24 Questions

I stole this idea from the Baylor women's basketball team website. It was suppose to be 25 questions, but I asked the same one twice. Each player on the team answered the following 24 questions and here are the results:



Who would love to be on a reality show? - Casie Adams

Who is the best dressed on the team? - Paige Weishuhn

Who is the team's best dancer? - Jasmine Fuller (only answer that was unanimous)

Which teammate texts the most? - Casie Adams

Which player will surprise the most people this season? - Leah LeMaire and Lindsey Youngblood

Who is the most competitive? - Camille Perkins

Whom would you want to take a half-court shot to win a game? - Christie Rasmussen or Leah LeMaire

Who would win the million on Survivor? - Leah LeMaire

Who would last the longest in the Big Brother house? - Ashely James

Whom from the team would you want as your partner on the Amazing Race?-Alix Flores

Who is the strongest in the weight room? - Casie Adams

Which player could win on Jeopardy? - Lindsey Leatherman-Schaertl

Who is the nicest on the team? - Cassi Wright (numerous players received votes in this category)

Which teammate makes you laugh the hardest? - Too close to call. Six different Belles received votes - Halie, Jasmine, Camille, Casie, Lauren, and Leah (nice quality for a team)

Which teammate shops the most? - Paige Weishuhn and Halie Hargraves

Which teammate is the best singer? - Kori Hall

Which teammate does the best impression of Coach Brooks? - Camille Perkins (I would really like to see this!)

Who is most likely to be a head coach one day? - Alix Flores

Which teammate is the shyest?- Christie Rasmussen

Which teammate is the loudest? - Casie, Jasmine and Leah

Which teammate is the most gullible?- Leah LeMaire

Which teammate is the most inspirational?- Cassi Wright

Which teammate is the best cook? - Morgan and Lindsey Youngblood

Which teammate is the most laidback? - Christie Rasmussen

Challenges

I bet most of y'all think I am talking about the 'Belles losing their last two games, but you would be wrong. My son Kannon is in first grade at Bowie Elementary. His teacher has the students make a wreath for them to give to someone special for Christmas. I had to cut two yards of material into strips for him tie around a hanger. The students began working on the wreath this week. Kannon just turned seven and he can pass, dribble and shoot a basketball. He can catch, field and hit a baseball. He can throw and catch a football, BUT he can't tie his shoes. I must confess that I am a big fan of velcro shoes and the curly shoe strings that you don't have to tie. Teaching Kannon to tie his shoes is not even on my to do list. I have witnessed Kevin (my husband) trying to teach him, but after that session, I think I forgot how to tie my own shoes!!


The students began working on their wreaths on Tuesday. When I asked Kannon about it, he said he couldn't tie the material and he only got one tied on the hanger. I don't know for sure how many strips I cut, but there are at least 200. Now, that's a problem. Yesterday when I got home from practice my mom informed me that Kannon learned to tie today. I was all excited and he seemed to be to. He put his hands up and enthusiastically told me "I tied two today!" Oh my. He then told me that he has "helpers", whatever that means. At our last parent/teacher conference we were told what a great kid/student Kannon was and how all the other kids always want to be his partner. Even though that was nice to hear I didn't really know that he was going to have to rely on his charming personality to get his school project completed! I think the good news about this entire situation is that Kannon plans on giving his wreath to Santa (just to make sure he really exists). Now I don't know about you, but I think Santa would love a wire hanger with two pieces of material tied around it!


Don't forget, the 'Belles have two home games this week. Tonight at 6:00 and Saturday at 2:00.

Happy Thanksgiving from the 'Belles

The 'Belles are on the road for a tournament in Canyon. Unfortunately, they are unable to be with their family on Thanksgiving. Thankfully, Dee Leatherman (Lindsey's Mom) offered to cook us a great Thanksgiving meal if we would drive through Floydada on the way to Canyon. Well, that was a no brainer! The food was awesome and don't even get me started on the desserts! Thanks Dee. Below are a couple of videos of the girls wishing their parents Happy Thanksgiving. Tonight, we are going to eat at the Big Texan. Hopefully, we will be able to get up and down the court tomorrow. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. The 'Belles sure have a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful that I get to coach them.

The Road to the Championship

The 'Belles got the opportunity to watch Tennesse play Texas Tech and UCONN play Texas in San Antonio. The Women's Final Four is in San Antonio this year. The games were blow outs, but we had a great time and as you can see some of the players/coaches had the opportunity to get their pictures taken with some great coaches: Geno Auriemma, Gail Goestenkors and Kathleen Brasfield.

