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!!
Showing posts with label unselfish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unselfish. Show all posts
Wednesday
Team Spirit
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.
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.
Thursday
Umpqua 70 Clackamas 59
The first time we played Clackamas back over Thanksgiving weekend, the pace of the game was like a track meet and we outscored them 107-74. Compared to that game, last night's battle was more like a slow walk.
Fortunately, one of the strengths of our team is that we have the personnel to play at different speeds. Sometimes when you score as many points as we have at times, it's easy to get frustrated when the scoreboard's not lit up like a pinball machine, but playing a little slower really gives us the chance to jam the ball inside, which has been the first option on our offense for years.
Fortunately, one of the strengths of our team is that we have the personnel to play at different speeds. Sometimes when you score as many points as we have at times, it's easy to get frustrated when the scoreboard's not lit up like a pinball machine, but playing a little slower really gives us the chance to jam the ball inside, which has been the first option on our offense for years.
Kristi Fallin had a season high 17 rebounds and Miranda Holenstein broke out of a mini slump with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
C
assie Scheffelmaier had another big night with 19 points (on 9-12 shooting) and 9 rebounds and also a great quote in today's News Review. “That’s the good thing about our team,” Scheffelmaier said. “We’re so deep, and people will step up when they need to. And we’re so unselfish that it doesn’t matter who scores the most. We all just want to win.” To read Jon Mitchell's entire News Review article clink on the following link:
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assie Scheffelmaier had another big night with 19 points (on 9-12 shooting) and 9 rebounds and also a great quote in today's News Review. “That’s the good thing about our team,” Scheffelmaier said. “We’re so deep, and people will step up when they need to. And we’re so unselfish that it doesn’t matter who scores the most. We all just want to win.” To read Jon Mitchell's entire News Review article clink on the following link:Sunday
Umpqua 85 Portland 54
Opened up NWAACC Southern region play with a 85-54 win over Portland CC last night. It was our first home game since December 8th and only our second home game overall, so we were all a little nervous, anxious, excited, etc. There was a great crowd at the game and we really wanted to make a good "first" impression. Here's the link to the newspaper article from The News Review: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080106/SPORTS/358115485
But for me the real story of the game was the unselfishness of Kristi Fallin. Kristi started off the game wit
h a hot hand and had 17 points by halftime. By the time she hit another 3 early in the second half we had a 28 point lead and a chance to get everybody significant playing time in front of a large home crowd. So for the next 16 minutes we rotated our other 10 players in and out five at a time while our leading scorer sat on the bench yelling, cheering, and giving high fives. I know Kristi wanted to play - all great competitors do. But she understands the big picture and knows that strengthening and rewarding our bench with playing time is only going to make us that much better in the long run. Besides, it's not every day when a player can lead her team in both scoring and cheers in the same game!!
h a hot hand and had 17 points by halftime. By the time she hit another 3 early in the second half we had a 28 point lead and a chance to get everybody significant playing time in front of a large home crowd. So for the next 16 minutes we rotated our other 10 players in and out five at a time while our leading scorer sat on the bench yelling, cheering, and giving high fives. I know Kristi wanted to play - all great competitors do. But she understands the big picture and knows that strengthening and rewarding our bench with playing time is only going to make us that much better in the long run. Besides, it's not every day when a player can lead her team in both scoring and cheers in the same game!!
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