"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