Even from a distance...

Life is funny sometimes, how, even when you really want to be one place, it is just more important to be another. When family is in need, though, you go. Recently, my father in law passed away, making it important for me to step away from my basketball family to be with the Thompson family in Florida. Despite the magnitude of Friday night's game against Hazelwood Central, life had me in Florida. It is in times like this that the true colors of a team show up...in times of adversity. Although I was 17 hours from the action, and I have never stepped foot into the gymnasium at Visitation, I was right there in the action. Leroy, our dedicated student manager/film guy, kept me up to date on the score, time and all of the game's action. I got to read about Jordan having 3 fouls in the first (the pacing began), I heard about Erin playing well (I sat back down and bragged to family about you!) and eventually I heard about a huge 3 from Jordan and the Statesmen pulling out the victory! My best moment was the call from the locker room, listening to hoots and hollers of joy and pride. Coach Perkins' excitement was obvious and I could hear the smiles through the phone. Up until this moment, we'd started to wonder who we were as a team...that night, I think they felt who they really are.
So, despite promises to return for Sunday's game with Cor Jesu, life played another funny game. For the second straight big game, I was absent from seeing my 10 favorite chicks play. Stuck at home with food poisoning, I couldn't even think about the game until midway through the 3rd, when my dude Leroy continued back with updates. Talk about a nail-biter! I heard Leah played well in the paint, I heard Jordan had 4 fouls, but stayed cool and finished out the game as the floor general. The announcer at the tournament said that a 13 seed has never made it this far!
So, next Sunday, the 26th, we will play the winner of St. Joe and Kirkwood in the semi-final. From a distance, the girls have looked great and showed what they're capable of. I am confident they'll do the same when we come together again next week.
I'm so proud of you, ladies. Keep working hard!
Enjoy the holidays, Statesmen fans.

Adversity

We haven't exactly had the start we had hoped for. After a 2 point loss to Marquette on Friday night and our home opener against Hazelwood Central ending in a loss, the team is staring adversity in the eyes. The girls are very reflective and KNOW what needs to be done to turn things around, it is just about having the heart and pride to do so at this point. We're convinced that all of our learning we're doing now will make us successful when it counts.
KEEP YOUR HEADS UP, GIRLS! BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE!
Here is a little passage that reminds us...WHY we do what we do, even in the times of adversity...

An Athlete’s Pride

“I’m a player. I’m a team player. I play with my friends and with some of my enemies, but I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I’m not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally. I know I may not even get my name in the paper. I play for the love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game. I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play. I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me…integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will and the heart of a champion. If I didn’t play, I would lose a part of me. I’m an athlete. I’m a girl. I’m a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don’t, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete. I leave everything on the field or court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, but I have learned to accept it. I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being. I don’t play for my parents, for my family, for my friends; I don’t play for my coach or my teachers or my school. I play for myself but when I’m play I represent them. It isn’t about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won’t settle for a tie, and I’m not satisfied with 100%. To play, you have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood and tears, everything…for your team. I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with “second best.” I have been that girl with tears in her eyes, walking out to receive the second place trophy and clapping as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders, and I know what it is like to choke under that pressure. I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play.

I AM AN ATHLETE, A CHAMPION, A TRUE PLAYER.”—An Athlete’s Pride

1st week

Tuesday night's game against Washington was a fun start to our performance at the Randi Perkins Marquette tournament. Jordan Thompson scored a whopping 38 points to lead our team, including a new school record of 8 three pointers made. ROCK STAR! 

There is always goofiness at our team dinners.

Wednesday night we were matched up with the no. 1 seeded Fort Zumwalt West, who got off to a decisively devastating 1st quarter lead. Despite the girls fighting back the entire game, the Jaguars (a Final Four team from last year) held on for the win. In talking together after the tough game, we determined how learning from the loss will only make us better in the long run. As a coaching staff, we were pleased with the girls' positive attitudes as they approached Thursday's practice.

The girls warming up prior to the game against Washington.

Tonight, the girls take on the host school, Marquette. Watch for the Statesmen to have more depth in the guard spot, with Morgan Unger returning to the team after a bout with strep throat. The team will be focusing on getting out to a quick start, intensifying their defense and using interior and exterior scoring to attack the Mustangs. We're looking to cap off the first week of play with the team's 2nd victory.

Anticipation

Well, tomorrow is the big day! We will play our first game at the Randi Perkins tournament at Marquette High School. We've drawn Washington to play in the first round at 7pm. We'd love to see you all there!
Over the last few days of practice, our team has been focusing on overcoming adversity and how to achieve the success we are aiming for. The easiest days to be a basketball player are the days when everyone's shot is falling and the other team isn't playing well. Team sports become difficult when we're faced with obstacles such as poor shooting nights, a tough press to go up against, a confused teammate or when things simply don't go our way. It is in the difficult times that we stick together as a team; we must use our frustration against the opponents, not show it to the people who are battling in the same uniforms, with the same goals in mind.

"Success comes when dreams put on their work clothes."

Who's tacky? Not us...

If you are a fan of Webster Groves, then you know that this week is the greatest, most spirited week of the school year. This year, the spirit-o-meter is soaring as our Statesmen football team is playing in the state championship game AND with the JV football team playing in the annual Turkey Day game. Today, the entire school wore their tackiest outfits of Kirkwood red. Our girls are not party poopers of course, and were in on the action. Check in tomorrow to see the girls decked out in their BLACK and ORANGE!
During a hectic week like this, I can only be reminded of how supportive the school is of successful teams. The entire community comes out and wants to be part of the excitement. I am looking forward to the fans and school spirit that this year's girls' basketball team will bring.
For those of you wondering, we do actually get a lot accomplished in practice, even when we're dressed like this...

