An Evening In December

Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

Even in the short history of this 24 year old, there are several moments that are forever etched in the corridors of my brain. A few examples would be:

April 5, 1993--that was the day that Chris Weber called that infamous timeout (forgetting they had already used all of their timeouts) against my beloved Tar Heels to lock up the National Championship for Dean Smith and Co. I was only 8, but I can still picture the room where I sat and the furniture that quickly became my jungle gym as I paraded around in celebration.

September 11, 2001--the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the devastation that followed was astonishing. I remember continually watching the coverage throughout the day at school. I had always hoped that school would turn into a television-a-thon...but I never had envisioned it being under these gruesome circumstances.

November 12, 2002--Suzie Ditzfield Field in Sedalia, MO was my sanctuary that cold blustery evening. My high school soccer team had advanced to the Quarterfinal of the MSHSAA state tournament. It was our school's first trip that deep in the state playoffs. After a couple fortuitist bounces, we came away 4-2 winners and were headed to the school's first ever Final Four appearance. (we lost 4 days later 2-1 in OT to the eventual state champs). We were fortunate enough to follow it up by returning to the Final Four my senior year.

May 17, 2004--The day I graduated high school. However, this was no ordinary graduation day. I was also playing in the Missouri State High School Golf tournament. It started with a 10 am tee time, continued with a less than stellar opening day on the links and then culminated with a rat race back to Joplin. I was fortunate enough to arrive 4 minutes before I was supposed to walk and recieve a rather important piece of paper.

August 6, 2004--The day my sister got married. The thing that will always stick out in my mind about this day is that I was honored to walk my sister down the aisle and hand her off...in fact my exact words were, "Drew, she's all yours" (i said with a grin)

Likewise, December 21, 2009 is a day that I don't expect to forget anytime soon. Yesterday we played a home contest against Southwestern College (KS). The festivities included a tribute to the late Charlie Williams before the game and an alumni social following the game.

Charlie Williams was a legend of the game of basketball in this area (including a short stint as an Assistant Coach in our program). After serving over 25 years at a local christian college as the Athletic Director and Men's and Women's basketball coach, he served as the boy's basketball coach at a local high school for another 4 years. Coach Williams won over 700 games combined at all levels and is a member of the Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame. However, anyone who knew Coach Williams, understood that his impact went far beyond his astonishing record. He was a man that cared deeply about the lives of the young men and women that played for him. He truly cared more about his players as people than he did as basketball players. Charlie Williams was simply a great person, and he will be dearly missed.


Coach Williams rarely missed one of our games. One time Coach Mitts explained that she hates how we are on defense in the second half because she feels like they are all the way on the other end of the floor and they can't hear her as well. To that Coach Williams replied, "It's okay Maryann, i'll coach them!" Sure enough, Coach Wiliams sat on the first row (in the same seat every game) and coached up our girls in the second half. In rememberance of Coach Williams, we placed a placque on the seat back of his chair and our team placed flowers in a vase that sat next to Coach Williams' seat. His wife and 2 sons were in attendance as we honored the late Coach.

At halftime of the game we honored several alumni that came back for the game. After the game they stuck around and we had an extended ammount of time to talk. It was GREAT to see some faces from the past and to get caught up on all the success they are having. As you can imagine the stories starting flying around. Jean Hurt (a member of the first team Coach Mitts had here at Southern) even made her way to the lockeroom before the game...she even challenged any of our current players to a 3-point contest! (typical Jean). Some of the players that returned really paved the way for everything going on in our prgram now, it was such a great evening to see them!

Overall, the evening was one that I (and several others in attendance) will never forget.

Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be LION!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

Lions, and Finals, and Christmas! OH MY!

Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

The word "Finals" conjures up so many different thoughts and emotions for college students. Some students barely even acknowledge the week. These students believe that no amount of studying can help them revive their grade from the depths of where it has fallen during the semester. To some, it is a cuss word. These people fear they are unprepared to take an exam that will test what they have (or have not) learned over the span of the entire semester. Others relish the idea of finals. These students understand that this week signifies the culmination of another long semester and relish the opportunity finish the class and move on to a 4 week break.

To college basketball coaches and players, Finals Week gives the 2 parties a chance to take a deep breath and slow down for a minute. The athletes get to focus on finals, and the coaches focus on their team. This gives the staff a great chance to sit down and truly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the team, and put together an attack plan for the upcoming break. The practices we have during this short time will be aimed at breaking things down, and being perfect in the "little things." This is a GREAT time to regroup and recharge for the next part of our season.

Christmas break is the best 4 weeks of the season (barring any postseason run, of course). We get to spend more time with our team, we get to see family, and we get a chance to continue the race to the championship. On December 28th we open conference play back up with a home tilt against SBU. We will get a great gauge of our team as we will play 3 conference games in 6 days. The Christmas season (coupled with the conference season) will be a GREAT one for our basketball program. Please come celebrate it with us by attending our Dec 21st and Dec 28th home games!

Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

Opening Week

Today's post was written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

The NCAA Division II season has been officially underway for 7 days. The week had ups and downs, but we learned a lot and were able to end on a high note. Last Sunday we opened our season on the road in Tahlequah, OK. We faced a veteran NSU RiverHawks team and went home on the losing end of a hard fought game.

You can learn a lot about the maturity of a basketball team by watching how they respond to a loss. Needless to say, the following couple days were important for our team. After taking Monday off, we got back at it with an intense practice on Tuesday. We really stressed the little things. It was very important that we go back to focusing on simple things like catching and passing the basketball, making layups, making free throws, valuing the basketball…Tuesday through Thursday we worked very hard to correct some of the things that really plagued us vs. NSU. While it is safe to say that it wasn’t the best 3 days of practices we’ve ever had, it was obvious that we were making strides in the right direction. Winning on the road takes mental toughness and we grew in that area during these practices.

On Thursday evening, after practice, it was off to Emporia, Kansas to play in the ESU Tip-Off Classic. We had 2 quality opponents ahead of us (Evangel University--#21 in NIAA Division 1 poll-- and Eastern New Mexico University) and we knew we must play inspired, with lots of energy and emotion in order to get the results we wanted. Friday night we faced Evangel. Using our defense to create for our offense, we came away with a 79-43 win. Our defensive effort and intensity was finally starting to get closer to the “Southern Way” of playing defense.

I stated earlier that “You can learn a lot about the maturity of a basketball team by watching how they respond to a loss.” Well, it might be true that you can learn MORE about the maturity of a basketball team by watching how they respond to a win. Saturday was another great opportunity for our basketball team to prove their maturity. The challenge before us was a fast and athletic Eastern New Mexico team. The first half was a see-saw affair that saw the Zias hit a buzzer beating 3, sending us to the locker room with only a 4 point lead. However, fueled by a great start to the second half, we were able to pull away and win the contest 76-58. We were headed home 2-1 on the season! After the contest we learned that Michelle Hedgecock (Averaged 11.5 pts and 8.5 rbs) and Jasmine Lovejoy (Averaged 15.5 pts) had been named to the all-tournament team. Congrats ladies!

This weekend was GREAT for our team. Now we have 4 days to prepare for the Pizza Hut/Fairfield Inn Classic held in our very own Leggett and Platt Athletic Center. Can’t wait to come back and play in front of our AWESOME fans!

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

The Birthplace of Basketball...and ME!!

Today's post is written by Jr. guard Jasmine Lovejoy:

Hello everyone, my name is Jasmine Lovejoy and I am a junior guard from Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska. I am originally from Springfield, Massachusetts. I am very proud to be from Springfield because of the major role that basketball has played in its history. One interesting thing that a lot of people may not know is that basketball was founded and invented there, and is also where the basketball Hall of Fame is.

Growing up it was very important for me to play a sport. Being from that area, I chose the sport that everyone else chooses…basketball. When I was younger, I watched a lot of old basketball games that had players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Watching current and future Hall of Famers really made me take basketball more seriously. It really made me strive to become a better player. As I got older, I began to understand how important it is to be from the area called “the birth place of basketball.” I felt very fortunate that the game that I have grown to love has the same birthplace as me!!

After all the positives, there were actually a few negatives to growing up in Springfield. The most glaring negative was the expectation and standard placed on me to be a GREAT basketball player. The other negative in that area was the number of all girls teams (or lack thereof). There were tons and tons of boy’s teams growing up, but very few all girls teams.

I am very thankful to have grown up in Springfield. It really causes me to appreciate the game of basketball and its historical significance.

I am so excited for our season to get started. I hope to see everyone out in the stands!

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Jasmine Lovejoy
Jr. Shooting Guard

Close to home

Today's post is written by Jr. Shooting Guard Afton Baldwin:

My name is Afton Baldwin and I am a junior here at Missouri Southern. I am an elementary education major from Nevada, Missouri. I have lived in Nevada my whole life and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It's the perfect place for me. I have two wonderful parents, Mark and Penny Baldwin and three siblings, Bridget (22), Austin (18), and Carolyne (10). We have seven pets (two dogs and five cats). I am very close to my family and enjoy going home and seeing them.

I went to Nevada High School where I played basketball for Brent Bartlett. He is a great coach. He taught me how to play the game of basketball and I really enjoyed playing for him.Out of high school I chose to continue my playing career at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri. I chose to go there mainly because it was only an hour and 15 minutes from home.

Another reason I chose Crowder was because my sister, Bridget, went to school there for two years on a softball scholarship and she really enjoyed it. I also really liked being on a campus small enough to walk everywhere. Finally, I really enjoyed the people at Crowder. Playing for Coach Tina Robbins was a great experience and one I am very thankful for.

