Help!!

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

If you stroll through the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center after October 15th you will undoubtedly hear the word "Help!" echoing through the rafters. The nature of playing defense is that you sometimes require the aid of one of your teammates. Coach Mitts has talked a lot about the fundamentals of our defense during preseason. We are actually trying to reduce the number of times that we say "help!", because the fewer times we need help on the floor, the better our defense will be.

We have also stressed another type of help during this preseason as we have been able to lend a helping hand by doing community service! Community service is a huge part of what we do in our program. We put a huge emphasis on helping others because of how fortunate we are and how much people have given to us. The community of Joplin is EXTREMELY supportive of our basketball program and it is simply the right thing to do to give back to the community.

Our first service project of the year was moving everything inside of the Outreach House into its new building. The Outreach House is a ministry of St. Peters Catholic Church that strives to supply food and clothing to underprivileged families. The Outreach House's new building is located one block away and is far more secure in stature than its previous dwelling. We teamed up with the football team (almost 100 of them!) and got to work sorting clothes, moving racks, carrying heavy appliances, and many other things. Everything had to be moved and it was so fun to see over 100 Missouri Southern student athletes involved in the process. As you can imagine after working that hard for 4 or 5 hours, our team was ready to eat! That's when the members of the church stepped in and were nice enough to prepare a feast for lunch. Our players were so grateful for the meal.

After working all morning, senior guard Jasmine Lovejoy had this to say "It's a great experience. We get to learn about the Outreach House and how they help all of the underprivileged families." We are grateful that our team is willing to give up their weekend to help people in need. When asked about the day Coach Mitts shared these thoughts, "There is something to be said that this is their weekend: when I'm sure they could be going home and spending their downtime, they chose to be here."

The following weekend we spent all morning and early afternoon helping out another program on campus. The Men's and Women's cross country teams hosted the annual Southern Stampede on our cross country course. The event consisted of more than 2000 runners split into 6 divisions: College Men, college Women, high school girls varsity , high school boys varsity, high school girls junior varsity, and high school boys junior varsity.

On a hot and steamy Saturday morning, our whole team was perched at the finish line helping the official time keepers by cutting off the microchip timing devices that were tied to every runner's shoe. Due to the steamy temperatures and the high humidity, the Missouri Southern training staff was overloaded with work and we were also able to help them by carrying runners over to their training area. Whether cutting the microchips off the runner's shoes, sorting the microchips, carrying people to the medical area or giving congratulatory high-fives, it was a great day to be outside helping the event run smooth.

Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to give it. This idea is something that we talk about in our program a lot. If you are struggling in a class, don't be too prideful to ask someone else for help. If you get beat off the dribble drive to the basket, you better be calling for help. By the same token, we really try to instill in our players a desire to help others. The past 2 weekends of lending a helping hand to others have been a great experience for our players and our coaching staff.

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

Assistant Coach
Marcus Moeller

The Reality of Fantasy

Today's post is written by assistant coach Marcus Moeller:

They say admission is the first step right? Okay here goes nothing........I have a problem. There, I feel much better. Oh wait, you actually have to admit what the problem is?? Okay......I am obsessed with fantasy football. It's just the truth. I often talk about my team and how they performed on Sunday, but unfortunately I get little response from my co-workers. But that was until things took a drastic turn in late August. Coach Hubbard muttered those words I've been longing to hear, "Marcus, I have been asked to join a fantasy football league...can you help me prepare a little bit for my draft?" To be honest, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Well now, 2 weeks into the NFL season, you'll find Coach Hubbard and I talking about the ups and downs of our teams and how we wish we would have started this person over that person, etc.

For those of you not engrossed in the joys of Fantasy Football let me give you a quick rundown. Fantasy football is centered around the actual performance of actual NFL players every Sunday. A league of "owners" (typically 10) get together and each draft a roster of current NFL players that make up their team. Every week that owner decides who they will put in their starting lineup (traditional leagues start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 Defense). Each player gains "fantasy points" according to a scoring system based on each statistical category. For example, for the quarterback position you might receive 6 points for every touchdown, 1 point for every 50 throwing yards, 1 point for every 25 rushing yards, and -2 points for every interception and lost fumble. So, if Tom Brady is in your starting lineup and throws for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns, then he earned you 17 points (12 in TD's and 5 in yardage). Every week you play head-to-head against someone else in your league. So, Coach Hubbard is happy to announce that after 2 weeks, she is 2-0!

