Community Service - A staple in our program...

Once again around the New Year, we were able to travel to Lima South Middle school and conduct a basketball clinic with the 7th and 8th grade teams. This is our chance as a team and program to give back to our community through the game that has given our players so many opportunities. We have worked in this partnership with Lima South for the last 4 years, and each year, we are reminded how great it is to help someone else, especially with the game of basketball! We have our players put together the plan for the clinic and implement the skills, drills, and games. Each member is responsible for doing her share to make the event a success. I was really proud of our team for working so well together on this project, but most importantly, for working so well with these middle schoolers. Everyone had a great time and a lot of laughs!

Erin Waehner, Jo Snyder and Kara Dysert work some ball handling drills (above)

Left, Steph Hicks had the passing drills down, and Katie Jones, Heather Armbruster and Britt Schroeder offer some guidance.

Above, we are getting ready for some full court ball handling, while below, Britt Bogart cheers on her basket, along with Lauren Cassell and Allie Drewes and Kara Dysert during the lay-up competition (s).

This was my favorite part of the morning as it required our team to actually demonstrate a proper defensive stance...below, our middle schoolers get a little appreciation of the effort involved in staying low!

After our session is over, we answer questions as a team. Here, Coach Durand offers insight into our program and what it takes to be successful in college. Our basketball team did an excellent job representing Ohio Northern University, and our Women's Basketball program. I believe our team are excellent role models to these youngsters.

Our staff has maintained this relationship with Lima South Middle school because we believe in community service. And, we believe that it's a win-win situation. Our players also get a whole lot from this experience too. When it's all said and done, there are a lot of laughs and an appreciation of a game that can always bring people together.

All Smiles....Lima South Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Girls Basketball and Ohio Northern University Women's Basketball

Holiday Happenings for the Polar Bears...

We are back into basketball mode after a nice break following our Defiance home victory on December 22nd. We came back to campus on Sunday, December 27th to prepare for 2 tough non-league games this week against Adrian and Wittenberg. It's been nice to focus on basketball as well as enjoy time together as a team. One annual event we do over the Holiday break is our basketball Christmas party....this year's theme for the Dirty Santa game was to find a gift which starts with the letter "N." There was some creativity. Below Brooke Hayden shows off the New Balance shoes (signed by Men's Basketball Coach John Rhodes) that Kara Dysert contributed as her "N" gift...needless to say Brooke was not all that happy about her gift, nor did anyone feel the need to "steal" it from her as the game went on!

Some more pics from our party... Jo Snyder, Steph Hicks, Erin Waehner and Brooke Hayden (below)

Above: Jeanne Bockey, Katie Mengos and Morgan Dumbaugh
Below: Lauren Cassell and Brittany Schroeder

Team shot above...Overall, there was really good food and a whole lots of laughs. In fact, the ladies wanted me to display a picture of the gift I received during the game on this blog posting... And, well, it's best that I refrain :) I think I won't live that down for awhile! Happy Holidays!! ~ Coach Terrell

TOP 5 FALL QUARTER GPA

Fall quarter GPA's are in - Congrats to OUR TOP POLAR BEARS:

1. Brooke Hayden
4.0 GPA
Engineering

2. Joanna Snyder
4.0 GPA
Math Education

3. Katie Mengos
3.72 GPA
Pharmacy

4. Stephanie Hicks
3.52 GPA
Chemistry



CONGRATULATIONS LADIES !!!

Turkey Day Reflections

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY REFLECTIONS....

For as long as I can remember, my family has always got together at my grandma's for Thanksgiving dinner.
I am very thankful for my family, friends, being able to continue my basketball passion, and of course my dog, Jake :)

Jeanne Bockey

Junior

Education Major

Team Potluck 2009 - Kick off to our Season!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I am way behind on blog updates, so now that I have some time to breathe this Thanksgiving break, I am going to get everyone caught up to speed on women's basketball happenings!

Who are some of these faces? I was able to snag a few family shots...

top right: Caroline, Joanna, Laura & Ed Snyder.

bottom right: Margret, Lauren & Jeff Cassell.

bottom left: Brittany and Dave Bogart.

