Streaks Ranked #5 in Illinois

The Streaks are ranked #5 in the first Illinois basketball poll. We all know polls are more meaningful at the end of the season than at the beginning of the year. We all know that polls are not always accurate.

Despite all of that- our girls should be proud to be rated in the first poll. It is a reflection on several things. It is first a reflection that our present group has worked hard and are seen to have great potential.  And it is also a reflection that our program has a nice tradition.

Jessica Lieber- 1000 Points

Jessica Lieber went over 1000 points for her career in last Saturday's game vs. Freeport. While Jess played a little as a freshmen with the varsity, she has reached 1000 in two seasons and 6 games.  Jess becomes the 14th Streaks girls basketball player to reach 1000 points.

Alumni NIght

Wow- what a fun night. Lots and lots of good stories to share.

I was especially impressed with '97 team's memories. First thing Sarah Larson said to me,"Remember Freeport game when you pulled us all out and yelled at us." Sadly I do remember that.

Then when I went to take a picture they laughed at me for having an iPhone. Some things don't change- that is what the present players do!!

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part III

So what did the 1997 team do to stand out?

Won first 33 games before losing to Taylorville in the Semi-Finals.

Completed the regular season a perfect 27-0.

15 of 35 games were won by 30+ points.

23 of 35 games were won by 20+ points.

28 of 35 games were won by 10+ points.

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part II

After winning the Sectional championship over Rocky at Wharton Fieldhouse, we were headed to DeKalb to play Belvidere in the Supersectional. The game was to be played at DeKalb High School.

Belvidere was the team we had beaten in the Super the year before. They were led by Amanda Leavens who was headed to Old Dominion. She had been very good the year before, and she was only better. I think the atmosphere at the Supersectionals when we went to DeKalb and later to NIU were the most exciting atmospheres in high school basketball. The gym was not huge but it was absolutely packed. I don't remember all the details but I remember...

Keeping Ego in Check

My son looked thru the season previews in different newspapers. His only comment,"Man, you have lost 272 games a coach. Not many coaches keep their jobs with that many losses."

Meet the Streaks History

Some of my most memorable Meet the Streaks experiences (in no particular order).....

1- My first experience was as a boys assistant basketball coach. I am not sure we even had an intrasquad scrimmage at my high school. At GHS, both balconies were open- the main floor seating was nearly filled, and people were spilled into the balcony. There were probably 2000 people at the intrasquad scrimmage- pretty impressive.

1997 Undefeated Streaks- Part I

With the 1997 Streaks going into the GHS Hall of Fame, it has caused me to want to go thru some memories.

In 1996 we had the greatest year in the history of Streaks girls basketball, and maybe to that point, the history of girls sports at GHS. The Streaks led by seniors Sara Wood, Jen Bulkeley, Ami Pendry, and  Jen Wright (hope not missing someone), went on a terror at the end of the year. They made it to State, and captured third place. It was a special year. As we left the floor after getting our third place medals, our two freshmen on the '96 squad were walking in front of me. Jenny Zolper and Sarah Larson were walking arm in arm as they left the floor. Zolp turned to Stork and said,"We're going to do this three more times." I thought, "Oh no, that is unrealistic." I shared with Coach Peachey what I had heard and expressed how unlikely that would be.

1997 Streaks

This is a picture of the 1997 Streaks. They were undefeated during the regular season,
took 4th in State, finishing with 33-2 record.

Register-Mail First Practice

The following is the RM article on our first practice.....

GALESBURG —

The Galesburg High School girls basketball team began their season on Monday with an early morning and an evening practice.

Galesburg coach Evan Massey, who is entering his 35th season at the helm of the Silver Streaks, said this year’s team should have more offense than last year’s team, which finished with an overall mark of 27-6 and advanced to the sectional semifinals.

“We return a pretty athletic group,” he said. “Last year, our greatest strength was we were a better defensive team than offensive team and this year we’ve improved offensively.

“Hopefully, we are a deeper group this year,” Massey added. “This fall, we happened to have a lot of girls not involved in fall sports and there was enough of them that they got to play.”

Fall Was Insane

We have always felt it has been important to our team to be very involved in the weight room. We started a strong commitment to the weight room in the mid-1990's when Coach Peachey came on as an assistant coach. He developed a strong lifting program for us, and it was incredible the difference it made for us.

The best example of the importance of strength training for us was our 1999 team, which took 2nd in State. (It should be noted that was back in the days before 4-classes where we had to go thru all the big schools in Illinois). In 1998, we made it to the Elite 8 but were crushed by Loyola. Loyola had several DI players, and was rated nationally. We returned everyone from the '98 team. So while we were excited about the prospects of having everyone back, we realized the team who had crushed us, Loyola, also had everyone back.

Jeff Janssen- Team Culture

As coaches we talk about creating a "culture". This is sports psychologist Jeff Janssen spin on team cultures.

