The season officially started on October 15th, and since then we have participated in 30 practices, 3 exhibition games, and 5 regular season games. We've competed against three Division I opponents and against the #3 team in the country in Division II. We didn't schedule any cupcakes that's for sure!
We have struggled early finding our offensive rhythm which has led to some low scoring games for us. Having lost our three leading scorers from last year, we are trying to find out who our go to players are going to be. As we continue to grow more comfortable with the offense and with each other I know everything will click sooner than later.
Our eight freshmen are adapting to the college game which is very different from what they were used to in high school. The game if much faster, more physical, and more complex. Every night they play against quality opponents with quality players. It's a different game, and they are getting better with every practice and every game they play. The best thing about our freshman class is that they are eager to learn and get better. I am very pleased with what I have seen from that group thus far.
Senior captain, Jasmine Ellis, texted me this quote by Booker T Washington last night: "Success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed." Our record is currently 1-4 as we go against #3 ranked Arkansas Tech again tonight. I don't look at our record as failure, although it is human nature to want to win every game in which you play. I look at every game individually and see whether or not we got better as a whole group. If we did then that is success, and right now we ARE successful.
I encourage everyone to come out and support the Lady Bucs!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
First week of practice
After our first six practices of the season, I must say I am very happy with where we are right now. Especially since we have eight freshman and a junior transfer who are just learning our system. I've been able to put in more offensive stuff in our first week than I was able to all of last year! If we can carry over that same learning to the defensive side of the floor, I think we can be pretty good.
The girls have three days off to go home and be with family because that is the last big break they will get before Christmas. I look forward to getting back in the gym Sunday night becasue we play in 12 days! It's amazing how long it takes for the season to get here, and when it finally arrives it flies by so quickly!
Preseason picks came out this week. Jasmine Ellis was voted by the coaches as preseason All-Conference! Only five players are picked out of all eight teams, so we are very proud of her! Also, Taylor Pugh and Candis Clear were highlighted as two of the top newcomers to the conference. We are very glad they are on our team! As a team, we were picked to finish eighth in our conference. I must admit that it is disappointing, but I understand why the coaches voted that way. We had a rough season due to all the injuries, we have 9 new players this season, and we have a young head coach. We look forward to proving everyone wrong!
The girls have three days off to go home and be with family because that is the last big break they will get before Christmas. I look forward to getting back in the gym Sunday night becasue we play in 12 days! It's amazing how long it takes for the season to get here, and when it finally arrives it flies by so quickly!
Preseason picks came out this week. Jasmine Ellis was voted by the coaches as preseason All-Conference! Only five players are picked out of all eight teams, so we are very proud of her! Also, Taylor Pugh and Candis Clear were highlighted as two of the top newcomers to the conference. We are very glad they are on our team! As a team, we were picked to finish eighth in our conference. I must admit that it is disappointing, but I understand why the coaches voted that way. We had a rough season due to all the injuries, we have 9 new players this season, and we have a young head coach. We look forward to proving everyone wrong!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Taylor Pugh's First College Experiences
All summer long, I could not wait to first move into my college dorm or be independent. My mother and I shopped for the longest for my dorm items; every time we got something new, I was more excited about starting my college career at Christian Brothers University. I was even more excited to start off basketball once again. I’ve been anticipating the change from high school ball to college. I wanted to see if I would fit in with the team or how the team was.
Now that I’m 3 weeks into the college life, it has been an experience. I fit perfectly with my teammates, and they are just so fun to be around including the coaching staff. I’m really excited and looking forward on what the upcoming season will have in store for us.
In the classroom, I’m starting to adapt more to my classes and the amount of work that’s included. It’s a huge jump from high school to college with the classroom work, but I’m digging my classmates and teachers. With my accounting major, it should be a breeze without all those science classes.
All in all, these past 3 weeks of my life have been an epic experience. I still can’t believe I graduated from high school and NOW a freshman in college! I’m so thankful for my parents, and I’m exciting to see what the remainder of the year has in store for me J
LET’S GO LADY BUCS !
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Remembering 9/11 from My Perspective as a Player
September 11, 2001, started as a normal Tuesday morning for me as a junior on the Christian Brothers University women's basketball team. I had 8:00 am Spanish class, and 11:00 am British Literature class with Dr. Pruitt. It was a beautiful day with blue skies. After Spanish, I walked over the computer lab to do some work on a paper. That's when I first heard the news that the first tower of the World Trade Center had been hit. I was in total shock. I walked back, rather ran back to my apartment in Avery where I found my teammates Heather Dirks, Jennifer Giager, and Stephanie Stewart glued to the television.
We watched in horror as the second tower was hit, as the first tower collapsed, and then the second tower collapsed. I watched as people jumped out of the buildings to certain death. Images like these will forever be engraved in my mind. For the first time in my life, it was as if time stood still. Feelings of disbelief, sadness, and horror soon gave way to feelings of anger. Anger that someone was evil enough to carry out such heinous acts on innocent people. The anger led to cravings for revenge against the terrorists.