Another win and Maroon 5

The 'Belles went 1-1 this weekend in Austin. We played terrible againt Incarnate Word. They beat us in every hustle stat category and they won the game 59-54. I was very disappointed in our effort. On Saturday we struggled on the defensive end and were down 27-43 at half to St. Edward's. We came out and ran the floor at the start of the 2nd half and made a great comeback. Christie Rasmussen and Paige Weishuhn had big games and the Freshman Lindsey Youngblood also played well. Everyone contributed to the win and we pulled it out 71-69. The only stat category we lost was the overall rebounds by 3, but we had 2 more offensive rebounds. I am really proud of our 18 assists and 11 steals.

On the way home, our bus hit a deer which is always scary. Camille was thrown to the ground and hit her head. The bus had some damage, but the bus driver was calm, cool and collected. He got us home safe and sound. When we arrived in the Junell Center parking lot, the members of Maroon 5 were standing outside their bus. Jezzal went over to talk to them and then they all went to the practice gym to play basketball with the 'Belles! Jezzal played 1 on 1 with the lead singer, Adam Levine.

We play again at home on Tuesday against a team we have never played. I am really looking forward to that challenge. We are working hard and together and we are all determined and committed to having a great season. Come out and see for yourselves!!!

First Game First Win First Road Trip

It took overtime, but we won our first game. It was an exciting way to begin the season and we did some things well. We could have played better defense and we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but we won!!! And really that is all that matters. We are now in Austin to play in a tournament at St. Edward's University. We play Incarate Word today at 3 p.m. and St. Ed's again on Saturday. I posted some pictures of our bus trip. The players are playing charades, Stacy is playing on her Nintendo, Sherry Ann is doing a crossword puzzle, and Katie is sleeping. We also watched the movie Twilight. Weird, very weird! Stacy made me take a brain age test on her Nintendo, and my brain age was 80! That can't be good!

We have had two good practices and I am looking forward to our game tomorrow. I am really excited about this teams potential, but like I always say it is Performance not Potential!

Breast Cancer Awareness Quilt

Tonight we had a team dinner and we all designed a square for a breast cancer awareness quilt. Julie Hargraves is going to make the quilt to be auctioned off during our Pink Zone week in February. The girls did a great job and it was so interesting to see how stressed out this project made most of us. We are all such perfectionists and no one wanted to make a mistake! There were a few players that just attacked the project and got it done. Most of us agonized over every letter or what color to use, etc. In fact, Ashley James is such a perfectionist we had to tell her she could finish it tomorrow, so we could go home! Other than Ashley, the freshman finished first and all their squares looked great. They are a confident group of young woman!

Start saving your money now, because the quilt is going to be a big hit! We had a very good practice today and we are focused and ready to start the season with a win. Game time is 6:00.

The Feast of Sharing

Sunday, the 'Belles volunteered to serve food at HEB's annual Feast of Sharing. This is the fourth year we have helped out at the Feast. HEB donates all the food and this year over 8,000 people were served a hot turkey dinner with pumpkin pie! What a great event. The girls had to partner up and one person carried the tray full of food and the other partner served the plates. Just like in everything we do, we are competitive. We had to be first in line, we all wanted to be the first group to serve our plates, etc. We were practically running each other over when we saw someone sitting down without a plate of food in front of them! Thankfully, I am happy to report that no plates of food or people were injured during our shift!

Last night was our final scrimmage. I could really see a big difference in our offense. I saw some weaknesses in our defense/rebounding, but nothing that can't be fixed with a little practice. The freshman played well again and Camille Perkins got to play for about 10 minutes. She looked great and we are definetly glad to have her back on the court.

Unfortunately, we also got some bad news yesterday. Camille's grandmother was out running and she was hit by a car. She was in surgery last night and we are all praying for a complete and speedy recovery. I have no doubt that a GRANDMOTHER that runs everyday, will no doubt be up and running before we know it!!!!

Four more days of practice before our first game. Sunday we will have our final preseason practice and a team dinner. At the team dinner we are each going to decorate a pink or white square for a quilt to auction off during our Pink Zone week. Julie Hargraves (Halie's Mom) is making the quilt for us to auction off to help raise money for breast cancer research. I know the quilt is going to be awesome and I know it is going to raise a lot of money, in fact I am already saving my money! Thanks Julie.

