Cal Swish will never forget this club season and it's not because they have won three tournaments. It's because the star-studded team has been making a documentary along the way.
The girls in the California Swish program like to do things differently, from their solid zone defense to their drama-free team trips.So in typical Swish fashion, rather than just document their last summer together -- all but Bonnie Samuelson, a 2011 wing from Huntington Beach, Calif., are 2010s -- via digital camera, the girls from in and around Orange County, Calif., are using the next available option: a camcorder.
The end result: a likely mix of "The Hills" meets "Road Rules" meets "The Heart of the Game," minus Lauren Conrad, an RV and Seattle.
"We've got a good team and, since we spend so much time together in July, I thought it would be kind of fun if we turned it into a movie-type thing," Lindsay Sherbert said. "I've just always been into film and cameras and thought it would be fun."
What started because Sherbert, a 6-foot forward from Temecula, Calif., had a broken digital camera has turned into a larger project for the 10 girls. And while Sherbert largely is in charge of the filming, all the girls contribute in the project, even if it's just by being on camera during a random dance party or any of the numerous pre-game meals.
The girls are also reaching out to friends and through contacts for editing help now that the summer is over, so they can see what can become of July's pet project.
"We want to try to get it out there somehow," said Nicole Hung, a 5-11 guard from Los Angeles. "Probably like a one-hour movie type thing. Then Thea (Lemberger) wants to try to follow us where we go into college."
The college-ties idea is for the closing credits. Lemberger wants the credits to show where every girl ends up going on to play basketball after high school.
"We kind of joked about turning it over to MTV or something, but we don't have the drama aspect," Sherbert said. "We're drama-free, that's kind of our saying. But we'll see how it turns out."
They surely have plenty of content, with trips to Oregon City, Ore., Chicago, Ill., Nashville, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., during July and championships at three of their stops -- the End of the Trail tournament, the Music City Classic and Nike Nationals.
After Friday's title at Nike Nationals -- where the Swish became the first West Coast team to win the tournament -- the girls got their storybook ending. As everyone changed shoes and took pictures with banners, Sherbert was seen running amongst her teammates conducting interviews, similar to the "Real World."
"We're not quite filming everything, just stuff we think would be cool to have," said Thea Lemberger, Swish's 5-6 point guard from Santa Monica, Calif. "Funny stuff, and when we almost get in trouble. We're filming the gyms where we go and we get interviews with everyone in the morning when they wake up."
"We have a lot more off the court stuff than on the court," Hung said. "Like pregame stuff, or us hanging out in our hotel."
The girls' side events during the summer also include waiting in long lines for Chicago pizza, a field trip to the Grand Ole Opry and plenty of hours in team vans. But even if few people outside their family and friends see the end product, the girls will have quite the momento to remember their summer.
"We're not really professionals at it," Lemberger said. "So we're just kind of filming whatever and hopefully it will turn out to be OK."