Congratulations Coach Edwards!

We got up so darn early because we had a 8:30am game against Mexico. This was for 7th and 8th position and winning the game would be a moral victory for either team. No breakfast was available and the bus driver was 20 minutes late which was quite annoying to me. Not only did I not sleep because of the pain in my knee, I had to be warmed up and ready to compete at 6:30am. This is just crazy for me, being that it takes me a while to warm up my body. I am not young anymore. The locker room was freezing and I was a bit grumpy from not sleeping for four days in a row. I knew I have to compete so I shifted my focus to the game. There is not much to say about the game except that we lost even though we were leading for most of the game. We just went away from the game plan. My teammates played hard and I know they wanted to win the game. I came back to the hotel angry because the loss really affected me. I ate and took a nap they went to see the USA and Cuba championship game. The US was impressive in their win and showed off their young talents and veteran leadership. I cheered for them and in return they cheered for me when I got my award for most points in the tournament. I hugged Ann and congratulated her for the gold and she did the same for me and my award. It was a good to take that final picture with coach Donavan with the trophy and me in my Radford top. It seems like a great end to a lovely career as a player and a new start to an exciting one as a coach. My body is just not the same anymore but it sure went out with a bang. Thanks to Dianna Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tina Thompson, Seimone Agustus, Rebekkah Brunson, and Candice Parker for all the stuff they donated to my no-profit foundation. I am so looking forward to seeing my Radford staff and players for our new journey together.
Coach Edwards

Coach Edwards - Saturday, September 29th

Our loss to Cuba was a hard loss. We only lost by 14 points (76-62) and that shocked EVERYONE. We forced them to keep their starters in longer than they wanted. I had 18 points and eight rebounds for the game. Today, we go up against Chile. They have the home crowd in their pocket. The gym is always packed when the home team plays and they play off the energy of their fans.
I am still struggling with trying to sleep on the bed here in my two star hotel. I was actually awake at 7:30 this morning just to get out of the bed. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't voluntarily get out of bed at 7:30 any morning. My assistant coach suggested I put my mattress on the floor like he did. To add insult to this pain, each US player has a room to themselves with two queen beds in it.
It was nice to see my former teammate, Sue Bird, again. I hope to have more photos in my next blog. I brought my own computer but it is having a hard time connecting to the internet.
Coach Edwards

Jamaica vs. Canada

Coach Edwards played her first game in the Fiba Americas Tournament yesterday and had this to say:
Our first game of the tournament was today at 1pm against Canada. Breakfast was at 8am and we were served a ham sandwhich with runny eggs. This was our only meal before the game so I opted for two slices of plain toast. After breakfast, I stopped by the coach's room and was told that we had four players that appeared to be ineligible due to naturalization dates, so we had to choose one to compete with us. We chose the point guard since she was the only point guard that traveled with us. It was a 20 minute bus ride to the arena in town. Right before the game, we found out that all four players were, in fact, elligible. In the first quarter, Canada was up 20-3, and all three of our points were mine on free throws. This showed our lack of chemistry and the fact that we traveled without three of our main guards this trip. In the end, Canada won despite my 25 points. USA vs Cuba was like a championship game. They are considered the two strongest teams in this competition and it was won by only six points. I got a chance to sit and watch the USA game with Donna Orender, a good friend and the president of the WNBA. I got to see my former teammates, Sue Bird and Izzie Castro (Brazil) and my former coach, Anne Donovan (Seattle Storm). Donna is an amazing woman. She was kind enough to offer to take me and my teammates out to dinner. This is not a common occurrence but it is like Donna to be so kind.
On a side note, I got to carry the Jamaican flag during the opening ceremony. After the ceremony, I hung out with all my friends on the US national team. It was nice to see all of them again. After this first day of competition, I am #1 scorer with 25 points, #6 with 7 rebounds and tied for #1 for blocked shots.
Tomorrow we face USA at 1:30. Wish us luck!
Coach Edwards

Rough Trip for Coach Edwards

Coach Edwards sent me this email on Tuesday about her trip so far playing with the Jamaican National Team. I hope it gets better from here!

