Talking with Jimmie: Best Gyms Thru History

Huff Gym

This week when I talked with Jimmie Carr, we took a look back at some of the great gyms and arenas the Galesburg Silver Streaks played in throughout time. First, we looked at the places the IHSA hosted the boys basketball State Tourneys. 

Huff Gym in Champaign hosted from 1926 thru 1962. Jimmie played in the 1959 State Tourney in Huff Gym. The Assembly Hall (State Farm Center) hosted State from 1963 thru 1995. The Peoria Civic Center hosted from 1996 thru 2020. And now the tourney is back at the State Farm Center in Champaign. 

Huff Gym held 8,000, Assembly Hall 16,618, Peoria Civic Center 11,049, and now the State Farm Center 15,500. 

Galesburg’s Hometown Teams: Knox and Sandburg Basketball Previews

Basketball season is ready to tip-off. Our two hometown college teams will be having a busy winter. Here is some info that will help you follow the Chargers and the Prairie Fire. 

Massey Quiz #18: GHS Faculty of the ‘60’s

These are some of the Galesburg HS teachers in 1966. See how many you can recognize. 

The answers are at the end of the quiz. Keep track of your score and read exactly what your score indicates. If you would like- share your score on the Facebook or Massey Blog under the comments. 

1973 & 1974 Streaks First Girls Basketball Teams: 10 Games, 10 Wins

Galesburg’s first girls basketball team- 1972-3 season. 

Galesburg High School first played interscholastic basketball in the 1972-3 school year. Galesburg girls basketball roared out to a great start. Although they played a limited schedule, GHS was undefeated during their first two seasons. 

HOF Insights: Focusing on Culture at Beginning of Season

This Week’s Question- For decades, we may not have used the word culture but we had in mind how our teams would look, how they would practice, and how they would play. When you met with your teams either when you started practice or before you started practice- were there any specific things you made clear about your expectations? I believe the first week of practice is so important for setting the tone. To an outsider, were there some little things or big things that you did in practice that were designed to help establish your culture. 

Streaks Basketball Alums- I Need Your Help!!!!

This Fall, I started doing a series that I call, “Streak Basketball Alum.” It is a profile where former Streaks boys and girls basketball players share their memories of their days at GHS as a student and as a player, what they did after high school, and what they are up to today. 

These profiles are one of the most popular things on my blog. People love looking at these memories and finding out what the players are up to today. 

The Coaches’ Corner: Coming Out of Time Out on Defense

Coach Bob Anderson- Williamsfield

Coming out of a time out and you are on defense. Here are some things to think about:

Inside the Huddle: Shooting in Practice

SHOOTING IN PRACTICE

Coaches share some of the things they do to work on shooting during the season. 

Streaks Basketball Alum: Bryan Trent 1978

When did you graduate from GHS?

Graduated in 1978.

1954 Illinois Basketball State Tourney

 

Streaks Basketball Alum: Greg “Peach” Johnson 1975

What was your favorite class (classes), favorite teacher (teachers)?

I enjoyed Biology class with Mr Browning he made class very interesting! Second class I enjoyed was singing for Mr Hegg throughout my high school career and I really enjoyed drivers education with Mr Hickey & PE class was probably the most enjoyable with Mr. Fish!

Bringing Time Outs into Practices

None of us as coaches like the idea of stopping practice. We have probably all experienced the time that we were having a great practice with high energy, and as coach we stopped practice to give a 3-4 minute explanation or we stopped to shoot free throws for 10 minutes. When we got going again, the energy was gone. 

I am not an advocate of doing a lot of stopping during practice, but as coaches we need to practice handling time outs, pre-game scout, and half-time messages. I have four ideas on how to get your teams ready to handle these game situations with a minimum of interruption.

1957 Galesburg: When Ernie and Duster Had Coffee at the Hotel Custer

1956-1957 Silver Streaks

Galesburg basketball has been involved in many games thru the years that could be labeled as “classics.” 

1931- Galesburg’s 4 OT win over Johnson City in State Semi-Finals

1935- Galesburg’s win on opening night at Steele vs eventual State Champ- Springfield

1956- Galesburg’s double-OT loss to Rockford West in Super-Sectional

1957- Galesburg’s slow down win over Rock Island

1964- Galesburg’s loss to Cobden in the Elite 8

1969- Galesburg’s upset of undefeated Proviso East

1976- Galesburg’s OT win over Richwoods

Needless to say, there are many more games that would qualify as being “classics” in both Galesburg boys and girls basketball history. 

Exploring Our Limits- Dr.Terry Orlick

Until 1995, our gym was full of banners for state appearances. They were all boys banners. In 1995, girls basketball put their first banner up. It was a "Sweet 16" banner. The next year, we struggled early. We lost three in a row in one stretch. But the team voiced they wanted to put another banner up. 

We did it! We won the Sectional championship, which meant we could put a banner up. The next day before practice, some players and I were talking. I said, "Isn't it great, we are going to put up a banner." Jennifer Bulkeley interrupted the conversation with a simple statement, "We haven't decided what this one is going to say yet." Her message was simple and powerful- we can do more!