This is my 11th season playing fantasy football and I have noticed something about it that I really don't like. Individual performance is EVERYTHING and it is no longer about winning and losing. Being a die-hard Chiefs fan and owning Jamaal Charles (one of their running backs) has caused me to say things I would have never dreamed of saying. Last year, after the Chiefs lost a game I said "Yeah but it's okay because Charles scored 24 fantasy points for me." After I said it I took a step back and thought "wow, never thought I would be okay with the Chiefs losing." The truth is, winning has been devalued. That is the reality of fantasy. There is a very similar trend occurring in youth sports today. The 2 main areas that I believe have lead to this issue are AAU/summer basketball and participation medals in youth sports.

I LOVE AAU basketball. I have always been a huge fan of it. Summer basketball was such a GREAT experience for me and I have so many memories and made some awesome friendships along the way. The one downside that I see to it is the massive amounts of games that kids play during the summer. It is not uncommon to play 3 games in a day and 20 in an 8 day span during the peak of summer ball in July. The sheer number of games has taken the emphasis off winning. Individual performance, getting seen by college coaches, and creating a "recruiting buzz" around each player has become far more important than teaching these athletes how to win AND how to lose. It is not uncommon to hear an athlete that just lost a game say, "yeah, but at least I scored 20". This is so hard to stomach as a coach.

A friend of mine was talking to his 10 year nephew on the phone and found out that his soccer team had just ended their season. He was so proud to tell his uncle about the medal he received at the awards ceremony. When asked how many games he won he replied, "I don't know, we don't keep score." Naturally, my friend responded with, "so what is the medal for?" "Oh, everyone in the league gets one" was the 10 year old's response. I really do believe that winning is not everything, but winning AND losing and the lessons that come from those 2 things, is the most important thing. To steal some of Aaron Rodgers' thoughts (Quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and NOT a member of my fantasy team :), kids must learn how to deal with disappointment. Losing is a disappointment and a very important tool in the maturation of young children. Winning and losing at a young age is so important. The lessons learned from those experiences are invaluable to the growth of the youth.

The reality of fantasy has become the reality of reality.

Our preseason has been all about breaking down those barriers and stressing the importance of "winning" in everything you do. Win in school, relationships, your mindset, the community, and on the court. And if by chance you do lose, you need to learn from it, grow from it, and move on from it.

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

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

Off and Running

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

As we enter the 3rd week of school and the second week of preseason, there is a common thread woven throughout our daily activities. Simply put...we are officially off and running (literally). The word running, unless you were born with whatever it is that God gave cross country runners that none of the rest of us seem to possess, often carries a negative connotation. That being said I am going to explain how running is the most positive thing that happens during our entire preseason.

You will often see the members of our team running around throughout the day. It may look like they are in a hurry, rushed, or simply on a mission, but the truth is...they are running around getting things done. Being a good student-athlete is a full time job. 15 hours of coursework, weights and conditioning workouts, individual workouts, study groups, getting treatment in the training room, community service, observation hours in the local schools, being involved in FCA, departmental clubs, student athlete advisory council....get the picture? And I haven't even mentioned the "extras" such as supporting all of the other athletic teams that support us throughout our season. Being a student athlete at such a high level lays the groundwork for the "real world" in one glaringly obvious way. Our student athletes are extremely busy and always on the go. Running around and being busy is one of the GREATEST things about being a student athlete!!

As a player, I dreaded the preseason for one reason and one reason only...running. I was not born a runner and I do not possess that inner passion for running. Running was always a means to an end. The end, or course, is being in good enough physical shape to push my body on all levels in order to be ready for a grueling 6 month basketball season. I believe it safe to say that our players view running very similar to the way I once did. I have learned so much about running now in my post-playing days, but the biggest thing I learned is that the goal of running in the preseason is 2-fold. The ONLY way a person can gain physical toughness is to force their body far outside its comfort zone. By the same token, the ONLY way a person can gain mental toughness is to force their mind far outside its comfort zone. Running forces your mind and body far outside of their normal comfort zones. There is probably nothing more positive that goes on in the bodies and minds of our team, than what happens during the time we spend out on that track.

This Friday morning we will take part in our annual Jog-a-Thon. The Jog-a-Thon is a fund raiser centered around (you guessed it) running. Starting at 5:45am at Fred G. Hughes stadium we take off on a 5-mile run (actually we run for a whole hour, so if there is time left over after we finish our 5 miles, we just keep running). We are blessed to have so many wonderful families and friends that sponsor us on our run. Some people sponsor per lap (20+, for those of you counting) and some sponsor the whole event with one lump sum. I (yes, I run it as well) really enjoy running the Jog-a-Thon because it is one of those things that you never think you can do until you do it. 5 miles seems like a mountain to climb for a "non-runner", so I actually enjoy the competition of running against the clock. I have set a personal goal to get the 5 miles in under 40 minutes this year (I've ran it in 38+ and 43+ min the last 2 years). A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who have given to our program. There are so many things that we would not have if not for your generosity!!

Well, I gotta run.

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

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach