UMPQUA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Chelsey Christensen Named Player of the Week

2012-01-30T14:51:00.000-08:00

Umpqua alumni Chelsey Christensen, a 5-9 junior who is now playing at Warner Pacific University has been named the Cascade Conference's Women’s Basketball Player of the Week. Christensen, WPU's leading scorer and rebounder totaled 38 points and 16 rebounds in a pair of victories over the weekend.

After averaging 6 points a game at Central Catholic High School, Christensen averaged 9 points a game as a freshman at Umpqua and then 23 points as a sophomore. She holds the Umpqua and NWAACC Championship Tournament records for most three point shots made in a single game with 11.

One of the runner ups for the Cascade Conference's Player of the Week was Southern Oregon University post player Cassandra Tiggett, also an Umpqua alumni, who recorded 23 points and 15 rebounds in her game last Saturday.

Congratulations to both players! UCC is proud of you!!

Linda Gets One of Best Assists Ever

2011-08-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-05-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-02-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-01-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

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

2010-07-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-06-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-06-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

Heidi Buehler

2010-05-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Since today is Heidi Buehler's 28th birthday I thought it would be a good time to remind readers of the legacy that she left on Umpqua basketball. It's been eight years since Heidi graduated from Umpqua but the records that she set still stand today. Heidi currently holds school records for most points in a single game (53), most points in a season (809), most points in a career (1,303), most free throws made in a season (204), most steals in a season (99), and most steals in a career (173). After her sophomore year Heidi was recognized as a Kodak All American and received a basketball scholarship to Northwest Nazarene University along with UCC teammate Julia Barker.

What doesn't show up in the record book is her personality and impact as a leader. She was strong and forceful and direct - traits that are way too uncommon in women's athletics. Many women athletes have such a strong desire to be liked by their teammates that they hold back a little so they don't upset anyone. Much like Sarah Coleman, Denay Martin and other forceful leaders, Heidi treated every practice, every game, every individual workout like the championship was on the line. . . .and wasn't shy about expecting everyone else to do the same!

When we played in Portland this last season, Heidi came to the game and then stopped by the hotel afterwards and spoke to the team. She told story after story about working hard, about the expectations of the program, and how her Umpqua experience changed her life. It was heartfelt and inspiring and made us all glad to be part of Umpqua basketball.

Happy Birthday Heidi!!!

Pat Riley - "Showtime"

2010-05-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the notes I took while reading "Showtime" by Pat Riley. The book (and the notes) are over 20 years old but still very relevant:

There are significant moments in every person’s life – and in every team’s life – when breakthroughs occur. If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.

Somewhere, someplace, sometime, you’re going to have to plant your feet, make a stand, and kick some ass. And when that time comes, you do it!!

Once you’ve been around sports long enough you see how success spoils some performers. To stay on top you have to develop an attitude that defines excellence as always wanting to do better. When you understand what it is to sustain greatness and championship form, then complacency is something that isn’t part of your life. You don’t allow it.

The key to success isn’t great talent. The key to success is to learn how to do something right. Then do it right every time. Do it the same way every time.

Our philosophy is that you reach a championship with hard work, good organization, and a minimum of distractions. (What is distracting you? Can it be postponed or eliminated for the remainder of the quest?)

The privilege of calling yourselves champion is on the line.

Effort is what ultimately separates average players from impact players and the one year champions from teams of lasting greatness.

The ones who can really separate themselves from the pack are those who understand what it takes to sustain excellence. To get a way from a “to have” mentality. “To have “is something we develop early in life. To have power, to have prestige, to have a car, to have a house, and all those other things that we feel we need. And then you understand later in life that those things don’t mean anything. When you experience them you realize that the only thing left is to be the very best. You prioritize “to be” instead of “to have.”

We have one advantage that most teams don’t have. We have the work ethic. We have worked so hard, given so much to be a good team. As long as we don’t let up in that area we’ll be all right. This is the time for everyone to reach inside and give a little more. This is the time for each one of you to try and get better individually. As long as we concentrate there is no limit to what we can do.

Teamwork is the essence of life. It makes everything possible from moon landings to the building of cities to the renewal of life. And a good team multiplies the potential of everyone on it, whether the team consists of a family, a school, a business, or a basketball team.

Another Day Another Assist

2010-05-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

When former Umpqua basketball player Micaela (Williams) Leinonen needed some help getting her mom's house ready to sell, it only took one Facebook post and one text message to gather some extra help. I saw the post on FB saying that Micaela and her husband Chris were coming to Roseburg and were gong to try and cram a week's worth of work into one weekend and so I sent out a mass text to the current members of our team. Even though it was the last minute Mykiea Russell, Sparkal Clark, Priscilla Walker, and Jameia McDuffy dropped what they were doing and went with Linda and I over to the house where we spent the day moving furniture and painting. It was great to work side by side and fun to listen to Micaela and Priscilla compare Umpqua basketball stories and experiences. Even though they played years apart, a stranger walking into the room would have thought they were teammates! Jameia thought that working together like that brought us all a little closer and suggested that we find a house to paint as a team bonding event next Fall. Working hard, working together, appreciating the past, and looking ahead to the future. . . .it was a good day!!

My Favorite Pair Of Jeanne's

2010-05-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Since today is Mother's Day I want to take a minute to thank and honor two very special women who both died of cancer and who I miss very, very much.

The first is my mom, Jeanne Stricklin. While it was my dad who taught me how to play and to compete, it was my mom that made it possible. Quick example: One summer while Dad was working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska, Mom decided that I should sign up for my very first pee wee basketball league at Siglar Park, which was located on the other side of town. The fact that she didn't have a driver's license or know how to drive a car at the time was just a mere inconvenience. When it came time to go to the park we got into my dad's VW Bug and proceeded to drive the entire way while staying in first gear and only making right hand turns. It took forever but somehow we got there! Imagine slowly driving all the way around the block in order to avoid making a single left hand turn and then repeating the process over and over until we methodically made our way cross town one big circle at a time. She eventually learned how to drive and over the next several years she must have driven me and my brothers to thousands of practices, hundreds of games, and even to a few Emergency Rooms. Mom was never an athlete herself and never really completely understood all the little ins and outs of the sports I first played, later coached, and always loved but it didn't matter. If it was important to us then it was important to her! Every once in a while I still catch myself reaching for my phone so I can call her.

Jeanne Schell was an elderly widow who lived by herself across the street from UCC. After a year of enduring my persistent badgering she finally agreed to rent a room to one of my players. Lisa moved in and another one started to hang out there. Then that one moved in too and another started to hang out. Before everything was said and done, Jeanne added on to her house and over 40 girls lived with her while playing on our team. She sat right behind our bench at every home game, hosted annual team meetings and dinners, and met every potential player who came on a recruiting trip. The News Review even wrote a feature story about her called Jeanne Schell's House of Hoops. Each year I can't help but think, "Mrs. Schell would have loved this team". . . .mainly because she loved all of them!

I could write pages and pages about these two women. It's amazing how much success and happiness can be attributed to a great set of Jeanne's!!

One Phone Call

2010-05-04T13:22:00.001-07:00

Randy Williamson, whose daughter Allissa just finished her sophomore season here at UCC, called me yesterday morning and I've been thinking about his call ever since. (Allissa, originally from McKinleyville, CA , was not one of our leading scorers or rebounders and like most competitors did not always play as much as she really wanted to, but she worked hard, was always ready when we needed her, and contributed any and every way she could.) Randy didn't call to compare Allissa to anyone else, to express his disappointment because UCONN never called, or to complain that she wasn't the star game in and game out. Instead, he called to thank me! He thanked me for coaching her, for pushing her beyond her perceived limits, and for helping her to grow and mature not only as a player but as a person as well. He said that he appreciated that his daughter could be part of a winning program and could experience what "real basketball" is all about. Randy assured me that even though Allissa's career here is over he will always be a fan and follower of the program. I hung up the phone with a new enthusiasm and couldn't wait to get back to the gym.

To those of you reading this - take a minute and call or email a former coach, whether it be club, high school, college or YMCA, and tell him thanks. I promise he'll walk a little taller, smile a little more, and think about that one call all day. I know I have!

"Great Players" - Alan Stein

2010-04-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

A fellow coach reminded me that I haven't written for a while and so I thought I would share something that I recently read. It was written by Alan Stein, the strength and conditioning coach at DeMatha Catholic High School (His web site is www.strongerteam.com) who recently worked with the nation's top high school players at the McDonald's and Jordan All-American Games.

"With very few exceptions, elite level players absolutely love to play basketball. They want to play 24-7. Whenever possible they have a ball in their hands and are always trying to get up shots. When they aren't playing basketball they are watching it on TV. The game consumes them. And most of them have been this way since they were young. Do you have the same love for the game? Do you have the same passion? I'm not suggesting that basketball should be the most important thing in your life. . but it should be up there. If you truly want to be great then you have to genuinely love the game.

I also noticed that most elite level players are super competitive. They hate to lose. Whether they are playing NBA Live '10 or a game of H-O-R-S-E they always try as hard as possible to win. They never concede. Winning matters. Does winning matter that much to you? How hot does your competitive fire burn? If you want to be great you have to learn how to compete. Winning has to matter.

Despite being the top players in the nation, most of them still fit into one of two categories: those who have a tremendous work ethic and those who are lazy. Unfortunately many of the players who are the most naturally gifted are also the laziest because they haven't had to work hard to be successful. Do you enjoy putting in the hard work necessary to be a great player? Or do you constantly look for short cuts and the easy way?

It's time to start thinking about making your off season as productive as possible. What you do this spring and summer will determine how successful you are next season. Elite level players are built in the off season."

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

Not Only In The Movies!

2010-03-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

Something happened today that left me speechless, and those of you who know me can attest to the fact that doesn't happen very often! I was in the office this morning when I received a phone call from a former part time UCC student who made an offer to anonymously help one of our players, Mykiea Russell, continue her education. I had never spoken to this person before but just a couple minutes into our conversation I realized I was talking to someone very special.

Evidently this particular student was once in a class with Mykiea and by the end of the term was extremely impressed with Mykie's positive attitude, work ethic, desire to learn, and overall personality. (No surprise here since Mykie is one of the nicest, most genuine people you will ever meet!)

Now if you think this offer was basketball related, you're completely wrong. This generous student has not been to a single basketball game over the last two years and even asked me if Mykiea was any good as a player! No, this offer was made to help Mykiea the person, not Mykiea the player. It was simply offered from one classmate to another.

Imagine a Caucasian outdoorsperson who has always lived in rural areas giving a large sum of money to help a young African-American from inner city Los Angeles without any desire for thanks or recognition! Up to this point, their life experiences couldn't possibly be more opposite, yet from this point on they will always be connected. This random act of kindness will help Mykie get her degree (she wants to be a music teacher) and then Mykie will help dozens of others who then in turn will hopefully branch out and help hundreds of others.

Usually stories like this are mostly found in movie theaters, but this one is real and unscripted and playing out before our eyes. I feel very lucky to have a front row seat and even without seeing the ending I'm giving it two thumbs up!

All American Jessica Fisiikava

2010-03-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Received a surprise phone call from former UCC great Jessica Fisiikava tonight. After graduating from UCC in 2005 as one of the school's all time leading scorers, Jess turned down some bigger schools and accepted a basketball scholarship to Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California so she could be closer to her father. Even though it's been close to a year and a half since I've spoken to Jess, I think about her almost every day when I see her Kodak All American plaque hanging near my desk.

Jess called me tonight to tell me that she was recently recognized by her employer, Kaiser Permanente, for her work ethic and for being the only person in her entire department to have perfect attendance for the past year. Then Jess told me that as she was receiving her award she realized that it was the habits that she developed while playing at UCC that have helped her be successful all these years. She thanked me for adamantly insisting that she and her teammates go to class every day, that they go on time, and that they give their very best effort - no excuses.

Especially during this playoff time of year, when everyone's focus is on winning, winning, winning, it's great to hear that regardless of the score, lessons are being learned and lives are being changed!

Good Wins And A Great Friend

2010-02-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

Good Wins: Winning at both Mount Hood and Portland last weekend put us in a tie for first place in our region and officially guarantees us a spot in the upcoming NWAACC (Pacific Northwest) Championship Tournament. It's our 14th trip to the tournament in 15 years - add the eight straight State Tournaments we played in while coaching at GWC and that equals 22 post season tournaments in 23 years!

Great Friend: Jeff Jones and I have known each other for over 30 years and he has always been a great friend. We played some basketball together and during that time he lead the league in assists - if you were open he fed you the ball over and over and over again. Well last weekend Jeff fed us in a completely different way. On Friday I got a text from Jeff , who is now living in Washington with his wife and family, saying that the Outback Steakhouse in Gresham, OR was expecting our team to come in after our game and that the entire meal was on him! Even though all the players were dressed in our travel sweats we were treated like royalty from the second we walked into the restaurant. To get a good mental picture of our meal you have to imagine kids on Christmas morning combined with termites in a lumber yard! Many of our players had never been to an Outback before and now four days later they are still talking about what (and how much!) they ate!