1. Corrosive Culture

A Corrosive Culture is highly toxic and is characterized by a lot of conflict, negativity, frustration, cliques, gossiping, distrust, and selfishness. It is obviously not one that is fun to be around and the turmoil and tension off the field/court almost surely affects the team on it. From a relationship standpoint, cliques will often develop that divide, distract, and destroy the team. Rather than battling your opponents, your athletes spend more time battling each other and the coaching staff because no one is on the same page working toward the same goal.
From a results standpoint, people become apathetic or even resistant toward team goals because they lose respect for their coaches and/or teammates. In Corrosive Cultures there is a lot of selfishness because in such a negative and dysfunctional environment, members basically must look out for themselves because they don’t trust their teammates and coaches. As the name suggests, Corrosive Cultures eat away at people’s attitudes, commitment, and chemistry much like a caustic acid. Ultimately, people just seek to endure in this kind of culture or escape it whenever possible.

56 Years of School

In September of 1957 when I went to Mrs. North’s kindergarten class at Avenue School, I had no idea what I was getting into. This year is my 56^th straight year of going to school. I have not taken a year off- I went right from Knox College to Galesburg High School.

I have LOTS of great memories from 1957 to 2012. If you asked me my favorite years, I would give you one answer today, and another answer tomorrow- I have had a lot of favorites.

Schools are places you go to learn. It doesn’t matter if you are a student or you are a teacher- it continues to be a great place to learn. So in the past 55 years, what have I learned? I feel there are five very important lessons I have learned from my experiences and from observing successful and unsuccessful students.

Kevin Eastman- Working w the Best

WORKING WITH “THE BEST”  Lessons from the Olympians I've been very fortunate in my career to work with, talk to, and help improve some of the best players in the game.  As I look at our 2012 Olympic team, I remember working with Kevin Durant when he was a sophomore in high school; with Lebron James as he was entering the draft after his senior year in high school; and with Kevin Love, Chris Paulm and Andre Iguodala as well.  Then there are former Olympic players not on the 2012 team, including Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. More than what I may have taught them, I think about what they have taught me while I had the opportunity to be around them and observe them in action. From my observations, this much I know -- “The Best” will: outwork others be more disciplined than others have greater drive than others be much more competitive than others do things that others think aren't important do the unrequired extra work always want to know what they can do to get better want to be coached, want to be driven, and want to learn more These are just some of the characteristics of “The Best" -- all things your players need to recognize in this elite group.  And for all our corporate friends, I think this list is worth thinking about as well. We all can grow and improve if we strive to do these things to the level that “The Best” are willing to do them! Enjoy watching these special players as they once again strive to bring that Gold Medal to the United States!  We are fortunate to have them representing us!

Kevin Eastman- Characteristics of Successful Coaches

The following is a short essay by Boston Celtic ass't coach, Kevin Eastman. While he is describing characteristics of successful coaches, I would argue it is really about successful people. 5 Characteristics of Successful Coaches A good friend who is an excellent high school coach asked me, "What are the five most important characteristics someone needs to be a success in this business?"  Needless to say, that sent my mind in motion, as I'm always curious about what makes people successful in their fields.  In fact, much of my reading revolves around this topic. I came up with different sets of 5's each time I thought about this, though several consistently made the list.  One or more are characteristics that I think may be overlooked. 1.  Respect I believe that the greater respect the coach commands, the easier it is to ensure buy-in from his or her players.  And the more often you can get your team to buy in, the more you're going to see them do what you want them to do.  I've always tried to gain respect by outworking others in the business and trying to learn as much as I can at the place and position I'm in.  Work ethic and this continuing search for knowledge have been keys to my ability to gain respect. 2. Relationships  I believe relationships are the foundation for success in any field.  As a coach, you need to get to know your team, get to know about your team, talk to your players in good times and bad, let your players know you care about them, and develop a trust with your players. 3.  Curiosity  It seems to me that the most successful people in any business have an insatiable intellectual curiosity about their field.  They talk to the best in the business, they read about others, they listen to CDs and DVDs, they want to know what the best are doing and how it can relate to them and their programs, and they are curious to know what you know and how it can fit in to enhace their program or business. 4.  Ability to motivate  Motivation is an aspect of coaching that requires coaches to constantly "read" what's needed for their team and any given player on a daily basis.  It also requires a great deal of thought and study in order to find new ways to accomplish these tasks.  Find out what makes a player tick and then create ways to motivate him to get the most out of him each day.  And be able to recognize when it's a new day that needs a new motivator -- even for the same player who responded yesterday! 5.  Choosing the right job  Make sure you know all you can about a job before taking it.  I've often said that you have to find out if the expectations of the job exceed the reality of the job.  Don't jump at a job that sounds good (to you or to others) or has a certain perceived prestige without learning all you can about the expectations and, frankly, why the job is available.  This process takes significant soul searching, but it's extremely important.  No one can be successful at a place that doesn't have or can't create an environment to succeed.  Remember, too, that the place may be great, and you might even seem to be a good fit, but because of the timing, you need to pass it by.