As my sophomore year at Crowder got into full swing I realized that I was serious enough about basketball that I wanted to continue playing at the next level. My desire to stay close to home had not changed and I was looking for a great program that was within a couple hours of home. I chose to come to Missouri Southern just a few weeks before school started and I'm so glad that I did!! I used to come to the basketball camps here at Southern when I was in high school (from my freshman-senior year). As a result, I've been familiar with the basketball program here at Southern for quite awhile.

Coming to Southern is one of the best decisions I have ever made. This is definitely the hardest I've ever worked on the basketball floor. Our practices are tough, but I enjoy seeing the daily improvement. Our coaches really push us toward excellence everyday we step onto the court. I feel very lucky to be a part of this team and I'm excited to see how well we do this year!

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Afton Baldwin
Jr. Shooting Guard
Nevada, MO

"Too Good To Be True"

Today's post is written by Head Coach Maryann Mitts

Yesterday was the annual MIAA Media Day in Kansas City. In typical fashion, every coach had a “poker” face about their teams’ potential and those coaches that did share their thoughts…… well, they REALLY like their squad! So, bottom line-everyone thinks their team is pretty darn good! It’s the only time of the year you’ll choke with all the optimism in the room. I actually find it very comical to be honest.

Well, the real proof will happen in a few short weeks. In three weeks, the rubber will meet the road and results only (not talk) will determine the success of MIAA teams. Yesterday we were picked 5th by the Media and 6th by the Coaches. No offense to Jim Henry at the Joplin Globe, but I’ve never put much credence in what the media says, but I’ll have to agree with them on this one! (See? I too lean to the optimistic side!) The Coaches usually look at the number of graduating players and since we lost 6 seniors, four of which were starters, last season, sixth is about as high as they would consider us. I am excited about this season and actually enjoy the role of “underdog” or spoiler. I mean, in my eight years at Southern we have beaten 10 nationally ranked teams. It’s FUN to go up against the Big Dogs.

Meet the Lions Night is Southern’s own Midnight Madness…. Except that it’s two weeks into practice and at 5:30 pm . : ) Our Meet the Lions Night was this past Monday night and I was pleasantly surprised. Our scoring (which is all fans want to see) was productive and it gave our players a chance to play in front of our wonderful fans in Leggett and Platt. Remember though, we take pride in our Defense around here, so, obviously we have room for improvement.

This group is the best group of ladies I have had the pleasure of coaching. I’ve always questioned coaches (our Men’s Coach, Robert Corn being one of them) when they would say, “The best part of my day is the two hours I am up on the floor with my players.” WHAT? You mean, the time when you are begging and pleading 18-22 year olds to play hard, encouraging them to play defense, and praying that they are listening to what you are teaching? And THEN waiting for the results of that teaching? Well, now I have felt it! At 1:00 pm every day I am anxious and ready for 2:00 pm. I am excited to see our team, their smiles, intensity, and eagerness to learn.

So, that’s what’s leading me to the title of today’s blog. “Too Good To Be True”. At the MIAA Media Day, Gene Steinmeyer, Head Coach at Northwest Missouri and I were visiting. It seems that we are the only two who have succumb ourselves to this blog thing. And to be honest, our staff really enjoys reading Gene’s blogs. His writing is very similar to his storytelling: long, creative, and hysterical! Anyways, he was telling me that his assistant, Lori Hopkins (great person and great coach) was laughing at our blogs. After asking why, he paused and said, “Well, I mean, they just sound too good to be true!” I guess the misconceptions that some people have about programs get eliminated when they actually hear the truth from the ‘horse’s mouths’. Our players write their own blogs from their hearts. We might give them a ‘topic’ (like an English assignment), but it’s all them after that. All the positives, all the understanding, the happiness, and all the excitement can occur at the same time discipline, intensity, and hard work encompass an environment.

Maybe the Northwest Missouri Coaching Staff is RIGHT….. Maybe the 2009-10 Lions ARE just “Too Good To Be True!”

Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!

Maryann Mitts
Head Coach

Meet the Lions...TWICE!!

Today's post is written by Jr. Center LaTice Jones:

I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a little bit about each player on our team. On Monday night, October 26th at 5:30, Meet The Lions will take place at the Leggett and Platt athletic center. I thought I would give you a preview of what you will see when you come out on Monday. So, that being said…

Jasmine is goofy and fun to be around on and off the court. She is a strong, athletic player with a positive attitude. When she talks positively on the court, it is contagious to other players on our team. She is a good friend not only to me, but to all of her teammates.

Tercya is a great all around player. A strong, vocal leader, she has the ability to score from anywhere on the court. She not only tells someone what to do, she also shows them.

Randi is one teammate that I really respect. She is one of the best leaders that we have. She answers a lot of questions. She is very helpful not only to me, but to our entire team. She is the epitome of what it means to be a STUDENT-ATHLETE.

Afton is another great outside shooter. You don’t hear Afton much, as she is quiet too. She has a great approach read she uses to get to the bucket. She likes to ask a lot of questions that will help to better her game. She is another one that is fun to be around off the court (are you noticing a trend?). Our team really enjoys each other and has a ton of fun.

