Let the Season Begin

It's been some time since I've had the opportunity to update our blog. Today is the perfect day being I'm home sick and can't be at practice...

A few weeks ago our team had our annual retreat. It's meant to be a team bonding experience, which under this year's circumstances, our team could use a lot of. Our little freshman had no idea what was in store for them, but us upper classmen (all four of us) knew very well of Randy's reputation and realizes he has no limits. What Randy had in store for all of us was bound to be an adventure to say the least. Randy didn't fail us.

The team typically never knows exactly what's in store or how to prepare. The older players learn from past experience to be prepared for everything and anything. Us seniors kept reminding the younger girls to pack extra socks, underwear, hoodies, pants, and gloves because there is a chance you'll get wet and more thank likely it will be freezing! We knew we needed sleeping bags, there would be a roof over our heads, and that it was going to take about 3 hours to get there.

Welcome to Moab. Istantly in my mind, I started to antipate what exaclty Randy was going to have us do. Having a fear for heights, I was hoping it'd be anything else...but with Randy's track record it was bound to involve heights. Sure enough, as soon as we got there, we started on a hike through some beautiful red rock. It wasn't before too long, a huge arch presented itself from a distance. Yes, we were fortunate enough to be able to first climb up to the 170ft Corona Arch, and then repel down it. By the time I mustered up enough courage it was then dark. I'm not sure if that was better or worse....I like to think better... I couldn't look down even if I tried. As challening as that was for some of us, it was a breeze to others, but each of us completed the task, even the coaches. That wasn't the only repel we'd face during our weekend in Moab either...it was only just the beginning.

The remainder of our trip involved a sleepless night in a cob-web infested, abandoned trailer (atleast we had a roof over our heads I guess), mountain bike crashes and successes, miles of red rock hiking, and repelling down even more high cliffs. Different things challenged different people in different ways...some weren't fond of heights, whiles others weren't fond of riding a mountain bike up and down steep rock. Although it was a great mental challenge it was an amazing opportunity. Looking back at all we experienced it is something we willall cherish forever. It's not everyday those kinds of opportunites present themselves, unless you have the time and money to do so. Our team grew closer and got to know each other better. All in all it was a successful trip; my last, and probably my favorite.

After that trip, our pre-season practice started. Everyone has been working so hard and been putting in a lot of time to try and start our season out as a success. Since then, we've had one exhibition game...which we won. It wasn't pretty by any means, but we pulled it off. We have a lot of work to do and will definitely face a lot of challenges this year being so young and inexperienced. We face off our first real season game over at BYU this friday. Should be an interesting game. I imagine there will be a lot of personal emotions in the air and on top of competing with a well polished BYU team, we'll have our hands full. Right now we just need to keep our team healthy. While Asumi has been recovering from a sprained ankle, I've been plagued by the flu, which also got passed onto asumi. Both of us are feeling better and are on the up-swing.


BLAKE

New Identity

Well, for those of you that follow our blog... which I think may only be Bekah lol (i know its because nothing new is ever posted) i've decided to update it. It was requested that I keep up on the blog throughout the season... so here i am attempting to do just that.

Our team has taken on a whole new identity over the past month. There have been a lot of changes. Aside from graduating half of our team and getting six new players....we also have two new assistant coaches. Yes not ONE new coach...but TWO! Coach B was given the opportunity to coach at some school across the way ;). For selfish reasons, it was devastating news. Especially for the seniors who have spent the last three years with him and share a lot of good memories. He wasn't just a coach, but a friend and somewhat of a father figure to us. However, putting our own issues aside, I think i speak for everyone when i say we are very happy for Coach B and so proud! (Thank you Coach for everything we will really miss you at UV.) It'll be a great opportunity for his family and his career. So good luck Coach B! :) See you on the court in November :)

Not only did we lose coach B but coach Cheeseman also left which was sad for a lot of us.... she was a great post coach and a lot of fun! Although we only had a year with her, some strong bonds were made. Replacing her and Coach B are Coach Liz (Liz Darger) and Coach Dan (Dan Nielson or BIG DAN). They are both really cool... so far.... lol and are really doing all they can to help out team out in anyway.