See ya Monday!!!!

Scrimmages

We had two scrimmages last week and overall I was pretty pleased with our effort and our overall decision making. Our first scrimmage was against Howard College and I was extremely pleased with the performance of the freshman. They are an exciting group of players and when they really have a better understanding of what to do and when, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Our second scrimmage was against Midland College. They were very big and quick. It was a very good scrimmage for us. They put full-court pressure on our guards and we handled it very well. Watching film of the scrimmages was very helpful to the team. There really is nothing like seeing mistakes on a big screen TV to help you make better decisions.

We have been without Camille Perkins for the last two weeks and I hope she is able to return to practice soon. Injuries are part of the process and I really don't think our fans understand how much of a role injuries or illness can impact a team. Camille, Lauren Holt and Jasmine Fuller have been out of practice all this week and you can see the difference, because all these players are so quick and athletic. Camille and Lauren only know one speed and Jasmine can get up and down the floor faster than any player I have ever coached. When they don't practice, the entire pace of practice is different.

We only have seven more practices before our first game and I know we are so excited about it that we can hardly stand it. I am so happy we get to open our season at home. We have our last scrimmage on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and the early signing period begins Wednesday. Stay tuned to find out who we will sign early.

The Implosion

The Belles won an attendance contest so Casie Adams, Christy Rasmussen, Lindsey Leatherman and Alix Flores got to help push the button to implode one of the high rise dorms on our campus. The implosion was awesome! It was loud and exciting. One minute the building was there and within seconds it was gone. Since we had to get up early to be at the implosion, we went ahead and had practice. It was our 10th practice and thing are moving right along. We still have alot of work to do, but we are getting better everyday. This week we have two scrimmages on Thursday and Saturday. I know the players are ready to compete against another team. Come on out Thursday night at 6:00 to get your first look at the 09-10 Belles.

OCDD

Offensive courage and defensive discipline! Practice has begun! OCDD is what we are trying to develop in practice and even though we have a long way to go, we are working hard and having fun. In fact yesterday I fell on the floor laughing at Casie Adams. We were working on filling the lanes and Casie was in the wrong lane, so she "sprinted"or tried to "sprint" to the correct lane. The determined look on her face just cracked me up! Anyway, we are working hard we just have to get to the point where we can work hard and SMART! We will get there.


Sunday was the first practice when we had all 15 players at practice. Paige Weishuhn sprained her ankle at Midnight Madness and Jasmine Fuller was sick for the first two practices. On Friday, Stacy texted me that Casie was not feeling well and might not be at practice. She later sent me another text informing me that they were at the clinic and she probably had the flu. An hour later, Stacy called me and she was in the emergency room with Casie. She didn't have the flu. I went to the hospital to see her and she was in pain. They were thinking that it was her gall bladder. Stacy stayed at the hospital with Casie and I went to practice. About half way through practice, Stacy and Casie walked into the gym. Casie had kidney stones. Very painful, but at least she didn't have to have surgery. She even practiced the next day!


We don't have practice today until 7 p.m., so the players can go get a flu shot. Hopefully it will help keep us healthy this season.

Midnight Madness

Well, we survived the Madness! The crowd was great and the 'Belles had alot of fun. They showed off some of their dance moves (??) and they beat the Rams in the three-point shooting contest. Casie Adams was on fire!! We scrimmaged for about five minutes and Paige Weishuhn sprained her ankle. That was a bummer, but hopefully she won't be out long. She did make a great post move though and made the shot, before she hurt her foot.

We are exactly one hour away from our first offical team practice and I know the coaching staff and the players are ready to go! Our first scrimmage is Oct 29th at 6:30 p.m., so put that on your calendar.

Get your Ram Horns up!!!!!!

LSC Challenge Champions!

All the challenges are completed and the 'Belles Basketball team won the LSC Challenge trophy! The picture does not do the trophy justice. Stacy and Katie made, yes made, a replica of the LSC Championship trophy and decorated it with the most awesome embellishments. The embellishments represented all the activities the 'Belles conquered to win this challenge.

Tonight we had a team dinner and completed the last written challenge. The girls had to answer some questions about leadership and what and how they were going to contribute to our team's success this year. They all did an exceptional job. I was very impressed and inspired by their answers. We are going to have a great season! After the trophy presentation we went to our locker room and had a meeting about the upcoming season and practice expectations. The girls also received all their new gear. It was like Christmas morning. Crystal Whalon, a former Belle, designed our t-shirts and sweat shirts and they look great.