Earlier in the year something similar happened when we were playing in Northern California. Our team went to eat at the historic Samoa Cookhouse near Eureka and when I went to pay the bill I discovered that it had already been taken care of by Randy Williamson, who's daughter Allissa plays on our team. Years from now no one is going to remember the actual scores of the games that we played those two weekends but everyone is going to remember the fun we had thanks to the generosity of others!

Alumni Game

2010-02-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Had our annual Alumni game yesterday afternoon and as usual it was great to see everybody. It was definitely a sacrifice for some of them to get here - Lindsey Heard came from Portland, Amanda Johnston from Klamath Falls, Kyra (Cleveland) Kaiser from Hillsboro. Denay Martin raced back from Eugene after coaching her 6th grade boys team to victory and Abby Line brought her five kids with her. Kristi Fallin, currently playing at Oregon, drove down to be with everybody even though she couldn't play. After the game our current team, our alumni, Athletic Director Cheryl Yoder, Athletic Secretary Donna McGeehon and her husband Gene all went out to dinner and had a great time. One of the highlights was listening to current player Michiah Baker and Michiah Kaiser (Kyra's husband) excitedly talk about how they had never met anyone else with "their" name before!!

The alumni were not all in college basketball shape but they can still play and I found myself sitting on the bench rooting for both teams. Lindsey Heard even got a black eye and a cut under her eye going after a rebound! Almost everything the alumni did triggered some type of great memory from the past and reminded me of just how much fun it was to coach them!

Even though they couldn't make it down to the alumni game former UCC greats Heidi Buehler, Sarah (Coleman) Blackmon, and Elysia Sechler all came by to see us at some point when were in Portland last weekend. Heidi is UCC's all time leading scorer and could probably still step out onto the court and get 30 if she wanted to. Sarah and Elysia starred on our 1997 NWAACC Championship team and it meant a lot to me that they still feel connected to our program after all these years.

Catching Up

2010-01-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I've written and so I really need to get everything caught up and current. We are currently 8-3 but our record might be a little deceiving. All three losses have come on the last day of eight team tournaments when we've played three days in a row. I'm certainly not making excuses or taking anything away from the teams that beat us but in the preseason it's really tough to run and press with maximum intensity for three straight days. Two of those losses came in a stretch right before and after Christmas where we had 6 games in 11 days with no practices in between.

Then why do we do it? First, because that's where our strengths are, second because it's fun and third because it allows us to play more players than many other teams, which helps them improve at a faster rate. And the faster they improve individually the better it is for all of us.

As far as the numbers go, we are first in the Pacific Northwest in average of shots made and attempted per game, we are second in in scoring, second in total offensive rebounding (first in average per game) and second in steals per game. (by half a steal) Mykiea Russell and Jameia McDuffie rank first and second in the Northwest in steals and Nneamaka Anyanwu is fourth in scoring.

Kristi Fallin's Oregon Debut

2009-11-05T00:35:00.000-08:00

Went to historic Mac Court last night on the campus of the University of Oregon to watch former UCC Riverhawk Kristi Fallin make her Oregon debut in an exhibition game against Southern Oregon University. It didn't take long for 10 year old Taylor to mention that it looked strange seeing Kristi in a different uniform and I must admit she was right! If Kristi was nervous she didn't show it and I thought she played well even though she didn't have a record setting shooting night.

It was great to see Micaela (Williams) Leinonen there too. Micaela set the Umpqua single game record of 10 three pointers made in a game before accepting a scholarship to NNU and was there to support Kristi as well.

UCC alum Amy Waltenburg also made her Washington State debut last week in WSU's exhibition game against Lewis-Clark State. I'll try to get some pictures of Amy up here as soon as possible!

It's pretty cool having two former players in the Pac 10 and I'm already looking forward to the Oregon-WSU game!!

RIP Krisden Tanabe

2009-10-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago this week, while my dad and I were coaching at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA we experienced something that we will never forget and that we still talk about every October. In fact, we talked about it tonight.

After a typical practice, two of our players, Donna Gondringer and Krisden Tanabe, made a trip to the Huntington Beach mall to buy jackets and get their ears pierced before going back to Donna's house. Sitting in his car in front of the house waiting for them was Thomas White, a former boyfriend that Krisden had recently broken up with. Donna continued to walk into the house and left Krisden standing at the end of the driveway and Thomas standing in the street behind an open car door. Moments later there was an explosion and Donna sprinted out of the house and found Krisden down on her knees slumped over, the victim of a shotgun blast. Thomas White then turned the shot gun around and killed himself.

I remember calling players on our team and explaining to them what happened and all of us wondering what we should do next. We all tried to think about the last things we said to her since we would never have a chance to say anything else.

When we finally all got together, Donna and Stacee Johnson both made passionate pleas for everyone to dedicate the season to Krisden and told us that Krisden would not want us just to persevere but would want us to go out and kick ass. And from that day forward we did just that!

We went 37-1 that year and won every tournament we played in, including the California State Championship in March. In the state semi final game Bits Sirchia hit a 50 footer right before halftime that changed the entire game. When the ball left her hand it looked like it was going to be way left of the basket but suddenly made an unexplainable turn and then hit nothing but net. In the locker room Bits said out loud what we were all thinking, "Krisden helped out on that one!"

When we returned home, the first stop was at the cemetery, where the girls gave Krisden her championship medal, shirt, and flowers. They were placed right next to the shirts, trophies, and medals that we had won in previous tournaments. It was a stunning visual reminder of a dominating season and we would have gladly traded it all to spend just one more day with our friend and teammate.

Love your family, your friends and your teammates because you just never know what's going to happen.

We Are Family

2009-10-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a wild couple weeks with everyone moving in, school starting and the beginning of our basketball conditioning class. Having so many players away from home for the first time seems to present a new challenge almost each and every day!

We often refer to our players, both past and present, both UCC and GWC, as one big basketball family and lately I've been reminded over and over that is a true statement. On Thursday my son Jeff had dinner in Westminster, CA with Bits Sirchia (GWC '91) and later this week is having dinner with Lisa Tamamasui-Taula (UCC '96) in Logan, Utah. Not only were they great players but also happened to be great babysitters back when Jeff was 4 and 9 years old.

Kirsten Strawn (UCC '09) has worked out with us the couple days. Abby Line (UCC '98) asked me to write a letter of recommendation for her and Sarona Snuka Palomalu (UCC '99) came by the gym today and talked to all the girls about the importance of a great work ethic. Sarona is currently living in Florida and working as a professional wrestler and made my day when I turned and saw her standing in the doorway of my office.

But the best "family" incident of the week started with a post on Facebook. Micaela Williams Leinonen (UCC '06) is working at the Boys & Girls Club in Eugene and posted that a deserving child at the club was in desperate need of a pair of shoes; even used shoes would be great if they were the right size. Almost immediately, Allson Bickel Shirey (GWC '92) responded by volunteering to buy the kid a pair of shoes and mail them to Micaela.

Micaela and Allison have never met each other in person. Micaela was a three point shooter and Allison was an aggressive, physical post player. They went to different colleges fourteen years apart and live in different states. The only thing they have in common is that they both played college basketball on teams that I have coached and as a result have worked and run and competed and run some more and won. They know exactly what each other has learned, experienced and endured and because of that they have a common bond and a mutual respect. They are part of our basketball family and like all good family members are still looking out for each other, even though they have never met.

We are family and I'm proud to be part of it!

Susan Creek Falls

2009-09-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we told the girls to meet at school and to bring workout clothes and a camera if they had one because we were going to run, lift weights and then go on a "field trip."

When they were finished in the weight room everyone piled into two cars and Linda and I drove out along Diamond Lake Blvd. and then followed the North Umpqua River for about 30 miles until we came to Susan Creek Falls. From there we lead them on a hike through the forrest and while walking we talked about bugs, poison oak, and how the air in the woods smells a whole lot different than the air in Los Angeles.

Eventually we turned a corner and walked down a ledge and then the girls suddenly found themselves standing in front of a large, beautiful waterfall. Almost immediately everyone's "inner child" came out and the girls started walking along logs, climbing rocks, wading in the water, looking at crawfish and taking pictures. Almost all had never seen or done anything like that before and Linda and I couldn't help but laugh at all their different reactions.

Run, lift, hike, waterfall, laughing and teammates all added up to a great, great day!

UCC Campus Community Comes Up Huge

2009-09-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I sent out a mass email to the entire UCC campus community volunteering to pick up any and all household items that would otherwise be discarded or possibly donated to charity. With every one of our new players coming from out of the area, including 10 players coming from out of state, I was confidant that I could find a good home for nearly everything. The response has been nothing short of amazing! Mattresses, couches, silverware, glasses, lamps, etc. etc. have all been offered, accepted and picked up and will all be put to great use by some extremely appreciative student-athletes.

In return our team has offered to "pay" for the donations by doing yardwork, babysitting, housework and other chores that will not only show our appreciation but will undoubtedly help us all bond as well. In a age where way too many young people have been spoiled their whole lives and have had everything handed to them, I think it's great that our players are not only willing but anxious to work for everything they receive!

Donations are still coming in, but once everything is picked up and distributed, I'll post the names of all those who contributed here in the blog. But until then . . . THANK YOU everybody, you've made a huge difference!!

Mykiea Russell & Fastbreak Wins Say No Championship

2009-08-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Last week UCC's Mykiea Russell (#1 in the picture) and her Fastbreak teammates won the prestigious Say No Classic Championship. The Say No is an NCAA approved summer league that is made up primarily of D1 and D2 players and is played in the old PE gym on the USC campus. Read about the championship game and see pictures on Sue Favor's They're Playing Basketball blog at http://hoopism.blogspot.com/.

Anson Dorrance on Parents

2009-08-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Took our daughter Taylor to her first U11 soccer practice this afternoon and while she was playing I sat on a picnic table and caught up on my reading of Anson Dorrance's "Vision of a Champion." Coincidently, the chapter I read centered around players and their parents and some of Dorance's thoughts made me think and are definitely worth mentioning here.

"What doesn't work is a daughter without strong character and the same type of parent. Those two, who are not willing to take personal responsibility for anything, bond together and develop a self righteous, judgemental view of the world, which is especially damaging to the daughter. What you have in this dynamic is a player who whines to her parent, and a parent who supports and justifies the whining and then whines to everyone else."

"Almost every stressed out, self destructive (soccer) player is characterized by overmanaging parents."

"In fact, in my experience, players whose parents keep their distance actually end up developing faster and better, and with less stress and pressure, than those whose parents want to be overly involved in everything."

"The way parents can help their children. . . . . is by not comparing their children's performance with a rival teammate or by jumping in with both feet and fighting any of their children's battles. If sports can have any value off the field it is in the athletes dealing with the difficult, but ultimately empowering challenges on their own."

So good luck this season Taylor. I am not going to be one of "those" parents. Listen to your coaches. Play hard. Compete every day. Don't whine, complain, make excuses, or blame anyone else. And above all else, remember that being an athlete is not about what you can get but it's about what you can become!

Winning Mentality

2009-08-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

One of the books that I've been reading lately is "Vision of a Champion" by Anson Dorrance, the UNC women's soccer coach and winner of close to two dozen NCAA Championships. In the book, Dorrance talks about such things as working towards personal excellence, the competitive cauldron, and developing a winning mentality. He also devotes a chapter to parents and other supporters who, if not careful, can do more harm than good to their child's long term success. So far it's a great book that should be read by coaches, athletes, and parents.

Here's a short excerpt from Chapter 5: "The winning mentality is partly optimism, but mostly its a combination of focus, pride, competitive anger, relentlessness, hardness, fitness and courage - all the most descriptive words for competitive athletics. This type of mentality is not about skill or tactics. What it comes down to is intense desire. To get this winning edge you need to build an indomitable will. This means you must be relentless; you must never give up."

"What I love about this mentality is that it's not a talent; it's not part of a genetic code you're either born with or not. It's a choice, a decision you make to develop it. It's not an easy choice, but it is what is going to elevate you from the ordinary player. The question is: Can you make the choice to be indomitable?"

Former Player Future TV Star

2009-07-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Former UCC star Sarona (Snuka) Polomalu, pictured at the left with Taylor, was in town for a couple days and came by the house to see us yesterday morning. Sarona played as hard as any player we've ever had and her intensity and enthusiasm impacted every single practice and every single game. Fortunately for us, she never learned the meaning of half speed. It's been ten years since she played but I remember Sarona diving into the stands, to chase a loose ball, with such force that she broke a fan's finger. I remember her being the MVP of the LA Valley Tournament in Los Angeles even though she scored relatively little. I also remember her bringing dinner to the office when she knew Linda and I would be there late. (Her teriyaki chicken is the still the best I've ever tasted!) Regardless of the circumstances, Sarona was always there for her coaches and teammates and never complained or expected anything in return. I still know that if Linda and I ever needed her, she would be here in a second.

Sarona, whose father is profesional wrestling champion Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and whose cousin is Duane "The Rock" Johnson, is now living in Florida with her two young daughters and getting ready to embark on a professional wrestling career of her own. I had to laugh when Sarona told us that after hurting too many women, she now has to train against men!