Our new players: Kyra, Brynn, Cydne, Kaycee, Chantelle, and Kaitlin are all really sweet girls. I would say they are like energizer bunnies.... Just keep going and going and going. It's amazing how much energy you have fresh out of highschool... i'm not sure i even recall having that much energy. They all have amazing work ethic and a lot of heart. We're alittle undersized this year... only having three posts... but hopefully we can stay out of foul trouble and beat our opponents with speed.... its going to be a challenge this year... there is no doubt about that.... but it should be a fun challenge and i know every girl has already stepped up to the plate. We're ready...

Right now we're just going to school and doing pre-season conditioning. Dave has "raised the bar" a few feet i'd say compared to last year. Not sure where the change came from...but weights are more intense and every thursday he finds cruel and unusual ways to get everyone in shape. Although i'm injured and have just been watching through most of it... I can almost feel the girls' pain just from the looks on their faces. There is one thing that is certain- we will most definitely be in shape by the time out season runs around.

Well thats about all I have to say right now. Our first game is Nov. 4 vs. Montana Tech. Our schedule is posted on our website for anyone that wants to try and catch a game. Maybe one of our home games Veva and the FAB FIVE can come perform at half time!! I love that idea!

I'll try to remember to update again soon!

BLAKE

Hello Everyone! Hope you have all had a good summer, because mine has been way fun! I was supposed to add to our blog in July I think, but i obviously forgot...oops :) so i figured I'd fill you in on what I've been doing even though I'm a little late....

So all of June I went on a Church History trip. We traveled on bus all the way to New York and back, which wasn't too fun, but all the sites we stopped at along the way were really cool.

(My cousin (right of me) and couple of my friends eating a McDonald's ice cream cone before we left NYC)

A couple weeks later I hiked timp all the way to the top and it was not easy because how much snow there still was but it was still a fun little adventure even though I literally thought i was going to die a couple times. I think it was the next week that i went to a George Strait concert. And unless you like country music you might not know who he is, but he's one of my favorites! I also went to an owlz game for the first time and I participated in a hot dog eating contest, but I barely lost to some guys three times my size. He stole my gift certificate i should have won, but oh well haha it was kinda fun. But the highlight of my summer was probably the week I spent with all my family and close friends at Bear Lake. We've gone every summer for the last 10 years and i think it gets funner every time go. We rent a house for the week and all we do is eat lots of food and boat all day its the best! (Just some of the kids on the beach)

(My Dad, Brother, Sister and I having breakfast after a morning run on the boat)

So that was pretty much my summer. I left out a lot of details but you all can at least have a picture of what I have been up to. I'm excited to get started with school and practicing and things, especially getting to know everyone better. So I guess I will see you all soon :)

Coach Liz

Hey Team! Coach Liz here. This is my first time ever blogging, but after seeing "Julie & Julia" on Friday, I feel inspired! So here goes... a tiny bit about my summer. :)

It has been a whirlwind from the beginning! I finished up my duties as a School Counselor and Coach at Timpanogos High, and also coaching a local club team, the Utah Flight. Literally days later I was immersed in my new wonderfully adventurous job at UVU! I have traveled quite a bit this summer. In addition to recruiting in Portland and Las Vegas, I was also able to go the following places:

• Lake Powell-with 60 of my closest friends ;) It was rainy, but we still had a blast!
  
• Boise-for my little brother Preston's LDS Mission report. He served in New York City and will return to BYU in the fall. (And he is very excited to meet all of you! ;)
  
• Star Valley, Wyoming-for the 4th of July with a friend's family. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery, great food, and plenty of fireworks.
• New York City-to visit my older brother and his family. They live the coolest life in Brooklyn!
  
• Lake Winnipesaukee-yes, the very same lake from "What About Bob". No we didn't do any sailing... but we did spend our days skiing, swimming, canoeing, and finding new cool toys to try and balance on as we pulled them behind the boat (Preston mastered balancing on a windsurfing board! I stuck to kneeboarding, a lost art. ;)
  
• Bear Lake-I'm going in a few days with my family. Bear Lake is my favorite place on earth! Boating all day, raspberry shakes at night, it really doesn't get much better!
  

A few other things that you should know about me:

• I love basketball and all sports really. I love playing them and watching them. I am pretty decent at most, I love volleyball, golf, football, softball, bowling, etc. However, I can't throw a frisbee to save my life.
  
