Where are they now? -- Charity Slinker-King

Today's post is written by Charity Slinker-King:

Where has the time gone? When I was younger I remember hearing people say oh how time flies, and at the time I didn't really get it. Now as I get older I do get it!! It is hard to believe that 7 years have passed since my days at MSSU. In December 2000 I was hired on at St. Johns as a X-Ray Student Technolgist and after Graduation from MSSU I continued to work at St. Johns as an OR/Portable Technologist in the Radiology Department.It was truly a blessing to recieve a full-time job after Graduation! I worked in X-Ray for a short time before God opened another door in my life and an MRI Position became available and I have been an MRI Technologist ever since. I absolutely love my Job and my co-workers! I am blessed to work with a wonderful group of people!!

Another saying I heard all the time, but in my younger years I didn't totally understand was that, Family is one of life's greatest blessings. I understand that even more now as God has blessed me with a wonderful husband Matt, and two beautiful children Tyler 2 years old, and Kynlee 3 months old. We live in Riverton, Ks and spend the majority of our time outdoors enjoying God's beauty and creation as we work on our Family Farm. Never would have thought 10 yrs ago I would be living a Cattle farmers life, but I do my best to help out in the areas that I can!

The newest saying I heard was, "it's a great day to be a Lion." This is one saying I understood immediately! I attended some Basketball camps at Southern and because of those camps I always hoped and dreamed of becoming a Lion! Because of Coach Mitts this hope and dream became a reality. The top 2 lessons I learned by being a Lion was hard work and dedication!! The coaching staff instilled this in us everyday at practice and I have taken this with me and applied it my job and everyday life. It is obvious to see that the Coaching Staff work hard and are VERY dedicated to the MSSU Womens Basketball Program. I am truly thankful as well as grateful for the opportunity of being a Lion!!

God has truly blessed me in life thus far. I am blessed to have an Amazing husband that is an awesome Dad, and we are blessed with two beautiful kids! We are blessed to have a loving extended family on both sides of our families as well. I know that I probably would not be where I am today if it had not been for MSSU. And I am honored to be a part of the MSSU Womens Basketball Family!!!

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

Charity Slinker-King
Class of 2003

Where are they now?" -- Lyndsey Kenealy-Perry

Today's post is written by Lyndsey Kenealy-Perry:

It’s hard to believe how many years have passed since I last wore a Lion jersey, however, it’ll take more than years to take the Lion out of my heart! I am Lyndsey Perry – formerly Lyndsey Kenealy - and I played for Missouri Southern from 1996-2000 and I am honored to contribute to the blog and let you all know where these last 10 years have taken me.

You may notice that my playing years pre-date Coach Mitts and her coaching staff, as they arrived on campus in 2002, but my connection runs deep. I enjoyed my playing career at Southern immensely under the direction of Amy Townsend – we were not the winningest teams, but I came away from my experience having built strong character and with meaningful relationships. I graduated in 2000 and married my college sweetheart, Paul Perry, that summer. His job was in Kansas City, so we were moving back to my hometown of Liberty, MO. I met with Coach Townsend about my future and thought I might want to coach – she made a call up to Rockhurst University, where Coach Maryann Mitts was in need of an assistant coach. The rest, as they say, is history. Coach Mitts impacted me greatly in the year I worked for her – her authenticity and passion are unmatched. I walked away learning some amazing life lessons and with a lasting friendship. After the 2000-01 season, my alma mater found themselves in need of a new women’s basketball coach and I could think of no better situation, for MSSU or for Coach Mitts, than for her to fill that role. After the search and interview process, Coach Mitts was hired and I was faced with one of the toughest choices in my life. My husband is about a big a basketball fan as they come and he was so supportive of my playing and coaching career – he even came to every practice at Rockhurst and ran the clock and helped with laundry after work each day! However, for some reason, despite sending out numerous resumes in Joplin – he wasn’t able to find a job that would allow us to move with Coach Mitts and me to continue as a member of her coaching staff. We trusted God to open and shut the doors that led to our future and our family. It was a disappointment to take myself away from the coaching world, but God has blessed our path tremendously with a beautiful family and a new direction.