As we sat and talked, Sarona told us how grateful she is for her Umpqua experience and how the focus, work ethic, and mental toughness that she developed here changed her life. She must have still been thinking about us because early this morning at 1:57am Sarona sent me a text. "Coach, I'm at the airport waiting for my flight but just wanted to thank you again for everything you've taught me."

You're welcome Sarona! I can't wait to see you on TV!!

Being A Great Player Is An Uphill Battle

2009-07-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's a widely accepted theory that great teams are made during the season and great players are made in the off season. If that theory holds true, returning sophomore Mykiea Russell can look forward to an awesome sophomore season. Not only is she competing with and against D1 players in the famous Say No Classic summer league in Los Angeles, but she is also working out under the direction of coach/trainer/author Sue Favor. Their most recent workouts consist of running the sand dunes at Manhattan Beach. Next March when Mykie still has gas in the tank, when her legs and lungs are as strong in the last five minutes as they were in the first five minutes, she's going to look back and know that her uphill sprints in the heat of July has paid off.

Individual Excellence

2009-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Our society, at the present time, seems to have sympathy only for the misfit, the ne'er-do-well, the maladjusted, the criminal, the loser. It is time to stand up for the doer, the achiever, the one who sets out to do something and does it. The one who recognizes the problems and opportunities at hand and deals with them. The one who is constantly looking for more to do. The one who carries the work of the world on his shoulders. The leader. We will never create a good society, much less a great one, until individual excellence is respected and encouraged. Vince Lombardi Jr. in What It Takes To Be #1.

The Secret

2009-06-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Years ago, long before club, summer, and AAU teams dotted the land, a young boy lived in Westminster, California. One day that boy went to his father and asked him how he could become a basketball player. Without saying a word the father got into the car and of course the boy followed. In silence they drove the three miles to Huntington Beach, where they parked and walked out towards the ocean. Upon reaching the water, the father, who was 6'7", walked out into the surf until the water was up to his waist, and of course the boy followed, but the water came up to his chest. Still, not a word was spoken.

Without warning the father grabbed the boy and pushed him down under the water and held him there until the boy thought he was going to drown. After drinking a huge amount of the Pacific Ocean, the boy was pulled up out of the water and immediately started sputtering, gasping, and gulping for air. 'What are you doing?" he finally screamed. "All I asked you was how to be a basketball player and you almost killed me!"

The father responded by asking, "When I was holding your head under water and you thought you were going to drown, what's the one thing you wanted more than anything else?" "Are you serious? Air! I wanted air!" screamed the boy.

Then the lesson. "When you want to be a basketball player as much as you wanted that one breath of air, you won't need me or anyone else to tell you how to do it."

As the years unfolded, the boy realized that relentless desire not only applied to playing basketball, but also to coaching, winning, getting an education, finding a job, etc.

Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day!!

Crab Bucket

2009-06-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Crabbers on the Oregon coast know that if you put one crab in a bucket it will quickly climb out. But put two or more crabs in a bucket and they will stay they forever. Why? Because everytime one crab tries to climb out of the bucket, the other crabs will reach up and pull it back down. Unfortunately, this happens with people too. Many times, as soon as someone begins to separate themselves from the group (usually as a result of much more work and dedication), and sees a little more success or gets a little more attention, others quickly become jealous and offended. Instead of celebrating this success or trying to elevate themselves to reach new heights, these "crabs" choose to react by sulking, criticizing and blaming others. As a result, feelings are hurt and relationships are damaged and much more harm is done than good. But what a lot of "crabs" don't realize is that they all started off in the same bucket and all had the same opportunities to climb out. It's what they do with those opportunities that makes all the difference!

Dr. Jim Kraby - 20 Wins Or Else!

2009-06-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was working in my office today when the sound of a familar voice made me get out of my chair and walk out into the hallway where I immediately saw Dr. Jim Kraby, the former President of UCC who hired me several years ago. Dr. Kraby retired eight years ago and even though he is now living in Arizona with his wife Pat, his heart is evidently still in the UCC gym.

We walked back into my office and the first thing Dr. Kraby said to me was, "What happened in the Skagit Valley game? You played so well all year but then couldn't make a shot those first six minutes!" He knew our record, all the players names, important stats, etc. and was truly disappointed that we didn't get that one more win. Dr. Kraby walked straight over to a picture of one of our championship teams, the one where he is standing in the front holding the championship trophy with a big smile on his face, and said, " I have this picture hanging in my house in Arizona!"

I couldn't help but thinking back at the first time we met; when he interviewed me right before he offered me the coaching position that I still have today. "All you have to do to keep your job," Kraby told me, "is to win 20 games a year and make sure your players stay out of trouble!" (Of course I told him that my goals were much higher than just 20 a year.) To this day I still don't know if he was dead serious or not, but every year, on the morning after our 20th win, I would get a call or an email telling me that I could sign another contract and stay on for one more year.

Even though he's been in Arizona for eight years, I STILL get an email each season the morning after our 20th win telling me I deserve to stay on one more year. I'm already looking forward to the next one!!

Heidi Buehler

2009-05-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Heidi Buehler, UCC's all time leading scorer, left a post on my Facebook wall that's a great reminder as to why I coach. I can't remember our exact won-loss records when Heidi played between 2000-2002 (although I do know we won a LOT of games!) but I do remember the road trips, our talks in the office, the time we spent laughing, and the intensity that she brought to every team practice and individual workout. It's a great feeling to know that you've made a positive difference in someone else's life!

Here's Heidi's post: "Thanks for the B-Day wish. . .I miss you too Dave:) You are a huge reason I am the person I am today. I can't say that I have ever had someone in my life that has pushed me and cared about me as much as you have. I know that I am only ONE out of 100 people you have helped over the years but I must say that UCC was life changing. Thank you. . .I have much LOVE for You."

Seattle University Hall of Fame

2009-05-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

My dad, Richard Stricklin, and I have worked together in one capacity or another for over 20 years. First I was his assistant coach at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, then we were co-coaches, then he was my assistant here at Umpqua for several years. And even though he is no longer involved on a daily basis he still scouts, watches game tape, and works with our post players when his time permits. It's been a great partnership over the years!

Last week, "Big Coach" as the players have affectionately called him since 1990 (thanks to Donna Gondringer Jasper), was inducted into Seattle University's Athletic Hall of Fame and quite honestly, it's about time!

Just look at his numbers and how well they have held up over the last 52 years. He played at SU from 1954-57, back when freshmen weren't eligible to play at NCAA schools and long, long before the shot clock and three point line were even considered. Yet despite those disadvantages he is still eighth on Seattle's all-time scoring list with 1,595 points; fourth on their all-time rebounding list with 924 rebounds and second on the SU free throw list as well with 495.
Over the course of his career Big Coach averaged 18.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Kind of makes you wonder what he could have done with an extra season!

As a basketball coach and fan I couldn't be more impressed. As a son, I couldn't be prouder!!

Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner: Will Westhead style challenge Stanford women's supremacy?

2009-05-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

UCC's style of offense and Kristi Fallin are mentioned in this Bay Area article:

Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner: Will Westhead style challenge Stanford women's supremacy?

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At UCC We Like Being "Abnormal"

2009-05-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

"Winning is not normal and those who constantly win follow an "abnormal" path. The discipline, dedication, and sacrifices are incomprehensible to those thousands standing outside looking in, who are capable of joining he winning team, yet unwilling to pay the price of admission."
(Author Unknown)

The Best Player to EVER Come out of Onahill, Idaho

2009-05-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

is without a doubt UCC sophomore Cassie Scheffelmaier, who after being named 1st Team All NWAACC Southern Region, recently signed a National Letter of Intent and received a full basketball scholarship to Carroll College in Helena, Montana.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/womensbasketball/2009-04-28-3435027022_x.htm

At the beginning of the season I was working on our web page rosters when Cassie walked in to the office, saw what I was doing, and quickly informed me that she wasn't really from Kootenai, Idaho like I had listed. Kootenai was the name of the high school but not the town. When I asked her where she lived Cassie told me that the nearest town was Harrison but they received their mail in Cataldo. "Well, where do you live?" I asked again while laughing. "Just out in the country on a hill." Cassie replied. So I hit the delete button and erased Kootenai from the web page roster and typed in "Onahill" instead. (On a hill) Cassie and I both laughed for a while and then forgot all about it.

Until we played in the Clackamas Thanksgiving Tournament and the starting lineups were announced. "At guard, a 5'8' sophomore from Onahill, Idaho. . .Cassie. . . Scheffelmaier!!" I smiled, Cassie chuckled, and her parents, who made the trip over from Idaho laughed out loud. Then Cassie proceeded to turn in arguably the best single game performance in the history of the NWAACC, not to mention Onahill, Idaho, when she scored 50 points and grabbed 21 rebounds!

After that game every announcer declared that Cassie was from Onahill at all home and away games and not a single person ever caught on to our inside joke. However, one of the coaches recruiting Cassie did mention that their whole staff spent nearly an entire day trying to locate Onahill before finally giving up and deciding to ask us where the heck it was!

I think it's safe to say that there will never be another player like Cassie Sceffelmaier from Onahill, Idaho. Who knows? Maybe next year the roster can list her new home town as Hanna, Montana!!

University of Oregon Announces Signing

2009-05-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

The following article showed up today on the University of Oregon's athletic department web site:
http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4307&SPID=236&ATCLID=3735717&DB_OEM_ID=500

Kristi Fallin Signs at University of Oregon

2009-05-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

When our players are being recruited by four year schools I tell them that there are four factors to consider: location, school, basketball program, and money and they need to decide which of these factors are the most important. Are they willing to take less money in order to go to a good program in an great location? Do they want/need a full scholarship even if it means playing on a lousy team in a bad location? Etc. Etc. Lots of possibilities. Most get two of the four. The lucky ones get three of the four. Kristi Fallin got all four!

On Monday Kristi signed a National Letter of Intent and accepted a full scholarship to play at the University of Oregon, which is only an hour away. She is going to be coached by newly hired Paul Westhead, who besides winning both NBA (LA Lakers) and WNBA (Phoenix Mercury) Championships, runs an offense that wants to get a shot off in the first five seconds of each possession and generates a lot of three pointers at the end of the fast break and sideline break.

Last season the leading three pointer shooter in NCAA Division 1 made 116 threes. Kristi made 118. We play fast but not as fast as Westhead's shoot first ask questions later style of play. Kristi has a chance to be very, very successful in that system.

Follow the links below to read about Kristi's signing on the NWAACC website, in The News-Review, and on Douglas County Sports Online
http://www.nwaacc.org/news.php?id=744

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090504/SPORTS/905049921/1012/NONE&parentprofile=1056

http://www.douglascountysportsonline.com/sportsline/kristi-fallin-to-play-basketball-at-oregon.html

Happy Birthday Linda!!!

2009-05-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "My chief want in life is someone who will make me do what I can!" I've always tried to be that "someone" in the lives of our players and have tried to help them reach their goals by raising their level of expectation, by putting them in a position to succeed, by teaching them, by patting them on the back and when necessary, kicking them in the butt. (figuratively, of course!)

That "someone" in my life is my wife Linda. I don't want to be too personal or go into too much detail but I can tell you that Linda completely understands my overwhelming desire to compete and to win and so willingly takes care of a million little things and a few dozen big things so I can do what I do best. She gets little recognition and not enough appreciation and yet without her help and influence neither I, nor Taylor nor our basketball family would be nearly as successful.

Happy Birthday Linda!! I love you!!

National Exposure

2009-04-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

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!

Working Vacation

2009-03-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

I was really hoping/planning on being in Springfield, MA this week watching my son Jeff and his BYUH teammates play for the NCAA DII National Championship, but when they lost at the buzzer in the Regional Finals, plans quickly changed. We loaded up the Yukon and headed south for a week long working vacation, mixing family time and recruiting, and having a great time at both. Stops in Redding, Los Angeles, Desert Hot Springs, Westminster, and now Fresno have kept us going non stop but it's been both fun and productive. It'd be nice to have another week, or at least a few more days, but school and spring workouts start Monday and I'm looking forward to seeing all the girls again!

While standing at the entrance of the Silver Bullett roller coaster at Knott's BerryFarm a lady approached Linda and asked if we were the Umpqua women's basketball coaches. Evidently, she and her family live in a small town outside of Roseburg and have been watching our games for years. I guess it really is a small world after all. (No wait, that's at Disneyland, not Knott's Berry Farm!)

UCC almnae Aubrey (Dickson) Dobrkovsky, one of the program's all time leading scorer and a former Kodak All American sent us a text telling us that she and her husband BJ are expecting their first child next October. Of course I reminded her that David is a great name in case it's boy. If it's a girl I may have a letter of intent sent directly to the hospital. . . .BJ played in college and is now a very successful high school basketball coach and Aubrey was one of the best in the country. . . genes like theirs could help a coach win a few games!!