• I love musicals. I am a total showtunes nerd! (Don't make fun. I'll convert you all to Broadway!) My favorite musicals are "Les Mis" and "Wicked", which I have seen 4 times! At work I am usually listening to one of my Broadway Pandora stations.
• I love my family. Even though we are all spread across the country, we are very close. They are my favorite people to spend time with. I have 2 nieces and 3 nephews and they melt my heart!
  

Last thing. I am thrilled to be at UVU! I feel so privileged to be able to learn from Coach Nixon and Coach B. And I can't wait to get to know each of you better! It is going to be a great year!

:) Coach Liz

oh i forgot to put my name down below in case some new ppl dont know who this is oopps!!!
Julie

Hey Everyone!!
Well my summer has been going ok, mine has been alot like jenna's not a whole lot going on. Most of you know i got married in may so now i just hang out with my husband and golf a bunch. I have been to cali twice this summer to hangout with his parents and my sister came down from canada for a week and that was really fun since i cant go back to see her. Other than that i go to dave's in the morning and just hangout!! I bought all the seasons of one tree hill even though i have seen all of them i wanted to start again from the beginning so that keeps me busy and i love one tree hill!! Anyway hope all your summers are going great and i cant wait to see you all soon!! I would put pictures up on here but i am not quite smart enough yet to figure out how so for now just read this haha and ill try to get some up soon!!

hello! so i haven't been up to too much this summer but i decided i better post something! I've mostly just been hangin out this summer, haven't gone on many trips but i did go to seattle to visit my sister for a week and that was a blast! so ya, i've mostly just been hangin out and going to Dave's conditioning in the mornings and thats about it haha so there's my summer!
Jenna

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all having a great summer. It was so fun to see so many of you during June at our camps. We missed those of you who couldn't come but had a great time and successful camps with those of you who were here.

Our new assistant is Liz Darger. She got thrown into being a UVU coach last week when we went on the road recruiting to Portland and Seattle. Coach Darger (which is a very hard name for Asumi to say : ) is awesome and I am so excited for all of you to meet her. She is already working hard for you and is a great addition to our 'team'.

I have had a busy, fun summer. We had lots to do with hiring a new assistant and planning for camps but it was fun and rewarding. Sprinkled in with the work has been some fun. My family has a cabin near Jackson Hole, Wyoming and I have been able to go there a couple of times. We have had a blast being together with family, hiking, fishing, watching amazing animals (like deer, elk, moose, eagles) up close. It is my favorite place in the world and I wanted to share some pictures with you.

(Some of my cousins and me hiking in some beautiful mountains right by our cabin.)

(We all hiked to this amazing lake near the Tetons. Saw a moose just right before we took this picture!)

(My nephews Casey, Caden and me by the elk horn arches in Jackson Hole.)

I am so proud of all the hard work you are putting in this summer. I know it will pay off for our team. Thanks for being such dedicated, motivated teammates. It is going to be an amazing year. The game schedule for this upcoming season is almost done. We are going to have some FUN!!!

We sure miss having all of you around here. Not that Coach B and Coach Darger are boring but we do miss you!


I am so grateful for all of you and hope you are having a great summer. Keep up the good work. Time goes quickly so we have to make sure to live each day to its fullest.


Have a great day.


Coach Nixon

Quote of the day: One should not think so much about what one should do, but rather what one should be. Our works do not ennoble us; but we must ennoble our works. - Meister Eckhart

Hey everyone! Well I want to apologize I completely slacked and did not write my blog last month! Don't worry I'll fill you all in now :D Well as I'm sure all of you know I broke my foot in May at Dave's, and I was told I needed to get surgery and get a screw put in because it's prone to breaking again without something to support it. So I got surgery the beginning of June, I can't believe it's already been over a month! I was in crutches for about four weeks...never break something where you will have to use crutches they are no fun! But I've been walking with a boot on for about four weeks now so I've been riding the bike to get my leg back to where it was as much as possible with it on, it's so wonderful to walk again! Even though it's been pretty tough, breaking my foot has made me really appreciate little things like jogging, being able to stand in the shower, and I could just go on forever! So don't take walking and stuff for granted! Nothing else besides that has been too exciting, I've just been catching up with old friends and seeing lots of them get engaged, pregnant, and married, weird! and hanging out with my wonderful family, you also take them for granted when you live with them for so long! Anyways I love summer but I miss you all and can't wait to get to know all you freshman, so anytime anyone wants to do anything let me know! I love you all and see you soon!

