Linda Gets One of Best Assists Ever

Many of you know that I have been blogging for www.hoopskills.com about various basketball related topics. Below is part of one of my most recent posts:

After an exhausting but fun week of recruiting in California I found myself playing some pickup basketball last night with several other college and NBA coaches. I have no idea why but for some reason I ended up guarding Eric Spoelstra, the coach of the Miami Heat. Eric had the ball out on the wing and I was in a great defensive stance and “D’ing” him up pretty good. He ripped the ball through from right to left and when he did I managed to get my hand on the ball. The ball squirted loose and started heading straight to the sideline. Without hesitating and without ever coming out of my stance, I took one long and low step and dove head first for the ball. Then right before I hit the floor and skidded out of bounds, a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back.

A split second later I woke up and found myself hanging over the side of our bed while my wife Linda let go of my shirt and asked, “What are you doing? Are you okay?” When I told her that I was diving to keep a ball from going out of bounds, she started laughing so hard that she nearly fell out of bed!

Thankfully, Linda probably kept me from breaking my nose. . . but I still almost got to the ball!

What Would You Do?

Most of the time, Umpqua sophomore Chelsey Christensen is a typical college basketball player. She goes to class every day, lifts weights, goes to study hall, does individual workouts in the gym, and has a work study study job because she qualifies for federal financial aid. She eats more Top Ramen than she really wants to;not by choice but out of necessity.

Chelsey and I have an arrangement. Once or twice a week, I give her $3 and my Costco card and she drives a mile or so down the road and brings us back hot dogs for lunch. She gets and I pay. That's the deal. It saves her a couple bucks and saves me some time.

Last Friday I saw Chelsey anxiously hanging out by the entrance of the athletic offices and then saw a man around 40 years old walk towards the building. Chelsey rushed out and yelled "Are you Sam?" Chelsey handed him something, they talked quietly for a few minutes, and then they hugged before each turned around and headed back to where they started.

When she walked back into the offices, Chelsey told me that the day before, when she made our Costco run, she found a wallet in the parking lot that contained a social security card, a credit card, a debit card, and $280 IN CASH!!!!

So she did what every (well, probably not EVERY) poor college student who has little or no extra money would do - she used Sam's driver's license info to contact him and gave him back the whole thing!

Chelsey could've told Sam that she had found the wallet without any cash in it and I'm sure Sam would have still been happy that his credit cards and I.D. had been returned. $280 is a fortune to a "starving" college student. That much money could've bought a new ipod, some Jordan's, or nearly two year's worth of Costco lunches for Chelsey and her favorite basketball coach.

Instead, the $280 bought her the peace of mind that comes from knowing that she did the right thing. She even refused a small reward. I don't know how she did in class last Friday, but Chelsey Christensen passed her integrity test with an A+

Umpqua Alumni Has Monster Week

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Former Umpqua point guard Mykiea Russell of Montreat (N.C.) earned the Appalachian Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week award, the league announced Monday.

Russell had a solid all-around week, averaging 26.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists last week. The 5-foot-2 guard from Los Angeles, Calif., poured in 37 points in the 83-75 win over Virginia Intermont. The 37 points are the second most any Lady Cavalier has scored in a game. During the game, Russell poured in a school single-game record nine 3-pointers and dished out 10 assists for a double-double.

Montreat is 21-3 overall and 7-3 in the AAC.

Before going to Montreat, Russell starred at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon where she helped lead her team to a Region Championship,was named to the All Southern Region team and played in the NWAACC(Pacific Northwest) All Star Game.

Guest Blogger: Jameia McDuffie

Hello, my name is Jameia McDuffie. My hometown is Long Beach, California and I graduated from Long Beach Poly High School. I am a sophomore and this season differs from last season in so many ways. As a freshman you're not really sure what to expect. How hard are practices going to be? What's it like to live with your teammates? What's the competition like? What are college classes like? But as a sophomore you know the answers to all those questions and so it makes things so much easier from the very beginning.