I am currently trying to stay awake for Midnight Madness. It is a great way to kick off the season and the players and ASU students love it, but us old folk can barely stay awake to enjoy the fun!

I can't wait until tomorrow. Nothing beats the first day of practice!

If you are going to Midnight Madness and you don't see me there, please give me a call and wake me up!

Setting records

There were two records set at our annual Alumni Game. The most points scored and the most points given up! This year, the teams were chosen by age and even though they fought hard, the older alumni were unable to pull out the victory. I think this is the fifth annual Alumni Game and Kylie Nabors and Kelli Goble informed me after the game that they have never won an alumni game. Weird. I feel bad about that and I vow to "try" to remedy that situation next year.

Win or lose, the game was a lot of fun. It was very high scoring, which is unusual. Kandra Lakey and Sharon Beam were on fire for the younger alumni, but everyone on both teams contributed. Jeremy Bryant did a masterful job with the announcing and Ryan Salinas and Quinn Barfield were the referees. Thanks for helping us out on a Sunday afternoon!

The current 'Belles had a busy weekend. We had a recruit on campus and Saturday the 'Belles had to read the sportsmanship statement at the volleyball game and usher at the football game. They did a good job and if you were at the football game, you know it was freezing. They also attended the alumni game and the upperclassman had to bring desserts for the reception after the game. Only three more days before team practice begins. I can't wait! Wednesday we will have a team dinner and Midnight Madness. Please come join us at the Junell Center on Wednesday night at 11 p.m.

The 'Belles won the Penny War that was used to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I am proud of them and hopefully we keep up the winning attitude and effort!

Don't forget - Midnight Madness!

Saves and such

Well tomorrow is the big day. The 'Belles get to step up and save a teammate. We had a meeting today to determine who was saving who. It was short and sweet and we had plenty of volunteers. Their were a few guidelines they had to adhere to. The team can save a teammate if they were unable to attempt the challenge because of injury, but the team can only save an individual one time. If an individual did not complete the challenge successfully, they had to attempt it one more time and then a teammate has to save them. Tomorrow we will attempt the West Texas Challenge (20 sets of two down and backs) first, then we will go to the park to attempt the Tarleton State Challenge (2.8 miles), and we will finish up at the pool with the North Division Challenge. Here is a list of players that volunteered to save their teammates:



Ashley James - Tarleton State

Morgan Youngblood - Tarleton State

Kori Hall - West Texas

Jasmine Fuller - West Texas

Lindsey Leatherman - North Division

Casie Adams - North Division

Christie Rasmussen - North Division



The team will also be saving five players that were unable to attempt the West Texas Challenge.



I am really looking forward to tomorrow and watching the 'Belles take a big step towards reaching all our very lofty goals for this season!



I also wanted to mention that this Friday, West Texas A&M will be inducting my Dad into their Hall of Champions. My Dad played and coached at WT and this a very well deserved honor. For our family this is bitter sweet, since our Dad is suffering from Alzheimers. I am dreading and looking forward to the induction ceremony.



The volleyball team has two big matches this week after being on the road for a month. Please come out and support them and don't forget about the 'Belle Basketball Alumni game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Lone Star Conference Challenge

Last week we attempted the West Texas challenge. The girls had to run 20 sets of two down-and-backs. The first set they had 24 seconds and then they had 25 seconds for the last set of 10. It was by far the toughest challenge yet but the 'Belles did great. I was extremely proud of Jasmine Fuller who finished first for all 20 sets and usually with time to spare.

We had quite a few of the 'Belles that were unable to attempt the challenge because of injury or threat of injury. Next week, their teammates will be able to save them and we will complete the final challenge by writing a letter of recommendation for themselves. This Lone Star Conference Challenge has been very successful. It has helped develop the team concept and has made conditioning a little less boring. But some of our players are suffering with shin splints probably caused by conditioning on different surfaces. Deciding how to get and keep your players in shape without wearing them out is always a tough call. We have a very long season and it is very physically demanding, and you have to be in great shape to be successful.

We only have a week and a half of our group work and conditioning. Midnight Madness is Wednesday night (Oct. 14) beginning at 11 p.m. We will have our first official team practice on Thursday, Oct. 15. I can't wait to really get started!


Don't forget to come out to the Alumni Game on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2 p.m. and we hope to see you at Midnight Madness.

