New Pictures

If you have ever been a part of a college basketball team in any way, you can fully understand how much time a player spends in the training room. Bumps and bruises this time of year are very common and getting taped before practice and ice after practice becomes an everyday routine for most of our players. They beat up on each other so much in drills and when we get this deep into practice, we are more than ready to get into games so they can beat up on another team. We have a full time certified athletic trainer who works with our team, watches every practice, and travels to all of our games so our girls are never without somebody to take care of them. Amy has quickly become a part of our basketball family. She is the one who has to put up with all of the complaining about what hurts today and also works hard to prevent future injuries from occuring. The picture on the left is Shavon, Serena, and Meagan hanging out in the training room before practice (I'm almost sure they were in there causing trouble!). The picture on the right is Shavon Earp trying to look like she is doing some work. I'm positive she was just listening to music and talking on Instant Messenger. That's just my opinion...maybe she has a different one. But seriously, Shavon has been doing an internship with our Sports Information department this Fall and she is doing a great job for them. I think she secretly wanted to work in that office just so she can make sure Brian gets all of her assists and offensive rebounds right on the stat sheet! Again, maybe she has a different story. I'm sure I'm gonna hear it from her as soon as she reads this.

Just a quick update: We play our first exhibition game at home on Monday night @ 7:00. Come out and support us as we prepare for our opening night matchup at Virginia Tech which is now only 11 days away.

JRA

growing up

Ok, so I want to start this entry off by saying that it's not my fault that the postings are only coming about twice a week. I've been on the girls to write something for me to post and they seem to be too busy to get back to me. I will say they do have a very busy schedule now that practice is in full swing and midterms tests are coming for all of their classes. So, with all of that said, I will start this entry and try to get them to write soon. Practice is going VERY well. It's hard for me not to get too excited about the season when our girls continue to have great practices day in and day out. Our leaders step up every day and get the team going (because some days they need a jump start!) and the intensity level is as high now as it was on the first day of practice. There are obviously things that we still need to improve on and things that we are still introducing into the playbook, but having a team full of returning players is definitely refreshing. Coach Porter says sometimes that the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores and the best thing about sophomores is that they become juniors...and juniors become seniors. That statement couldn't fit better with any other team than ours. We are finally growing up. Our point guard isn't a freshman anymore, we've got seniors who don't want to underachieve their last season as a Lady Highlander, and we've got a pair of junior post players who look like they will be a force in the paint this year. For any of you players who read this: You aren't grown up yet...so, don't think you've arrived or anything like that. But, you are growing up...and it's going to be a fun ride watching you continue to grow throughout this season. Keep working hard!

Until next time...
JRA

Thoughts from a Freshman

Hello all!
My name is Charron Leeper and I am currently a freshman here at Radford University. I am originally, born and raised, from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and came to Radford by being recruited on an athletic scholarship to play basketball for this university. Even though I am only several months into my four year college experience, I have already learned, overcome,and experienced a lot, within and outside of basketball.

So far I have learned that 1.) Your food dollars will run out even though you think they won't, so don't be a fatty and eat too much!:) 2.) Preseason - really should be renamed Track season because all one will do is run........and run some more! 3.) There is such a thing called Summer :)! ( sometimes you forget that coming from Cleveland!) 4.) People from the South know that they sure can cook some good chicken! Lastly number five is something that my Coach Mrs. Jeri Porter said that I have to decided to adopt for myself for many reasons. She said, "Don't count the days, make the days count." This motto which was presented to us as the thought of the week is in essence what I will try my best to do during the 4 year duration of my stay here at Radford.

However, in all seriousness I have learned by being here on my own that I can do what ever I believe I can do. I learned this during preseason, which was kind of tough. I had to push my self to get through the workouts, and the most challenging obstacle I had to get through was making my mile time! I learned that you have to JUST DO IT just like Nike says...I know it sounds cliche but it is the truth. Sometimes you can't think about it, complain about it, or run away from it. You just have to do it, period. But I really wished that I could run away from those Five -fortyfive AM work outs...I did't want to just do those! :) However, just in these weeks I have learned some valuable lessons and that was only preseason. I do miss my family but being away from them is not as bad as I thought. I like my teammates and I hope we have a phenomenal season this year. How are classes you say? They are fine. The classes that I am currently taking are interesting and I am doing pretty well in them. But I have learned that I am not a morning person and 8 am classes everyday are not for me! :) I could go on and talk for days about more lessons learned and wonderful things here at Radford but you will just have to come and experience it for yourself!

