Swin Cash embodies excellence and resilience.
by Ben York
There is an unmistakable feeling one acquires while in the presence of Seattle Storm All-Star Swin Cash that immediately results in instant respect and admiration. Unlike other high-profile athlete’s who demand and seek out this type of recognition, it’s not even a conscious thought in Swin’s mind; it’s just the way she is – classy, elegant, and graceful.
But more than anything, it’s the way she handles herself with humility through adversity that earns her such high veneration.
Imagine playing basketball at the highest possible level for several years with a vicious herniated disk in your lower back. Think of the pain you’d feel when trying to make a quick drive to the basket, shooting a jumper the same way you used to, or even just maintaining a positive outlook and attitude. Swin did it, and never complained. Finally in late 2008, the pain was just too much to bear and was beginning to noticeably affect her play. Cash would then head into surgery to repair the disk, which would mean a long and difficult recuperating process.
Not one to simply lay-down and or give up, Cash trained strenuously to come back an even better player. There was an internal battle she waged with herself to prove that she could bounce back and still be an incredible player in the league. Silencing all critics, both internal and external, Swin proved to be a key factor and leader in the Storm’s 2009 campaign. Just a few months after extensive back surgery she was playing 34 minutes a game for Seattle tallying her best numbers since her MVP-worthy 2004 season, and would earn a spot on the 2009 All-Star team.
It seems obvious, but is the word ‘resilient’ a fitting term to describe Cash’s mentality? “I think that’s a fair assessment,” Swin said. “I learned a lot of life lessons the past few years throug
h all the injuries and personal stuff. I just had to figure a lot of things out and get back on my feet. I had something to prove to myself.”
Getting the MVP of the All-Star game in Connecticut while scoring a WNBA All-Star record of 22 points on 10-16 shooting proved to many that Swin was, indeed, back. Though, to Swin, it meant exponentially more to play that well in front so many of many of her UConn college friends and family. “It felt amazing,” Swin said. “My family was there, the people closest to me were there. To do it in Connecticut where so many people watched me grow up from a girl to a woman was just amazing. I realized that the catalyst to getting that MVP trophy was going back to my roots in college. During the offseason when I was in rehab from my surgery, I went to Kansas University to stay with Lew Perkins and his wife. Lew was my Athletic Director at UConn and he’s now the AD at Kansas University. I trained more in the college regimen and that’s really how I got back so fast. Lew and the KU staff was amazing and I really can’t thank them enough.”
The hard work paid off and Swin felt the best physically she had in years. But the injury bug unfortunately couldn’t be avoided by the entire Storm team. Current WNBA legend and Storm All-Star, Lauren Jackson, missed almost a third of the season due to (ironically enough) a stress fracture in her back. In her absence, Swin and fellow UConn teammate Sue Bird had to rally the team and ensure that the optimism for the 2009 season continued. “We had a lot of high expectations,” Cash said. “I had my own personal mission to get back from injury and really felt I had a lot to prove to myself. But along with that, the team had really high expectations. I’ve always been a vocal leader but with Lauren gone Sue [Bird], Tanisha [Wright], and I had to really step up on the court and motivate our teammates.”
In spite of missing a vital key to their collective team’s success, the Storm finished 2nd in the Western Conference with a 20-14 record. In the first round of the Playoffs, they took the heavily favored Los Angeles Sparks to the final game of a three-game series. In the end, the Storm gave it their absolute all but fell just a few possessions short. Watching the series, it was clear that Swin wouldn’t let her team go down without a fight to the end. “It’s one of those things where it’s just…frustrating,” Swin said. “You and the team know that you all did everything that was humanly possible to get that win, and weren’t able to. I was proud of our team for fighting so hard.”
Although the 2009 season didn’t quite go the Storm’s way, it was an important personal victory to Swin after battling so fiercely after her surgery and a testament to her work ethic. “I had to prove something to myself,” Swin said. “It started with myself first. Playing so many years with injuries, basketball almost loses a bit of that fun you feel w
hile playing. I knew that with hard work and time I could get back there one day. This past season I really got back to having fun and playing loose. Once that came back I knew I was able to re-establish myself and get that competitive edge back.”