Oldies but goodies

We are in the last week of our conditioning challenges and next week we finish up with the weight room challenge and another written challenge. Next week will also be the week where teammates have the opportunity to step up and save a teammate if they were unable to complete the challenge. I am very happy with this Lone Star Conference Challenge concept and it has been a great way to start off the new season.

On October 11th at 2 p.m., we will have our annual Alumni Game. I love this weekend! On Saturday night we all get together and laugh and talk about the "good old days" and then on Sunday they get their game faces on. It is always alot of fun. I thought I would take a little bit of time and update our fans on where and what some of our alumni have been up to.

My first graduating class consisted of two seniors that transferred to ASU from Incarnate Word. I will forever be in debt to Kylie Nabors and Marloes Roetgerink. They sacrificed a year of their lives (they both had to go to school longer to gradaute when they tranferred) to come to ASU and help turn this program around immediately. Marloes is playing basketball professionally over seas and last year her team won a championship and she was the most valuable player! Kylie is the head coach at her alma mater East Central High School in San Antonio.


Two other players transferred to ASU also, Jaclyn Nowlin and Esponosha Gilliam. Jaclyin is now a coach in Levelland, is married and expecting her first baby!!! After graduating from ASU, E pursued a Masters Degree in Social Work at Texas State and is currently a social worker at South Austin Hospital. She is engaged to Alexis Cooper (former ASU football player). This is a quote from E "I really want everyone to know that playing basketball and being coached by wonderful people, truly changed me into a honest, hard working, dedicated, competitive, and loving person." Now, I think E is giving us too much credit, because she was a very special young lady when we recruited her!


These transfers made a difference, but they be no means turned this program around on their own. When I arrived in San Angelo there was a core group of players willing and eager to do what ever I took to be successful. The returners that stuck it out were Kimberly Moore, Crystal Whalon, Keely Kolar and Kami Williamson. To this class we added a JUCO transfer Tammara Ringer. The one freshman on the team my first year was Kelli Ann Goble from Ozona. I loved her spunk, but I never thought she would play much for the 'Belles. Pretty funny uh? Kimberly Moore is married and living in Houston. She is an occupational therapist at a veterans hospital. Crystal Whalon lives in Austin and has just published her first book and she is a graphic designer and motivational speaker. Look for her designs on all our apparel this year. Keely Kolar lives in Austin and works (most likely runs) her parent's advertising firm. Tammara Ringer just got married in August to William West, who is also an ASU alum. They live in Pflugerville and after receiving her MBA at Texas State she is now an Internal Auditor for the State of Texas. Kami Williamson is the head coach at her alma mater Menard High School. She was such a great competitor and I know she is a great coach.


Also, attending the Alumni Game will be Sharon Ballenger Beam and Whitney Holting. Sharon is married with an adorable two-year old daughter, Mazzy. Sharon is also the head coach at Lake View High School. Whitney graduated from ASU's Physical Therapy program and is now currently working as a PT. Way to go Whitney! Christy Johnson lives here in San Angelo and recently had a baby with Marlow Rockwell (fomer player for the Ram basketball and football team).


Some of the more recent alums that will be playing are Lauren Weishuhn, Kandra Lakey, and Miranda Damiano. Kandra graduated last year and Lauren and Miranda will finish up this year.


I have been very fortunate to get to coach such outstanding young women and I am really looking forward to seeing all of them again. If you get a chance, please come out to see them. It is always alot of fun.

Breakfast with the 'Belles

This week’s challenge was the Tarleton State Challenge. The ’Belles had to run seven laps (seven teams in the LSC South) around Unidad Park. This equates to 2.8 miles. Once again, the ’Belles were successful in this challenge. The times ranged from 19:08 (Ashley James) which is booking it to 23:44, which is still not too shabby. We had a couple of players not compete in this challenge because of injury, so one of their teammates will be called upon to save them!

It just so happens that my back gate opens up to Unidad Park, so someone had the bright idea that I should cook breakfast for 20 people. For those of you that know me, you can stop laughing now! I have to admit I was considering "cooking breakfast" before they asked me. Now, my idea was to go to the bakery and buy breakfast. That really seems like the sanest thing to do in this situation or really any situation that involves cooking.

As with most domestic challenges, I turned to my mom for help. I probably started by telling her how young she looked today and then I asked "Mom, how would you like to get up at 6:30 a.m. and cook breakfast for all the ’Belles and the coaches?" I might of said "help cook breakfast", but she is no dummy! She immediately agreed, which I am sure is not surprising to any of you mother's out there. I am her sweet baby girl after all, whether I am three or 43.

At this point, the stress started to build. We had to decide what to cook, how much to cook, when to cook it and how to have it hot and ready when they finished their brisk almost three-mile run. My first thought was pancakes and bacon. Mom was not too fond of the idea of making at least 60 pancakes. Good point. I asked Mary Adkins, one of our very lovely and helpful secretaries, if she had an electric skillet??? I really don't know what that is but it sounded good. She told me she had an electric warming pan and suggested biscuits, gravy, bacon and eggs instead of pancakes. Great suggestion. Thanks Mary.

The only glitch in this plan was the gravy, which obviously my mom would have to make. How much flour? Do we need bacon grease, etc, etc. Stacy came over and they attempted to make the gravy. Mom made bacon for the grease (Stacy had bacon for dinner). I took Bailey to her first girl scout meeting and when I returned the backdoor was open to let out the smoke and a pan with some white clumpy stuff was in the sink. Not a good sign. Now don 't get me wrong, my mom is a great cook and she always has to make the gravy but it stresses her out every time!

Next plan, Stacy was on the Internet looking up gravy recipes. Did you know you can use butter instead of grease? Moral of this story, you are never too old to learn new tricks. (I am not calling my mother old here, but I had to use that saying.) The gravy tasted great and we were ready for the morning.

Did you know that it is dark at 6:30 a.m.? Who knew? Anyway, I got up to make the biscuits and by that I mean I took them out of the bag and put them on the cookie sheet. I also started the bacon and then I deserted my mom to finish it up while I went outside to watch the ’Belles run. Bailey and Kannon were excited the ’Belles were running in the park and coming over for breakfast. When the ’Belles arrived on our back porch we were ready to scramble the eggs. I am happy to say that nothing was burned and everything was warm and tasted great!

Not a bad way to start off a morning. A 2.8-mile run and a good warm breakfast.

Thanks mom!

It takes a village and a few good recruits

You know the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, well it also takes a village to have a successful basektball program. The 'Belles have won a bunch of games in the past nine years, but I didn't do that alone. Stacy Duffell has been my assistant coach in some form or fashion for all those years (we have also had some very talented dedicated players to help us out!). Stacy played basketball for me for four years at Incarnate Word. She also played softball at Incarnate Word and while she was finishing up her degree she was my student assistant. It was during that year that I was considering taking the job at Angelo State. That is a long story, but I can promise you this, if Stacy had not said "I will go with you" I would not be coaching at Angelo State University.

Stacy was not necessarily the most talented player I have ever coached, but she was the most dedicated and loyal player I have ever coached. She also was the most competitive, which is what makes her a great coach. No one wants to win more than Stacy and she would take you out before she let you beat her! I think one interesting note about Stacy's playing career for me is that I was ejected in her first college game and her last. I know that is hard to believe for those of you that see me always being so calm and cool on the sidelines, especially when I disagree with the officials! Unfortunately, that last game was in the 2nd round of the NAIA National Tournament. I can guarantee you that I did not deserve my second technical and I have video to prove it.

This program would not be where it is today with out Stacy's hard work and dedication on and off the court. This year, we are fortunate to have two graduate assistants working with us. Ashley Tipton played basketball the last four years at Carson-Newman University in Tennessee and Jezzall Quintana played two years at Northeastern State University. I am very excited about both of these young ladies are going to bring to our program. They are enthusiastic and hard working and they are willing to do what it takes to help us take this program to another level. Katie Rudolph was our manager last year and thankfully she is willing to help us out again this year. I told Stacy that Katie was our best recruiting job last year. She is awesome!

It does take a village, but you are kidding yourself if you think you can win without talent. We are beginning our fall recruiting, which consists of home visits and official visits by our recruits. I will keep you posted on how that goes. Wish us luck!

Coach what is a "6"?

We have been working with our small groups for a couple of weeks now. The other day in practice I was explaining what cuts we wanted to make and not make, etc. We use numbers to call our cuts. I was talking and Ashley James, a freshman, asked "Coach what is a 6?" Which was an excellent question, because I know over the last 2-3 practices I had used that number at least 10 times. With 10 returners I tend to forget that the five freshman don't know everything yet, which is why this small group work is so great. Secondly, the question showed me a little something about Ashley. First, she had the confidence to ask the question and she had the smarts to know she didn't know something. We are throwing so much at the freshman that I think sometimes they don't even know they don't know something! Kuddos to Ashley.