One Family-Three Great Seasons

2009-03-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

The 2008-2009 basketball season is now officially over for the Stricklin family and I must admit that even though I'm still in mourning, it was a pretty good season for all of us. As UCC followers already know, we finished the season 29-3, averaged 90 points a game and were ranked #1 in the Pacific Northwest from start to finish. My son Brad and his North Eugene HS teammates won their first three playoff games and got to finish out their season at historic Mac Court on the campus of the University of Oregon. My oldest son Jeff, a junior on BYU-Hawaii's team, saw his season come to an end last night when the Seasiders lost at the buzzer and were upset in the NCAA West Regional Final. They had their 25 game winning streak snapped and finished with a 27-2 record.

Jeff's game was on TV last night but didn't start until 10:30pm PST.
It looked like BYUH had the game locked up with about seven minutes to go only to let it slip away at the end. The parent in me was concerned about how disappointed Jeff and his teammates were feeling. (When Jeff finally called after the game he could barely talk and wasn't much better when I called him this afternoon) The coach in me had to completely analyze what happened and so I went over a tape of the game until after 2am. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I watched the tape, the game always ended the same way!!

Coincidentally,I was cleaning out a closet this morning and came across a book by John Maxwell called "Talent Is Never Enough" and I instantly started to think about our three teams and how each one ended the season. You know, although it is definitely a great place to start, talent really isn't enough. Sometimes you need you need a little luck; sometimes you need better decision making from both players and coaches; sometimes you need favorable officiating and sometimes you just need someone to step up and make a play! But because talent isn't always enough, sometimes the best team doesn't win, and that fact can result in some exciting possibilities - unless of course you're the best team! The 2009-2010 season can now officially begin! Let's hope it's another great one for all of us!!

Last Van Ride Of The Season

2009-03-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

It's been an emotional few days around here. As we drove back from playing in the NWAACC All Star Game last Sunday, Kristi Fallin sat in the front seat while Cassandra and Mykie slept on the seats behind us and we talked for hours about how hard she's worked and improved over the last two years and then speculated about what the future holds for all of us. Kristi realized and pointed out that the whole trip was one full of "lasts" - the last time wearing her Umpqua uniform, the last time riding in the van, the last time playing with her Umpqua teammates, the last time listening to Jimmy Buffett off my MP3 player, the last time reminding me to wear my glasses while driving, the last time stopping at the Eugene AM/PM etc. etc. Usually we all hate riding in the van this time of year but this time neither one of us was in a hurry for the trip to end.

I really appreciated Titi (Hawaii), Mykie (California), Cassandra, and Cassie (Idaho) all stopping by the office to say goodbye before heading home for spring break. I know they were busy and also very anxious to get home but they still took the time out to come see me before they left. And then knowing that Linda and I would worry about them while travelling, TiTi, Mykie, and Cassie all let us know as soon as they arrived safely. They're basketball players inside the gym and family the rest of the time!

Follow the link below and check out some action shots of the girls:
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbPage.aspx?e=4577181&g=03&s=0

29-3 But I Wish We Were Just Starting

2009-03-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not real sure where to begin. At the NWAACC Championship Tournament we played very well against Bellevue, Lower Columbia, and Clackamas while capturing wins number 27, 28, and 29 but it was an entirely different story in our game against Skagit Valley. I don't want to go into great detail because it still hurts to even think about it, but it's safe to say that a six minute scoring draught undoubtedly cost us a shot at win number 30 and a perfect ending to an already awesome season. On the positive side, I guess it says a lot about our overall program when we can finish 29-3 and still be somewhat disappointed!!

Miranda Holenstein sent me a text telling me that she started crying after it suddenly occurred to her that there was no practice today. She said that the things in practice that she thought she "hated" the most are really the things that she already misses the most. It just seems like we should all be together preparing for the next game but instead we just mentally and physically wandered around. For the first time in weeks I didn't watch game tape today.

I do get to watch some of our players get after it one more time this season: Kristi Fallin, Cassie Scheffelmaier, Miranda Holenstein, TiTi Takai, and Cassandra Tiggett have all been selected to play in the NWAACC Sophomore All Star Game next Sunday at Pierce College in Lakewood, WA. Only once before have five players from the same school made the All Star team and coincidently that was our 2000 Umpqua team. This year our players and the other Southern Region All Stars will take on a team from the Northern Region.

The above picture was taken at the NWAACC championship banquet. I might be a little biased but I thought our girls were the classiest looking team there! Good looking, sharp dressers, and the ability to score 90 points a game. . .what more could we ask for? (Except to win just one more game!)

Playoff Brackets Set - UCC Opens With Bellevue

2009-03-03T23:31:00.000-08:00

The NWAACC Championship Tournament brackets have been set and UCC, the Southern Region champions, opens the tournament with Bellevue CC (Bellevue, WA) at 8pm Thursday, March 5th at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA. UCC beat Bellevue 81-77 in the very first game of the season during the opening round of the Yakima Tournament.

The second round of the tournament will match UCC with either Lower Columbia (Longview, WA) or Treasure Valley CC (Ontario, OR).

The entire bracket, complete with game times, can be found at http://nwaacc.org/basketball/Tourneys/2009_NWAACC_WOMENS_BRACKET.pdf

Southern Region Champions!!!

2009-02-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

Last night's 86-80 comeback win against Lane CC ran our record to 26-2 and captured the NWAACC Southern Region Championship. We were down by as many as 16 in the first half but regrouped a little and were only down by 8 at halftime. Lane extended their lead to 14 with 12 minutes to go and then we were finally able to get a string of defensive stops. Kristi Fallin scored 18 points in those last 12 minutes to finish with a season high 37 and Miranda Holenstein, Cassie Scheffelmaier, and Titi Takai all made huge hustle plays down the stretch.

I can't tell you how proud I am of the way the girls pulled out the win. It would have been easy to conclude early on that it just wasn't our night but not a single player eased up and not a single player ever doubted. Everyone filled their role to the very best of their ability and definitely played "for" each other not just "with" each other. When we all went out to eat after the game it was hard for everyone to talk because nearly all of us were hoarse from yelling and cheering. Numerous times in the second half our bench would start waving towels and chanting "Defense!" and then the cheerleaders would chime in and then the crowd got involved and the adrenaline started rushing. Mykiea Russell was on the bench in foul trouble most of the game but I don't think she sat down for more than ten seconds at a time! (When we watched the tape tonight after dinner we had as much fun watching the action on the bench as we did watching the game itself.)

For me the best part of the night came immediately after the game when I was able to hug each of the sophomores and let them know how important they are to me. This was the last home game they will ever play at UCC and they created a memory for themselves and for the rest of us that will last for a long, long, time. They have absolutely no idea just how much I've loved being their coach and how much I am going to miss them when they're gone!!

Louisville Coaches Watch Practice

2009-02-23T00:48:00.000-08:00

It's an exciting time of year if you're a Riverhawk fan!! We won last night at Clackamas to run our overall record to 25-2 and our Southern Region record to 12-1. It's the 19th time in 22 seasons that we've been able to win at least 25 games and I'm confidant we still have a few wins to go! A win next Wednesday would clinch the region championship and give us a number one seed in the playoffs.

University of Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz and his recruiting coordinator, Stephanie Norman, came to watch us practice tonight and told us they were impressed by how hard everyone played. Normally we take Sundays off but gladly changed our schedule a little when they called and asked if they could fly out and come to practice. Louisville, currently ranked #8 in the country, also won their 25th game of the season by beating Villanova on Saturday and it was an honor to have Coach Walz and Coach Norman come watch and evaluate us.

Overdue Update

2009-02-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

I'm a little embarassed that I haven't written anything in close to three weeks. Between preparing our team for our big surge down the stretch, coaching our games, watching and recruiting future Riverhawks, finding our sophomores places to play next year, and watching as many of Brad's high school games as I can, I've hardly had time to think let alone write. When I'm in the car I'm on the phone. When I'm home I'm watching game tape. I have a portable DVD player and so sometimes I'm driving, watching game tape and on the phone all at the same time!! If only I could drive, watch, talk and TYPE all at the same time then this blog would be updated more regularly!

In the last couple weeks we've extended our won-loss record to 20-2, are averaging just under 90 points a game, and have been ranked #1 in the Pacific Northwest in every single poll since early December. All six of our sophomores are generating interest from four year schools and we've sent out a few dozen tapes already. I know there are a lot of coaches at this level who don't feel that it is their responsibility to help their players move on, but Linda and I consider it not only our responsibility but our top priority. . . .probably one of the big reasons why we have so many of our players get scholarships to four year school!

Miranda Holenstein and Mykiea Russell have been spending a lot of extra time working with "The Gun" lately and as a result have increased their range and are shooting very well. We're very fortunate that the UCC gym is available every morning for our players to get some extra work and even more fortunate that we have several players who want to take advantage of that time. The better we get individually the better we'll be as a team!

"Wendy" Takai

2009-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking we're all tired this time of year. So much so that players and coaches alike seemingly drag themselves out of bed, throw on some sweats (hopefully they are semi clean but not always a pre-requisite) and head to school. Fashion and appearance are rarely huge priorities! So when Titi Takai took the time to fix her hair and showed up to school in pigtails we all took notice and couldn't help but clown on her a little bit. My first thought was she looked like Pippi Longstocking and Mykie started calling her Pocohontas. But the funniest response came from Cassandra, who is always hungry and so immediately nicknamed her Wendy after the hamburger icon. Knowing Cassandra like we do, we're all convinced that every time she looked at Titi throughout the rest of practice, she started craving a Triple Bacononator with Biggie Fries and a Frosty!

Umpqua 84 Chemeketa 60; Aubrey & BJ

2009-01-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we coasted to a 84-60 win over Chemeketa but it didn't really feel like a win. We were ahead 40-16 at halftime but didn't manage to keep up the same intensity throughout the second half. The good thing is that every single player, as well as the coaches, recognized that it wasn't our best effort, and that we have to continue to play HARD for 40 minutes a game if we want to achieve our goals, regardless of what our competition is doing.

The best part of the night came after the game when we were all able to spend some time with former UCC great and 1st Team Kodak All American Aubrey (Dickson) Dobrkovsky and her husband BJ. BJ is the boys varsity coach at Sprague High School in Salem and Aubrey splits her time between counseling kids in the local school district and her own private counseling practice. While BJ and I talked basketball, Aubrey told the girls story after story about her time at UCC, how hard we worked at practice, her roommates, etc. etc. Aubrey is one of the most positive people you will ever meet and spending time with her was so much fun that she almost made us forget how poorly we played in the second half!

Aubrey played at Umpqua from 1997-1999 and is still the school's second all time leading scorer. And even though I don't remember the exact score of a single game she played in, I clearly remember how much I enjoyed being her coach!! I wish we could go back and do it again!!

Umpqua 97 Southwestern Oregon 61

2009-01-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

We're not always as consistant as we would like to be but we can be explosive at times and that showed once again in our win against Southwestern Oregon. The first half was a grind and we built a 12 point lead only to see it completely vanish when SWOCC scored the first 12 points of the second half. I really don't know what happened at that point but it was like someone flipped a detonator switch and set off a bomb!! Over the next seventeen minutes we shot 70% and outscored SWOCC 60-24. Once again we had five players score in double figures and another one finished with eight. Here's a link to The News-Review game article: http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090108/SPORTS/901089902/1056&title=UCC%20Riverhawks%27%20girls%20come%20alive%20to%20throttle%20Lakers

Michael Jordan Underwear

2008-12-31T18:48:00.000-08:00

What's the "best" Christmas present you received this year? Was it big and expensive? Was it exactly what you had hoped and wished for? Will you still like it this time next year?

Last week, as we took turns opening brightly wrapped packages, boxes, and gift bags, there was something very specific I was hoping to get. With each and every gift that was removed from under the tree I wondered to myself if that could be the one. Finally, tucked way back under the lowest branch was a lumpy blob of red wrapping paper that said "To Dad - From Brad" on the front. I tore the paper off as fast as I could and seconds later was holding the "best" present of the year - a three pack of Hanes, size 6, "tighty whities" with Michael Jordan's name and image imprinted all over them!!

See, a long, long time ago, when he was just a little boy, my son Brad, who is now 18, gave me the very same package of Michael Jordan underwear for Christmas. Unfortunately they were size 6 and since I haven't been able to squeeze into a kids size 6 since. . . well, since maybe never, I put them into a dresser drawer and pretty much forgot about them until they were rediscovered around Christmas time the following year. That Christmas Eve I took the Michael Jordan underwear, rewrapped them, wrote Brad's name on the package and placed it under the tree. The next morning Brad opened the package and laughed and never mentioned them again until the next Christmas when he wrapped them up and gave them back to me. And so for the last dozen years or so we have taken turns caring for the Michael Jordan underwear like it was the Holy Grail and then regifting it to each other every Christmas.

During that time we have lived in three houses and one apartment. Walkman's and CD players and Super Nintendos have all come and gone. Laptops have replaced desktops. Cordless phones aren't as amazing as they used to be. There have been a few Presidents, a couple wars, and a terrorist attack. Brad has gone from grade school to middle school to high school. Housing markets and stock markets have both skyrocketed and crashed. But through it all, the package of Michael Jordan underwear has endured and has become my favorite Christmas tradition. And I'm already expecting that two years from now it will be the "best" present I get!