For Swin, the 2009 season not only was one of the more memorable ones in her personal career, but for the entire league as well. Swin feels it could be an important turning point towards finally reaching mainstream respect. “This season was special,” Swin said. “It was a special treat for us and fans to be a part of some of the games that were played, the miraculous shots, and the Finals between Indiana and Phoenix. We had lots of different people talking about the league and kind of put us back on the map that the WNBA isn’t going anywhere. We have the best talent in the world. We weren’t immune to the recession and have experienced some growing pains but we turned a lot of people’s heads this past year.”
Cash’s work ethic on the court was evident with her phenomenal come back in 2009, but there is an equal passion for her off the court work. Swin has an indelible affection for improving the lives of children wherever she goes. Her foundation, Cash for Kids, provides financial support to the arts while focusing on culture, literacy, athletics, and youth development initiatives. “It really started with the way I was raised,” Swin said. “My mom and family lived that and they were the pillars. They taught me about being humble and giving back. I realize that if it wasn’t for the people that extended a hand and helped me along the way, I wouldn’t be where I am. It’s important for us in positions like these to give back. I also think it’s important for the African-American community as well. There are a lot of single-parent homes out there and children not getting the proper nutrition and values. I just hope that this small amount that I can do will help change a few lives for the better.”
Swin Cash is an incredible and invaluable asset to the WNBA. Sure, her WNBA Championship, Olympic gold medal, and multiple selections to the All-Star game enhance her profile in the sports world, but it’s also the example she sets for youth to never give up no matter how hard things get.
Humble, graceful, and persevering – Swin Cash.
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Others: “Not really.”
Michael: “SEE I made a joke and you took it seriously proving you guys are defensive and overly sensitive, which was my original point but actually a joke but you took it seriously *infinite loop*”
So, in the future, if you wish to make a point that you’d want everyone to focus on, don’t write anything else that’s more disagreeable than your original point. If I would write something about how I feel Ron Artest is gonna hurt the Lakers and at the end I write “also I hope Kobe gets hit by a bus and dies” and then everyone responds back to me telling me that was horrible about what I said about Kobe, it would certainly sound odd if I said “that’s just like you Lakers fans, ignoring my point and focusing on something totally different”
I’m sorry, but articles about the WNBA that read “So We’re Trying to Make Our Titles Less Catchy and More to the Point, So This One is About the WNBA and Swin Cash is Classy; No Need to Read it Now, Go On About Your Day” just wouldn’t work.
Its a matter of a few seconds if you click on the title and see what the article is about, and then click away if you dislike the WNBA. This process is much quicker than complaining in several posts about having to click in the first place, and then somehow switching your complaint about a HEADLINE to why the WNBA is inferior to the NBA. All you had to do was click away if you didn’t catch the subtext ON THE DISPLAY PAGE, but instead you’re acting like you just got Rick Roll’d on a Youtube video.
Maybe, if you brought valid and tangible criticism about the WNBA to your posts, instead of purposely fishing for ridiculous arguments against it like, “not being able to find blooper videos,” people would know what you’re talking about. Instead, you come in here obviously not having watched much, if any WNBA basketball, and complaining about an entire league and one of its writers because of their sensitivity?
Then you made your comment. So, I decided to look harder and scroll all the way down to the bottom where there is a section called “Bloggers” where at the bottom of that is a more detailed description of what “Definition of Class” is all about. That was the confusion the whole time.
Plus, I never said anything bad about the WNBA. I only pointed out how it is covered.
For now on when I see an ambigous title, I will scroll further down the page to see if it is part of a blog for more informationso I can know whether to click on it or not and not give Ben the false perception that his WNBA articles are interesting because people click on them. I’m sure some of his page hits are due to mistakes made by other confused slamonline visitors like myself.
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