What does it take to be a LION?

Today's Post is written in Assistant Coach Tyrone Jones:

Recruiting is a very exciting process for the women’s basketball program. I love being able to sit down with prospects and their families and talk about what Missouri Southern has to offer. One thing we always stress to potential players and their parents is that we not only want to make them better basketball players, but more importantly, better people. So you may be asking yourself, what does it take to be a Lion? What kinds of things do they look for when they go to recruit players? There are 5 things that are crucial to being a member of our family.

(1.) TALENT: As a basketball team our main objective is to win games. In order to make that happen we have to make sure we have the best possible player for each position. Our goal is to train our players to be extremely skilled and talented basketball players.

(2.) WORK ETHIC: In this generation, "work" is often a four letter word. Getting to work is a gift. We are looking for players who are willing to work. Basketball is not a season-long sport; it is a year-long commitment. Players have to push themselves at weight lifting, individual work-outs, practice, and games. It is not the amount of time you spend in the gym, but the amount of work you get done that is important. Hard work is the foundation of this program.

(3.) TEACHABILITY: We all have something to learn. We have players come in from all different programs but when they come to Southern, it is imperative they learn the MOSO Way. Our players have to be open to constructive criticism and make improvements based on that criticism. The goal is to make the individual player better in order that the team as whole can reach its goals.

(4.) MOTIVATED: Every person is motivated in different ways. It is crucial that players be internally and externally motivated. As a coach, it is important to be able to motivate your players. Coach Mitts often says that it doesn’t matter how you are motivated….just that you can be motivated. As coaches, we push our players on and off the court every day, but their ability to motivate and push themselves will tell the story of their true success.

(5.) OVERACHIEVER: It is easy to be average; that’s why it’s called “average”. We strive to be above-average. In order to do so, we must be overachievers. In order to grow as a player and a person, you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone. You never know what you can achieve until you try. Being an overachiever means you’re willing to go those extra steps, to do those extra things you weren’t asked to do just because you know it will make you and your team better.

So, the next time you see someone from our staff out recruiting, you can rest assured that we are looking for players that have these 5 things. Once these players are a part of our program, it is crucial that they continue to display and push themselves in these 5 areas. Our best teams here at Southern have been full of players who excelled in all 5 areas.

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

Tyrone Jones
Assistant Coach

Christmas in...October??

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

If you follow our twitter you know that I refer to Oct 14th as Christmas Eve, and October 15th as Christmas day. October 15th marks the start of official practice for NCAA schools country wide. There are several ways that October 15th functions like Christmas day for college coaches. Ho, Ho, Ho...Merry Christmas!

The first parallel between that glorious December holiday and October 15th is the sheer anticipation of the day. From the day after Thanksgiving, you can't avoid the music, the decor and smell of Christmas time. Many families even have a countdown calendar in their kitchen as they anxiously await that day. For us, the first day of school marks the beginning of that time. As soon as we start working with our players during individual work we begin to feel that October 15th is drawing near. You'll often hear things like "only 12 days till we start practice, are you ready?" The strength and conditioning workouts, the nicks and bruises and the sweaty laundry provide all the decor and smells to represent that the season is right around the corner!

Every family has their own traditions and rituals surrounding the Christmas holiday. My family has always opened our presents on Christmas Eve. My friend Joe's family wouldn't dream of doing something so outlandish, Christmas morning ONLY for them. College basketball programs are very similar. If you have flipped through sports channel recently, you might have noticed a 4-hour "Midnight Madness" special running over and over on ESPNU depicting a program's first practice as a team. A lot of school will host this "midnight madness" the night of October 14th. Technically they are allowed to practice at midnight, so they turn the evening into an event for the public, visiting recruits, and for the media. While several teams in our league have began opening their presents on Christmas Eve, we open our presents on Christmas day! Official practice opened for us on October 15th at 4pm.

The suspense of what is contained in those beautifully wrapped presents underneath the tree is almost unbearable. Santa's naughty or nice list oftens reflects whether you get coal or candy in your stocking. Essentially, Santa Clause says "you get what you deserve based on if you were a good little child this year". The beginning of the season shows the same thing to be true. It is VERY obvious who worked their tail off over the summer and throughout preseason, and who decided to coast and take it easy. As a staff we were so proud to watch our team find a ton of candy in their stockings on Christmas day this year!!

Finally, one of the greatest things about the Holidays is sharing that time with family and friends. Nothing is greater than the quality conversation and time spent together with loved ones. For us, October 15th was the same way. Our immediate family was so excited to look over and see that some of our extended family (Lionbackers Don Miller and Bob Laptad) had joined us for the day. Their interest and care for the members of our program is always so greatly appreciated. We couldn't imagine spending Christmas without them!!

So, you might be thinking, "well, if it's Christmas, where is my present?" Look no further. As a gift from our staff we would like to give you an awesome gift. We are giving you a voice. We want to know WHO you want to hear from on the blog and WHAT you want to hear about. E-mail me at moeller-m@mssu.edu by this Thursday (October 21st) and YOU will decide the author and topic of the next blog!! Merry Christmas in October for the Missouri Southern Women's Basketball Program!!

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

Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach

Preparing to prepare

This post is written by Sophomore Guard Erin Rice:

Hello everyone! Last Monday I was in Coach Hubbard’s office and one of my favorite Lionbackers, Don Miller, asked me why I haven’t written a blog this year. The first thing I did was look at Coach Moeller and said ‘Yeah Coach, why?’ So here I am this one is for you Don!

We just finished up our last full week of preseason and I must say it is way different as a sophomore. As a freshman last year I had no idea what to expect. The fear of the unknown was enough to scare me, but on top of that I had never worked so hard in my life! Basically, I was just like every other freshman entering college basketball. It was quite the eye opening learning experience. As I entered this year I was so much more confident because I knew what was coming and I had worked so hard in the summer to prepare my mind and body for our preseason workouts and I am happy to say this year is totally different. I feel so much more prepared for the MIAA.

The coaching staff has always done a great job of explaining the rigors and trials of the MIAA conference, but it’s hard to take those words to heart until you experience it firsthand. I have watched basketball in this leagues for a while now and I could tell from the stands that it was going to be very tough, but I had no idea it was going to be this TOUGH. Our league really brings out the best in the players and coaches. Any night off and you will lose. That is what is so GREAT about the MIAA!!!

I have now learned what I need to do every day to better prepare myself for a long season and a tough MIAA. I know that the faster and stronger players are the most successful in this league. Preseason is where these two important aspects are developed. Official team practice is right around the corner and I have never been more excited for it. Our whole team has been talking about how excited we are for practice to start!!! We hope you are excited as we are and we can’t wait to see you guys filling up the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center real soon!!


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

Erin Rice
Sophomore Guard