Which leads me to where I am now. I am a stay-home mommy to three wonderful children: Emma, who is 7 and going into the 2^nd grade, Gabe, who is 4 and has another year at home with me before kindergarten, and Millie, who is 2. It's been a tough transition for me these last 7 years to change my focus, but Paul and I are confident it is in the best interests of our family for me to be home with them full-time. I love being with my kids and finding new and exciting things for us to do and learn about and I love my front row seat to watching these 3 little people turn into who God made them to be. We enjoy being active in our church home and keep ourselves busy serving in many different areas there. This past fall, one of my little dreams got to come true as I coached Emma's 1st and 2nd grade basketball team, Sidewalk Chalk. Although it would be hard to grow up with Paul and I as parents and not love the game of basketball (we skip sending out Christmas cards and instead send out March Madness cards) - we have been careful not to force basketball on any of our kids, but with Emma there's no question - she totally loves it. We recently purchased a new home and put up our first outdoor basketball goal - she told me it would be hard because she wasn't going to be riding her bike for awhile after school since now all she wanted to do was shoot baskets! We had a great season - all 10 girls on our team made huge improvements and, more importantly, came away with a love for the game. That is one thing that I've carried with me since my time at Southern and my time with Coach Mitts - passion. It's so important to keep dreams and passions alive - its taken me a few years to remember that, but these little gals helped me get back on track.

For the past 3 summers I have made a point to take a trip to Joplin during the week of Coach Mitts' Lil Lion camp with Emma. Even though Sidewalk Chalk was just a Parks and Rec. team, I wanted to be sure we treated it as a real team and focused on fundamentals of the game. Coach Mitts taught me that there are no shortcuts when it comes to fundamentals and I knew that I had an opportunity to teach 7 and 8 year olds basic basketball skills to help them in their future careers, so I didn't take it lightly. At the end of the season in February, as I presented them each with their awards, I included a brochure for Coach Mitts' summer camps and mentioned that I take Emma every year and would love to have any of their daughters come along. I am confident that Coach Mitts is one of greatest teachers of the game I have been privileged to be around and her staff puts on stellar camps each summer, so I felt I would have been remiss to not provide an opportunity for my girls to attend her camp. Coach Mitts ran her Lil Lion camp the 2nd week of June and I was there, along with 6 players from our team. Coach Hubbard and Coach Moeller were so helpful as I registered 6 girls from Kansas City and my girls felt so welcomed when they showed up. They had 3 wonderful, basketball-filled days and learned so much more than we ever got through in our one hour a week practices back in the winter. They got to interact with great Southern players like Erin Rice, Danielle Harris and Kelby Fritz and Coach Mitts even showed them the locker room and weight room before we drove back to Kansas City on Wednesday. It was such a gift to share one of the places that has impacted my life so deeply with my daughter and her teammates.

I love to reminisce on my days at Southern and am so grateful that Coach Mitts and I crossed paths. I look forward to the many things that the future holds for my family, including sharing in our love of basketball and all of the life lessons it has taught me.


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

Lyndsey Kenealy-Perry
Class of 2000

Where are they now? -- Jaime Green

Today's post is written by Jaime Green:

Hello Lions fans! This is Jaime Green (i.e. “J” around MSSU) and it seems like an eternity ago since I ran out onto the floor to represent the Lady Lions. However, the memories, lessons and character development that took place still ring fresh in my heart and mind today.

Like many of my Lady Lion teammates, I too, chose the amazing profession of coaching. I have been blessed with many wonderful stops throughout my coaching career (Monett-MO, Miller-MO, Parsons, KS, and Wichita, KS), and each would not have been possible if I hadn’t had the stamp of MSSU on my resume.

I believe that every young lady that begins their playing career at MSSU exits the program as a stronger woman. Through the life lessons, character development, leadership series, etc. there is no way one does not leave better than when they entered.

My career at MSSU began with a phone call to Coach Mitts. Seriously, I called her up on the first day of her job and reiterated the fact that she needed to sign me to play for her. You know what? She took an amazing gamble on a 5’6, 125 pound guard from Arkansas. In my mind I believed they were getting the best end of the deal by signing me, but after time I learned it was I who reaped the most rewards!