Danielle is another great teammate. On the court, she is a good defender and she knows how to attack the bucket. She is very polite and if she has to say something, it will always come out politely. The 2 of us have a lot in common and we can talk about anything.

Michelle is a good post player. She knows a lot about the program and she helps me whenever I need it on the floor. She is very intense when she plays. If a player asks her for anything or any kind of help, she won’t hesitate to do it.

Lindsey is a strong post player. She plays with a lot of heart and works very hard daily. She is just coming off an injury and her game seems to be getting stronger every day. She is very consistent in her performance.

Jolea is my roommate. She is really goofy and full of life. She is our other senior leader. She helps us with the plays and gives us newcomers good advice. She is also one of our best outside shooters

Myriah is an aggressive defender who is very quick. She is really quick to the basket. She is always excited to play the game of basketball and that’s always a contagious characteristic for a team. She is a person who likes to fun.

Erin is a 6-2 forward. Overall, she is a very supportive person with a quiet demeanor. She is also another good outside shooter, and at the same time she has some nice post moves. She is an overall great and loving person. Her positive attitude is GREAT for our team.

Kelby is a musical breath of fresh air. She is always dancing, singing, or playing her guitar. On the court she works hard and she has a nice jump shot. She is very energetic, just like the rest of my teammates. You should see her backing up Randi at the point.

Scruggs and I have a lot in common. Unfortunately, you will not see her this year due to a knee injury. She is energetic on and off the floor and the team feeds off her energy. She is funny and we often joke around about anything. She often entertains the team with her free-style rapping and story-telling.

Brittany is a little bit harder for me, since she is involved in volleyball. I have not had the opportunity to spend much time with her. She seems very athletic on the volleyball court. I look forward to her joining our team after the volleyball season.

I hope you enjoyed this look into our team from my point of view. Please come out see us play. We look forward to seeing you there!

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

LaTice Jones
Jr. Center

Practice is here!!

Today's post is written by Jr. Forward Lindsey Rujawiitz

This is my first year at Missouri Southern and it has been AWESOME. This is the third program I have played in since graduating high school and I am so thankful I have settled in here at Southern. I really believe we are on our way to having a very successful season.

The preseason has wrapped up and we have had a couple real practices! It is soooo nice to finally be able to work with the whole team on the floor at the same time. Our practices have been very intense. The intensity has been GREAT for our team. The coaches show so much passion for the game that they are able to make practice exciting! One thing I have noticed that is different than other places I have played is that it is okay to make a mistake. Yeah I said it...it really is okay to make a mistake as long as you make the mistake going as hard and fast as you can. We are really focusing on our tempo (including our speed and quickness). Our coaches do a really good job of teaching the game. There is a certain way that Missouri Southern has played for the past 8 years (Coach Mitts' tenure here) and the coaches are just teaching us how to play that way.

There are so many good things coming from practice already that I really think we are going to have a GREAT year. As we continue to "buy in", it will become less and less obvious that we have 10 new programs represented on our team. We will become 1 unit. We will become another one of the GREAT Missouri Southern teams. Our coaches do a good job of stressing that as our goal.

For it just being the first week of practice, it has been a great one. GREAT things are just around the corner. Be sure to come out and see our team at Meet the Lions night! We look forward to seeing you there!

Until next time...it's a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Lindsey Rujawitz
Junior Forward

"Well Coach, are we ready?"

Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

With October 15th arriving on Thursday, the question that everyone asks is, “Well Coach, are we ready?” Assuming that “we” encompasses the 14 athletes on our roster, myself, Coach Jones, Coach Hubbard, and Coach Mitts…I will address that question.

The theme of the preseason is “Break it down so we can build it up.” There are 2 breakdowns happening simultaneously throughout the preseason. We have 10 new girls, from 10 different programs on our roster. Each and every one of these athletes has been taught a completely different philosophy on the game of basketball. We must break it down. We MUST teach these athletes our system. We must break it down. The preseason gives us the opportunity to break down our system in to its finest parts. As we teach and break down our system we are in turn breaking down the systems of our 10 newcomers. We MUST break it down, so we can build it up.

The coaching staff is ready! There is nothing more exciting for our staff than to finally have the opportunity to work with all 14 players at once, on the same floor, and working to build on the floor cohesiveness. Our team has done a GREAT job of building an off the court bond, now we must actively pursue an on the floor cohesiveness that never waivers.

Our 14 players our ready! There are 2 different ways to look at this phrase. A better way to put it would be, “our team is ready for preseason to be over!” :) Our team is definitely ready for practice to be here. The beginning of practice means that 95% of everything we do involves a basketball. There is no doubt that our players are ready for the conditioning portion with Coach J of the preseason to be over :) The second way to look at it, “Is the team ready to perform at the level necessary to have GREAT practices?” One thing that I have always found interesting is when I correct a player in the midst of a drill and their answer is, “I know coach.” My natural response is usually “then why didn’t you do it correctly?” It has often been said that “knowledge without action is meaningless.” Another way to put it is “the proof of understanding is in the application”. October 15th is start of the application. Our team must now begin to apply everything they have been taught!