We completed our third challenge this morning (6:30 a.m. - ugh!) and once again everyone succeeded. ( They had to run 12 suicides on the football field. We gave them 30 minutes and Ashley James was first at 16:47 and the slowest time was 21 minutes. Nothing makes a coach happier than when players just go hard no matter what the time on the clock says.

This is the first year that we have implemented the Lone Star Conference Challenge. Like most good ideas, this was not an original. I borrowed it from UNC-Ashville. We were looking for ways to build the team concept in everything we do, including weights and conditioning. This challenge allows us to do that while we are also getting into game shape. Each week we have a new challenge that is given one of our opponents name. For example, last week we defeated ACU and today we demolished Kingsville! Let me tell you, even if you are playing pick up sticks, if one of the sticks is a Wildcat you want to beat it!!!! During the week Coach Duffell and our new graduate assistants prepare the players for "winning" these challenges against our future opponents. The day we attempt the challenge is just like a game day. They should be confident and well-prepared to beat the opponent (succeed at the challenge). This is exactly what we are attempting to do with our on court practices. Practices are much more challenging, mentally and physically, than the actual competition. When it is game time, they should be prepared and confident. That is our job. Put our players in a position to succeed!

Honestly, I haven't felt this good about a team's attitude in a couple of years. What a great feeling!

By the way, a "6" is a dribble hand off.

NCAA Rules - In case you have insomnia

Since we just wrapped up our second week of pre-season practice, I thought I might share with you what the NCAA allows us to do. During our non-championship segment we can work out with our team eight hours a week. Only two of those hours can be in the gym with a ball. During those two hours, only four players can be in the gym at one time. Thankfully last year they began allowing us to have two groups going at one time, as long as there is no intermingling of the groups. We use both of our gyms to avoid "intermingling". The other six hours are for weights and conditioning. Study hall, tutoring and community service activities do not count in the eight hours. We also have to give them two days off a week.


Since all they really want to do is play pick up games, they can do that on their own. No coaches are allowed to watch these games. They can also so choose to come to the gym and shoot on their own. We have a great shooting machine called The GUN, which rebounds the ball for them. I really hope they are taking advantage of this machine!


Friday was our first running challenge and I am happy to report that all 14 girls (Lindsey Leatherman is hurt) completed the challenge successfully! They had to run 15 x 100's and the fast group averaged 12-14 secs and the slowest group averaged 14-16 secs. They worked hard this week and it paid off on Friday. Just like during the season. Practices are harder than the actual competition and when it is time to compete they should feel confident and prepared.


Our goal as coaches is to put them in a position where they can be successful. What a great job to have. Well, I am off to my oldest nephews wedding in Fort Worth. Bailey is the flower girl and we are very excited about welcoming a new Walling to the family.

Have a great weekend!

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

Before you call 911, let me explain. I started working out with a personal trainer yesterday and I can't get out of bed today!


The Belles also started our conditioning program yesterday getting ready for the first running challenge. Stacy asked me to compare the two workouts. I don't know if that is really possible, but I will give it a shot.

Warm up

Me - 10 minutes on the treadmill

'Belles - Dynamic stretching (this alone would have done me in)



Work out

Me - wall squats, modified lunges, other various weight bearing exercises while I had to balance on some rubber ball contraption!

'Belles - 4 or 5 sets of 1 x 200, 2 x 100



Cool Down

Me - I sat on a leather couch, drank some water, and discussed when I might dare come back

'Belles - Two times around the track - jog the curves, walk the straight aways (by the way Bailey wanted to do this with them, so we jogged the first curve and then she saw Kannon playing with Stacy on the high jump pit, so we were done)



The next morning

Me - can't get out of bed

'Belles - Hopefully jumped out of bed eager to go to class and anticipating today's workout!



I will leave it up to you to compare the workout of the 18-21 year old college athletes to the workout of the 43 year old mother of two who hasn't been a college athlete in 20 years.


By the way, my trainer said I was in pretty good shape! Of course I am paying her a ton of money.


More importantly, I was very pleased with the 'Belles workout yesterday. The effort was great and I thought the conditioning level was pretty good. The first group a.k.a. the fast group consisted of Alix Flores, Camille Perkins, Kori Hall, Jasmine Fuller, Cassi Wright and newcomers Ashley James, Leah Lemaire, and Morgan Youngblood. After the first 100, Camille and Alix who did not win, commented about how old they were. We have a couple of freshman that were very impressive on the track. Lets hope they can shoot, pass and dribble along with that speed!