It is a message all of us need to be reminded of. Individually it can be the player who sets a goal of being a starter, instead of a goal of being All-Conference or All-State. It can be that freshmen or sophomore who thinks I can't start or be a regular on the varsity next year, but wait until I am a senior. We don't challenge ourselves. We don't recognize until it is too late that we are capable of more than we realize.

Years ago I got a book entitled "The Pursuit of Excellence" by Dr. Terry Orlick. One of his messages was that sometimes in our pursuit of excellence, the biggest obstacle we have to overcome is ourself. Without realizing it, we may not challenge ourselves as much as we should. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Terry Orlick's book:

My personal experiences as a competitive athlete have been rich ones. There have been some memorable highs which remain with me. Some involved achieving personal goals, others involved the sheer joy of being absorbed in the experience. One of my achievement highs was when I first did a quadruple twisting back sommersault on the trampoline. Some might say-- so what? Who cares if you can spin your body around in the air four times before coming down? What difference does it make?

John Wooden- 7 Point Creed

1- BE TRUE TO YOURSELF-  Your integrity begins with you. If you are not true to yourself, how can you be true to others?

2- HELP OTHERS- Your true happiness comes from giving not from getting. It's the basic precept of all great religions- the Golden Rule.

Wooden's Two Sets of Three

John Wooden was given the following,”Two Sets of Three” by his father.

Massey Quiz #17- Galesburg Streets

Today’s quiz is looking at streets in Galesburg. The quiz is designed to celebrate how wonderful Galesburg is, and test your knowledge of our community. Enjoy and have fun!!

The answers are at the end of the quiz. Keep track of your score and read exactly what your score indicates. If you would like- share your score on the Facebook or Massey Blog under the comments. 

Galesburg HS Girls Sports: Competing for Opportunity, Equality, and Championships

Coach Clara Cypreanson

Question #1: Who was the coach of the first Galesburg High School girls team? 

Answer: Clara Cypreanson

For those of you who may be thinking my quizzes are getting too easy, I bet that question would calm you down. Who got the answer correct? Nobody would have guessed Clara Cypreanson. Coach Cypreanson was the coach of the 1935 girls tennis team. 

Streaks Basketball Alum: Casey Piggee 1981

What were your favorite classes/teachers at GHS?

My favorite  class was high school  physical  education because  it introduced  me to so many different  sports.  All my  teachers had a positive  influence in my life to where I knew i wanted to teach and impact  young lives.  

HOF Insights: Bringing Some Juice to Practice

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION- ”My practices are not what I want them to be, we seem flat.” What tips or little secrets would you give them to up their practices? What questions should the coach ask about them as a coach and how they are in practice? Would you have a list of- “look at the following things?”

Inside the Huddle: Conditioning in Practice

CONDITIONING

All of us probably have told our players in the pre-season that we will be in better shape than our opponents. In the 2-3 weeks before you play a game, what do you do in practice to condition your players? Are there ways when you are running drills that you make a special effort to include conditioning? Do you do any “old-school” conditioning in your practicing?

Streaks Basketball Alums: Megan Pacheco Szalo 2000

What were your favorite classes/teachers at GHS?

My favorite classes were PE with Mr. Peck and Outdoor Living! 

Two Minute Drills: Establishing Practice Tempo with Skill Development

All of us look for ways to make our practices intense. We want the players to bring energy in drills and energy moving from one thing to another. We want practice to be “crisp.” 

To have intense practices with high energy, we need to have our coaches in that same mindset- not just the players. 

A way to try to get both players and coaches in this high energy mindset, is doing “Two Minute Drills,” early in our practice.

For us, we had three coaches. Each coach is going to be assigned a specific skill. We had a defense station, a finishing station, and a first step station. You could pick out whatever you wanted to use. 

I picked out very basic, but important skills to build. I picked 3-4 variations for each station- so we didn’t do the same thing daily, but they quickly developed familiarity with what was going to happen. 

1951-1973- Knox College Men’s Basketball Teams

These are newspaper pictures from Tom Wilson’s scrapbook. It includes pictures of:

1951- Coach Downing, Jack Pacey, Bill Dredge, Kenny Lundeen, and Dean Hill, Ivan Harlan.

1956- Coach Frank Adams, Joe LaGuess.

1957- Coach Frank Adams, John Liston, Dick Pierson.

1958- Coach Frank Adams, Bill Graning, Dick Pierson.

1959- Coach Frank Adams, Bill Graning, Dick Pierson, Chuck Davis.

1960- Coach Frank Adams, Bill Graning, Bobby Hoffman, Chuck Davis.

1962- Coach Harley Knosher, Jeff Sandburg, Otis Cowan

1963- Coach Harley Knosher, Otis Cowan, Jeff Sandburg, Ed Havens

1971- Coach Harley Knosher, Mike Panther, Dave Wood

1972- Coach Harley Knosher, Jim Wetherbee, Dave Wood, Rod Christy, Evan Massey

1985 Illinois Girls A State Tourney

Ted Lasso- He Can Coach- Part II

Ted Lasso show is very funny and very entertaining, but the guy knows coaching. Lots of great players and coaches agree with him.