I honestly believe that the 2009-2010 Lions are ready to begin practice. We are excited about the work that we put in during the preseason and we believe that we have prepared ourselves to have a GREAT year.

Until next time…it’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

Playing Coach and Dad all at the same time

Today's Post is written by Freshman Guard Erin Rice:

Hi, my name is Erin Rice and I am a freshman from Cole Camp, MO. All through high school I faced something a little different than most high school athletes, my dad was my coach.

Growing up I watched my dad coach both volleyball and basketball at the high school level. I watched many players play for my dad and he made everyone of them better. I couldn’t wait till it was my turn. As a freshman I played one sport that my dad didn’t coach. But the next three years of my high school career the only coach I had was my dad.

Having my dad as a coach was very difficult at times but I am very thankful for everything he did for me. My dad saw what I could become and he pushed me to be the player I am today. The relationship with my dad in high school is much different than it is now. I struggled a little with the idea of being his player on the court and his daughter at night when we went home. Oh did I mention he teaches at the school too? I would see him several times throughout the day. Let’s just say my dad and I spent a lot of time together. As I look back, my dad really did a great job of separating our family life and sports. I truly did have a coach on the floor and a dad at home.

I have a lot of respect for my dad. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here playing ball at Missouri Southern. Having my dad as a coach for 4 years makes it easier now. At home I witnessed firsthand what coaches go through off the court. I saw the stress that comes with coaching. I saw all the things that my dad had to deal with that had nothing to do with winning games. Seeing what went on behind the scenes has given me a great respect for our coaching staff here at Southern (mostly because I understand that coaching at the collegiate level is both more stressful and more demanding).

In the end, it’s great to finally be just a player...and just a daughter. Thanks Dad (or should that be "coach"?)

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!

Erin Rice
Freshman Guard

Recent Observations...

Today's post is written by Associate Head Coach Ronda Hubbard:

(Editor's Note: Ronda Hubbard has recently been promoted to Associate Head Coach!!...read her updated bio here)


Things I Am Currently Noticing…
The first thing I have noticed today is that it has been quite a while since the last time Coach Moeller asked me to write a blog. The second thing I almost immediately noticed is that the word “blog” is identified as a misspelled word by my computer’s spell-check. Hmmmmm… how old is this software?

Another observation…. I am a Coach, and I have an outstanding responsibility to live up to the spirit of that title. Philosophically, I am using the game of basketball to teach fundamental core values and principles that can be transferred into the game of life. Sometimes that can be difficult when I myself am still working on the fact that I am a sore loser. Always have been. I have recently found that in addition to communicating well with our student-athletes, I am now communicating with the parents, fans, Lionbackers, and friends of the program more than I have ever done in the past. Blogging is how I am supposed to communicate to all of you, our loyal fans. I feel obligated to share a certain amount of insight so that you, our fans, can relate better and be informed about what’s going on in our program.

The problem is, I like facebook. I have really enjoyed connecting with former players via this tool. It was a former player who actually “forced” me to get on it. I especially love the spur of the moment bursts that can be shared (because this IS how I think). I and everyone else get to quickly blurt out whatever thought was passing through our head at that very moment. We even have a twitter. I enjoy reading Coach Moeller’s ‘tweets’. Some are serious and logical, others are reflective and from the heart, while many are just ridiculous observations. I mean, he actually feels the need to post the weather in Joplin on our twitter. ? Can’t people look that up… If they are THAT interested? :)

So, I get to write to you occasionally and my overriding intent is to avoid boring you. Boring a person should never be allowed. There is simply no excuse for boring another human being. Or for that matter, BEING bored! I would NEVER tell my Mom or Dad growing up that I was “bored”! All the sudden I can hear my Mom yell, “If you are that bored, the garage needs to be cleaned out and the lawn needs mowed.” Boredom….Never. OK, I just realized I got a little off subject. You are even asking yourself right now…. What IS the subject? Let me remind you…. Things I am currently noticing!

Homecoming weekend I noticed a ton of things…..
-Lee Pound does a great job in the Alumni office and deserves more kudos than she gets.
-Dressing up as Gumby is not THAT embarrassing.
-Watching our player, Jasmine, beat the tar out of Coach Jones is the most I have laughed in a long time. Click HERE to watch this hilarious video.
-I love tailgating, especially when ribs are involved.
-I love recruiting, especially when verbal commitments are involved.
-Bart Tatum is doing an amazing job with our football team and I love watching these young men play. They just get better and better each week.
-Coach Mitts does a great job with her team, but also with the Catholic Campus Ministry.
-Even though I am full on ribs, I always have room for a hotdog.
-I enjoy being around our team. They are funny and have a great aura about them.