Ball handling drills :)

Ok team... Dave (our weights trainer for those new gals that don't yet know) has us doing some ball handling drills twice a week before weights. Although that's a great idea and we are all very thankful he is making that a new requirement, twice a week is not enough. So I challenge all of you to do 15 minutes of ball handling at least 4 to 5 times a week. It's just a challenge, no biggie ;) I have had a few of the incoming freshmen ask what drills I used the other day at weights so that they could practice them over the summer while they were at home. I decided to just post them on here so everyone could see instead of emailing each individual that asked. So here they are. Enjoy :)

Ok, here are some ball handling drills :) Basically, you can do whatever you want and make up your own drills. Try to get 15 minutes worth. 

Warm-Up (no-dribble)

-Circles around your legs moving one leg backwards each time around. 10 times fast one way then reverse it.  

-Rhythm drill (this is the one where you drop it and then bring it in front and drop it again) 10 times each way... FAST.  

When you get really good, you should be able to go around your waist 60 times in 30 seconds (according to Pistol Pete lol).  

Dribbling Drills 

1. one dribble figure eights (10 times each direction) 

2. 50 times behind your back 

3. 5 dribbles big, 5 dribbles small (10 times each hand) 

4. swing crossovers in front (5 big 5 small, 10 times) 

5. in and out in front of your body- 5 dribbles big and 5 dribbles small (10 times each hand) 

6. in and out to the side of your body-5 dribbles big then 5 small (10 times each hand) BY NOW YOUR ARMS SHOULD BE TIRED IF YOU'RE PUSHING YOURSELF 

7. small dribble figure eights without messing up! 5 times successfully one way before switching other direction. Once you get better you can push the number up! 

8. Small dribbles around one leg. 3 times successfully to begin with. each direction with both hands. 

9. small dribble crossovers. Get on your knees and dribbles as small as you can to the side of your body and then cross it over. this should be somewhat challenging. 

10. walk while dribbling behind your back. try to go to half court and back without messing up!  

OK, those are all the warm up drills we did the other day. They should take a while to finish. Roughly 10-15 minutes. They can be done in any order, beginning with the no-dribble warm up. When you finish those, work on your moving crossovers and incorporate your ballhandling into your moves and work on them. There are plenty of other drills, these are the basics. Focus on your footwork with your crossover... that's most important. Have fun :) When you get bored of these drills, youtube is great at giving more ideas.

Good work ladies, I can't wait to see you all again!

Kayla

First Blog for Summer of 2009

Here it is...our UVU Women's Basketball blog for the summer of 2009!! It's especially fun this year since we have so many new girls coming in and so many news things to find out about one another. I will, just as last year, start off with a blog from me, updating everyone on my summer.

Well, so far it's been pretty uneventful. It's come down to trying to find a job, training, and trying to get grad school stuff in order. Not too exciting. I've had the opportunity to hang out with my family a lot which has been really fun. Its easy to take your family for granted and sometime its not until you go off to college and are away from them that you realize how important they are. I love it!

I started training at Parisi speed again. Man they are really good and letting you know that all the working out you thought you were doing.... is not working out! Just their warm up alone kills me! Its hard to understand until you actually do it lol but they even made t-shirts that say "our warm up is your workout" so you can only imagine what the workouts have been like. But i love it! i'm finally starting to get past the sore stage.

Unfortunately all my shows have come to an end (except the Bachelorette, that just started so i'm loving that!). American Idol, Dancing with the Starts, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Home Makeover! I mean, it's just a tragedy what will i watch on TV!? I guess that gives me more time to search for jobs....

I'm not sure there are any jobs out there... i've applied ot so many haven't heard back form one! I may just be a full time volunteer at the hospital which I will start this week. I guess you can never have too much experience and service.... but that still leaves me with no money so that puts me in a bit of a crunch. How will I save up for a plane ticket to go visit Adam? That has yet to be determined!

Anyways enough rambling from me. nothing too exciting going on. I can't wait to hear from all of you and see pictures!

Love,

Blake, B-lake, Unis... (for you freshman Unis and B-lake are my nicknames which you can call me by if you'd like or can you can just stick to Blake whatever you'd like...well within reason here!)