" or "ladder".  With one of the team managers on the clock to make sure every teammate was finished in the allotted time, away we went on the blow of the whistle.  Repetition after repetition, day after day, worn-out shoes to worn-out shoes I learned one of life's greatest lessons: Endure.  

It was at the end of the season that we found the reward for all of that running.  When we came out onto the court in the fourth quarter and saw the sweat-drenched hair and jerseys of our opponents from trying to break a press the entire game, we knew that our work had paid off.  Our shots fell, and so did the other team.  Endure now. Reap the rewards.