National Exposure

I've always thought that the most important part of my job is to first, prepare the athletes that play for me to move on to the university level and then second, to help them find a place where they can keep playing and continue their education. Often times I spend much more time helping them move on than I spent recruiting them in the first place! It's a lot of extra work and it's work that many coaches at this level aren't willing to do, but for me the payoff is well worth it. Nobody wants to win more than I do, but helping players get opportunities that didn't exist for them coming out of high school makes a much greater impact on their lives than the 28 wins a year that we average!

Anyway so far this year I have been in contact with nearly 50 four year colleges and universities representing 18 states. Those states include Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, New York, North Carolina, and Florida.

With this much national exposure and this many different times zones it seems like I am always on the phone. The result? Once again all of our sophomores (6) are getting basketball scholarships to four year schools!! It's a great time to be a Riverhawk!!

Can't Judge Talent By Appearance

Still looking for players to reload our team for next year and so when I received an email this morning asking if I had seen the YouTube video of Susan Boyle yet, my first reaction was "What team does she play on?" I was hoping that she was long, tall, and
still unsigned.

When I started to watch the video of "Britain's Got Talent" I saw a middle aged, frumpy woman who looked and acted more like a cartoon character than a legitimate contestant in a talent competition. Evidently many others felt the same way because as Susan Boyle walked out onto the stage and started talking to the judges about her dream of being a professional singer, everyone in the theater reacted with smirks and laughter. Sitting in front of my computer, I laughed out loud too. I was expecting to see a crash and burn type disaster of epic proportion!

But what happened next was simply amazing and I have thought about it all day. If you haven't seen it yet (over 35 million people have watched it so far!) take a couple minutes and watch it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY (Titi Takai watched it in the basketball office today and said it gave her "chicken skin," which is what Hawaiians call "goosebumps.")

I couldn't help but think how similar this is to some really great basketball players. Many times players are overlooked or underestimated because they don't fit the cookie cutter image that big time athletes are "supposed" to project. They are thought of as too short, too thick, too gangly, or too thin and are initially dismissed because they don't "look" like players. Some of the best players I have ever coached have fit into this category. They might not have necessarily looked the part but when it was time to step up and perform, they were extraordinary!

We are now in the midst of recruiting season and the reminder to look beyond the obvious when judging talent could not have come at a better time! Thank you Susan Boyle - for both the song and the life lesson!!

Thoughts On Championship Game Interviews

Everyone here at UCC has become big fans of the University of Louisville ever since coaches Jeff Walz and Stephanie Norman flew out to watch us practice a little over a month ago and it was really fun watching them make their run all the way to the National Championship game.

For me it was very interesting watching the post game interviews with both Louisville's Jeff Walz and UCONN's Geno Auriemma. Both coaches talked about how extremely important and absolutely necessary it is for players to work at getting better over the spring and summer if they want to be championship caliber players and teams. They both said that it is the work when no one else is watching that separates the good ones from the great ones. Geno talked about Rene Montgomery starting to work right after the season ended last year and Jeff Walz even mentioned Maryland greats Marissa Coleman and Kristi Tolliver and guaranteed that those two didn't spend any time at the beach last summer.

Their comments made me think of our own players. The vast majority work very hard in the spring when their workouts are organized and observed but the GREAT ones continue those workouts throughout the summer and into early Fall before school starts. There are no guarantees that being that focused and dedicated in their workouts will make a player great, but it is pretty much guaranteed that a player can't become great without that kind of personality and work ethic. Unfortunately, good is the enemy of best - way too many players, as well as people in all walks of life, are satisfied with just being good at what they do, when with some extra work they could become great.

I also realized that on those few occasions when we have "lost" players, it's almost always happened in the Spring right about the time spring workouts start. It might be just a coincidence but we all know it's easier to work when the weather's bad and there's a game right around the corner than it is when the sun is out and next game is over seven months away. Working hard isn't necessarily fun but the motivated players don't mind because they are willing to sacrifice to get better. They know that it's not always what they get by working hard that is important - what's important is what they become!

Wish I Was In St. Louis!