Christmas Break

2008-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

The last week has been so hectic and crazy that it just wouldn't be fair to call it a vacation or even a break!! It started at the Chemeketa tournament in Salem where we played extremely well and beat both Treasure Valley (110-65) and Seattle (113-72) and then had the opportunity to play Chemeketa. Once again that didn't work out when Chemeketa couldn't guarantee that the weather wouldn't keep their players from making it back to the gym.

So instead of playing another game, all the girls scattered for various destinations and Linda and I drove back to Roseburg by ourselves. Most of the girls made it home without a problem but not all of them. Mykie ended up spending a day and a half in the Portland airport before she could finally get a flight out to LA; Cassie had to take a 12 hour detour driving to Idaho because I-84 was completely closed; and Titi's standby flight to Hawaii was first redirected to Utah where she remained for the next four days.

Kristi sent me a text Christmas morning asking if I would open the gym again for her after everything slowed down. (We worked out a couple days ago.) So at 7:30pm nine year old Taylor and I picked up Kristi and headed to UCC. As I was driving I couldn't help but making up my own version of "The Night Before Christmas."

"Twas the night we call Christmas and all through the Northwest; not many players were shooting; only the best. . . ."

After we shot for an hour, Kristi kind of put her around Taylor and said, "Now you're a day ahead of every other fourth grader you'll play against." Not only was it a very wise statement but it also gave us great insight into Kristi's thinking. I couldn't help but wonder how many times Kristi has walked out of the gym after working out by herself and thought, "Now I'm one day ahead of everyone else!" Probably too many to count.

(Mykie just called from a pay phone at the Portland airport to tell me that she made it back safely. She is going to meet Titi, who is on a flight now, in an hour and then Cassie will meet up with both of them on her way back from Idaho and drive them to Roseburg. It's always a proud and happy time for "dads" when they see their "kids" looking out for each other!)

Champions By Forfeit

2008-12-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

I guess if you coach long enough you see just about everything but somethng happened this weekend that still has a lot of people shaking their heads. After winning our first two games by an average of 44 points, we were scheduled to play Chemeketa CC in the championship game of the Edmonds Winter Classic tournament. But less than an hour before the game, the Chemeketa coach sent one of his players into the gym to tell me and the tournament director that because another winter storm was on the way they were going to go home instead of play for the championship. Let me say that again - the team was AT THE GYM and decided to leave without playing. It wasn't like bad weather prohibited them from getting to the game because that would be completely understood by everyone. . . .but they were already AT THE GYM. . . .and neither myself, the three game officials, the President of Edmonds CC, the tournament director etc. etc. believed or understood the stated reason behind leaving.

If there was a bright side it was seeing the reaction of our players who were more upset than I was/am. If you are a competitor then you want to compete and they are competitors! If I ever tried that I would have a complete mutiny on my hands and would be going home by myself!!One of our players even said to me, "If you ever told me to go tell another coach that we were going to go home instead of play I would say "F*#@ You!! We're going to play with or without you!"

Chemeketa is in our league and so barring some unforseen circumstances (it happened last weekend so it could happen again) we are scheduled to play them twice. Should be interesting!!

Oh, did I happen to mention that they were already AT THE GYM when they left!!

Umpqua 91 Wenatchee Valley 53

2008-12-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Opened the first round of the Edmonds Winter Classic tonight with a 91-53 win over Wenatchee Valley. We've spent the better part of a week trying to improve our defense and I thought the extra work really showed tonight. The thing that I was most pleased about is that we did an excellent job of keeping up the defensive intensity even as we constantly subbed to keep fresh legs in the game. As a result, our defense created a lot of offense and we probably had close to a dozen fast breaks that could end up on the year end highlight DVD. For the first time this season we had five players score in double figures and we scored over 90 points for the fourth time in five games.

Almost as exciting as the tournament is the weather! The first big winter storm is blasting the Pacific Northwest which is eventually going to make travel back to Roseburg a challenge. Weather reports predict lots of snow most of the day tomorrow and Sunday followed by freezing temps for a couple days. We'll have to wait and see what happens but Linda's and my coaching instincts tell us to start preparing ahead of time and still have a backup plan just in case!

Alumni Game & Dinner

2008-12-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Other than playing for a championship the Alumni game is the most fun game of the year! We've had some pretty good teams over the years and so our alumni are pretty good and even though don't play everyday they are still as competitive as ever. Fortunately for our won-loss record, the alumni just aren't in as good as shape as our current players. Last night the scored was tied at 50 with about 15:00 to go in the game before conditioning became a factor and our current team started to pull away. It was hard resisting the urge to coach both teams. At one point, alum Katie Stephens, who drove up from Chico, CA to play in the game, had the ball on the wing in front of our bench and was being pressured while trying to find someone open. I watched the official counting out five seconds and instinctivily told Katie to "take a dribble" so the count would start over. It was fun to watch Micaela (Williams) Leinonen switch players so she could "D-up" Kristi Fallin after Kristi hit her eighth 3 of the game. (Micalea holds the UCC record of 10 3's in a game) And I couldn't help but smile after Mykiea Russell stripped Krissy Scoggin (2000 NWAACC Champion, 4th all time scorer at UCC, and mother of 3) and layed the ball in and then the two of them high fived on the way back down the court.

After the game most of us went out to eat (picture above), told war stories and took turns holding Becci (Randall) Beneau's baby daughter. My daughter Taylor asked for a dollar to play in the arcade and as soon as I opened my wallet Cassie Scheffelmaier and Kristi asked if they too could have dollars to play in the arcade. Titi Takai and Kirsten Strawn teamed up to set the arcade basketball shooting record while the cheers from teammates, alumni, and kids drowned out most casual conversations. It was a great time and ended way too soon for me.

After everyone else left, Craig Scoggin, Tim Randall and I stood around and talked about the impact that UCC basketball has had on their families and the community in general. Eventually we all left and as I drove home I thought back on the entire night and kept thinking to myself "That's why I coach."

Tournament Champs & Cassie Drops 50!!

2008-12-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

What a difference a week makes! We played with much more poise than we did opening weekend and ran our season record to 5-1 after beating Blue Mountain and Southwestern Oregon in the first two rounds of the Clackamas Thanksgiving Tournament and then Clackamas for the championship. The Clackamas score was 99-90 which has been typical of UCC-Clackamas games the last few years. I know both teams spend a lot of time working on defense but it just seems to go right out the window when the two teams play each other.

A couple of things definitely stood out this weekend. First of all, Cassie Scheffelmaier scored 50 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the championship game.Unbelievable!! Use the link on the right to go to our team's web page and read more about it. That's definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I just feel lucky that I was part of it! 60 years from now Cassie's going to be telling her great grand children about the game and for a brief moment will think again about UCC, her teammates, coaches, etc. (Of course, by then she'll be 80 years old and probably won't remember any of our names!!)

The other thing that impressed me was the number of family members that we had at the tournament which was played in Oregon City, about three hours away from UCC. We have 10 players on our team from five different states and all but one had family there for at least part of the time! That's almost as rare as a player scoring 50 points!! We took a head count when we got to the restaurant after the championship and there were 32 of us! And that's not counting Cassie's family who went back to Idaho right after the game instead of eating with us. We really are a big family here - a little dysfunctional at times - but a big family nevertheless.

Great Weekend - Lousy 22 Seconds!!

2008-11-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how 22 seconds can ruin your whole weekend!! After beating Bellevue and Columbia Basin in the first two rounds, we tipped off against Yakima Valley CC in the championship game of the Yakima Tournament. With 22 seconds to go and the score tied at 80 we turned the ball over before we could get off the shot we wanted. Yakima immediately called timeout and set up a play to go to their best scorer. We successfully stopped their first option, but in the mad scramble that followed, they fired up a deep, deep 3 that beat us. Kristi Fallin finished the game with 31 pts and 11 rebounds while Cassandra Tiggett grabbed 17 rebounds and Mykiea Russell added 11 points but the loss definitely made the long trip home even longer!

Yakima Valley CC is a very good team that was picked by many in the preseason to win the always strong NWAACC Eastern Region. Playing Yakima at Yakima is especially tough but we certainly didn't help our own cause by committing 31 turnovers and missing 14 free throws. We'll continue to work hard and get better, as I'm sure Yakima will, and maybe we'll see each other again in March.

A special thanks to Andy & Kathy Owens for taking the team to dinner while Linda and I stayed in the gym to watch and scout other games. Running a first class program is a huge endeavor and we're always grateful for those parents, friends, and fans that go out of their way to help us. Thank you very much!!

Yakima, WA

2008-11-21T00:07:00.000-08:00

It's a little after midnight and we're in Yakima, Washington for our first tournament of the season. We arrived about 9pm, checked in to the hotel, went to eat, and then had a team meeting. After making sure everyone kept our midnight curfew I went down to the hotel restaurant and made arrangements for tomorrow's pre game meal. We play Bellevue at 2pm and I'm happy for the early start, especially since it's our first game and everyone is bound to be a little nervous. If we played at 8pm then we'd have to sit around all day and that can't be good for first games nerves.

Dan Jones of the Douglas County News Review wrote a season preview article on our team that appeared in today's paper. Dan came to practice on Tuesday and interviewed nearly everybody and left saying he had enough material to write several articles and so I am sure this is just the first of many. Here's the link:

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20081120/SPORTS/811209958/1056&title=UCC%20Riverhawk%20women's%20basketball%20team%20aiming%20for%20the%20ultimate%20prize

Jason Hink and Brent Newton of KPIC came to practice yesterday and did a couple of quick on camera interviews to air on TV. I've known both those guys for a long time and it was fun catching up and talking about some of our former teams and players. One of their new projects is to start broadcasting all of our home games and a few select away games over internet radio. Since our team currently has players from five different states, we are going to have a lot of happy friends and families who will now be able to follow the Riverhawks more closely than ever. I left their business card back in Roseburg but will post the link to the radio site as soon as I get back.

Kickin' Bass

2008-11-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

With our last scrimmage today and our first games next weekend there's been a dozen last minute details to take care of before everything gets really crazy. Team rosters and picture need to be turned in to the NWAACC, travel arrangements finalized and then travel budget turned in, grade checks, team gear checked out including shoes (still waiting on a pair to arrive) travel bags, sweats, backpacks, etc. As you all know it takes a lot of money to run a first class program and so to raise a few extra bucks we put together a schedule/poster that is funded by several local businesses, a couple sets of parents and grandparents, and a very generous photographer. Anyway a week or so ago we took a team picture on Jesse Morrow's boat, which happens to be green and have "RiverHawk" on the side. Jesse is the Chairman of the Public Safety Dept. at UCC and is always quick to help out anyway he can. Photographer Keri Blue took some great pictures and is putting the poster together under the slogan "Kickin' Bass," in reference to the boat of course. I hope it turns out to be a self fulfilling prophecy!!
Early November is big in terms of birthdays for our team. Miranda Holenstein's was the 6th, mine was the 12th and Cassie Scheffelmaier's is the 15th. So last night the whole team got together after study hall for birthday cake and ice cream and watched a little game tape of our last scrimmage against OIT. I'm very lucky to be associated with so many hardworking, but really fun people. If we score nearly as often as we laugh we're going to be tough to beat!!

Scrimmages & Halloween

2008-11-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

October always seems like it's twice as long as any other month of the year and this year was no exception. We all get tired of conditioning and practicing with and against the same players day after day after day and it seems like game time will never get here. The challenge for all of us is to bring game-like focus, concentration, and intensity to practice every day, even though we know our first game is still weeks away.

This past week we had scrimmages at Southern Oregon University and OIT. At times we played very well and other times we struggled. With seven newcomers on our ten player roster it's still taking some time to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and to get our timing down, especially on offense. We're still not in sync half the time but I expect that will come with experience. Our biggest drawback right now is that we need to get in better shape. As soon as we get tired we're a step slow to the ball, we're not as physical, and we have trouble concentrating. I think once we're in better shape we have a chance to be very, very good.

Last Friday was Halloween and most of the team came over for dinner and then took nine year olds Taylor and Caelynn trick or treating. Mykiea Russell put on an ugly pirate mask, grabbed an empty pillow case and came back with at least a weeks worth of candy. Mistaking her for a kid, several people asked her if she had just moved into the neighborhood. . . If you think she's scary in these pictures, wait until you see her pick up full court!!

First Day of Classes & Conditioning

2008-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

There's always something special about the first day of school and today was no different. I couldn't sleep last night, much like I couldn't sleep the night before I started kindergarten and then again when I was getting ready to start high school. The morning was hectic with players in and out of the office checking on class schedules, asking about tutors, and even counting down the days until summer vacation.

Soon 11am rolled around and everyone headed into the gym and all seemed right with the world. Many ran harder and longer than they really wanted too but the time went by quickly (at least for me!) and before anybody could say "Running really sucks!" we were all in the weight room.