I walked to my British Lit class where we talked about the events of the morning for about 20 minutes, and Dr. Pruitt let us out of class. We had a prayer vigil in the afternoon in the quad between the library and Nolan engineering building. It was somber, emotional, and eerily quiet.
That's the thing that sticks out to me the most about that tragic day--the quietness. CBU is in the path of Memphis International Airport and FedEx. Airplanes are heard and seen constantly overhead, but not this day. All planes had been grounded, and it was deafly silent on campus. I remember sitting on the concrete walkway in front of my apartment, apartment #7, and trying to wrap my head around the events and the emotions I was feeling. I sat with a notebook and wrote down anything and everything that came to my head. I can still see myself with my head laid back against the bricks, legs straight out in front of me looking up at the sky and just listening. I was listening, but all I heard was silence. There are times now when it is quiet and it reminds me of that day.
I talked with my mom on the phone, and she told me to get gas because there might be a shortage. It was one of the many fears that ran through the country. So, I went to the gas station at Highland and Southern to fill up. Usually I had a teammate with me at all times, but this trip I wanted to be alone.
I don't remember much about the rest of the night, but I remember continuing to watch coverage of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. It wasn't long before flights were heard again overhead, and we would go back to class the next day and be back to our everyday lives. Except that our every day lives would never be the same.
It's funny the things I do remember about that day. I remember how blue the sky was. I remember exactly where I sat in the computer lab that morning. I remember where I sat in class. I remember where I stood at the prayer vigil. I remember where I got gas. I remember how my apartment was arranged and how we were sitting to watch the news. I remember where and how I sat outside of apartment #7. I remember the silence. I remember the horror. But most importantly, I remember the people who lost their lives, the people who risked their lives for others, the families who lost loved ones, and a country who came together in the face of adversity.
Sarah Condra
Class of 2004
We watched in horror as the second tower was hit, as the first tower collapsed, and then the second tower collapsed. I watched as people jumped out of the buildings to certain death. Images like these will forever be engraved in my mind. For the first time in my life, it was as if time stood still. Feelings of disbelief, sadness, and horror soon gave way to feelings of anger. Anger that someone was evil enough to carry out such heinous acts on innocent people. The anger led to cravings for revenge against the terrorists.
I walked to my British Lit class where we talked about the events of the morning for about 20 minutes, and Dr. Pruitt let us out of class. We had a prayer vigil in the afternoon in the quad between the library and Nolan engineering building. It was somber, emotional, and eerily quiet.
That's the thing that sticks out to me the most about that tragic day--the quietness. CBU is in the path of Memphis International Airport and FedEx. Airplanes are heard and seen constantly overhead, but not this day. All planes had been grounded, and it was deafly silent on campus. I remember sitting on the concrete walkway in front of my apartment, apartment #7, and trying to wrap my head around the events and the emotions I was feeling. I sat with a notebook and wrote down anything and everything that came to my head. I can still see myself with my head laid back against the bricks, legs straight out in front of me looking up at the sky and just listening. I was listening, but all I heard was silence. There are times now when it is quiet and it reminds me of that day.
I talked with my mom on the phone, and she told me to get gas because there might be a shortage. It was one of the many fears that ran through the country. So, I went to the gas station at Highland and Southern to fill up. Usually I had a teammate with me at all times, but this trip I wanted to be alone.
I don't remember much about the rest of the night, but I remember continuing to watch coverage of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. It wasn't long before flights were heard again overhead, and we would go back to class the next day and be back to our everyday lives. Except that our every day lives would never be the same.
It's funny the things I do remember about that day. I remember how blue the sky was. I remember exactly where I sat in the computer lab that morning. I remember where I sat in class. I remember where I stood at the prayer vigil. I remember where I got gas. I remember how my apartment was arranged and how we were sitting to watch the news. I remember where and how I sat outside of apartment #7. I remember the silence. I remember the horror. But most importantly, I remember the people who lost their lives, the people who risked their lives for others, the families who lost loved ones, and a country who came together in the face of adversity.
Sarah Condra
Class of 2004
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Getting stronger by the day!
6:00 a.m. workouts have begun! The girls have been really energetic this week with getting up so early. We ran eight suicides in eight minutes on Monday, and we started our first day of lifting weights. I've been really impressed with our performances in the weight room. I can tell that most of the players lifted this summer. We also had a team dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, and that was a lot of fun! 10 percent of the sales between 7:00 and 9:00 that evening went to our program.
Yesterday we went threw a series of stations of basketball movement drills, cardio drills, and core work drills. For the first time to do stations, the kids really picked up on them quickly.
