Texas Foul Shots is a drill brought to the Harvard women???s basketball team by our beloved Coach Anne. What you do is this: the team is split in half, so we have about six or seven to a team. Each team goes to a main basket. The first shooter stands at the free throw line, and the rest of the team lines up so that the line goes from the elbow to the sideline. The shooter shoots (obviously), and makes or misses (obviously); if it???s a make, the next person steps up to shoot; if it???s a miss, the whole team jogs to the baseline, and then does a 2-sprint (Coach Delaney-Smith speak for one down and back); then it???s the next person in line up at bat. And here???s the catch: the whole team has to make a free throw, all in a row. So five people can make their free throws, and the sixth person could miss, and you have to start all over again. It???s a test of endurance???mentally and physically. You could potentially run forever (or at least until the men start practice). But amidst it all, you have to remain positive, you have to be a good teammate; you can???t get frustrated with your misses or your teammates??? misses. You just have to keep going.

Texas Foul Shots are kind of like a basketball season. You???ve got a line up of games. Each night, like each foul shot, could go either way. When you make it, it???s awesome. And when you miss, it tortures you until you get another chance. But either way, you???ve got to keep shooting, you???ve got to keep playing and be confident. You have to be a teammate, in good times and in bad, for better or for worse.

The first semester of last season was Texas Fouls Shots on a bad day. We were 2-12 in non-conference play. We just kept missing, kept running, getting more and more tired with each trip to the line. A couple of feel good makes here and there, but only enough to get a quick breath of air.

And yet we stuck together.

We didn???t give up.

We kept running until we got in the groove, and turned the season around. We went 13-1 in the league and kept our confidence.

So far, this season has been Texas Foul Shots on an ???OK??? day. We have already improved on last year???s non-conference schedule???we are currently 3-2 following last weekend???s Dead River Company Classic title with wins over Maine and Hofstra.

Indeed, we???ve already had some great sparks of brilliance, and we???re feeling kind of good. But we can still do so much better. We are still growing, still meshing, still trying to reach our potential. And what???s wonderful is, we have everything we need to turn our season into Texas Foul Shots on a great day! We have the personnel, the skill, and the love for the game and for our team. Now we???ve just got to put the ball in the basket.

Line up, ladies!