Most impressive performance of the day went to Titi Takai. We could see that she was struggling with the running a little bit but we're all too used to seeing players struggle during the first day so nothing was said and Titi just kept plugging away. It wasn't until we got into the weight room and Titi took off her shoes and socks did we see the problem - the worse first day blisters we've seen in a long, long time. There was one on each foot and so every single step had to be more than painful. Titi never complained, never gave any indication how much pain she must have been in and most importantly, never quit running. Titi Takai is mentally tough!!

It was a great first day. . .and I can't wait for tomorrow!!

Facebook Group

2008-09-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago Michaela (Williams) Leinonen started up a Facebook group called "Dave Stricklin's Hoop Survivors" in hopes of getting both Umpqua and Golden West alumni together to share stories and stay connected. Lately I've been trying to track down and invite as many former players as possible to join the Facebook group and in the process I've received some great emails and have relived some awesome memories.

If you read this and are in contact with any former players and teammates, please encourage them to join the group and share their stories. I've been coaching for a long, long time now and I can honestly say I still don't of any team that works as hard as we do, that works as hard as we've always worked. That work ethic and the committment to be the very best we can be is the thread that binds all of us together. It doesn't really matter whether we competed together over 20 years ago or whether we're getting ready to compete on this year's team - we're all in this together and in my mind we're still just one big team.

Gym Floor Pictures

2008-08-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the new gym floor. All the gym needs now is another banner on the wall!!

New Floor Almost Finished

2008-08-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

Stuck my head in the gym today to check on the progress of the floor refinishing. The crew was just getting ready to put on the first coat of sealant. The second coat will go on tomorrow and then everything will need to cure for several days before anyone can get back in there. Kristi Fallin has already told me that she plans on getting in there as soon as the doors open so she can make the very first 3 on the new floor.

The entire floor looks completely different than it has for at least the last fifteen years. The color is a much darker green than it was before; the new men's three point line is in; the logo at center court has be replaced with a much larger, more colorful one; and the word "Riverhawks" is scripted along each baseline. The red volleyball lines are now a much less noticeable beige and Umpqua Community College now runs on each side of the floor.

I'll try and get a couple pictures taken as soon as the floor isn't so sticky and will post them here.

Taylor Stricklin & Caelynn Griggs

2008-07-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a great article on two great kids!! Who knows. . .maybe we'll see the two of them in Umpqua basketball uniforms in about nine years! Taylor's already told me that she wants to someday play at UCC unless she has a chance to play at Tennessee or Duke. She's got good taste - all three are winners!!

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080717/NEWS/456041027/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055

Attitude Is Often The Deciding Factor

2008-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Casey O'Toole told me this interesting story at last week's End of the Trail Tournament. Casey was in one of the gyms, along with dozens of university coaches, watching one of the top high school post players on the West Coast. At the beginning of the game the girl was a scoring, rebounding, shot blocking machine who looked like she was having a great time playing with her teammates. Everyone in the gym seemed to nod in agreement that this player was destined for a big time career. Then she missed an easy shot, a teammate didn't see her open in the post, and a ref called her next blocked shot a foul. Casey told me then it was like someone had flipped the switch that controlled her attitude. When everything was going great she was great. Bu twhen things started going bad, this player made everything worse. No longer was she visibly having fun and basking in the competition. Suddenly she was surly and bitchy to the other team, yelled at her own teammates, snarled at the refs, and started to jog up and down the court instead of sprinting as she had been only minutes earlier.

It was at this time, Casey said, that Amy Tucker, Stanford's longtime associate head coach, reached into her bag, pulled out her program and a red pen, and literally crossed this player off of Stanford's recruiting list before getting up and walking out of the gym. Casey and I talked and wondered if this player had any idea, or would ever have any idea, that just a couple of minutes of bad attitude cost her a possible scholarship offer from one of the most prestigious schools and basketball programs in the country.

I'm sure there are some coaches who are willing to overlook the bad attitude because of the talent level and I'm confidant that because she is so good this girl will play somewhere in college. It just won't be at Stanford!

Over 125 Teams in 40 Days

2008-07-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since the blog's been updated but the time has just flown by! June is the month when high school teams typically play in summer league games and tournaments and where high school players go, we follow. In the last five weeks I've seen over 80 high school and club teams play and next week I'll be in Oregon City at the End of the Trail Tournament which has 208 teams entered in it. Games take place in about a dozen gyms, twelve hours a day, for four straight days. If things go as planned I'll see well over 50 more teams play. If you're a basketball junkie, or a college recruiter (or both), it's basketball heaven!!

I've always had an immeasurable respect for athletes who have turned themselves into players through their own dedication, focus, and hard work. Joe Alexander, from West Virginia University, who was recently taken in the first round of the NBA draft, seems to be one of those players. Read the following article and not only will you be inspired but you'll be a Joe Alexander fan for the rest of his career: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/sports/ncaabasketball/25wvu.html?ex=1364270400&en=3cdc4428b4739c4d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Every Team Needs A "Go To" Player

2008-06-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

One of the things that basketball has taught me is that the best teams at all levels and in all walks of life have a “Go-To” player, a person who is not only capable but willing to step up and make the big play when the game is on the line. Regardless of their fame or team or status or gender, “Go-To” players all have one thing in common – they find a way to get it done!

Countries, businesses, families, etc. all need “Go-To” players at one time or another and being a “Go-To” player is as much about attitude as talent.

One of the best stories I’ve ever heard or read about a “Go-To” player centered on a soldier named Rowan in the Spanish –American war. Here is an excerpt from that story, “A Message to Garcia,” written by Elbert Hubbard almost 100 years ago.

“In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion. When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba—no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly. What to do!
Someone said to the President, "There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you, if anybody can."

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How "the fellow by the name of Rowan" took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?" By the Eternal! There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing- "Carry a message to Garcia!"

General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias.”
(In our world, “Garcia” can be individual workouts, summer conditioning, weight training, and even homework and/or class projects.)

Hubbard goes on to write, “Put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office—six clerks are within call. Summon any one and make this request: "Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio". Will the clerk quietly say, "Yes, sir," and go do the task? On your life, he will not. He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following questions:

Who was he? Which encyclopedia? Where is the encyclopedia? Was I hired for that? Don’t you mean Bismarck? What’s the matter with Charlie doing it? Is he dead? Is there any hurry? Should I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself? What do you want to know for?
And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia.”

Does this sound familiar? Do you know anyone like that? Are you like that?

Years ago the Boston Celtics called a timeout when they were behind with only seconds left and needed to score to win. With everyone gathered around the bench, Larry Bird boldly demanded that when the game resumed they give him the ball and “Get the hell out of the way!” KC Jones stepped in and reminded everyone that he, not Larry Bird, was the coach, and that he would design the final play. With the whole team intently staring at him, KC Jones smartly said, “Danny, you take the ball out and throw it to Larry and then everyone get the hell out of the way!” The strategy worked and the Celtics won. Larry Bird could take a message to Garcia!
Can we?

They Keep Score For A Reason! Part 2

2008-05-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

That day at Siglar Park I learned that there’s another very simple reason why they keep score – to measure results and determine who wins and who loses. Basketball, much like many other areas of life, is extremely result oriented. The scoreboard is brutally honest as there are no points awarded or displayed for either style or effort. Only results are recorded.

You can’t try to work hard. You can’t try not to drink and drive. You can’t try to be honest. You can’t try to rebound or to play good defense. As the famed philosopher Yoda once said, “Do or do not. There is no try."

Results matter and that is why they keep score!

They Keep Score For A Reason!

2008-05-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve learned a lot through basketball over the years, starting with the very first basketball game I ever played in when I was seven years old. The game was played at Siglar Park in Westminster, California early one Saturday morning. Simply put, my team was thrashed 44-6. Even before I left the park that day I realized two very important things: From that day on, I knew without a doubt that there was a huge difference between average and excellent and maybe even more importantly, that winning is a lot more fun than losing! Thankfully, I’ve never forgotten either one!!

Some people don’t want to admit that there is a difference between average and excellent, between losers and winners, between failure and success whether it’s on the court, in the classroom, or in the workplace. Whether we like it or not, there are differences, but unfortunately many do not learn this until well into adulthood.

We live in a time where parents and other well meaning adults want to protect the fragile self esteem of their children at all costs. One of the ways they try do this is by refusing to “keep score” whenever their kids are involved. After all, if there is no score then there are no winners. If there are no winners then there can’t be any losers. Everyone is the same in the land of mediocrity!

During the last three years, our daughter Taylor has played on six different grade school soccer teams (one in the Fall and one in the Spring) where possibly the only rule that is ever enforced is the one that prohibits keeping score. During one game when nine year old Taylor and one of her teammates kept announcing the score after each goal, the opposing coach pulled his team off the field and refused to play the rest of the game. Unbelievable!! That guy never would have survived at Siglar Park!! What was he teaching the members of his team? That if you ever get behind you should quit? That not playing is more fun than playing and keeping score? Why not view the situation as the perfect opportunity to teach his team the value of persistence or bouncing back from adversity? Why not use it as a springboard for his players to improve their skills, fitness level, or teamwork? Why not just let the kids come to the realization that keeping score is a fact of life?

Keeping score is a big part of life and the sooner we all realize that the better. Teachers keep score and call it grades. Banks keep score and call it credit report. Businesses keep score and call it profit. Armies keep score and call it death toll. Politicians keep score and call it votes. Even American Idol keeps score.

In all walks of life, keeping score should motivate us to do our very best and to get better results. Keeping score lets us gauge our progress and then make any necessary adjustments. Without keeping score it’s easy to assume that everything must be going well, that we are doing everything right, and that all performances are the same. Knowing the score helps us get better.

I hated losing that very first game when I was seven years old, so much that I’ve remembered it all these years, and I’ve hated losing ever since. But once I knew they were keeping score I had a couple choices to make – I could either improve my skills, become a better teammate, compete harder and win or I could continue to lose. I’ve tried to apply that lesson to nearly everything I’ve done since then. The very first thing I ever learned through basketball was that they keep score for a reason!

Sprints & Bellyflops!

2008-05-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Roseburg's been in the midst of a heat wave this past week which has made spring conditioning workouts even more challenging than usual. As a change of pace and to get out of the heat at the same time, Linda put the girls through a pool workout last Thursday that was anything but easy. But as they have done over and over and over again this past year, the girls found ways to have fun and work hard at the same time. By the time they were done, everyone was tired, sore and sunburned but Marji Maxfield and Kristi Fallin still had enough energy for several rounds of a belly flop contest!!
I've been thinking lately about some of the great things that I have learned through playing and coaching basketball over the years and how they apply to my "off the court" life as well. So over the next several weeks I think I'm going to write about some of those things under the heading of "Most Everything I've Ever Learned I've Learned Through Basketball" or something similar. If any of you have some good ideas or stories of things you have learned through basketball, let me know and I'll work it into the blog.

Spring Update

2008-05-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's been about six weeks since I've written anything and so I apologize to those parents, friends, alumni, etc. who feel like they have been missing out on what's going on with our basketball program. The reason is very simple: RECRUITING!! Unless you've done it it's almost impossible to know just how time consuming the whole process can be!!

We start with a list of approximately 100 names. (Last year, knowing we had to recruit and sign nine new players, our list was closer to 150 names.) We go to at least two high school games a week beginning the first of December until mid March. Some time in January we start contacting these players by phone and begin determining who is interested in playing for us. Those initial phone calls are important because we are looking for a connection; for a certain personality that will undoubtedly fit in with the rest of our team. We definitely want good players but we also want good people! These days text messaging makes it's harder to get to know recruits as quickly as we used to. Texting is a great way to communicate with your friends and family but is very difficult to give and get a great first impression. Can you imagine trying to conduct a job interview through text messaging?

Once we have that first conversation with a potential recruit we contact her once a week as long as we are still interested in each other. Besides calling the players, phone calls are made to parents, high school coaches, club coaches, and counselor's. It's safe to say that it seems like we literally live on the phone all Spring!! Home visits and campus visits give us even more chances to get to know the recruits and to let them get to know our team. Our list eventually dwindles from 100 to 75 to 50 to 25 names. In a perfect world this whole process would be done before the recruits graduate from high school but that's not always the case. Last year, for example, our team wasn't completed until the end of August!!

The time spent this year has been well worth it. We have received two signed Letters of Intent and have verbal commitments from four others. Once all the Letters of Intent are signed we'll list their names and bio information here on the blog. But for now it should be safe to say that it's going to be another fun, exciting, and successful year for Umpqua Basketball!!

From Umpqua to the NCAA Tournament

2008-03-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Like millions of other basketball fans I hardly left the couch the last four days as I watched game after game after game of the NCAA Tournament. I watched good games, bad games, close games and blowouts. But by far the game that was the most fun to watch was the Cornell - UCONN game that was on ESPN2 last night, because one of Cornell's starting forwards was Moina Snyder, who played here at UCC from 2004-2006. It was fun watching Mo play against the #1 ranked team in the country and battle against players who will eventually play in the WNBA. I couldn't help but smile as Mo beat the UCONN post players down the middle of the floor for a left handed layup and I thought back to the hundreds of times I've seen her do the exact same thing in games and practices. ("Cycles" anybody?)