I wish I could tell you that I was an amazing player who started and played every minute of every game, but quite the opposite is actually true. I was a role player that valued every second of every practice and every game to be apart of something greater than myself…..a team, a family. In fact, I was injured for the majority of my career. In today’s collegiate world, if you are injured you are not looked upon to lead or to have input, but at MSSU, I was held to the same standards of those that were on the playing floor. It always meant the world to me that no matter if you were injured, a freshman, a transfer player, everything was the same. Everyone was expected to lead and give maximum effort despite their role. You learned to embrace your role and fight for it daily.

So, where am I today? I am thrilled, as of a month ago, to step into the role of Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Newman University in Wichita, KS. I have people ask me all the time, “How have you experienced so much success in the coaching ranks at such a young age?” That question is always easy to answer…age is just a number. It is because of the knowledge and lessons that were ingrained into my heart playing for Mitts and Hubbard that I do not view myself as a young professional, but as just that, a professional!

I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to play for MSSU. I think the main lesson that I learned and carry close to my heart every day is, “Talent is Never Enough!” It is the motto by which I live my life, the bar I set for my staff, and the reminder I hope to instill with each young woman that exits my program. As a college basketball player you need both talent and a work ethic to be successful. As a college basketball coach, I have found that what separates the good from the great is not a God-given talent, but a disciplined work-ethic. As I told you before, I was not the most talented player, but I did work my tail off. I also mentioned to you earlier that at MSSU it did not matter if your talent level was not as high as someone else’s, but it sure did matter if someone with more talent than you, outworked you. Self-reflection about one’s game or practice production for the day became the standard by which I began to hold myself accountable. It was from the green and gold practice floor that I began my journey into coaching. It is those same standards in which I lead myself, my staff and my team today!

I am eternally grateful to God that Coach Mitts answered her phone her first day on the job at MSSU many years ago! :) If she hadn’t, I am not sure where my life and career would be today. It is funny how things work themselves out. Like I said I believed they were the one’s getting the best end of the deal when they signed me, but…….as you can see, it is definitely me who owes Coach Mitts and Coach Hubbard, the faculty and fans the biggest thanks of all! Thank you and Go Lions!!!!

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


Always a LION at heart,
Jaime Green
Class of 2003

Where are they now? -- Danielle DeVader

Today's post is written by Danielle DeVader:



My playing career, which lasted 5 years due to multiple knee surgeries, felt like an eternity! As a result, you might think I would have story after story to tell you about my teams, coaches, and teammates…and you would be right, I DO!! However, that being said, it is so hard to put my 5 years at Missouri Southern into words. I feel truly blessed that I got the opportunity to continue my education and my basketball career at such a wonderful university. I have only been out of the program for 1 year, but I already see myself using many of the concepts that my coaches taught me on and off the basketball court everyday! The life lessons that I learned will stick with me as long as I live.

Those of you that met me after high school will probably find this hard to believe but entering Southern my freshman year, I was as shy and reserved as humanly possible. Coach Hubbard always enjoys telling the story of the official visit I took to Southern during my senior year of high school. Every time the coaches asked me a question, I looked at my mom in hopes that she would answer for me. It was so bad that I even whispered a question in my mom’s ear that I wanted her to ask for me! I just wasn’t totally sure on the whole “moving away from home” idea. By the time my senior year rolled around, I was about as outgoing as it comes. I blossomed into a vocal leader in our program, both on and off the court. I grasped what the coaches had been telling me all along and went with it…and I have never looked back!

Today I find myself blessed with an amazing job. I am an elementary physical education teacher for the Joplin R-VIII School District and coach 7^th grade volleyball and Junior Varsity Basketball. Next year I will be teaching physical education/health at the high school, and coaching both freshman volleyball and J.V. basketball. When I played I displayed great enthusiasm and energy for the game of basketball. Things have not changed now that I am on the sideline. I get that passion from Coach Mitts. I ’ll always remember the times she walked all the way down the court (or even on the court) to protest a call and stick up for her players. And what about her amazing stare that she has used in the direction of the officials? Well guess what? I do the same thing when I am coaching and don’t even realize it. My girls this year had to yell at me to get off the floor, and I didn’t even know I was out there! I was simply coaching my girls! Luckily, I knew some of the referees from my playing days and they would just tell me to scoot back a little. One lesson that my coaches at Southern always stressed was the importance of relationships, and now I know why... It helped me not pick up a technical :) Thanks for passing on that important tidbit!