Now, Of course I could rattle a few more things out, but …. I don’t want to BORE you!
The main thing I have noticed is that this is the best time of the year. Football is in full swing, Basketball practice is a couple weeks away, and the anticipation of taking a bunch of ladies with different backgrounds and meshing them into a team is overwhelming. We are excited around here. Something I noticed quite a while back that has allowed me to succeed and has guided people to success in all areas of life is a very simple question. The question is….

Can you make yourself do something you would rather not do, in order to get a result you would like to have?

This is what we are asking our team right now. When our team can answer YES to this question, they will experience a massive shift in perception of their immediate future. This single concept can dramatically alter the results you are getting, no matter what the venue.

Hmmmmm….. So we want to get to the NCAA tournament…..

It is a GREAT day to be a LION!

Ronda Hubbard
Associate Head Coach

Kenny Rogers, a great philosopher?

Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:

(Editor's note: If you haven't yet, you need to check out MSSU Womens Basketball YouTube Channel!)

In Kenny Rogers' song entitled “Baseball Song” he tells a story about a rather braggadocious young boy who proclaims “I am the greatest, player of them all.” As the song progresses Kenny gives the visual of a young boy standing in a field throwing balls up in the air to himself and swinging his little bat with all his might. After a swing and a miss on the first pitch the boy still proclaims “I am the greatest, there has ever been.” The ball goes up a second time and yet still, the only noise you hear is the sound of the ball hitting the dirt. Strike 2. “I am the greatest, the game is on the line”, utters the confident young lad. Finally the boy throws a third pitch in the air…swing and a miss. Strike 3. The boy, unfazed by his apparent failure utters these very telling words, “I am the greatest, that is a fact, but even I didn’t know I could pitch like that.”

THE MIND IS SO POWERFUL!!

At 5:45 am on Friday morning, with an audience of only the sunrise, our team ran the annual Jog-A-Thon. This fundraiser marks the midway of our preseason conditioning. The Jog-A-Thon is a 5-mile run (jog, walk, crawl, or limp in some cases) that serves a dual purpose for our program. First, it is a great fundraiser for our program. We are blessed with so many people who are generous enough to give to our program. The second purpose is to drive home a lesson that we think will serve us in a long grueling season…YOUR MIND IS SO POWERFUL.

Several on our roster have never pushed their body to run 5 miles in a row. If you have never run 5 miles in a row, you must have an enormous amount of positive self talk the entire time in order to finish the race. The liberating feeling that some of our girls felt after crossing the finish line after their run is enormous. It is our hope that when we are stuck in a long grueling workout with Coach J, or we are 8 points down with under a minute to play, our girls will remember what their mind enabled them to do on that track during the Jog-A-Thon.

Mental toughness is an absolute necessity in the realm of athletics. You hear sports commentators and analysts talk about it all the time; the thing that separates the good player from the great player is often their ability to control the mind when exterior things are swirling around. We tell our players all the time you can’t go into a shooting slump if you never miss 2 shots in a row. It is important to use your mind to evaluate the reason that you missed the shot and to correct it. The same holds true in life…we like to say in our program that “we NEVER have 2 bad days in a row”. Ever felt like you’ve been in a slump? You allowed yourself to follow up a bad day, with another bad day. If you NEVER have 2 bad days in a row you will never be in a slump.

Now I’m not quite ready to crown Kenny Rogers as some great Philosopher; however, the lesson taught by the young boy depicted in his “Baseball Song”, is one that we must understand and take to heart. When you come see the Lions play this year, watch intently to see if we are mentally tough.

Until next time…It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

A Brazilian Comparison

Today's post is written by Jr. Shooting Guard Tercya Ferreira:

Hi…My name is Tercya Ferreira and I am a junior from Sao Luis, Brazil. I am a transfer from Labette Community College and this is my first year at Missouri Southern basketball. I have been very blessed to be a part of the Lady Lion’s family.
Starting this blog today I am going to start by saying I am a Brazilian living in the USA for 4 years now. But I did live most of my life in Brazil. I believe all experiences and cultures are fun. I believe I have the best of both cultures in me.

Finishing high school I had the opportunity to come to the US at the age of 19 and live in a different culture and learn a second language. ..

Therefore, I have listed some things that I like about life in the U.S.

Here it goes:

-1) The cleanliness of the streets.
-2) The organization of streets and highways and the maintenance of buildings and streets is far different.
-3) Open spaces, wide roads, smooth and well maintained. With few exceptions, the US is a country where you can see that the tax money is well spent.
-4) The free school system. Well maintained and well equipped schools.

(I want to add here that a lot of Americans take for granted how great these things are.)

-5) A variety of sports and activities which a lot of Americans like to attend such as, college and professional games, community and school organizations, public events. They are fans of the college that they used to go to.
-6) The fact that everyone has access to the same stuff, theoretically speaking. Black, white, green or gold :), we are all equal.
-7) Safety. One of the few parts of the world where you can leave the door of your house open, your car open, not have alarms in your house and fences. An issue that encourages me to consider moving to the U.S. (My parents have their home in Brazil protected by electrical fences, cameras and alarms)
-8) The fact that the minimum salary is not very low and all people have the same opportunity to succeed.