These pics are from November 7th's family potluck. Every fall before we kick off our season we invite all friends and family of our program to our Black and Orange day potluck. This event accomplishes several things. First, it's a chance for Coach Durand to go over program expectations. This is important as it keeps everyone on the same page. Secondly, it's a chance for our families to be together (see a few of the lucky mug shots above!)With this being said, our parents have a chance to get to know other families in the program. This was exceptionally important this year because we have soooo many new people in the program! Finally, it's a chance to eat really good food - especially the dessert portion of the table. Thanks to all of our parents who helped make this event happen!

Sophomore Spotlight - Captain Kara Dysert

Hello. My name is Kara Dysert. I am writing to give you a little background about me, my family and experiences, and why I am Ohio Northern.

My parents are Ken and Bridgette Dysert. My dad graduated from Ada High School where he played basketball. He is the Lima city President for Citizens National Bank. My mom is from Indianapolis. She is a social worker at St. Rita's Medical Center. I have a younger brother named Brandon who is a student at Rhodes State College. My family moved to Ada the summer before my freshman year.

I graduated from Ada High School in 2008. I feel that my greatest accomplishment academically in high school was graduating with a 3.98 GPA-I had one B in four years. My greatest accomplishment in sports was breaking the all time rebounding record my senior year. I am especially proud of this because my dad holds the rebounding record for the boys and my goal was always to bypass his mark. I am also the second leading scorer at Ada. I was the first for awhile until Morgan Dumbaugh (my teammate now) broke my record her senior year. I received numerous awards in high school-the best being named 3rd Team All Ohio my junior year.

Playing college basketball has always been a goal of mine. I visited several schools throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan before deciding on ONU. I chose ONU because of its academic reputation, small class sizes, and because I wanted the opportunity to play in the fiercest DIII conference in the country, the OAC! Also, my parents have been my biggest supporters and it was important to me that they be able to watch me play. My first year at ONU was a learning experience. I think the game is a lot faster and way more physical. I also had to learn how to balance my time so I could maintain my grades and still give it my best in basketball. We were a young team but had several highlights like key wins over Capital and BW last year. I was also named OAC Freshman of the Year. This season, I want us to place at the top of the conference. We definitely have the players to do so. We are even younger than last year, but we are so motivated, competitive, aggressive and UNITED! We are the POLAR BEAR NATION!

When I'm not studying, practicing or working, I like to hang out with my friends, watch movies and sleep. One thing that some people might not know about me is that my nick name is "Bear". How fitting for an ONU Polar Bear! I have been called this ever since I can remember. I have a huge collection of stuffed bears. My favorite one is an old brown one with a mis-shapen head and faded fur named..."Bear"! He has attended every basketball game I have ever played in from 4th grade through my first year at ONU. .

Academics - our first priority!

ONU was once again rated by the US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT as one of the premier institutions in the Midwest. This distinction is certainly impressive, and with the women's basketball program, we pride ourselves on living up to the expectation of excellence. Academic success is our program pillar, and as a staff, we have put together a game plan to achieve our goal of a 3.2 Team GPA every quarter. This is what we call our ACADEMIC MENTORING PLAN:

Here's how it works:
1. All new persons in the program are assigned a coach (Coach Durand or Coach Terrell).

• This person meets with that coach every other Friday during fall quarter (5x on a 10 week quarter). These meetings involve checking planners, going through course syllabi, talking about the transition to our university as well as problem solving for areas that might be causing the student-athlete trouble. It's a great opportunity to offset potential problems, but it also gets the athlete in the office to talk with coaches! Typically, our new people start off quiet - that does not last long though :)

2. All new persons in the program are assigned a PEER mentor within the program:

• We partner new people with a veteran in the same major or a like major. This is their "peer mentor." That mentor is responsible for that person - they have to set up distinct study times for the week based on arranging schedules. We ask that they get 4 hours of time together a week (2-2hour blocks)
• We put them with a peer because of 2 reasons - first, that person has gone through what that new person is going to experience, especially in the like major, and secondly, it makes that mentor take on leadership responsibility. They are responsible for reporting to the coaching staff any concerns, the days that they are meeting, etc. This is a great way as a team to emphasize that we are all in this together and it's our responsibility to each other to make sure we are being the best students we can be.

