Oct. 23, 2008
The first day of official practice was last Friday, where we scrimmaged each other, and then our gold squad team. We are really excited about this upcoming season, especially Jacqua and I because it’s our senior season. A few of our freshmen really stepped up and showed how they can help us this year. It’s different for me this year because I am expected to lead my team on and off the court, which is a great responsibility. We had two-a-days this past Saturday and Sunday, and I think that as a whole, the team really stepped up to the plate and made it a good weekend, making the seniors’ jobs a little more easy to handle. We had to endure early morning practices and times when we were so tired and wanted to rest, and keep ourselves, as well as each other, energized and focused. This isn’t an easy thing to do, but I feel like everyone played their part and we got off to a great start to the season.
Coach Joseph continuously stresses holding ourselves, as well as each other, accountable for what we each do in practice and how we conduct ourselves on and off the court. We can’t wait for someone else to pick us up, we have to pick ourselves up and help someone else out along the way who may be struggling that day. Each person is responsible for bringing energy to practice, and I commend our team, especially our freshmen, because they seem to have gotten on board very quick, making our practices more efficient and enjoyable. Our goal this year is to make it to the “Sweet Sixteen”. A lot of people feel that we are too young and that we need time to rebuild from the senior class that we just lost. However, we know what we can, and will, bring to the plate this season and that we are going to surprise a lot of people. It’s not about your age or experience, it’s about the heart that you bring when you play, and we have a lot of people who bring that to the team.
Academically, I think that the team as a whole, especially because the majority of the team are freshmen and sophomores, are still adapting to how stressful being a Tech student and a Division I athlete can be. I can speak from experience by saying that each year, adjusting to the workload gets easier to handle because you learn how to manage your time better. I plan on graduating in the spring with a BS in Management. Hopefully I can return to school that same summer and work on finishing my Civil degree here at Tech as well. The real world is approaching me fast, so I am just enjoying my remaining time as a student-athlete before I have to officially become a working woman and a Georgia Tech women’s basketball alumnus.
GO JACKETS