Now, some of the things that are different:

-1) We don’t have natural disasters, such as, tornadoes, volcanic eruption, and huge storms, which destroy houses, buildings, cars….
-2) We used to cook every day at our own houses to have lunch and dinner with our families. Eating out on the town happens so much in the United States.
-3) In America, everyone farts and belches whenever they like, and all they do is say excuse me. In Brazil; if you fart or belch in public you will turn red and apologize.
-4) In Brazil, we can live in our parent’s home our entire life and no one thinks that's strange. In America, if somebody does that, people think that they must have something wrong with him/her.
-5) The seasons in Brazil are opposite from those in North America. Therefore, it is cooler in July than it is in December.
-6) In my culture, cursing in front of other people can disturb or offend them. It gives the impression of bad education or a bad person. In the U.S., people falsely think it's cool to curse.

Finally, this one is special for Coach Jones…I know he loves Brazilian Soccer so…
“The ONLY soccer team in this world to have won the important ‘World Cup’ 5 times is Brazil's soccer team. Brazil is also the birthplace of one of the best soccer players of this century, Pele.”

I hope you guys enjoyed some of the information about Brazil. Thanks for reading!!

It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!!

Tercya Ferreira
Jr. Guard

Welcome to College

Today's post is written by freshman combo guard Myriah Hicks:


As an incoming freshman to Missouri Southern Women’s Basketball and pre-season, I had no idea what to expect. The only thing that I had to go off of was the things that I had heard from the returning players. Some of the things I didn’t think sounded too hard, while others I became really worried about. The main thing that they had to say was come in with a positive attitude and give maximum effort, 100% of the time. Now I know that those are two points that all of my coaches stress to us every day. Academics is also very important around our program, and is stressed even more than excellence on the court. Grades come first around here. Being here for a week I have already had two study halls, and yes, some of my other teammates are in there as well. This place is no joke! You come in, sit down and get your books, do your work on the computer if needed, and no talking or texting!

I can say that the first week went well. Monday we didn’t even know what to expect, all we knew was that we had the infamous Coach J! After the first day of 4-400’s and 4-200’s, I knew that I was in for something that my mind and body had never been through before. I also found out that we have “gears” that we never knew existed. High school pre-season is a joke compared to college, and I have only been through one week here. My coaches in high school had me thinking that I was working hard every day, but the coaches here show you how hard you can really work. The key is striving to reach your potential and always giving everything you have on the court, track, and in the weight room. They stress that the same amount of effort should be put forth the rest of the season.

Honestly, I thought that all pre-season was going to be was working out all day and never getting time for anything else. We have done a lot more than just work out. We have been making bonds with our teammates and coaches ever since we got here. For only having 3 returners here, I would say that we get along very well with everyone and we have a type of bond that is only going to get stronger as the season continues. No one is to be left out on our team. We have done things together like all going to campus craze (including coaches), eat dinner with our boosters and boys team, and going on a scavenger hunt.

The most awesome thing that I have experienced so far this pre-season is leadership. Over the summer we were assigned the book, “Talent Is Never Enough.” We all meet as a team on Wednesdays. Only being there for the first week, I can already see the purpose of “Leadership.” The name stands for itself. I thought that it was really awesome that while Coach Mitts was going over the book, some of her main points in the 2 chapters were some of the same things that I had underlined while I was reading the book! For some reason, I just thought that was so awesome. That already, not even being here a week, I know that I value some of the same things that my coaches and teammates also value! Week 2…here we come!

Until next time….It’s a GREAT day to be a LION!

Myriah Hicks
Freshman combo guard

Making Hard Work our Passion

Editor's Note: MSSU Women's Basketball now has it's very own YouTube Channel. Details coming VERY SOON!

Today's post is written by Associate Head Coach Ronda Hubbard:

During this first full week of conditioning our staff wanted to help our players take control of their lives. Sounds a little “much” for mostly 18-21 year olds, but I remember being 18 and having a coach “flip the light on” to my own potential. In the classroom, on the court, and as a person. The most important concept I ever gained at a young age was BELIEF, in myself. I found out right away that I really couldn’t believe in my teammates or the coaches if I didn’t FIRST believe in ME! The second most important thing I learned was to do everything with PASSION. If you watch our coaching staff….. we have a lot of PASSION. We are loud, animated, demanding, and we ask our players to resemble us. We have tried to establish this week that we must make HARD WORK our PASSION. Our team seemed to get it right away. While we only have three returners after graduating seven a year ago, there are many faces that are already stepping up to take on leadership roles.