I constantly repeat the phrases that I heard for 5 years at Southern when I’m coaching my girls. “Jump to the ball”, “fake a pass to make a pass”, “wait on your screen”, “play strong”, “never stop short of the line”, and the list could go on and on. One idea that I teach our girls (and I think about daily) is to work your hardest no matter the situation. I tell my kids all of the time that work ethic has nothing to do with talent. If you outwork the talented kids, you will out perform them as well. I learned that from my coaches. We never had the most talented teams when I played at Southern but we played extremely hard, and good things came as a result. The best compliment I can receive now as a coach is being told, "your kids really played extremely hard, with great sportsmanship and respect." I will never forget when I taught my players to say "thank you" to the referee after being given the ball to throw inbounds and on free throws. They had confused looks on their faces. They had never dreamed of doing anything like that. That is what was instilled in me as a Lion and now I instill it in them. Multiple times this year referees would compliment my players on that very thing and I can’t tell you how great it made me feel! And, just like Coach Mitts always said would happen, I’m pretty sure we picked up a couple calls that maybe wouldn’t have gone our way!

On a subject that could go on for days, let me leave you with this. Your shot is like a baby. Would you go days without feeding, changing, and caring for an infant? Well, heck no you wouldn’t! Then why would you go days and days without caring for your shot?!? That is one of my all-time favorites of Coach Mitts’ endless analogies. I haven’t been caring for my shot lately so when we played pick up recently my shot was a little hungry and needed a diaper change! It was brick after brick after brick. Then a made shot followed by an air ball! Man I should have listened to Coach Mitts!

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

Danielle DeVader
Class of 2005

Where are they now? -- Katie Gariss-Marsh

Today's post is written by Katie Gariss-Marsh:

Hello! My name is Katie Marsh, or Katie Gariss when I played at Southern. I am thankful for the chance to contribute to the blog, although it does make me feel old. When you are asked to give an update on where you are in life it’s for an obvious reason—several years have passed! I just turned 30 this year and while I don’t necessarily love writing that “3” in front of my age, God has continued to be gracious to me and the last 8 years have been some great ones. I am currently working as a physician assistant at Orthopedic Specialists of the Four States and specifically, I work for Dr. Jonathan Grantham. I started working with him directly out of P.A. school and have continued for the past 5 years. It’s a great job and I absolutely love it. In 2005 I got married to an amazing man and we now have 2 children (see pic below!). My oldest is a 2 year old girl named Kinley and I have a 1 year old son named Hunter. We continue to live in Joplin.

It is true that 8 years have passed since I played my last basketball game at Missouri Southern State University. I still get nostalgic thinking back to those years. Attending and playing basketball for Southern was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my life. I am so thankful that I received that opportunity. And while that “season” of life is over, the values that I learned are pertinent to every season of life that I enter. One of the first lessons I remember from Coach Mitts is the one of “little victories”—meaning, don’t expect to do great in the big things until you learn to do great in the little things. In other words, success doesn’t come over night; it comes after a chain of conscious decisions to do the right thing...even when it seems inconsequential or even when no one is paying attention. Another lesson I remember being emphasized by the coaching staff was our need, as players, to be coachable. So much can be learned when you are willing to be taught and respond with obedience. It can be tough to swallow sometimes; it certainly requires humility, yet, it’s vital to success in life. The third thing I would mention that was emphasized by the coaching staff was the value in plain old hard work. They didn’t expect me to do everything perfectly, but they did ask that I do it with a high level of intensity and effort. And they didn't ask me to work hard just for the sake of working hard, although there is some merit in that. They knew (and I have come to learn) that working hard at something can produce a passion for the activity that would not have come otherwise and that working hard covers over a multitude of natural shortcomings. So, do I still need and use these lessons? Absolutely! To be good at my job as a physician assistant or to be a good wife and mother, I must be willing to work hard, to be moldable, and to succeed in the “little victories” all along the way. Thanks, coaches, for driving these home to me and for setting good examples of them through your own lives!