Moina called and asked if Linda and I wanted her allotment of tickets to the game. Her parents were in France and wouldn't be able to make it over and so she thought of us. The fact that she wanted us to take part in the biggest night of her basketball career meant the world to us and we were very appreciative of the offer. Unfortunately, Linda and I couldn't make it to Connecticut on just a few days notice either, but we were definitely there in spirit. Mo had a great career at Cornell; she was a two year starter and received All Ivy League recognition both years. I know it probably sounds a little egotistical but I'm kind of proud that I had at least a small part in Mo's development as a player. She left UCC better than when she arrived and watching her able to score, rebound, and defend against UCONN confirmed to me that we're all doing something right.

Tom Eggers of the News-Review interviewed Mo for an article he recently wrote and here's the link: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080321/SPORTS/333351211/-1/SPORTS

On Cornell's web site (http://www.cornellbigred.com/) there are a couple pictures of Mo in action against UCONN and one of her being interviewed by Rebecca Lobo.

Hall of Fame Banquet, Friends, & Teammates

2008-03-14T01:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the privilege of being inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the induction was both an honor and a surprise since I haven't coached in California in fourteen years. At the banquet I was able to see some familiar faces and to talk with old friends and rivals alike. The food was very good and they gave me an award that will look great in the trophy case. I was even able to bring Taylor up to the podium and the entire banquet hall sang "Happy Birthday" to her. (Taylor turned 9 yesterday and even though it wasn't Chuck E. Cheese, she thought the extra attention was really cool!)

But by far the best part of the evening was getting the chance to hang out with former players Dawn Haag and Elizabeth "Bits" Sirchia. I'll have to check but those two might be the winningest athletes in California basketball history. They were on the same team for two years (18 years ago) and during that time our won/loss record was 72-2. Bits was the California Player of the Year as a sophomore and received a scholarship to the University of Hawaii before finishing her career at Cal Poly Pomona. Dawn received a scholarship to Cal State Los Angeles and is now an Orange County Sherriff patrolling Mission Viejo, CA. It's been years since I've seen either one of them yet they both made time to fly to Oakland, rent a car and come to the banquet. The trophy I received was great. Having them there was even greater! After the banquet we all went to the Applebees across from the hotel and relived stories from the past. Each story that was told reminded one of us of at least two more. I wish I had a tape recorder with me!!

After sitting together and watching a few games today we all went to dinner at the Garlic Brothers Restaurant which sits on the water overlooking the San Joaquin Delta. We talked, reminisced, laughed, and shared our food. The night ended way too soon! I invited both Bits and Dawn to come visit us in Oregon whenever they could get away and asked if they wanted to play in the UCC alumni game next season. Even though they aren’t technically UCC alumnae, they have so many things in common with our team this year. I am totally convinced that if they were to sit down and talk to our current players that they would all feel like family in a matter of minutes!!

You know you’ve had a great couple days when you’re inducted into a Hall of Fame and that’s not even close to being the highlight of the trip!!

There's Got to be Somebody Else!!!

2008-03-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

I wish I could find a very logical reason as to why we didn't play well at the NWAACC Championships but so far I'm drawing a huge blank. I wish I could say that learning some big life lesson through the whole experience makes everything worthwhile, but in all honesty I can't. Losing sucks plain and simple. Something tells me that between now and next November I'm going to catch myself thinking about this past weekend a lot. It's not that I enjoy being constantly miserable, but if I can pinpoint the problem then maybe I can help prevent it from happening again.

Late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning Linda and I sat in the hotel and talked about some of the things that we needed to work on in order to help our team get better. We talked for a long, long, time without either of us wanting to admit that we knew the season was really over. It didn't feel right then; it didn't feel right during the trip back to Roseburg; and it doesn't feel right now. It seems like there's got to be somebody else we can play.

Cassie Scheffelmaier came by the office this morning and Jacque Anderson is here now, using the office whiteboard to make an outline for an English paper she is writing. Other than those two, I haven't seen or talked to anyone else on our team today. It's been a strange and lonely day! For the past five months Mondays have been reserved not only for for the hardest workouts of of the week in the gym but also for weight lifting and "Monday meetings." Today, the office, gym, and weight room were all ghost towns. It just doesn't feel right. There's got to be somebody else we can play!!

Tournament Banquet

2008-02-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

The NWAACC held a banquet tonight for all the teams that wil be playing in the championship tournament - 16 women's teams and 16 men's teams - plus coaches, sponsors, athletic directors, VIP's, etc. It was held in a huge banquet room adjacent to the Toyota Center and the room was packed. It was fun to see all the athletes dressed up and even more fun watching the dressed up athletes checking out the other dressed up athletes!! I might be a little biased but I thought our girls were the best looking team at the banquet!!! As a coach I sometimes forget (or at least try to) that these girls have lives outside of basketball. Seeing them all in dresses and wearing makeup made them seem so much older and they all carried themselves with great confidance. Each one of the girls represented themselves and UCC very well. Their parents would have been proud of them tonight!!

This Season's Last Practice

2008-02-26T21:02:00.001-08:00

Today was kind of a bittersweet day for me as it was our last practice of the season. Sure, we'll have a couple walk throughs and shoot arounds at the NWAACC Tournament but they won't be anywhere near the length and intensity of our normal practices. As our current players and alumni already know, we have a series of drills that we run at the beginning of most practices, and even as those drills were in progress, I kept thinking to myself that this would be the very last time that I would watch the sophomores work on those skills.

I don't know why we've never done it, but I really wish that we had videotaped the first practice of the year. It would be so much fun to watch it now and to see how much everyone has improved in just a few short months. I remember that practice like it was yesterday. . .there was so much nervous energy as most of the girls had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had to stop and explain every single drill in complete detail because we just didn't have enough sophomores to demonstrate. Linda and I were immediately impressed at how unselfish they were even from the very beginning. Afterwards, Cassie Scheffelmaier walked off the court and told us that she had never gone through a practice like that before. I'm sure looking back, that day looks pretty easy to Cassie and the other freshmen now.

It would be even more fun to go back and watch a tape of the sophomore's first practice. Sam, Denay, and Marissa are completely different players now with more and better skills than any ever imagined that they would have. Coaching is kind of like watching your kids grow because when you see them every day you don't always notice the daily, subtle changes. But then when you go back and look at a tape of them taken a year or two earlier, the differences are obvious and often staggering.

While many things changed over the course of the season as everyone grew and developed, some things stayed the same. Back on the first day of practice, Kayla Haines was so excited to play that she had goose bumps all over her arms. Today, on the last day of practice, Kayla Haines was so excited to play that she had goose bumps all over her arms. . . . .

I wish today was the first practice again instead of the last. . . . . .

Umpqua 99 SWOCC 77; Preparing For NWAACC Tournament

2008-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

We finished out the NWAACC Southern Region last Wednesday with a 99-77 win at Southwestern Oregon, which is one of the toughest plays in the NWAACC to play. The bleachers are only about six rows deep and the teams sit on the bottom row of the bleachers instead of in chairs. Their student "fans" are the most obnoxious in the league and the SWOCC administration has a "students will be students" attitude. Where else does the official school mascot (in this case a raccoon in a basketball uniform) routinely flip off and swear at the opponents leading scorer every time a basket is made just to try and keep up with the rest of the fans? Walk or stand on the opposite sideline to take the ball out of bounds and expect to have someone slap your butt or the back of your calves. I'm really shocked that more fights don't break out there! You can read about the game here: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080221/SPORTS/337693305/-1/SPORTS

The last several days has been crazy to say the least. The girls have been trying to work ahead in all their classses since it is extremely probable that they will miss four straight days of school. The NWAACC Championship banquet is a dress up event and so takes some advance preparation from all of us who have spent the majority of the last five months in sweats. There are 16 teams in the tournament and so we have been gathering up and watching all the videotape we can of possible opponents. Take 13 people multiplied by enough clothes, socks, and underwear for 6 days in addition to game uniforms, a box full of game videotapes and dvds, a vcr, a dvd player, and several lap tops and backpacks full of homework and you have an idea what the inside of our team van is going to look like!!

Our first round game is scheduled for 10pm next Thursday and so we have been practicing at 10pm to get ready. If you didn't look at the clock you'd never know it's that late - practice has looked the same way it does every day at noon. We haven't really changed anything in our practice routine instead choosing to continue to get better at the things we have done all year. We did a pretty good job in our preseason tournaments preparing for teams and making adjustments on the run and we are hopefully optimistic that we can continue that trend in Kennewick.

The local newspaper ran a short article on Denay Martin a couple days ago and is planning on a tournament preview on Wednesday or Thursday. Here's the link to the article: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080222/SPORTS/559484634/-1/SPORTS

Principal Cynthia Richardson

2008-02-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

While recruiting potential players over the years I have watched games and been on high school campuses throughout Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Nevada. I have met parents, coaches, athletic directors, fans, mascots, and other assorted characters, but last night I met someone who really, really impressed me - McKay High School Principal Cynthia Richardson.

Almost immediately after five of us (Dee, Miranda, Cassie, Jeff and I) walked into the gym we were greeted by a very friendly lady dressed in a nice warm up outfit and a McKay Womens Basketball t-shirt who shook my hand and welcomed me to the game. As we talked for several minutes, every student that walked by received some type of recognition from Ms. Richardson. She called them all by name, asked them about classes or homework and then gave them a smile and a high five. Ms. Richardson introduced a couple of them to me and then added "This one has a great future ahead of her." I couldn't help but believe her and noticed how each student walked away a little taller and with a little more confidance.

As soon as the game was over Ms. Richardson came back up into the bleachers and asked if we had heard the good news - West Salem HS had lost their game and McKay was the league champions. There wasn't a parent or athlete in the gym who was more excited than she was. Then she noticed my son Jeff standing close by and rushed to introduce herself. "I understand you go to college close by," she said. "I live right over here (gave directions) and if you ever want a home cooked meal, you're always welcome to drop by!" We all felt that we had a friend for life.

As we all walked through the parking lot back to our cars, we talked about how much fun we had at the game, and how impressed we were by everyone at McKay. The conversation drifted towards the leader at McKay, Principal Cynthia Richardson and I couldn't help but notice that we were all walking a little taller and with a little more confidance.

I'm Tired!

2008-02-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

I hate to admit it, but I'm tired! There's really nothing I can do about it because it's just that time of year and there are only so many hours in the day. Today was President's Day and school was closed so when I pulled into the PE parking lot at 10:30am mine was the only car in sight. When I finally left the same parking lot at 10:10 pm mine was the only car in sight. During those nearly 12 hours I watched videotape, prepared for practice, practiced, watched more tape, sent out 25 emails, and then watched tape of possible playoff opponents. At about 6:00pm Linda and Taylor came to the office with dinner and after eating at my desk, I updated the web page and then Linda and I made recruiting phone calls for three hours while Taylor played on the floor and in the hallway. Holiday or not, it was just a typical Monday. . .

Tommorow night I'm going to a high school game in Eugene. Wednesday night we play in Coos Bay and then on Thursday night I'm going to a high school game just south of Portland. On Friday I'm going to a high school playoff game in Glendale and then on Saturday morning I have Southern Region meetings in Albany before continuing on to Longview, WA to watch Lower Columbia and South Puget Sound play. (We will probably play the loser of that game in the first round of the playoffs.) It's going to be the middle of the night before I get back home. It's a good thing gas is so cheap!! Throw in practice every day, more videotape, more emails, more recruiting calls and spending time promoting our sophomores and you have a good idea how I spend my time. I get tired just writing about it!! So why do I do it?

Because the girls and I all understand our roles. Since I expect, even demand, their very best effort, they have every right to expect my very best effort. We all have high expectations of each other and we don't want to let each other down. When I am tired and don't want to do it for myself, I do it for them. And I like to think that when they are tired and don't want to do it for themselves, then they do it for me and for each other. Stephen Covey once wrote that "Private victories precede public victories." The private victories are tiring but the public victories are awesome!!!!

Sophomores

2008-02-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last night's game against LBCC was the last home game for our three sophomores and I thought about that for hours leading up to the game. I thought about the first time I met each one of them, how much they have grown as basketball players and as people, and how they have impacted not only our team but me personally as well.

Denay Martin initially recruited us harder than we recruited her. At 5'3" Denay was an average high school basketball player but a possible D1 caliber softball player. She told me that she was better skilled at softball but she loved basketball and wanted to come play for us, even if it meant quitting softball so she could stay in the gym all spring and work on her game. Like a lot of people, I focused on Denay's height and underestimated the size of her heart, and for awhile I even tried persuading her not to come play for us and stick with softball. Fortunately for all of us, I wasn't very convincing! A few months later, Denay was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her doctor was forced to remove one of her ovaries. Her first day back in the gym, she stepped up and took a violent charge directly on top of her recent scar and we all cringed on the outside but couldn't help but smile on the inside. A little more than a year later, Denay tore her ACL, underwent another surgery, got another scar, put basketball on hold once again and rehabbed. Her scar still hurts everytime she takes a charge and her knee gets sore after tough, physical games and practices but she still goes hard every single day and is the best point guard in the region. Denay might only be 5'3" but when I look at her I see a giant!!