L-R: Abbie, Annie, Lane, Jordan, Erin, Michaela, Myia, Leah and Morgan decked out in their TACKY red outfits. Where's Miriam?

"Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much."

The bigger the better

Playing in the paint is not a task for the weak and timid. Post players for our team carry a certain demeanor when they step onto the court. We're proud to be the big girls. We jokingly flex our "muscles" and kiss our "bulging" biceps when we enter the post area. Erin, Abbie and Leah (Lane sometimes, too...although she doesn't want to claim us) are this year's BIGS. We share playfully competitive banter with the little guards in practice, but we all know that our team will not achieve the success it is working so hard for-without each other.
G.B.B.

Abbie, Leah and Lane showing off their guns.

"You will pass failure on the way to success."

Gotta look good to play good

My college basketball coach always made sure we had great gear: practice and game jerseys, top-of-the-line shoes and stylin' travel gear. That feeling that you get when you put on something you're proud to be seen in is an irreplaceable one. Tonight the girls got their new uniforms and warm up tops. Talk about FRESH!

Lane in our new shooting shirt, Leah in our home uniform and Abbie in our away uniform, showing off the "Statesmen" shorts.

Today's practice further reminded me exactly what our girls are working for...no longer do they have one or two opponents on their minds to defeat, but now they have a conference to prevail over, a district bracket to vanquish and history to make. If you believe it, ladies...trust me, I KNOW you can do it. I am continually impressed by your persistence and passion to be better each day.

Rookies

Each year, new members are added to the varsity program. This year, Myia, Leah and Miriam are the members who are affectionately known as "the rookies." Myia is a junior guard who is a quick, consistent shooter. She will bring the team a huge spark with some big buckets. Miriam is another junior guard. In 8th grade, Miriam was the freshmen girls' basketball team manager, so she knows the program and the high expectations we set. Her smart, aggressive and competitive play will make our team stronger. Long legs Leah is our only freshmen this year. Her interior defense and soft touch in the paint will be a great tool for our post play.
The "rookies" are great additions to our squad. Each player is focusing to learn the offense and our defensive principles. They are stepping up to the daily challenges of being a member of the varsity team. Great start, ladies!

Miriam, Leah and Myia...ready to give the day's quote.

"Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a TEAM work!"

Annie makes 10!

"It isn't hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough, is being good everyday."

she loves having her picture taken...

Annie Paloucek, a senior guard, is a crucial ingredient to our team. Sadly, during a summer league game at MICDS, she came down wrong and tore her ACL. Since her surgery in August, Annie has been rehabilitating her knee and working to regain her strength. In athletics, any time a player goes down is tough on the team; when it is a senior leader and contributor, it is especially hard. For the player, it is agonizing. From the sidelines, it is obvious that Annie is eager to be back on the court. She does her best to help out in drills and always stays involved in the game.
Yesterday, Annie stepped back onto the court. She was able to do a couple of drills with her teammates and you would think it was Michael Jordan himself on the court. The morale of the teams soared. The basketball chatter lifted the entire mood of the practice. Now, don't get me wrong, we've got some distance to go before she is on the court and playing, but just being at practice everyday, stepping in for drills and picking up her teammates is already doing so much.
Keep working hard, ladies! Your efforts will pay off!

Bagels and Basketball

So, Saturday morning was our first early morning practice. There is nothing better than getting the day's work done early EARLY so the rest of the day is free. It is tough, as a coach, to motivate teenage girls to come in and give it their best at 7:15 in the morning. We've learned that, when all else fails, bribery works just fine. :) I'm only playing. It was another "goose-bump" moment for me to see how focused, how determined and how tenacious the girls were at such an early hour. Their efforts paid off and they got to enjoy bagels for breakfast after basketball. Can't beat that...

Always a quiet locker room when food is involved.

Leadership

Today captains were named. The girls on the team voted and have chosen Erin and Jordan as the leaders for the 2010-2011 season.


Erin, a senior, made it to nearly every offseason cardio session, open gym and summer/fall event. Just before practice today, she was seen with a JV post player, helping her master the moves in the paint. On and off the court, Erin will lead the program to a higher level.


Jordan, a junior, has been a varsity starter since her freshmen year. She also participated in AAU basketball and varsity golf for the Statesmen. On the basketball court, Jordan is leading by example and with her communication. Her consistent hard work and intensity level will force her teammates to step up with her, making us a more dominant program.


Way to go, Jordan and Erin.






"You must hate losing more than you love winning."

Erin, far right, is seen sporting one of her theme days at weekly cardio in the preseason. Morgs and Lane-Oh were equally enthused about the weekly ritual.  

We laugh

Despite being the first official practice of the season, today's practice was fun. It was FUN to see the girls working so hard. It was FUN to be able to learn from our mistakes. It was FUN to watch as we picked each other up after those mistakes to make our teammates better. If we keep having so much FUN, this will certainly be an unforgettable season. One FUN day at a time, ladies.
"If you want to be the champion, you must be willing to pay the greater price."

Book and Abs...having a little FUN after practice. What's with the headband, Abbie?

CONGRATS, LADIES!

After three grueling days of work, teams have been made. Congratulations to Jordan, Erin, Lane, Michaela, Abbie, Annie, Myia, Morgan, Miriam and Leah!

Day 1 and 2 of tryouts

Day 1 highlights:

• "Today was the beginning of a championship season!" Jordan
• "My legs feel like jello." Michaela

Day 2 highlights:

• to Jordan "I wish I could bottle up your hard work and drink it in the morning!" Erin

• Abbie's spandex

Welcome!

The leaves are changing colors and the air is becoming cooler-that can only mean one thing: BASKETBALL SEASON has finally arrived!

Tryouts are well underway and the girls and coaches are working very diligently to prepare for a successful season. Come along for the ride!