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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

2001 Sectional Revenge Over Sterling






































In 2000-1 season, the Streaks lost a tough game at Sterling, 50-48 in Overtime. Sterling had a good ball club, but we felt it was a game we should not have lost. Sterling packed it in a zone to take away our inside game of Sarah Pacheco and Ashley Shepherd.

Our scoring during the season was- Rachel Bicego 6.1ppg, Shanell Jackson 8.8ppg, Shannon Williams 10.7ppg, Ashley Shepherd 12.0, and Sarah Pacheco 17.1ppg.

Sterling feared our inside scoring enough that on the opening tip, they put one player in the circle to jump, and the other four back in the lane to get ready to defend our inside game. This strategy worked well in their overtime win when we shot only 30% from the field.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Athletic Scholarships

It can be very confusing figuring out how athletic scholarships and financial aid work out with colleges. Here are some resources which give some information about college scholarships...

These articles address:
What are the odds of getting an athletic scholarship?
Do all sports have to give full athletic scholarships?
As far as financial aid- what is the best in terms of getting money?
Do college coaches want to look at home made videos?

This is from US News and World Report, providing- 7 Things You Need to Know About Sports Scholarships.
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-solution/2010/06/22/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-sports-scholarships

From CBS Sports, they look into- 8 Things You Should Know About Sports Scholarships
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-sports-scholarships/

This is a series of charts looking at actual amounts of athletic scholarships in 2016.
http://www.scholarshipstats.com/average-per-athlete.html

Kevin Walden- Knox College Basketball

(From Knox website)
Kevin Walden is headed into his 6th year as the Knox College men’s basketball coach. Becoming a college coach at any level is a real journey. To succeed in college coaching, you have to have toughness. Often when a coach starts the journey, they are starting with very low pay as an assistant, grad assistant, or video coordinator.

Kevin graduated from Knox in 2001 as an Elementary Ed major. He became assistant coach for Tim Heimann at Knox immediately. In his first position, he was not just assistant basketball coach but he also had 2-3 other job titles to try to make ends meet. My point, it wasn’t a life of luxury. Whether on D3 or D1 level, becoming a college coach requires someone to have a strong vision of where they want to get. And no matter the bumps in the road, they have to just keep going.

To reach your goal in any field, you have to be willing to challenge yourself. Sometimes you have to be willing to do the “uncomfortable.” For Kevin Walden, the comfortable was to be willing to leave his job as Knox assistant to go to St. Ambrose as an assistant. This was a challenge but a way to grow. Then he made the move across country to become the head coach at Warren Wilson in Ashville, NC. When the Knox head coaching job opened up in 2012, Kevin had experience at Knox, at St. Ambrose, and head coaching experience at Warren Wilson. He had been willing to prepare himself.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Raining Threes

2009-10 was the first year the Streaks ran "The System". The year before we had gone 14-18 on the season. It was the first losing season for a Galesburg in 22 years. And averaged only 48 points per game. "The System" was instituted to jump start our program. While it could be argued there were weaknesses to running "The System", it was assured players would have to play hard. So the number one priority of the season was to get players to play hard.

In 2008-9, we had scored 48 points per game, and made a total of 113 threes. In 2009-10, we jumped up to 365 made threes and 72 points per game. Some games, we rotated 14 players into the game. There was no time for anyone to "coast", they were only going to be in for 35-40 seconds. Mickey Rodriguez and Jess Howard had 87 and 118 threes. We improved to 17-14 on the season.

But the 2009-10 season served as build up to our 2010-11 season when we set the National HS record for threes made in a season with 397 threes. And we went 28-7 and made it to the Elite 8.

But it all started by just "Raining Some Threes!"

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Alumni Day

Why are people celebrating?

We are planning Alumni Day for Saturday, January 27. The Streaks will be playing in the afternoon, and we are inviting alums to come on back. Actually the day is full of girls and boys basketball. We host the Galesburg Shootout. The girls will be playing Stillman Valley in the afternoon. Before the varsity game, there will be Frosh and Soph games in the Field House so you could look it over.

The girls and boys teams will be hosting a soup and sandwich luncheon. It is a great meal and alums would be supporting the Streaks.

We will have a reception after the varsity game.

As we iron down details- we will let you know exact times. Hope you can make it.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Casey Williams

I coached Casey Williams more years than any player at GHS. She was on the varsity all four years in high school. And she was on a YMCA team I coached when she was in 2nd or 3rd grade. When she was at the YMCA, all of the players fought over who took the ball out of bounds, and then who got to dribble the ball up the floor. Our solution was to give a black wrist band to the player who got to take it out, and then a red wrist band to the player who would dribble the ball up the floor. By the time Casey got to the high school, we didn’t need the wrist bands.

Casey has always had good basketball skills. She was skilled enough to play on the varsity as a freshman. She was an outstanding defender for GHS. Her senior year, there were times she guarded point guards, shooters, and even post players. But what stands out about Casey is that she is just so competitive. There was no one Casey would back down from.

