Wednesday, December 30, 2009

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