Looking forward to the upcoming season!

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

Katie Gariss-Marsh
Class of 2002

Where are they now? -- Jayme Callahan

Today's post is written by Jayme Callahan (class of 2002):

I am currently the recruiting coordinator for the Southeast Missouri State University Women's Basketball program. I have been here for two years, heading into my third season with the program. Prior to being here at SEMO, I was the Head Women's Basketball coach at Webster University, a Division III institution in St. Louis for two seasons. I am sure you all remember watching my team take a beating for the Lady Lions at the "think pink" night in 2007. It was interesting, but it was great to be back, glad it was for a bigger cause! Before taking over at Webster, I coached at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), a Division II institution, for one season. To start my coaching off I was a high school head coach at Putnam County (Unionville, MO), home of the midgets, yes...that's right, our mascot was the midgets! It was a great community out in the country, which i was not used to. After that year, I returned to my alma mater to help two rival schools merge into one, Trinity High School. During my coaching stints at Trinity High and UMSL, I was also an exercise specialist at Barnes Jewish Hospital for three years, (so, YES...Dr. Hobbs, I did use my degree!!). As you can see I have been all over the place chasing my dream, and believe it or not, ALL in Missouri. I have coached High School, DI, DII, and DIII all in Missouri...that's crazy!

I would not be where I am today, or who I am, if not for Missouri Southern Women's Basketball. Not only did I make amazing friends, and belong to an amazing family, but I walked out of that institution a much better person than when I walked in. As most of you know, I started my journey at Southern under Amy Townsend (head coach prior to Coach Mitts). She was a great person and I learned a lot of life lessons from her. I was very sad when the coaching change happened; I was very close to Coach Townsend. Little did I know that my career mentors were coming in to take over the program. Coach Mitts and Coach Hubbard have helped guide me into the coach that I am today. They taught me discipline, dedication, work ethic, and most importantly, character. I still call them to this day, just to catch up and to ask questions about my profession. They are both my mentors and my friends. I absolutely love to coach, and I chose to do it because of the one year I spent with Coach Mitts and Coach Hubbard. They showed me their PASSION and EXCITEMENT for life and basketball and it rubbed off on me. I now strive to pass that same flame on to my players. Some of my best memories were at Missouri Southern (both on and off the court) mainly because of the amazing teammates that I had the privilege to play and grow with. I miss them all very much. We had some crazy fun times!!! If we could throw our jerseeys back on and play today, I would not hesitate one bit! Thanks to EVERYONE at Missouri Southern: the school, Health Promotions department, Athletic Department, FANS (we have GREAT fans!), MY TEAMMATES AND COACHING STAFF, and everyone that helped during my time at Southern. You have all touched my life and I am forever a Lady Lion!

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

Jayme Callahan
Class of 2002

Where are they now? -- Katie Deen

Today's post is written by Katie Deen (class of 2005):

(Editor's Note: The next several weeks we are doing a "Where are they now?" section on our blog. This section will be a great update on what some of our former Lions are doing these days!)

Its been an interesting road since my "glorious" college days. I have to say, I still remember being punched on a daily basis and breaking a few noses, namely my own teammates and one of the poor players in an exhibition game (to which my coaches did NOT look so fondly upon), against a team we PAID to play us....not good business, I now know. (In my defense, I was simply doing what my fearless leaders, Coach Mitts and Coach Hubbard had taught me. To "jerk through"). The lessons I have taken away from my college basketball days are priceless as I still hear them ringing in my head on a daily basis. To name a few:

1. Go back the way you came (more on this to follow).

2. "If you are going hard enough and you twist your ankle, it will pop back into place". (verbatim quote by Coach Mitts)

3. You literally can relate ANY teaching point to cake or icing according to Coach Mitts.

4. Physical ability is most often dictated by mental toughness.

5. Keep moving

6. Listen (especially when there is a question involved with a 50/50 chance of getting right)

7. Your coaches are your most valuable assets.

8. Always focus on growth.

9. Effort always trumps talent

10.Do NOT be on your own agenda. It doesn't work.