FYI - Lauren Holt looked great!!!!!


Thank goodness my computer is by my bed, so I can at least post on my blog. I might have to text Stacy to let her know I can't get up and make it to practice today. But, I have banned cell phones from the Junell Center, so that might be a problem! Oh well, I guess we will just see how long it takes for someone to come looking for me.

Ask a Shot Putter

Next week we are beginning our Lone Star Conference Challenge which involves the weight room, the track, conditioning in the gym, swimming and some written challenges. Our first challenge is running 15 x 100's. At the volleyball game the other night, I asked Aisha Adams (our All-American track stud!) to give me a average time that she could run 15 100's. She said 12.8 seconds. I stared at her like she was a crazy, because I don't know about y'all but I couldn't run one 100-meter dash that fast, but this isn't about me. Since the entire 'Belle Basketball team was at the volleyball game I thought I would inform them of what Aisha said.

When I told them that Aisha said she could run them in 12.8 seconds, there was a stunned silence and then Halie Hargraves (redshirt freshman from Christoval) said "go ask a shot putter!"


Now, that is funny stuff!

New Year New Rules

At our first team meeting I informed the players about one of our new rules for this year - NO CELL PHONES IN THE JUNELL CENTER! I am happy to inform you that we started with 15 players and we still have 15 players. Cell phones and more specifically texting as seeped into our brains and taken over. If you are thinking "did the Belles use to have their cell phones in the gym during practice?" "No wonder they lost 12 games last year." Of course we didn't have the cell phones in the gym, but as soon as they left the gym they had to check their messages. Why? Instead of talking to each other about practice and quite possibly what an idiot the coach is, etc, etc..., they are staring at their cell phone screen. I have more cell phone rules for the team, but I decided to ease them into this strange new world of engaging with the people right in front of you instead to the people at the other end of a cell phone.



That is all I have for now. I need to go text my husband, who is upstairs, to ask him if he is taking the kids to school in the morning. No need wasting an actual trip up the stairs! That would lead to exercise and an actual conversation and we would't want that now would we?

Back to School Party - Sunday Aug 23, 2009

What a great way to start of the new year! A couple of weeks ago I told the five upperclassmen that if they wanted to have our traditional back to school party, they would have to plan it. I made this rule after we had some players take some of our traditions for granted last year. I have challenged this group to work with me to get our team headed back into the right direction. Well, I am happy to say that they passed the first challenge with flying colors. They found a place ( a ranch with a beautiful man-made lake) and they organized all the other players to bring the food, drinks, and desserts. Stacy and I didn't do anything but show up and eat. Can't go wrong there! The players had a great time riding the seado and intertubing.

The rest of this week we will have team meetings, physicals, test in the weight room, and hopefully get the freshman to all of their classes! We are definitely heading in the right direction.

The Beginning - August 23, 2009

Welcome to the beginning. The beginning of this blog, the beginning of a new school year, and the beginning of a new season. The Belles have such great fans and we thought this would be a lot of fun for them to read, well it will be fun to read when we win anyway. I can't promise fun after a loss! In addition to my blog, Lauren Holt, a freshman from Christoval, will be writing her own blog. I think it will be very interesting to compare our perspectives of the same day/game/practice/road trip/etc.



Classes start Monday and the players living on campus moved in yesterday. The girls were excited but the parents were understandably anxious about leaving their daughters. Since my kids are only six and eight and they have both promised to live with me forever, I am a few years away from this happening to me. But, having my own kids really puts into perspective that these young ladies are somebody's babies!! That is one of the main benefits of being part of a team as soon as you get to campus. You automatically have a support system in place. You have teammates and coaches to help you learn the ropes. I know it was a long time ago, but I remember the thing I was most anxious about when I went off to college, was if I would have someone to eat lunch with! Hopefully the coaches and returning players remember how it feels to be a freshman and we do our best to alleviate their fears and anxieties. When Stacy and I told one parent she could call us any time, she grabbed our arm looking unsure and asked "really?" I hope she didn't cry all the way home!

I promise we will take good care of her babies!



Tomorrow is our first official team function - a team party at a lake. You know what they say about all work and no play!



I am really excited about the upcoming season and sharing it with you on this blog. I hope you enjoy it.