After watching Michigan State and North Carolina win today in the men's Final Four, I wish I had gone to St. Louis for the women's Final Four. When we beat SWOCC in early January my career win total reached 600 and I received an invitation to be recognized at the National Coach of the Year Luncheon in St. Louis on Monday, April 6th. But to attend the award ceremony, you have to register for the national convention which costs upwards of $300. Add that fee to airfare, hotel, rental car, and food and the total is well over $1000. I was hoping to get some money from UCC to help defray the cost but it didn't work out and that is way too much money for me to spend on myself just so I can get a public pat on the back! It would have been fun though being involved in the same ceremony as Pat Summitt of Tennessee (1000 wins) and Sylvia Hatchell of North Carolina (800 wins). We would've taken a great picture!! I hope they're not too disappointed that I won't be there!!

It's kind of ironic though that the majority of D1 coaches, many who make great salaries, have their Final Four and national convention expenses paid for by their schools, while those of us at much smaller schools with much, much, much, much, much, much smaller salaries have to pay our own way to attend. (That's one "much" for every extra 0 some of them have in their yearly salary!)

I stumbled onto a new blog today that is very interesting and definitely worth reading. Alysa Auriemma, the 23 year old daughter of UCONN's Geno Auriemma, has started a blog called Life in the Postseason and gives some great insight into the daily activities of the UCONN women as they compete in the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully next year she'll decide to do it all season!

Classic Pranks

Since today is April Fool's Day I thought I'd share a few of the pranks our team has pulled on each other over the years.

Happy Birthday - This one started at the NWAACC Championship banquet years ago when participating coaches were asked to give a brief speech recapping their season. Bill Bachman, former UCC Athletic Director, was in attendance and I ended my short talk by wishing him a happy 63rd birthday even though he was only 50 years old at the time and it wasn't even his birthday. Then I had the entire banquet hall stand up and sing "Happy Birthday" to Bill while he sat their red faced and embarassed. I pulled the same stunt at least a dozen times over the next several years at banquets, restaraunts, faculty gatherings, etc. and it never got old - at least for me!

Never Trust A Sophomore - Not so much a prank but still really funny. Last year sophomore Corynn Jorgensen had freshman Kayla Haines thoroughly convinced that the smaller versions of the Hummer could be driven while completely submerged under water. The gag would have continued longer except that one day Kayla's mom, Brenda, was having lunch with us before a game when Kayla started talking about the car that could drive under water. Brenda got a good laugh out of it too before setting Kayla straight but for weeks afterwards every time someone on the team spotted one of those cars on the road they yelled out Underwater Car.

Let's Sue Subway! This past season Cassandra Tiggett brought a Subway sandwich in to the library to eat while studying with the rest of our team. When she momentarily left the study table, Cassie Scheffelmaier ripped a napkin in half and inserted it into the middle of the sandwich. A few bites later Cassandra started chewing the napkin and was understandably shocked and upset to be eating paper. Almost immediately she picked up her cell phone and called her father, who is an attorney, to explain the situation and to demand that he sue Subway right away. The prank was short lived because by now all the others players were laughing hysterically.

Ding Dong Ditch - Several years ago both the UCC men's and women's teams found ourselves staying at the same hotel in Portland. One of the men's players filled a trash can up with water and tilted it up on one side against his coach's door. With the can in place he then knocked on the door and then ran and hid around the corner while the door was opened. Of course when the door was opened, the can tipped over and practically flooded the doorway of the room. The men's player then suggested that they try the same thing to my door. It only took Lauren Marshall a split second to wisely announce that would not be a good idea!

Squirt Gun Fight - Jakehima Mercier was constantly pulling pranks on teammate/roommate Staci Kleir. One time she put one of Staci's bras on their landlady's dog and let it run through the neighborhood. Another time she set up a "lemonade" type stand in their front yard and tried to sell Staci's underwear. But the best one (also the grossest one) became a team legend. Jakehima took a super soaker water bazooka and filled it with water. Then she took a small water pistol and filled it with her own pee. When both guns were full, Jakehima challenged Staci to a squirt gun fight and in the spirit of good sportsmanship let Staci choose which weapon she wanted to use. Not knowing the small pistol was full of pee, Staci chose the water filled bazooka and the fight was on! Even though Jakehima landed only a few well placed shots, there was no question who won and who lost!