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MARA
narrative
july 7th, 2023
Mara's heart raced as she took her first steps into Cassell Coliseum. The maroon and orange was a strong contrast from the normal black and yellow that decked the halls at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Mara made four wrong turns before she found the home locker room. In the distance, she heard basketballs bouncing. As she looked around the locker rooms, she noticed every locker had a phone and a change of clothes in it. She was late. Quickly, she rushed to change her shoes before following the sound of the basketballs to make her way to the practice court.
"You're late." Head Coach Kenny Brooks announced, watching as his newest transfer scrambled to look presentable.
"Would you believe it if I told you I got lost?"
Coach Brooks looked her up and down before cracking a wide smile. "Yes. The Coliseum can be a bit of a maze the first couple of days." He pressed his whistle to his lips and within seconds, the entire team was surrounding him at half court. "To those of you returning, welcome back. To those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. I'm going to leave the pleasantries for you to figure out, but I do want to express a point before we start practice. This team is special. I'm telling you this now. Last year we went to the Final Four for the first time in program history. And this year we've only gotten stronger. We have all the pieces. Now we just have to put them together. All I'm asking you is for hard work day in and day out. We have some key people possibly leaving us at the end of the season." He glanced over, looking at Georgia, Cayla, and Elizabeth. "Let's send them out the right way. Hands in. Work hard on three. One, two, three."
"Work hard."
"Baseline."
XXX
One practice in, and Mara was already convinced she'd made the right choice. As an introductory practice, she felt right at home. Coach Brooks was a generational coach in her opinion. He'd crafted brilliant drills and plays and offensive sets tailored specifically for the team. The girls hadn't hesitated to welcome her into their group. Georgia introduced her to Cayla and Elizabeth, or Liz as she now called her, and during breaks the four were cracking jokes and getting along, which translated on the court. Mara quickly found her footing and got into some great pick and roll options with Liz while she, Cayla, and Georgia were throwing crazy passes that led to many easily made shots.