Now Casey attends Benedictine University in Lisle. She jumped in and was a regular for the team her first season, and Benedictine plays in a tough conference. This past year, as a sophomore, Casey had to have surgery on her leg. But as one would expect, Casey competed in rehab and worked herself back into playing condition. Now she is headed into her junior year.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Going Beyond Tradition

Summer of 1994- picture in Michigan Stadium
In the summer of 1994 (preparing for the 1995 season), the Streaks went undefeated for the summer. But that was not their goal.

In the 7 years from 1998 to 1994, Galesburg had won 20 games every year. The Streaks had won the Regional every year. And GHS had won the WB6 four of the 7 years.

The 1994 team had gone 24-6, won the WB6, and the Regional. But, we had lost to IVC in the Sectional in Thiel Gym in the first round of the Sectional. We started two sophomores, two juniors, and one senior on that 1994 team.We had a good year- certainly a year to be proud of.

So we had high expectations for our 1995 squad. We didn't just have a good summer, we had a great summer of basketball. We did the usual things- Streaks Camp and Galesburg Summer League. We had two tourneys in Galesburg, and we made two trips to Maine West to play. Then the highlight of our summers in the 1990's, we went to University of Michigan for team camp. 

Future Streaks for Girls

This year the Future Streaks program will expand to include girls travel teams. 4th-6th grade signup/tryouts will be the week of October 16. 7th-8th grade signup/tryouts will be the week of November 1. More info to follow.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Lombard / Churchill Fall Basketball

This year, both Lombard & Churchill will be having their basketball seasons in the fall. It had gotten harder and harder for the schools to schedule games because most teams in the area were part of the IESA, which schedules basketball in the fall.

Tentative Tryout Schedules

Lombard
Aug 16th / Aug 17th  3:30-5:00pm Open Gyms for 7/8th Girls
Fri Aug 18th- 3:30-5:30pm- 8th Tryouts, 5:30-7:30pm- 7th Tryouts
Sat Aug 19th- 8:00-10:00am- 8th Tryouts, 10:00-Noon- 7th Tryouts
PARENTS / PLAYERS SHOULD CHECK TO CONFIRM

Lombard's First Game- Sept 12th vs Macomb at Erickson Gym

Lombard 8th Grade
http://il.8to18.com/GalesburgHS/schedule/basketball/g/8-lombard/2017-2018

Lombard 7th Grade
http://il.8to18.com/GalesburgHS/schedule/basketball/g/7-lombard/2017-2018

Churchill
Aug 17th- 3:15-4:30pm- 7th Open Gym, 4:30-5:30pm- 8th Open Gym
Aug 21st- 3:15-4:30pm- 7th Tryouts,  4:30-5:30pm- 8th Tryouts
Aug 22nd- 3:15-4:30pm- 7th Tryouts,  4:30-5:30pm- 8th Tryouts
Aug 24th- 5:30pm- Parent's Meetings
PARENTS / PLAYERS SHOULD CHECK TO CONFIRM

Churchill's First Game- Sept 12th vs Orion at Morgan Gym

Churchill 8th Grade
http://il.8to18.com/GalesburgHS/schedule/basketball/g/8-churchill/2017-2018

Churchill 7th Grade
http://il.8to18.com/GalesburgHS/schedule/basketball/g/7-churchill/2017-2018


FUTURE STREAKS
Future Streaks will be organizing 7th & 8th Grade Travel teams. Tryouts / Signup for the Future Streaks will tentatively be held the week of Wednesday, November 1. These teams will be combined Churchill and Lombard teams. The Future Streaks will play and practice in November and December. the teams will then take off in January and February. They will pick up then play and practice in March and April again. More detailed info will become available at later date.






Carr With Big Summer

Chrislyn Carr of Rock Island has received multiple D1 offers this past summer. This article discusses her summer and her goals.

http://qctimes.com/sports/basketball/big-summer-solves-carr-s-division-i-dilemma/article_a4e6b2c0-3021-5c32-9fc6-8ce8fa506bc0.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

Trainer for the Pros

This is an interesting story on Rob McClanaghan, who is offensive trainer for a lot of the top pros. The description of the approach to the workouts is impressive. You sure get the point that the top pros don't rest- they are working to improve. 

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/8/9/16115516/skills-trainer-rob-mclanaghan-chandler-parsons

Monday, August 14, 2017

Leadership Playbook

Jamy Bechler in The Leadership Playbook gives great wisdom on how we can all improve as leaders. It is not just for players and coaches, it is for everyone. One of the points Bechler makes is that we are all leaders in whatever we do. The book is designed to help us become better leaders whether for our team, our business, or our family.

In each chapter, he brings out a specific principle of leadership. He then reinforces each principle with 100’s quotes which apply to the specific leadership concept, and numerous examples of people who have successfully or unsuccessfully applied the specific principle of the chapter.

As coaches, we work hard to develop skills specific to our sports. In basketball, we don’t expect a player to automatically be a great shooter. We design drills to practice skills of shooting. The basic theme of Bechler is that leadership is a skill that we need to work to develop. His book is indeed an effective playbook to develop leadership skills.