Speaking of Leadership. We had our first one this week as well. The first two chapters of Talent is Never Enough. (hope you are following along with us!) The topics? BELIEF and PASSION. Seems that every successful person, book, team, or organization knows the importance of those two words. So, we have enforced this week that we, as a team, cannot live in a way that is inconsistent with our expectations of ourselves and our team. I think one of the “coolest” things to watch with our team this week, besides the natural improvement, was the identification of the two types of people in the world. ON the floor there are the people who “want to get things done” and then there are the people who “don’t want to make mistakes.” You can guess who looks silly in workouts. The ones tip toeing around trying to do everything just perfect! These players are moving at a snails pace! The others are flying around. It’s fun to watch. Learning to play at a faster pace is always a big challenge in the beginning.

OFF the floor, there are two types of people as well. As stated in Talent is Never Enough….there are the firelighters and firefighters. We are impressing upon our team that they need to be firelighters and stay away from firefighters. Their PASSION has to be protected. Firefighters run around putting out other people’s passion, their belief. They doubt. They resist change. Firelighters (which I am encouraged to tell you we have a lot of) ignite others. Our workouts have shown that we have a lot of people positively influencing each other. Even when Coach J is running the dog out of them!

Lastly, we are talking a lot about Responsibility and Accountability, especially as they apply to relationships. The major question I asked is “In a relationship, what is the percentage of shared responsibility in making the relationship work?” Now, remember, we are talking about teammate to teammate, student to teacher, player to coach, daughter to Mom/Dad…. And so on. The answers from our players are the typical. “50-50” or “51-49”. They express these answers with such confidence. I even had a player tell me “80-20” which is a good answer considering the Pareto Principle, but incorrect. The correct answer, as we explained to them, is “100-0” Only when you are willing to give 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work, will it work. Otherwise, the relationship left to chance will always be vulnerable to disaster.

We believe that these concepts are true for every area of our lives and we are trying to instill these in our players. We are always 100 percent in control and have 100 percent responsibility for everything that has occurred in our lives as a result of our action or inactions. The Lions are learning to TAKE ACTION, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, THEIR TEAMMATES, THEIR COACHES, and to do EVERYTHING with a great deal of PASSION!

Keep your eye on us and see if you don’t agree! :) Until next time……It's a GREAT day to be a LION!

Ronda Hubbard

Associate Head Coach

What are the Coaches really like?

Today's post is written by Sr. Point Guard Randi Henderson:

(Click on the picture for enlarged image)


I have a great topic today...our Coaches! First of all, I must start by saying I am not sure if the coaches know some of the information that I am about to tell you. Anyway, here it goes.

Coach Mitts, she is our head coach although sometimes it seems like she isn’t because she gives her coaching staff so much credit for the hours they put into our success. We all call Coach Mitts our mom. She always talks about our team being a “family” and how we should treat everyone of our teammates as you do any sibling. She is the one who loves to have attention. We all know that if we need to get “brownie points” for the day just go into her office and say “Hey Coach Mitts you look awesome today!” She loves to hear positive things and is always willing to help even in the hardest of times. On the court, she is quite opposite. She loves seeing players going hard and she loves scorers!! But, she has no sense of time management on the court; one time she kept us in the same full court drill for over an hour! To sum Coach Mitts up, she has motherly skills off the court but on the court she wants to see PRODUCTION! :)

Coach Hubbard is next. Almost every recruit that has been here thinks that she is the head coach because of her dominant personality. We like to joke around and call her Coach Hub-a-dub or Sergeant Hub. She means business all the time. She loves giving players personal development books to read. Coach Hub-a-dub is EXTREMELY organized. I think even former players are scared to walk into her office and touch a pen or book lying on her desk. She is like our dad in so many ways. The one who will discipline, not give in to any excuse and the one who keeps everyone in line/on time.

Okay, so we have our mom, Coach Mitts and our dad, Coach Hubbard. Next up is our uncles, Coach Jones and Coach Moeller. What would we do without our uncles? Well, Coach Jones is known as the unemotional coach. He does not care if you broke your hand, fell walking down the stairs, or if your cat is sick. I am told though that outside of basketball he is very supportive. He likes to make jokes and that is what we all love about him. Us players like to joke around about his daily attire (like jersey shorts with a polo... questionable decision) however on game day he is always the best dressed. On the court, Coach Jones will get after the post players and anyone who is slacking on defense. He is a great recruiting coach and every single one of us MSSU players are so thankful that he is here, because we know he is capable of a big time recruiting job.

Our other uncle Coach Moeller a.k.a. Mighty Mole, Co Mo, or Coach Mo-Mo has some serious feminine attributes. We go bowling all the time and boy, he looks kind of like a twelve year old girl. I once heard him sing a Brittany Spears song in the office when no one else was around and when his hair gets too long, he likes to comb to one side with his fingers. We all make fun of Coach Moeller and he makes fun of us. He is great to have around because he is not too much older than a couple of us. I must say even in just a year Mighty Mole has developed into a great coach.

The players and the coaches get along great here at Southern. We all love to laugh and have a great time but more than that we all love to WIN! So, when we are on the basketball court very little is funny, but we are all enjoying the game that brought us together as a family. Thanks for reading.

And until next time...It's a GREAT DAY TO BE A LION!

Randi Henderson
Sr. Point Guard