I wish I had the time to recount my entire college career for you because I could write a novel. I would go back in a second for many reasons; one being the simple fact that, as a collegiate athlete, you are paid to do something you love. I don't know the exact statistics but in today's corporate world, I wouldn't imagine that a high percentage of workers can say this about their jobs or really any part of their lives. In addition, you get to play a game full time, build your self confidence, better yourself, get a degree, and best of all, be told what to do and how to spend your time so as to be successful. It is ironic to me that once we athletes finish our sport and graduate, we move onto a life where we have a career and different type of life where we then must figure out how to utilize our time in an effective and productive manner and many times we then, pay a "coach" to tell us what to do. Now, being that I learned a valuable lesson early to always focus on growth and bettering myself (Thank you Coach Mitts and Hubbard), I have found myself hiring someone else, an expert in whatever it is I am seeking, to tell me what I should do. I am a fitness professional and I have a coach and trainer of my own. I have had a plethora of life coaches, business coaches and trainers, mentors, etc., all of which I handed over a check to, so that they would simply, tell me what to do. This is fascinating to me because only 5 short years ago, I had the daily priveledge of knowing that someone was there to plan my day, my workouts, my academics, even my career path. All I had to do was show up. (and hopefully listen and apply!)

Moving on. As an athlete in college, a person takes one of two paths: a) finds another sport b) does not find another sport because they no longer want to so much as leave a seated position, because they have "trained" their entire life. I chose "A". I got to compete in a variety of marathons, triathlons, etc until I had a spill and had to find yet another sport to fill my competitive drive (that evidently doesn't just "go away" once you finish college). I chose to compete in "Figure" shows. This is a cross between bodybuilding and a beauty pageant...(I'm still trying to convince myself its a sport, unfortunately, when you're training consists of dieting, walking in heels, posing in front of a large mirror, and putting loads of eye-shadow on, I'm not quite sure it can reach that classification....I'll let you know when I justify it as a sport). Anyhow, it does require quite a bit of discipline and hard work. Bringing my college training to mind, I found that mind over matter is huge in dieting down to below essential levels of body fat....especially when you are on a diet through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, Easter, etc. all the while working out several hours a day, subsisting on nothing but fish and green vegetables. Talk about mental toughness. (and the fact that all I thought about was food, I remembered Coach Mitts referencing cake, icing, and an oven in many of her illustrations....I still sometimes wonder how defense has anything to do with food, but she sure knew how to get her point across!) But having gone through some rigorous practices and seasons, one thing I learned was that one's mind is much more powerful than we think.

My first competition rolled around and having dieted down for 6 months, trained and conditioned, and practiced my "stage presence" daily, I felt I was as ready as I could be. As luck would have it, I was randomly selected to be the first one out onstage for my class. With a packed audience, I confidently strode out onto the open stage in my 5 inch heels and struck my first, second, third, fourth, and fifth pose, without even a hint of a "basketball player jock walk" (which I was told is NOT acceptable in this sport...fine. I will just walk like an athlete the REST of the day :). Only was it when my competition entered stage left, that I realized I had turned the wrong direction...the entire time. Ironically, I was not suppose to go forward, but "back the way I came". Interesting how this would come up later in my life. I could literally hear Coach Hubbard yelling, "Deen! Go back the way you came!" (for those that are not aware, at MSSU, we had a standard play that we would run that required a guard to come to the top of the key, receive the ball, jerk it through to the other side, and take two dribbles in the direction from which they had come) and I, in my own agenda, had once again, gone the wrong direction in front of an audience. (at least my makeup looked good).

I could literally go on forever with lessons I learned and stories in my life where I have used them, but a big lesson that I continually am aware of that I thankfully was taught as an 18 year old kid entering into college was that its about the journey and not the destination. One never "arrives", we never will know it all, but we should continue to stay positive, keep an open mind for growth and learning, keep moving forward (and making mistakes and learning from them), and we will always be successful. (Just like Coach Mitts said, go as hard as you can and if you twist your ankle, it will pop back into place :)

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

Katie Deen

Class of 2005