California Dreamin'

The Dartmouth women’s basketball team is embarking on a West-coast swing right before the holidays. The Big Green will be playing Long Beach State (Dec. 16) and then traveling north to take on California on Dec. 20. The team has some fun activities planned during its California trip and sophomore Nicola Zimmer is going to give you all some “behind-the scenes” action!

 

Hello from CALI! It's awesome to escape the Hanover weather for a bit, and Janelle, Milica, and Eve are especially excited to be back in their home state.  We're playing two great teams in the next week, and we've got a lot of cool things planned for our down time.  While Jessica keeps tabs on the games, I'll be updating you all on some of our off-the-court activities.

Our flight landed at LAX last night and we drove straight to the hotel from the airport, so for some of us today was our first real taste of Southern California.  Because practice didn't start until 5pm, Koren kindly hooked us up with a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium.

Hundreds of little kids, probably on some school-wide field trip, welcomed us in the modest lobby of the aquarium. Their presence, and frankly, their screaming, was less than thrilling, and the aquarium suddenly became overcrowded and juvenile (personally, I was just worried the little ones would take the prime viewing spots in front of the shark tank). However, it only took one or two sea-life exhibits before we turned into our ten-year-old selves...baby-talking to the sea otters (Faziah is guilty here), ooing and ahhing at the jelly fish, and enthusiastically calling each other over to look at the one really unfortunate, ugly fish. Ari even met a good friend in one of the tanks.  At the end of the day, our constant camera flashes and non-stop commentary undoubtedly caused more disruption than the kids.

The afternoon was capped off by a big lunch across the street at Bubba Gump's Shrimp, where we showed off our Forrest Gump impersonations (I'd have to say Morgynn, our manager, had it down best) and repeated "life is like a box of chocolates..." way too many times.

The aquarium trip was certainly a success, and practice at Long Beach State later in the day went well.  We are really excited for our game tomorrow night, and now have to rest up so we're ready to go. Thanks for reading; I'll check back in soon!

Nicola

We’re Off!

First things first, let me apologize for our lack of blogging so far this season. We have been so busy since the start of the season that we’ve not blogged in awhile but don’t fear we promise to be better heading into 2012!

It always seems like it takes SOOOO long for the season to actually arrive and then when it does BOOM it comes quick. I’m sure the players feel this but it also extends to coaches, athletic trainers and even athletic communications folks. I tell ya, it seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days to our first game and here we are in the fourth week of the season with seven games under our belt already!

I’m sure you all have been following the team this season and I liken a basketball season to a roller coaster with numerous peaks and a few valleys and we’ve certainly had our share of peaks and valleys so far this season.  Most of you all know that we’re YOUNG. We have two upperclassmen in Sasha Dosenko and Faziah Steen and the rest of our squad is sophomores and freshmen. The grind of a college basketball season is tough for even the most veteran of teams so I’d like to commend our team and coaching staff for taking the season by the horns, young or not.

So far, we’ve had some valleys with tough losses to Kansas State, St. Joseph’s (Pa.), Providence, New Hampshire and Bryant but there have also been some awesome peaks this season. Namely seeing Faziah Steen go bananas against Vermont with a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds against the then-undefeated Catamounts but for me the biggest and best peak has been the progress of the team as a whole.

Our 2-5 record might not accurately reflect it but this team has made some big strides this season. The rookies are beginning to gel with the upperclassmen and the group as a whole is learning how to play better together and within coach Wielgus’ system. It’s always a learning process when you have so many youngsters but for me its been neat seeing them grow together and also individually. We still have a long way to go but I have no doubt that this group will make some noise especially when we get into Ivy League action.

I’d also like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season from the Dartmouth women’s basketball program. We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season and we hope to see you at Leede Arena really soon!

Make sure to stick with our blog this season (we promise to be more regular with it and I promise we’ll get some of the Big Green players to guest blog here soon).

Also stay updated on all things Dartmouth women’s basketball related by following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB) and “liking” us on Facebook (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball). As always leave us any questions or comments and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Happy Holidays,

Jess Poole

It’s Beginning to look a lot Like … Basketball Season!

Well folks, we are officially just NINE days away from the start of the 2011-12 Big Green women’s basketball season. I can’t believe that in just nine short days we’ll FINALLY get on the court against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., aka “The Little Apple” Let’s just say I am one happy SID!

It seems like I just met this group of players and coaches yesterday (well it was, just only about two months ago) but they have grown on me. From the coaches to the players this group gets after it and its great to be around them.  We haven’t really spent too much time together but the first road trip is always the best road trip in my experience.

One can learn quite a bite about a team from that initial roadtrip. For instance, movie selections, choice of card games and seat preference are all good indicators of the group you’re working with.  I’ve heard from an inside source (Nicola Zimmer) that road trips with the Big Green are lots of fun and I’m very excited to experience my first one.

Now when it comes to team travel, I’m a BIG fan of games on the bus. A few of my favorites are Catchphrase and Euchre (I’m very NOT good at this one, but I do enjoy trying to play) but one thing that I LOVE about road trips are the spontaneous dance offs and karaoke.  So I’m just warning you all out there, I do a mean rendition of “I Will Survive” and I learned how to “Dougie” last year, so watch out!

I have to say that there are quite a few things that I love about my job but team travel is right up at the top of the list and I feel like I can count on this group to make each and every road trip pretty exciting.