~Peace and Blessings~

Charron # 42

Practice Time

Hello Again. Let me first apologize for not posting a journal entry since last Tuesday. I had knee surgery on Thursday and had big plans of getting some work done at home on Friday, but that never happened. Here's a quick update of what's been going on in our world over the past week: We had our last team workout of preseason on Thursday night and the intensity level was as high as it had been throughout the entire preseason. Friday night marked the first day of official practice and the Lady Highs got it all kicked off with an intersquad scrimmage game. I found myself in an unfamiliar position watching the game from the stands and not being very involved since I had been sidelined for a few days after surgery. Being on that side of things allowed me to see our team from a different perspective and watch as more of a fan than a coach. It was fun for a scrimmage game but I wouldn't want to do that on a regular basis! I like to coach too much to be sitting in the stands! As some of you may have noticed, the countdown has now changed and is now counting down to our first game. Hopefully the countdown builds excitement, but that brings me to another quick story. At the beginning and end of practice, we always circle up at half court to talk about practice and announcements. Coach Porter had this quote for the players this week as we talk about counting down until the next big day in Radford Hoops: She said, "Don't count the days. Make the days count." I thought that was a great statement for the team to hear at this point in the season. Yes, we were counting down until practice and now we're counting down to our first game, but we have to make every day at practice count for something. Right now, the 06-07 Lady Highs are working hard 6 days a week to prepare and get better in hopes of making this season a very exciting one for you all to watch. If at any time you have words of encouragement for the team, please feel free to post them here or email me. I'll make sure your well wishes are relayed to the girls.

I promise to write again in a few days.

JRA

Preseason Is OVER!

Yes that's right. Preseason is over! I know I am not half as excited as the girls are about this fact, but I am very glad to finally be only days away from being on the court. Overall, I would say this preseason was a huge success. The girls have worked so hard and I can't wait to see it all pay off for them. I know they all think I'm a crazy maniac when it comes to planning their running and circuit training but I hope they realize that we only push them because we know just how great they can be. I am probably not the best motivator as far as the things I can say to them, but that's just not my style. I want to push them to what they think their limits are and ask them to do things that they thought they weren't capable of and then just smile when they find out they've got a little bit left in the tank and they can actually make it through the workout. If they learned how much they can depend on each other, how their teammates are willing to pick them up and drag them across the line, and how much we need each one of them to bring it every night over the past 6 weeks, then yes...preseason was a huge success. When this group of young ladies all come together, they are something great...something RU hasn't seen in a long time. This team can do something special this year if they put their mind to it...and if preseason has been any indication, they are on the right path.
Watch the countdown at the top of the blog...we do this for real on Friday night!

JRA

Congrats to Sarah, Shavon, and Tameisha on today being the LAST preseason workout they will ever have to endure!

Baby Update

Highlander nation! Greetings from Coach T (a.k.a. Pops).
Coach Ashley wanted me to give all our fans an update on how my little boy is doing. Cooper celebrated his six weeks birthday this week. He is 44 days old today. I always thought it was funny/weird how people keep up with the ages of babies. One baby is 17 months old, another is 48 weeks. Who knows? What happened to half a year or a year and a half?
He is doing great though, growing daily. He has not been weighed in over two weeks, but is over nine pounds now, maybe close to 10. He is sleeping a little better, some nights are great, some nights are not so good. One good thing about being up at night though is that it gives me a chance to spend time honing up my skills on NCAA Football for PS2. That is when I can actually wake up enough to see what I am doing. Mom (Bevin) is also doing good. She has been tired of course, but for the most part is doing good. I personally think that she is a great Mom to Cooper and is doing a smashing job taking care of him.
This past weekend he made it out to his first basketball tournament. He sat through a game or so and really did a nice job of helping me evaluate the talent on the floor. He has a good eye for talent already!
Well, we are getting ready to head out to the floor for another full team workout. Things are going really well so far. We just want to keep the atmosphere at a high energy level throughout the year.
So long for now, stay in touch!

Coach T

I didn't want to go swimming today.

I am soaking wet right now...Not because it's hot outside or because I've been working out. If you've been keeping up with my entries, you may remember that on Wednesdays during preseason, we do a pool workout. Today I went to the pool in khaki linen shorts, a Radford golf shirt, and flip flops. I looked cute as always ;) The play by play goes like this: In the weight room earlier, Coach Porter, Coach P, and I had pushed a few people around (you know like bumping cutters when they come through the lane). Since I must be too strong for a few of them, the girls decided to team up on me and take me down. The scuffle carried over to the pool and Vandy was encouraged by a few of her teammates to push me in. Thanks to Coach Appleby, Vandy has apparently been working out pretty hard because she picked me up with one arm and threw me in the pool with my clothes on. Did I mention that my outfit looked cute before she threw me in? Anyway, my attempts to drown Vandy were unsuccessful (only because Coach Porter would fire me if I really did drown her) so, I am plotting revenge. Anyone who reads this and has any suggestions as to what I should do to get Vandy back is welcome to post a comment. Just so you remember, Vandy is on the right in this picture with Johnette. All feedback will be taken into consideration and is greatly appreciated. I promise to keep you all updated on the situation :)

JRA

It's almost time.

It’s almost time.

Yesssss… basketball season is officially around the corner and we can taste it...And it tastes good. We are all extremely excited to get started with practice and looking forward to playing games. This year our goal is to go straight to the top and if anyone is in our way, we are taking them out. That may have sounded a little harsh, but it’s the competitive spirit that’s coming out of me. Everyone has worked hard so far, including our wonderful coaching staff. Lol. We have cried, sweat, beat one another up, and gotten up early in the morning for the last six weeks. We are ready to see the fruits of our labor.

We'll see you at our games soon,
Shavon