3. We do grade checks/reports that go to faculty 2x / quarter

Having this game plan and implementing it consistently has brought us success academically. We are proud of our 100% graduation rate, but we are also proud to be leaders in the classroom on campus. It's expected to always be the best in everything we do. Typically, we don't have too many issues - our students come in with high expectations of themselves to achieve academic success. But, from the coaching staff standpoint, we make sure we are all on the same page about our priorities.

From our Spring Quarter (2009) our top 3 GPA student-athletes were:

Ericka Holcomb - Business / Psychology Major









Heather Armbruster, Pharmacy

Stephanie Hicks, Chemistry

A few retreat pics...

Here they are! Sophia from the Golden Girls is also an honorary member...I am so excited to know that Jess Armintrout loves the Golden Girls - reruns of this show are the best!

Katie Jones and Jeanne Bockey are working on a team activity above while Liz DePalma shows off the golf grabber she borrowed from her Grandmother's golf bag...seems strange, however, we voted to make that our team symbol for the year. There's a story to it, but she showed off it's ability to grab Megan Porter's Ipod here

Britt Bogart and Megan Porter working on team activitiese while the grilling team (Kara Dysert, Allie Drewes, Brooke Hayden & minus I am told Lauren Cassell who was busy taking the grill orders) work to get the burgers and dogs cooked - we will continue to refine our grill skills, but we all survived Kara Dysert as the honorary Grill Master....

Team discussions were centered around our summer reading assignment, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team," by Patrick Lencioni - it's a great read for any organization and I highly recommend it! Here our teams work to come up with some ground rules we will use for our organization this upcoming year

Here she is...Natti the wonder dog with the face that can work a crowd...here, she bellies up to the bar and scams popcorn and chips from this spot, then worked her way around the basement during the game for other treats!







Below is a shot of the projection system in the Dumbaugh's basement - Tressel and the Bucks were not as fortunate as Natti was but we enjoyed hanging out and watching the game together

The key to our team is through their stomachs! Amy and Neal Dumbaugh cooked up a terrific breakfast Sunday to send us on our way - thanks!

Team Retreat 2009

Follow Through!

There it is - the mantra for the year for ONU Women's Basketball....it stemmed from great discussions this past weekend about accountability and what that word means for our team this year. Our team certainly has some key returners, but honestly, there are 11 new faces to our program- wow! Lots of getting to know each is in the works! So, this weekend was a start and we all agreed that building trust will take some time as we all get to know each other better, but that living up to this mantra will be the cornerstone for our success this year...

Our team retreat this year was at Morgan Dumbaugh's family's house - what a treat! They have a beautiful house, lots of space, and perhaps, the highlight to all of us dog lovers- Natti, the wonderdog. She knew how to work the system for food (see the pic of Nattie bellied up to the table for popcorn and chips!) Anyway, we are thankful to have the opportunity to crash there for the night. Those folks that are Ohio State Buckeye fans especially appreciated the opportunity to watch the game on the huge projection system - it was amazing! Still did not change the outcome, of course, but remember, you could be a Michigan State Spartan fan -ugh! (is it basketball season yet?) :)

Although we are in the very initial stages, the time spent with our team was revealing. I learned several items -perhaps most noteably is that Kara Dysert needs to work on her grilling skills-but in all seriousness, that our team is hungry for success...that they have expectations, not excuses....that they are ready to make a name for themselves and our program...that they recognize what makes a team functional versus dysfunctional and are willing to do what it takes to not make it the later... I can't tell you how happy that makes a coach! I believe I learned a lot, that of course I still have more to learn, but that most importantly, this bunch will be the group that will follow through! Get it girl!

