University of Minnesota Athletics
Inspiration From Home: Sophomore Leslie Knight
12/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The scene is pretty much the same for every Minnesota road game. A few hours prior to the game, the Gophers load the team bus to travel from the hotel to the arena. Some players have their game faces already on. Headphones are aplenty. You can often hear senior Shannon Schonrock blurt out a line from a Rascal Flatts tune or whatever her iPod is serving up at the moment. There is little discussion. It’s a time of silence and solace, but most of all, a time of intrinsic preparation.
Near the back of the bus, Knight reaches into her backpack and pulled out an envelope. The card instructs her not to open it until this day, but Knight has chosen the time. The time is now, a pregame ritual if you will. She knows it’s a card from Mom and the messages within it have become sources of strength.
“Mom sends me a card for all away games and I read it on the team bus on the way to the game,” said Knight. “It’s all quiet on the bus. I sit there and read the note. Whether it’s words of encouragement or just telling me how much I mean to her, it’s nice to know my parents are thinking about me even if they can’t be at the game.”
The card may be religious or inspirational, but the handwritten inscription often reminds Knight to just have fun and play like she knows how to play.
“We had been traveling to all Leslie’s games since she was in second grade,” said Leslie’s mother Wendy. “Now we don’t get to all the away games. The cards and notes let her know we’re thinking about her and wishing the team good luck. It’s a mom thing.”
Leslie doesn’t share these messages with anyone, though she suspects teammate Liz Podominick knows about them since she sits behind her on the team bus. Once read, the card is added to all the others in keepsake manner. The cards and messages are more than inspirational, they have brought a close mother and daughter even closer.
“It has strengthened my relationship with my Mom,” said Leslie. “I know my parents love me, but we really don’t do little things like this much. It was unexpected and a nice gesture. It’s the little things that mean so much.”
Leslie joked that her mother says all the athletic talent of the family comes from her but Wendy is not living her own athletic dream through her daughter. Wendy grew up in a wheat farming community in Washington and graduated from Washington State but never played basketball.
“No, I never had sights for myself to compete and Leslie is definitely living her own dream,” states Wendy. “Absolutely, we are proud of her because she has done this on her own. We didn’t have the money for expensive camps or training. It’s all been Leslie and her will to become a better basketball player.”
A Minnetonka native and the Minnesota Ms. Basketball Award recipient after her senior year at Hopkins High School, Knight had the opportunity to leave her home state for her collegiate career but instead followed her heart and became a Golden Gopher.
“Staying close to home wasn’t the main reason I came to Minnesota but it was important,” said Knight. “It’s so nice to be able to go home and hang out with my parents. Family helps me stay positive and gives me a good outlook on life in general knowing I have people that care about me so much. Family means a lot to me. It means having people that love you no matter what.”
Following the Gophers’ last game, the Knight family was able to enjoy an outing to the I-Max Theatre and a nice dinner. It is times like this that Leslie cherishes.
Just like those precious moments on a quiet team bus when she reads that note from Mom. In this day of cell phones and text messaging, this is a refreshing story of an old- fashioned mode of communication, the written note. But, this isn’t just any note, it’s one written with love and extreme pride, one passed from mother to daughter, and one that has become a quiet motivation for Golden Gopher sophomore Leslie Knight.
The scene is pretty much the same for every Minnesota road game. A few hours prior to the game, the Gophers load the team bus to travel from the hotel to the arena. Some players have their game faces already on. Headphones are aplenty. You can often hear senior Shannon Schonrock blurt out a line from a Rascal Flatts tune or whatever her iPod is serving up at the moment. There is little discussion. It’s a time of silence and solace, but most of all, a time of intrinsic preparation.
Near the back of the bus, Knight reaches into her backpack and pulled out an envelope. The card instructs her not to open it until this day, but Knight has chosen the time. The time is now, a pregame ritual if you will. She knows it’s a card from Mom and the messages within it have become sources of strength.
“Mom sends me a card for all away games and I read it on the team bus on the way to the game,” said Knight. “It’s all quiet on the bus. I sit there and read the note. Whether it’s words of encouragement or just telling me how much I mean to her, it’s nice to know my parents are thinking about me even if they can’t be at the game.”
The card may be religious or inspirational, but the handwritten inscription often reminds Knight to just have fun and play like she knows how to play.
“We had been traveling to all Leslie’s games since she was in second grade,” said Leslie’s mother Wendy. “Now we don’t get to all the away games. The cards and notes let her know we’re thinking about her and wishing the team good luck. It’s a mom thing.”
Leslie doesn’t share these messages with anyone, though she suspects teammate Liz Podominick knows about them since she sits behind her on the team bus. Once read, the card is added to all the others in keepsake manner. The cards and messages are more than inspirational, they have brought a close mother and daughter even closer.
“It has strengthened my relationship with my Mom,” said Leslie. “I know my parents love me, but we really don’t do little things like this much. It was unexpected and a nice gesture. It’s the little things that mean so much.”
Leslie joked that her mother says all the athletic talent of the family comes from her but Wendy is not living her own athletic dream through her daughter. Wendy grew up in a wheat farming community in Washington and graduated from Washington State but never played basketball.
“No, I never had sights for myself to compete and Leslie is definitely living her own dream,” states Wendy. “Absolutely, we are proud of her because she has done this on her own. We didn’t have the money for expensive camps or training. It’s all been Leslie and her will to become a better basketball player.”
A Minnetonka native and the Minnesota Ms. Basketball Award recipient after her senior year at Hopkins High School, Knight had the opportunity to leave her home state for her collegiate career but instead followed her heart and became a Golden Gopher.
“Staying close to home wasn’t the main reason I came to Minnesota but it was important,” said Knight. “It’s so nice to be able to go home and hang out with my parents. Family helps me stay positive and gives me a good outlook on life in general knowing I have people that care about me so much. Family means a lot to me. It means having people that love you no matter what.”
Following the Gophers’ last game, the Knight family was able to enjoy an outing to the I-Max Theatre and a nice dinner. It is times like this that Leslie cherishes.
Just like those precious moments on a quiet team bus when she reads that note from Mom.