Marissa Towry played on a high school team that just got hammered night in and night out. I think you could count the number of wins she could celebrate over four years on one hand. But when we watched her play she was oblivious to the scoreboard. Regardless of the score and regardless of the mistakes or incompetancies of her teammates, Marissa just played hard and did her job. I was impressed with how much she must love to play the game because even though she had to know that her team was going to take a beating she competed every single possession. Wanting to expand her game, Marissa spent the offseason working on her range and shooting thousands of three pointers, a shot that her high school coach would not let her shoot. I wish her high school could've been there when Marissa hit five threes in our second game this season or when her three pointer sealed the win against LBCC last month. There's probably no one on our team who now appreciates and enjoys winning as much as Marissa does.

Samantha Russell I could write pages and pages about Sam - in fact, I already have - this is about the third draft because I want it to be exactly right. Sam came from a very, very, small high school and when she first started playing at UCC she was a little overmatched but we've had very few players over the years who have improved as much as she has. It certainly didn't happen overnight but Sam got into great shape and turned herself into a legitimate college basketball player. Then last February, Sam injured her knee during one of our games. But to make things worse, the injury was misdiagnosed as a dislocated knee cap at first, and it wasn't until early last summer that we all learned it was a torn ACL instead. Surgery would mean missing the season and so Sam has played all year on a torn ACL. It hurts her every single day but she never complains, talks about it, or feels sorry for herself. She plays and runs and battles as hard as she can each and every time she steps on the court even though she knows that she might not play much come game time. What I'm always going to remember about Sam is not the points she's scored or the rebounds she's grabbed. (Although it's going to be tough to forget the three pointer she attempted against Mt. Hood or the one that she made at PCC!) I'm going to remember playing "name that tune" in the team van, telling her action jokes, watching her face as she plays throught he pain, and getting her honest opinion about what is best for our team, even if it meant not playing in games as muchas (that's not a typo - Sam is proudly Hispanic) she wanted to. Sam would rather win than play and I can't think of a higher complimant that I could ever give to a player.

I love and appreciate each one of these sophomores and I'm glad we've been able to go through this journey together. I'm going to miss them a lot more than they realize.

Oh yeah, by the way - we won the game last night 100-88.

Goals

2008-02-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

I need to update UCC's "News from the Nest" and so here is last month's Dave's Diary entry:

New team. New challenges. New year. Same goals.

When I first started coaching I sat down and made a list of goals to use as a guide as I started my career. I thought that if I could accomplish these goals, then the wins and other successes would take care of themselves. It’s extremely reassuring to know that several years (and several championships) later, my list of goals is basically still the same now as it was then: I want to get ourselves in a position where we can compete for the Championship. I want to help our players be better college players than they were high school players. I want to help find scholarships for our players who want to move on to four year universities. (Close to 100 so far.) I want to treat and support our players the same way I want my kids’ coaches to treat and support them. I want our players to know that no matter how hard they work and no matter how much time they put in, they won’t work as hard or put in as much time as I do. I want to find talented, hard working, student athletes with a desire to win a lot of games, and then adopt those athletes into our basketball family. I want to make a difference.

Umpqua 69 Mt. Hood 68

2008-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

While the game is in progress, being on the winning end of a 30 point blowout is a lot more fun and a lot less stressful than being in a one point nailbiter, but in the long run it's usually not as productive. When the score is lopsided, both players and coaches alike have a tendency to either ignore or gloss over "minor" mistakes and instead take on the attitude of "We blew them out so we must have done everything right!"

After gut wrenching nail biters, every possession is scrutinized in hopes of discovering those weak areas that need to be strengthened. Every decision, whether it is made on the bench or on the court, is analyzed to determine whether or not it was the correct decision for that particular situation. It is a time consuming, painstaking, and often times painful process. But it is during this process that growth and improvement are born.

The first time we played MHCC we jumped out to a 17-1 lead to start the game and then literally cruised to a 30 point fun and stress free win. Last night the two teams went back and forth for the entire 40 minutes until we found ourselves behind by one point with 6.1 seconds left and the ball out at half court. As we gathered around a small whiteboard during a timeout to draw up the next play, the girls confidantly assured each other that we were going to win the game because we work on this kind of stuff all the time in practice. They were right. Two passes and exactly six seconds later. Miranda Holenstein scored right before the buzzer sounded and we won the game.

In the standings the blowout and the nailbiter look exactly the same but they are not. With the playoffs right around the corner, winning a close game like this helps prepare us for future battles, while at the same time increases our confidance and brings to light some areas that we need to improve. A win like this can help us get a few more when it really counts.

Umpqua 101 Portland 64

2008-02-04T01:30:00.000-08:00

One of the things that is really hard about this time of year is that we don't usually get to enjoy the wins very long. Almost as soon as one game ends we start preparing for the next one. Saturday was a little different. After winning our game and scoring over 100 points for the fifth time this season, we watched half of the UCC men's game, ate a great dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, and then stopped off at a new Chuck E. Cheese's for a few friendly competitions and a lot of laughs. We got home late from Portland but it was fun. I wonder how many times Bobby Knight or Phil Jackson has taken their teams to Chuck E. Cheese's after a win?

The game itself was fun too. Everybody scored including five in double figures. Dee Tupai had 11 points and 10 rebounds in only 10 minutes of playing time. Denay Martin passed out 10 assists. Marji Maxfield and Jacque Anderson both played a lot of minutes and were very productive. Samantha Russell made her first career three pointer even though she suffered a "freaky" injury on Friday that resulted in severe bruising on both sides of her neck.

Here's the link to The News Review article: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080203/SPORTS/652679312

Well, back to work - we've got a couple more big games this week!

Umpqua 98 Southwestern Oregon 61

2008-02-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

We shook up the starting lineup a little bit last night and everyone responded very well. Different lineups not only give opponents different looks but also seem to generate their own energy. We started the game with a spark and it carried throughout the whole game. Everyone played. (Except Kayla Haines, who was nursing a sprained ankle) Everyone scored. We scored 98 points even though our two leading scorers only had five points between them. It was a fun night!

Remember a couple weeks ago when I wrote that Deanna Tupai had been working hard and that her chance was coming? Well, in the last three games combined she has scored 80 points, including a 35 point performance last night against Southwestern Oregon. But what's really impressive to me is that she scored the 35 points on 16-19 shooting, with the vast majority of her shots coming from back to the basket post moves.

Here's a link to the article in The News Review: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080131/SPORTS/947643801

Team Spirit

2008-01-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here in the office catching up on some things while waiting for our game with Southwestern Oregon when I noticed a book on one of my shelves called “Wooden on Leadership,” by John Wooden. I picked up the book and it opened to a section called “Team Spirit.” Here are a few ideas from that section: “Team spirit is an eagerness to sacrifice personal interests or glory for the welfare of all.” (Notice it says eagerness not just willingness!) “Each individual revels in the glory of the group rather than the glory of the individual.” “There is only one star that counts: the team.”

I couldn’t help but think that this is a trying time of year for a lot of teams. Every game is huge. Playing rotations are usually shortened. Roles change as the needs of the team changes. Some players have continued to improve while some have stayed stagnant. There are even some players who actually look like they have gotten worse, when in reality they just haven’t progressed and improved as much as other teammates and opponents.

The players who have continued to improve over the course of the season and who have become more and more productive want to play more and usually deserve to play more. But for them to play more, someone else has to play less. How teams handle this situation is often times the difference between being champs or chumps. A lot of teams have at least one player who would rather play more than win, but those are usually not championship caliber teams. Championship caliber teams have competitive players who want to play as much as they can but if it comes down to playing more or winning more, they choose winning. And they do so without whining, complaining or making excuses.

So far, our team has been extremely unselfish and supportive of one another and I fully expect it to stay that way. And if it does, we have a chance to accomplish some great things over the next several weeks.

Umpqua 69 Clackamas 72

2008-01-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

Just finished watching the tape of Saturday's loss to Clackamas for the fourth time (I've watched the last five minutes of the game at least a dozen times) and it was just as painful as watching it in person. Maybe it was because we had already beaten them twice, (once by the score of 107-74) but we didn't play with anywhere near the amount of focus and intensity that we needed to beat a good team. I wish I could say that I was surprised but unfortunately I'm not. We didn't practice very well on either Thursday or Friday and in our pregame warmups we just didn't have the spark that we usually have. For decades coaches have preached that you play like you practice and that really is true. . . . .at least for us it was.

Clackamas has two very good perimeter players and our plan was to deny them the ball and see if they could beat us inside. It worked the first two times we played and I was confidant that it would work a third time as well. But instead of denying them the ball, we let the two scorers catch the ball on the wings a combined 43 times and they were able to make some good things happen as well as hit 9 threes.

But what was very surprising and equally disappointing was our lack of execution in crunch time. Five different times, when we absolutely needed to score and/or had a definite mismatch, we called for a special play and we didn't execute any of them correctly. I can't imagine any team working on end of the game situations more than we do and so I was truly shocked when we didn't get it done.

Back to the videotape one more time. If I can find just one more thing that will help make us better then the lack of sleep and sore eyes will be well worth it. Besides, I'm hoping that if I watch the tape enough times, just once it will end differently.

Umpqua 87 Linn Benton 79

2008-01-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

If only her high school coach could see her now! When sophomore Marissa Towry was in high school, her coach was very adamant about her not shooting the ball any where outside of the key. If the same rules applied now, there's a good chance we would have lost the game last night!

Marissa opened the game by scoring our first eight points, including two threes. She made her third one to start the second half and then hit a HUGE fourth one with a minute and a half left to pretty much seal the win. Those threes might have surprised some people, but they certainly didn't surprise us. Marissa has worked on increasing her range since the day the season ended last year and has already had several games where she's hit multiple threes, including a Thanksgiving tournament game where she made five in one game.

Marissa finished the game with 17 points but others scored big as well. Kristi Fallin had 22, Deanna Tupai had 21, and Miranda Holenstein had 19.

UCC alumni and NWAACC Champion Katie Tipton, who lives in Corvallis, came to the game and visited with all of us afterwards. Katie graduated from UCC 10 years ago but comes to see us play every chance she gets and I really appreciate all the support she gives us.

Umpqua Ranked #1 In Northwest

2008-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

The NWAACC (Pacific Northwest) rankings came out last Thursday night and we are tied for the #1 spot with Columbia Basin College of Kennewick, Washington. I know that these rankings don't mean anything in terms of standings, playoffs, etc. and some say that being #1 only puts a bigger target on your back, but I must admit that I felt a small sense of satisfaction when I saw Umpqua at the top of the list. It means that we are headed in the right direction and that we are doing something right.

Less than four months ago we started the first day of school with players from 5 different states and we had 8 freshmen, 3 sophomores, only 1 survivor from last year and 1000 questions. Most had never met each other until school started. Would they work hard? Would they be coachable? Could we score? Rebound? Defend? What kind of teammates would everyone turn out to be?

Now, a few short months later, I can't help but smile when I think how close everyone has become, how hard everyone has worked, and how much we've progressed. Are we the most talented team in the NWAACC? No. Are we the fastest? No. Are we the biggest? No. Strongest? No. Quickest? No. Are we the most experienced? Definitely not. Then what are we?

We show up every day. We work hard. We expect the very best effort from each other. We work hard some more. We cheer, and laugh, and have even cried together. We are better together than we are individually. We are a team.

Umpqua 93 Mt. Hood 61

2008-01-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

Right before the starting lineups were introduced last night, Kayla Haines spoke up and said, "I'm a little nervous." Almost immediately I heard a "Me too" and a "So am I" and saw a few others nod their heads and I knew right then that we were going to be okay. So far we've played really hard in the bigger games and seeing everyone a little anxious was a very good sign.

I must admit I was a little anxious too. We hadn't seen Mt. Hood since Thanksgiving weekend and they were missing a couple players then, including their best guard. On top of that, neither Denay Martin (knee) or Corynn Jorgensen (flu) practiced on either Thursday or Friday and Sam Russell (knee) only practiced a little bit on Friday just so we could do some five on five stuff. If that wasn't enough, Linda wasn't at the game at all - she's working on her Master's Degree from Western Oregon and had a meeting that she couldn't get out of. Being completely out of our routine made me nervous but as it turns out I shouldn't have been.

Sam sat next to me on the bench and was a great temporary assistant coach. (Although I've never had an assistant before who kept suggesting that "we" put her in the game! "Let's put Sam in - she'd do a great job!!") Corynne didn't play but was ready in case we needed her and Denay was very productive in limited minutes. Kayla chased down every loose ball and rebound in the first few minutes and we were literally off and running. Soon it was 17-1 and none of us were nervous anymore. Here's the link to the newspaper article on the game; http://www.newsreview.info/article/20080113/SPORTS/352991418

On a side note, it was fun to watch the girls all gather in the gym lobby after the game and sign team posters for all the Girl Scouts who were in attendance. It's great to play and coach at a place where there are so many fans!