Today we ran a 100 yard suicide. You sprint to the 10 yard line and jog back to the starting line, then sprint to the 20 yard line and jog back.....you do this all the way to the 100 yard line! Think that's tough? Well it's not over! Once you're done with the 100 yard sprint, you go back to the 100 yard line and jog back and go backwards. Sprint to the 90 jog back, sprint to the 80 jog back, 70, 60.....
It was a great cardio and mental workout! The girls lifted day two in the weight room after the 100 yard suicide.
I am looking forward to a great ending to the week!
Yesterday we went threw a series of stations of basketball movement drills, cardio drills, and core work drills. For the first time to do stations, the kids really picked up on them quickly.
Today we ran a 100 yard suicide. You sprint to the 10 yard line and jog back to the starting line, then sprint to the 20 yard line and jog back.....you do this all the way to the 100 yard line! Think that's tough? Well it's not over! Once you're done with the 100 yard sprint, you go back to the 100 yard line and jog back and go backwards. Sprint to the 90 jog back, sprint to the 80 jog back, 70, 60.....
It was a great cardio and mental workout! The girls lifted day two in the weight room after the 100 yard suicide.
I am looking forward to a great ending to the week!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Week one is in the books!
We have our first week of the school year under our belt. The freshmen have gotten their first taste of college life--dorms, classes, books, workouts, cafeteria food, etc. We got the first Buc lap done yesterday afternoon, and it wasn't so pretty but then again a Buc lap is never pretty. The newcomers experienced their first beep test this morning. They are probably going to be sore after two days of testing in different strength and conditioning exercises. We had some strong performances in some of our preseason testing:
*Gabby Hernandez ran a 14:22 Buc Lap and got to level 11.7 on the beep test
*Adrienne McKay bench pressed 145 pounds as a freshman!
I look for even stronger performances next week when we start a full week of strength and conditioning, individual workouts, open gym, etc.
*Gabby Hernandez ran a 14:22 Buc Lap and got to level 11.7 on the beep test
*Adrienne McKay bench pressed 145 pounds as a freshman!
I look for even stronger performances next week when we start a full week of strength and conditioning, individual workouts, open gym, etc.
Monday, August 22, 2011
The season is finally underway!
Friday morning the freshmen moved in to their apartments and dorm rooms. Their decorating style sure is much different than ours was a few years ago. Their apartments and dorms look nice and livable and ours looked more like,well college apartments!
Sunday night was the first official team meeting of the year. It was great to have the team together. We got all the expectations of class and how to handle ourselves out of the way. We start preseason on Thursday afternoon. I hope they are ready. Tune in for the blog that day...I'm sure it will be interesting!
Today is the first day of class. The hustle and bustle of trying to buy books, getting finalized, learning where classes are, and getting class syllables is evident around campus. It's so nice to have life on campus. Although it is a hectic time of year, I welcome it with a smile and open arms!
Here's to the start of a great season!
Sunday night was the first official team meeting of the year. It was great to have the team together. We got all the expectations of class and how to handle ourselves out of the way. We start preseason on Thursday afternoon. I hope they are ready. Tune in for the blog that day...I'm sure it will be interesting!
Today is the first day of class. The hustle and bustle of trying to buy books, getting finalized, learning where classes are, and getting class syllables is evident around campus. It's so nice to have life on campus. Although it is a hectic time of year, I welcome it with a smile and open arms!
Here's to the start of a great season!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Old Ball Coach
Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon with my CBU coach, Todd Schaefer. We had lunch with the men's basketball staff at The Deli. After lunch we had the opportunity to talk about basketball for at least two hours, and it was great for me. He gave me some great advice and ideas. It's pretty awesome how we have maintained such a close relationship throughout my playing days and now my coaching days. He has been an excellent resource, but most importantly an excellent friend. I strive to have the same type of relationship with my players as I did him. I hope I'm having lunch years from now with former players like Todd and I did yesterday and will continue to do for years to come.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Epic Staff Meeting
Last year I experienced my first staff meeting as a coach here at Christian Brothers University. I knew it was going to be long because we ordered in lunch for that day! Today was the day of our annual back to school staff meeting, and I thought it might be shorter than last year because we didn't order lunch. Boy was I wrong!! We went a full three hours, and then we had to go get our own lunch!
Even though it was a meeting of epic proportions, I still got excited about the meeting because it means school is right around the corner. We learned some new things and shared new ideas for the upcoming year. I will be sharing some of the new things that will be happening in the days to come. Stay tuned.
Even though it was a meeting of epic proportions, I still got excited about the meeting because it means school is right around the corner. We learned some new things and shared new ideas for the upcoming year. I will be sharing some of the new things that will be happening in the days to come. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Countdown to players' return
I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of our basketball team to campus next weekend! We have five returners and nine newcomers. They have been buying things to fix up their dorm rooms and apartments! It's a very exciting time for them, and for our basektball team. I can't wait until campus is alive with students and athletes! There is only so much Nienaber I can take in the summer! Haha!
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