I'm very enthusiastic about our team, what we are accomplishing together, and what we can still accomplish. As we prepare for the second half of the season every game becomes increasingly more important to win. The good thing is that while some teams peak early in the season we are just starting to put all the pieces of the puzzle together as far as understanding and applying what TEAM is all about. I think we are just going to keep getting better and better!

Last Saturday we got it done against Portland and the night before came out on top against Mt. Hood. Right now we are in second place in our league are only one game out of first. Before the Mt. Hood game Dave wrote on the whiteboard that if we won we would eat at Outback Steakhouse after the game but if we lost we would have to eat at AM/PM. We were pretty sure he was joking but didn't want to take any chances! We had a pretty good lead for most of the half but lost some of it right before halftime. At halftime Dave told us that for dinner he would recommend AM/PM's jumbo spicy hot dog with mustard and onions. We got the message and came out in the second half and put the game away early. (At dinner I shared a Bloomin' Onion with my roommates and then had the steak and shrimp!! It was delicious!)

The more time we all spend with each other the closer we get. Almost all of us are away from home so we have become more than just teammates to one another. We have really formed a family and so it's going to be really hard when I have to leave here.

Our next four games are on the road before we play at home again. If we are anywhere close to you come watch us play!

Jameia

Guest Blogger: Chelsey Christensen

Hey everyone! My name is Chelsey Christensen and I am a sophomore from West Linn, Oregon. The past few months have flown by so fast it’s hard to believe we had our first league game against Southwestern Oregon last night. (We won!!) I still remember back in September when all the freshmen first moved to Roseburg and we had our first week of open gym together. It’s interesting to look back at those first few workouts and see how much we have grown as a team since then. We are all really excited to get started with our league play and show people what we can do.

This year I live in a house with four other girls on the team, Sam Thornton(Washington), Emily Cook (Washington), Karlie Wilhelmi (Alaska), and Pua Kailiawa (Hawaii). Moving into a house with four other girls was very different from my living situation the previous year. Not only did I not live with any of my teammates but I also lived with one other girl who was about four years older than me. This did have it’s benefits but I am so glad that I chose to live with my teammates this year. It really helped our team grow closer faster with most of us living together and It is fun living with girls my own age who have the same mind set and goals that I do.

I remember how nervous I was to meet them and see how the living situations would work out and how we would be as a team. I am glad to say that all of our girls have adjusted really well and get along great. I have to admit I was curious in the beginning to see how the freshmen would handle being away from home since a couple came from as far as Alaska and Hawaii but we have all become good friends and we are gelling more as a team everyday. We have come a long way since that first week of practice thats for sure!

I hope all of you reading this are as excited as we are to start playing steadily for the next couple months. We have been working really hard to improve our game as individuals and as a team. Our next two games are at home and we really hope to see a supportive crowd there to watch! Hope to see you there.

-Chelsey

Every Coach Should Be This Lucky!

First of all let me explain why I haven't written in so long. I've become involved in helping put together an online coaching academy that is going to be a HUGE help to coaches at all levels and that has taken hours and hours and hours of work. Fortunately we're down to crunch time and almost ready to launch!

But something happened last night at practice that I just have to write about - my 11year old daughter Taylor ran the Fast Break drill and two other drills in practice for the very first time. She was extremely nervous at first but our players were very encouraging and helped make sure she always got to the right spots. She was so excited to play with the "big girls" that she hasn't come off Cloud 9 yet!

On the down side I'm not sure I've ever felt older than I did when Taylor was running and filling the lanes on the fast break! It seems like only yesterday when she was watching Disney videos in the corner of the gym while practice was going on and then I would race her around the court while she sat on the ball cart. When she was 2 or 3 she would line up with the players and try to run with them after practice. (See picture on the left) Whenever Taylor would ask if she could actually practice, Linda and I would always put her off by saying, "As soon as you're as tall as the players." Well, guess what? She's now taller than two of our players and so we let her try it!

Who knows what the future will bring but for 20 minutes last night I got to walk up and down the sidelines and coach my daughter and my team at the very same time. To all the players on the court,(including Taylor) it was just a few transition drills but to this coach and father it was much, much more than that!