Bechler Uses Famous Quotes Applied to Leadership
Bechler uses 100’s of quotes to support his leadership concepts. Here are just a few of my favorites.

“A Year from now, you’ll wish you started today.”- Karen Lamb

“There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So, keep in mind that in the end, the choices you make makes you.”- John Wooden

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.”- Aristotle

Leadership


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Q/A with Mark Makeever

Mark guarding Bruce Douglas of Quincy.
I had a chance to have a Q/A with Mark Makeever. Mark is a great lesson on the value of being focused on the process. It doesn’t matter if you are a player or a coach, you have to enjoy the grind. You have to enjoy going to practice. Psychologists say this is true of any career or profession- to succeed you must have a passion for what you do.

Mark grew up in Galesburg and loved basketball. In JH and as soph and junior in HS, basketball did not return the love. He was a part time player. He describes himself as having been a “20/20 guy,” getting in if Galesburg was up 20 or down 20. He went onto to be a highly successful player as a senior and then in college- on very good teams. And from there, he has had an unbelievable coaching career in Oklahoma and Texas.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think Mark has “worked” a day in his life. He is someone who just loves what he is doing. When he was as a sophomore going thru a 2-3 hour practice, going home to eat, and then going to play basketball at the Knox County YMCA- he doesn’t seem to see it as having been work. And while he did want to get better so he could play, that doesn’t seem like it must have been his main reason. He just loved playing basketball.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

TBT-1990 Seniors

Senior year is an exciting time. It is a special feeling to be the top class in the school and in sports. Often it is a year players have looked forward to- "when we're seniors, we will ....."

In good years, the seniors take ownership. They have a sense of pride that this is going to be their legacy. They can be more focused and more determined. It is not unusual to find players make a real jump in performance from their junior to their senior years- senior pride!!

"Lebron James of Sportscasters"

Doris Burke has moved up the ranks covering basketball for ESPN. Jeff VanGundy refers to her as the "Lebron James of announcers." This is a story of her climb as woman to become one of the top analysts of NBA games. 

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Kaylah Townsell- On the Wall

We put pictures of our players who rank in the top 50 on an All-State team. Kaylah Townsell becomes our 25th All-State player. There were many pictures to choose form. Kaylah is such a great athlete and there were some spectacular pictures of her almost jumping over someone to score. But I chose a picture of Kaylah on defense. Kaylah was one of the best defenders to ever play for Galesburg.

Yoga for Workout Recovery

Here are six exercises designed to stretch and promote recovery after working out. With a little effort, an athlete can prevent tightening up after a workout, and increasing injury risk.


http://team.fastmodelsports.com/2015/03/17/6-yoga-poses-for-better-recovery/







Bre Beal

The following article is talking about Bre Beals summer basketball, and her plans for the coming season and making a college decision.

http://qctimes.com/sports/high-school/college-decision-still-a-ways-off-as-beal-improves-her/article_17b566d5-9921-5b9d-808d-722cc803cb1e.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

New Hoosiers Movie- Iowa Girls State Champions 1956

Brian Borland has written a book about his mother's 1956 Iowa State girls basketball championship team. His mother, Carolyn was the leading scorer on the team. The school was so tiny that it had never had enough girls to field a team until Borland's grandfather went to the school board and asked them to add girls basketball. The team was made up of sisters from several families.

The title of Borland's book is Maynard 8 Miles. The book has drawn attention from the screenwriter who put together both Hoosiers and Rudy. So for now, the book is available, but maybe later it will be a film to view.

Iowa HS Association Changing State Basketball Tourneys

Iowa HS boys basketball went to 4 classes in 1985. The Iowa boys and girls tourneys are run by separate state organizations. The boys state organization in an effort to build greater interest and avoid conflicts with the NCAA tourney has decided to go with a revised format where all four classes will be playing their state championships on the same Friday. This concept is similar to what the state of Wisconsin does with their tourney. 

Shayli Florine's First Year

Shayli Florine has finished her freshman year at McKendree in Lebanon, Illinois. She had an exciting and challenging first year. As a high school athlete, she was always an in-season athlete playing three sports. So one of the big challenges was the intensity of off-season weights and conditioning at McKendree. And from the sounds of things, they "hit the ground running." And as would be expected, Shayli is not afraid of hard work!
She played behind several experienced post players. The game I got to see, when she got in the game, she was ready to go. When she wasn’t on the floor, she was active and involved in the game. Quite simply, she was a good teammate.
It will be exciting to see how she develops over the next three years.
I had a chance to ask Shayli about her first year.
Massey- What attracted you to McKendree?
Shayli- What really got me was the way I clicked with the coaching staff.  I felt like we had a lot of the same ideas about basketball and like they genuinely cared about me on and off the court.  Also, I really liked the strength and conditioning program because I knew it would be hard but it would give me the chance to really improve my game and raise my potential. Also loved the small school environment.
Massey- How nervous were you when it came time to actually go to college?