Coach Terrell

2009 Fundamental Camp

Camp season has come and gone and we all survived! Our team did an exceptional job instructing our campers - in fact, both Coach Durand and I agree that our counselors were the best group we have ever had in the 5 years we have been running our camp! They were diligent, positive, and served as terrific role models! As coaches, we love having our team back, especially for our incoming freshmen. For them, it gives them an opportunity to be on campus more, mix with our returning players, and really, begin to relax and come out of their shell a little! We are still working on a few, though :) But, it has served as a great opportunity for our team to be together and blend together which is most important! We are so excited about the people we have in our program that camp made us want to get started right away! But, summer break is certainly needed and we know our team is working hard at achieving their personal and team goals for the summer! In fact, I am confident many of our players will do the "chill drill," brought to us by top-notch Riverdale High School Coach Maryann Holderman (above center). She was a guest speaker again for us this year, and as always, did an exceptional job detailing what it takes to succeed in basketball as well as providing some key fundamental drills for any level...every year she shows us a new drill or two which I love!

Here's a few more pics from camp- Morgan Dumbaugh, my apologies as I did not get a good shot of you :) Above and left, one of our now two 'Katies' on the team - Freshman Katie Jones (Gibsonburg HS) instructs her Michigan Wolverines team. Her team gave it their all, but like Henton's Purdue team, their shining moment came a the Mock Olympics! Above and to the right, Captain Britt Bogart, or otherwise known as the coach of the MSU spartans (along with the only Michigan native (besides me )of Allie Drewes (further down).

Left, Captain Heather Armbruster instructing. In her spare time, she is working on the Ab Ripper from P90X - whew , along with her ball handling skills - she's got a handle on the ball besides the fact that she is a lethal shooter!

Above right - Megan Porter's Minnesota Golden Gophers were tough to stop all week - until she met her fate against Dysert's OSU Buckeyes! Megan is always all smiles!

Left - our only Indiana native, Ericka Holcomb appropriately coached the Indiana Hoosiers with Morgan Dumbaugh (Ada, OH).

Above right - Lauren Cassell is helping teach the backdoor cut. Lauren was our ballhandling demonstrator along with teammates Heather Armbruster and Katie Mengos - great job with those demos!

Left- Kara Dysert (a.k.a. Dessert) takes her Buckeyes through some shooting work. She, along with Heather, are going to be benchmarks of how to survive P90x :)

Above and right, Steph Hicks had the best team in the WNBA division in her Houston comets, defeating Lauren Cassell's team's pretty substaintially in the championship game - we shall keep the score off the blog. Plain and simply, Hicks team was amazing - was it the coaching? Hmm...

And, onto some new persons to the program! Allie Drewes, a native of Michigan and co-coach with Britt Bogart's MSU Spartans, works on some passing. Allie is our project to get to speak more :) Someday that statement will haunt me!

Below, Alexis Henton (North Olmstead Falls HS) is trying to get her team's attention - her Purdue team held their own for the most part throughout the week, but perhaps had their best outing at the Mock Olympics!

Left, Joanna Synder (Fort Recovery HS) shows off her passing form while our second Katie - Katie Mengos (Miami East) provides some key 1-on-1 teaching moments. Missing from the camp pictures, Morgan Dumbaugh- sorry!


Ladies, thanks for an excellent camp and for those who worked our shoot-out-- thank you too!

As always, it's a great time to be a Polar Bear!

Coach Terrell

Run for the Roses Cystic Fibrosis Charity Event

(left - pre run; above - after!)

On Sunday, May 3rd, we participated in ONU's first annual Run for the Roses Cystic Fibrosis Charity event as a team. The event was put together by our ONU athletic training staff and student athletic trainers in honor of 2 special people from the ONU community who have been affected by this condition. We were happy to give our energy for such a good cause as this. As we try to remind our team, we like to be known for more than women's basketball on campus - it's about service to others, to our campus, and our community. These are pillars in our program mission and philosophy. And, in the case of this event, it was such a candid reminder of what we need to remember - to be grateful on a daily basis for our health and opportunity to participate in athletics. We are definitely on the participant list for 2010 too!

Since then, our spring quarter is officially over - meaning exams and stress! Graduation has come and gone from this past Sunday, and now Coach Durand and I are getting ready for our Girls fundamental camp and HS team shootout in June. Time really does fly! But it will be good to see our athletes again in a few weeks. It's always strange when it winds down for the year to not have them in and out of the office! Until the next one, take care!

~Coach Terrell