Getting back to the business of basketball, playing Kansas State has a bit of special significance for me. I spent my college days at the University of Missouri (M-I-Z-Z-O-U) also of the Big 12 and I distinctly remember Kansas State having awesome women’s basketball teams, so it should be a fun game. Plus, it gets me back to my Big 12 roots!

As we embark on the 2011-12 season, I invite you all to follow the blog and stay updated on all things Dartmouth women’s basketball related by following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB) and “liking” us on Facebook (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball). As always leave us any questions or comments and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Until next time,

Jess Poole

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hello Dartmouth women’s basketball fans! First things first, let me introduce myself. My name is Jessica Poole and I’m the new women’s basketball SID here at Dartmouth. I have the pleasure of working with the AWESOME Dartmouth women’s basketball team and staff and let me say, so far, it has been a BLAST.

Let me share a little background about myself, I’m about 713.68 miles away from my hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Dartmouth women’s basketball team is the fourth women’s basketball team that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career. I’ve also worked with the University of Denver, UNC Greensboro and most recently the University of Michigan women’s team.

Needless to say, I am somewhat of a basketball junkie so I think that this group and I are going to get along just fine. Speaking of being a basketball junkie, I have had my eyes glued to the WNBA playoff this season (and not just because coach Griffith presented the trophy at the Western Conference Finals, but that was pretty sweet!) The level of talent in this year’s Finals is just crazy and makes me very excited about the upcoming college season. (36 days until the season-opener at Kansas State:)

I haven’t been at Dartmouth or in Hanover very long, 39 days to be exact, but I do know that the folks at Dartmouth and in Hanover take their women’s basketball very seriously; and honestly who could blame them, 17 Ivy League Championships is quite impressive! I’m very excited to get the season underway and I’m very grateful to Dartmouth and the women’s basketball team for welcoming me with open arms.

I’ll be checking in with you all from time-to-time with the SID’s point of view and we’ll even have some of the Big Green players make guest appearances on the blog this season!

Make sure to keep up with the women’s basketball team by “Liking” our Facebook Page (Dartmouth Women’s Basketball) and following us on Twitter (@Dartmouth_WBB).

Until next time,

Jess Poole

Dreams Can Come True

Dreams Can Come True

Dreams come true at Dartmouth when the vision of the administration and the passion of the alumni join forces. What was once wishful thinking about enhancing the future of the basketball program has been transformed into REALITY.

The locker room has been expanded and (thank goodness) ventilated!! The walls of the team room, reception area and offices are up and painted and the arena itself got a facelift this summer with new lighting, new paint and a new sound system. Leede Arena looks and sounds great and the players and staff will be moving into our new digs in a matter of weeks.

The renovations are awesome and exciting enough, but the icing on my cake is the people that surround me each and everyday. They are a blessing. I have a great staff!!!  Director of Basketball Operations Koren Schram ’09, Assistant Coach Erin Rewalt ’99 TU’04 and basketball legend Yolanda Griffith (WNBA All-Star and Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist) bring passion, enthusiasm, knowledge and energy to work everyday.

Then there are the players. There are a lot of new faces and it will take time to get to know them, but I can’t wait to get into the gym with them.  They love the game and it shows!  So we have a lot in common :)

Finally, there are the alums.  Their passion for Dartmouth is legendary.  They have always been there for me, for the program and for Dartmouth.  They paved the way as undergrads and sustain the program from their perches in the “real world” 

I think its safe to say, I am perhaps the luckiest person in the world because I live my dream each and every day!

Until next time,

Chris

Derby

The Derby

And we are off.  It’s July and basketball’s annual summer recruiting derby has begun.   Out of the gates I am in the southeast (Atlanta and Orlando) and my staff is on the west coast.  We are neck in neck with other division I schools as scour the country for that very special student athlete.

 The track conditions have changed over the years.  Cell phones, computers, iPods, iPads,  GPS and small Star Track type of devices stuck in your ear are now standard derby equipment.  Coaches madly tap messages into their electronically enhanced hand about the latest happening on the “stud du jour.”

Yesterday, I was sitting next to one of division I’s more famous (and needy) coaches.  She could not figure out who was on what court and there was no assistant in sight, so she kept asking me.  I had a small hand made game chart  (on paper) that I had done the night before.  Since I was trying to watch 3 games at once, I had each playing team marked in my book with a colored paper clip.  That way I can just flip to the proper roster via the proper colored paper clip thus avoiding the hassle of going page by page through the enormous and alphabetically challenged roster book. 

After a few game had passed and many questions answered, the famous coach asked me what I was using to keep track of all the games.  I told her I used a pencil and some paperclips.  She thought I was clever and I laughed and said not clever…just not electronically savvy.    She did not know that I had been running in this derby for over 25 years and knew many different track conditions.  Despite all the changes on the track the new ways are not always the better ways.  I gave her some colored paper clips and a pencil.  Then asked her to not tell any other Ivy about my cleverness.

Chris 

Greener Pastures

Dartmouth assistant Leah Foster has been named an Assistant Coach at University of Houston.  U of  H is a top 25 program in TEXAS, a state she loves.  This is a good professional move for Leah and one that puts her closer to her family.

Leah's departure marks the fifth assistant in 6 years to leave the Big Green for even greener pastures.  I am proud that my assistants are able to further their careers.  I will miss Leah, but I am grateful for all she did for us.