"Coach" T. Harv Eker

The following is taken from page 101 of T. Harv Eker's Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

"I hate to be in your face about it, but the way I see it, that's my job. I believe a good coach will always ask more of you than you will ask of yourself. Otherwise, why the heck do you need one? As your coach my goal is to train you, inspire you, encourage you, coax you, and have you observe in full living color what is holding you back. In short, to do whatever it takes to move you to the next level. If I have to I'll rip you apart and then piece you back togeher. I'll do whatever it takes to make you ten times happier and a hundred times richer. If you're lookng for Pollyanna, I'm not your guy. But if you want to move quickly and permanently, let's continue."

Who does this sound like?

Great Day To Be a Sports Fan!!

What a great day to be a sports fan! First USA Soccer's last minute (injury minute) goal against Algeria lets them advance to the second round of the World Cup where either a loss or a tie would have eliminated them from competition. Then the Isner/Mahut singles match at Wimbledon became the longest tennis match in history and it's not even done yet. The match, which has already lasted 10 hours, was delayed because of darkness and will resume tomorrow. The fifth set is currently tied at 59 games EACH!

I must admit that I'm not the world's biggest tennis fan but I was/am fascinated by the amount of focus and physical and mental toughness that it takes to compete 1 on 1 for that length of time. I'm especially impressed with France's Nicolas Mahut who has never had the lead during the entire 118 game fifth set. I'm really curious to see who can recover physically and then maintain the necessary focus when they start playing again tomorrow.

It looked to me like USA Soccer ran the perfect fast break to score the game winning goal. The ball was outletted perfectly up the sideline by the goalie and off they went. The ball was dribbled up the sideline, passed first to the middle and then to the wing. The initial shot was stopped but a trailing Landon Donovan put in the offensive rebound for the win. How many times each practice do we demand that our players never give up on the fast break whether it be an uncontested layup or a 3 from the wing? This was the perfect example of "why!"

Be in great shape. Concentrate on the now. Never give up on the play. Remember the game's not over til it's over. Whether it's soccer, tennis, or basketball - the success principles are all the same!!

What's Up Doc?

In tonight's Celtics-Lakers game something happened that may have gone unnoticed by most fans, but certainly made me smile as a coach. With 1:39 to go in the game that was still close, the Celtics grabbed a rebound and had 8 seconds to get the ball past half court. When things started to unravel, Boston coach Doc Rivers ran out onto the court and called a timeout with only a second to spare. Quick thinking by Rivers prevented a momentum killing turnover and allowed the Celtics to keep possession of the ball. Almost immediately, Brian Scalabrine, Kevin Garnett, Nate Robinson and Glen Davis all ran to their coach and bombarded him with chest bumps, hugs, and back slaps in recognition and appreciation for what he just did to impact the game. (Some also laughed since Doc seemed winded after his twenty foot sprnt!)

We see that kind of emoton all the time when teammates hit a big 3, get a huge block, or make a great hustle play, but hardly ever is a coach on the receiving end of such "love." When Doc Rivers goes back and watches the game tape he is going to feel closer to his team than ever before. He will undoubtedly rewind that sequence over and over and it will eventually become one of his favorite plays of the season,. It's already one of mine!

Umpqua Alumni Makes WWE Debut

Former UCC alumni Sarona Snuka has signed a contract with the WWE and recently made her national television debut on the WWE's Monday Night RAW where she teamed with the Uso brothers to take on the Hart Dynasty. Sarona played at UCC from 1997-1999 and then later spent a season as one of our assistant coaches. She came back to Roseburg and spent a few days at practice with us this past season and knocked people around with the same intensity and competitiveness as she did ten years ago.

A interesting side not is that if you Google "Sarona Snuka images" one of the very first pictures to come up is one of Sarona and my eleven year old daughter Taylor that was taken during Sarona's last visit here. It's funny to see that same picture, which had to be copied off of this blog, displayed on various wrestling web sites.

See the girl laying on the mat? The picture was taken shortly after Sarona hit her! I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever gone through our 2 on 2 rebounding drill against Sarona knows that same feeling!!