We started off around 5:30am at the airport in Kingston (which is the city where we were staying). It took us 25 minutes to get to the airport but, upon arrival, we noticed the rest of our group was running a bit behind. We were then way ahead of schedule so we sat patiently waiting for the other four members of our group to show up. When they arrived we went to the ticket counter to check in as a group. The woman behind the counter told us that our tickets were not paid for. It seems as if Chile, after initially booking the flight from Montego Bay (which is on the north coast and hours away) did not pay for the connecting flight from Kingston. At this point, I was losing it. I had gotten up at 4:45am and was looking forward to the trip. We finally got the ticket issue under control only to run into a four and a half hour layover in Montego Bay. The airport is under construction so the air conditioning was out and we were all sweating from transporting our bags from one side of the airport to the other for a connecting flight. After reaching Atlanta, I found out we had a five hour layover and my cell phone was packed in my luggage which was being sent straight to Chile. I was really not liking the fact that I had to beg a call, especially since all the other players were on their phones. The flight from Atlanta to Santiago, Chile was nine hours and thirty minutes. I had an exit row which made my life so much easier and the ride more pleasant. I slept for most of the flight only waking up to eat and stretch. When we got to Santiago, we had to wait four hours before our next flight and we all went to the assigned gate to sit and wait for our flight. After three hours, the man at the counter came and asked us where we were flying to and we told him. He walked away as if everything was fine so we just continued to sit there. After a while, we saw a line and people were boarding the flight which to us was boarding late only to find out it was not our flight because they changed the gate and we didn't hear the announcement. Our Spanish is not that great and the guy did not even advised us of the change even though he knew we were waiting to get to another city. We had to rush to our gate and the plane was pulling away from the gate. We begged and they brought the plane back and we were allowed to board. After being seated, we noticed the plane was not moving and there was some weird sound coming from it. After 40 minutes, they asked us to leave the plane because of mechanical problems. I think the Jamaican National team may have stopped a disaster. We ended up waiting another four hours for a new plane. It took me over a day to get to my final destination here in Valdivia. We got in and found out that the hotel we were in was not the same one we were sent the information on. We are in a two star hotel and the USA,Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico are in a nice four star. Only us and Cuba are in this crap hole and it is just not acceptable. They fed us two dry boiled potatoes and meat-loaf without sauce for dinner. I am about to lose weight here if they keep this up. I keep dreaming of the food the USA is enjoying at their hotel. It so happens that the US bought out 30 single rooms so the two caribbean teams were kicked to the bad hotel. The gym is freezing and I am so missing my Radford girls right now.
Coach Edwards

awwwww Coach Edwards we miss you too!

Go Jamaica!

I am leaving in a few days to go to Jamaica for training camp to prepare for the Fiba Americas competition in Chile. This is the first time an English Caribbean team has ever competed in the Fiba Americas tournament. Jamaica's Women's Basketball team has made history and I am very proud to be a part of that.
I retired from the WNBA in 2006 after playing for the Seattle Storm for six years. Ann Donavan is the coach of the Seattle Storm and also the present coach of the USA women's basketball team. Sue Bird is my former teammate from the Seattle Storm and also the starting point gaurd for the USA national team. Iziana Castro is also a former teammate of mine and a member of the Seattle Storm and Brazilian national team. I am very excited about seeing my friends who are all competing for their countries. The only problem is that Jamaica is in the same bracket with the USA, Canada, and Cuba. How could they put little Jamaica with all the power houses? Don't forget the bobsled team. We are a small country but we are very passionate about competing. We compete for the pride of our country. "Out of many we are one."

Coach Edwards

*Coach Edwards will leave RU next Tuesday for the next 2 weeks but she has promised to email updates and pictures from her travels and her games. I will post her stats if I can find them online anywhere once the tournament begins. I hear she's pretty good! Keep checking our journal to follow the Coach Edwards and the Jamaican National Basketball Team!

JRA

Good Looking Team!

Not only do we have a very talented group of student-athletes, I have to say that we have the best looking basketball team in the Big South! We had our team pictures on Monday afternoon and they all look like a different group of young ladies when they trade in the baggy shorts and tank tops for dress pants and skirts. It is one of the few times during the year when we get to see them this dressed up and all together in one place. We have a few that LOVE the camera and we also have a few that run from it. Kelli and Vandy tend to be the main ones trying to get in every picture and Serena usually makes some kind of crazy face or won't turn her head for the camera. This is a great group of girls and if we get on the court and play as good as we look, this season is going to be a very special for RU Women's Hoops. They also have the best looking coaching staff in America...the girls are just trying to keep up with us!

Top Left: The only 2007-08 Senior Class you need to know about! Top Right: Charron, Kaylyn, Ciara, Denay, Johnette, Kendra, and Vandy. Bottom Left: Coach Porter, Mike, and E.J. Bottom Right: Davida, Vandy, Kymesha, and Rachel.

a new perspective

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time since I have written on the blog. Instead of me writing from a player's perspective, I am now writing from the perspective of a Graduate Assistant coach. I'm still here. I have one more year to finish my Master's degree. I have taken on a new role this year and I will say that I am enjoying it. Although the coaches have me running all over the place...lol (I'm just kidding) I am excited. Not just about my role, but I'm excited for basketball season. The team looks really good and I cannot wait to get into basketball season. It hasn't hit me hard yet that I will not be playing, but I am glad to be a part of the program. So, when you look over at the bench and you see a fly girl looking like she's doing something... that will be me. No longer in a uniform, but this year I'll be in dress clothes. Oh my goodness. Now I need to go shopping. Anyway, I just wanted to drop in and say hello to everyone and let you know that I am looking forward to seeing you all at the games. GO HIGHLANDERS!!!

Shavon Earp