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

Team Cookout

Man, do I love good food! Especially when it is cooked on the grill and you get to sit down and enjoy it with your family. That was exactly what we did this past weekend, as our team gathered together at Coach Porter's house for our annual team cookout. At the beginning of every season, Coach Porter likes to have everyone over for some good food and bonding time. Everyone brings something to contribute whether it be plates, drinks, chips, or dessert. It was definitely a good time as we ate and watched a movie and then just hung out and talked.

We are also a couple of weeks into our pre-season workouts. I am a little tired myself today as we had a 6 a.m. track workout and then a 7 a.m. group workout. The girls have been working hard and are looking good as we approach the halfway point of pre-season. Of course, everyone is looking forward to October 12th when we can get on the floor and have our first official practice. Expectations around here are high for our team, as we look to improve on our 20 wins and championship game appearance from a year ago.

Be sure to keep up with us this season as we strive for that championship glory! Until next time...

Coach P

Pictures will be posted soon...as soon as Ninnie figures out how to email them to me!
JRA

preseason workouts have finally started

Yesterday was day one of preseason workouts. This is the time that most people absolutely dread. Even if you have worked hard all summer, there is something about preseason that still makes your entire body sore. When we as coaches talk about it, we say alot of preseason is mental. Every year, we have a few players that individually have to make their mind up that they are actually going to make it one more step and that they won't die before the workout ends. I was proud of our team as a whole yesterday when they ran the timed mile. We had a few freshmen that were pleasant suprises and a few upperclassmen that cut more than a few seconds off their times from last spring. I was really happy with the majority of our team and I can tell that they have been working hard to get better on and off the court this summer. We continued our workouts this morning at 6:00am on the track and I have to say that we have a pretty fast team. We have a few that look like naturals out on the track and our track coach may be trying to steal a few of them next spring! Coach Edwards ran sprints with the post players this morning and I feel like I should mention that she made her times on every sprint. She definitely gives our post players somebody to look up to and try to keep up with.
We talk alot as a team about this being the time that we win conference championships. Teams don't just step on the floor and win a championship during March Madness. All of the preparation and hard work begins now long before we are allowed to start traditional practice in October. Our team is ready to put in the work now and I have no doubt that they will be ready when our chance comes again to play for a championship in Asheville, NC next March.

Tomorrow is our pool workout for this week. Check back for pictures of that...they should be pretty funny!
JRA

Introducing Coach Simone Edwards

My name is Simone Edwards and I am excited to be apart of the Radford Women's Basketball program. I was born in Jamaica and I attended college in the USA. This is my first season with the Highlanders after playing many years of professional basketball in Europe and the WNBA. I won a championship with the Seattle Storm and then retired in 2006 from the WNBA. I am also co-captain of the Jamaica Women's Basketball Team which will be competing in Chile next month in the Fiba Americas Championship. I am looking forward to being a part Radford's Women's Basketball Team and it's great staff. We look forward to your support throughout the season.

Back To School

It's that time of year again. School officially started yesterday here on the campus of Radford University for the 2007-2008 academic year and we are very excited! A few things have changed since I last wrote: Most importantly, we hired a new assistant coach to work with our post players. Her name is Simone Edwards and I will let her write tomorrow to introduce herself. Coach Edwards played professionally overseas and in the WNBA. We are very excited to add her to our staff and I know our post players will learn alot from her. Second, we added a 5th young lady to our 07-08 freshmen class. Taleia Moton is a 5'4" guard from Suitland High School in Fort Washington, MD. We were thrilled that Taleia wanted to join our family and we can't wait to see her on the court in a Radford uniform.
Now, back to my original thought. School started this week and it is great to finally have all of our players back on campus. Sometimes they may not believe it, but we really do miss them when they go home for the summer. Everybody came back healthy for the most part and they all seem to be very excited about what this season holds for Radford Women's Basketball. Tomorrow, we will have our first team meeting of the year, Thursday the players will get their physicals, and next Monday we will get started with preseason workouts. Oops, I said the "p" word. Preseason workouts are not anybody's favorite part of the year...not even mine! I know our girls think sometimes that I like this stuff but it's not really fun for any of us. We all can't wait until October when we can really practice or November when we start playing. Anyway, Monday is Day One of preseason and I really really really hope all of our girls make their mile times. Hopefully that will be a perfect way to start what we all think could be a very special season.

Go Lady Highs!

JRA