A Season for Change

October 15

Along with all of the other NCAA Division III basketball programs nationwide, Vassar women’s basketball begins its season every year on October 15th. This year, I realized, that is about the only thing that won’t be changing for my teammates and I. With Luke Ruppel, the new head coach, Summer Quesenberry, the new assistant coach as well as some new teammates, I found myself not knowing what to expect when 6 o’clock practice rolled around today.

But as soon as my teammates and I stepped onto the floor, I knew exactly what to expect. The positivity, competitiveness, and camaraderie that players and coaches alike brought to each drill really impressed me, and I instantly knew that this season was going to be a special one.

We began practice with a dynamic warm up and then moved into skill work. Ball handling was first, and we followed that with a 30 minute full court dribbling drill that required us to make a single move three times each way down the court, twice on each side, and there were six moves. With our roster being relatively small this year, there were no lines, so the drill was continuous. We were all beyond tired, especially in the second half of the drill, but we persevered by continuously cheering each other on to keep our mind off of our shortness of breath and sore legs. It was at this point when I realized what a great team dynamic we have, and this is just the first day of the actual season. The positive atmosphere continued into shooting drills, the defensive shell drill, and practice-ending sprints.

I walked back into the locker room with my teammates feeling very optimistic about the practice and the season ahead. As I walked in, I looked on the white board and saw the ‘quote of the day’ that will be posted before each practice. Today’s was from Jimmy Valvano: “Think of where you were, where you are now, and where you want to be.” We haven’t decided where we want to be as a team yet, but by the looks of the first practice of the 2008 season, the bar is going to be set high. Change for Vassar women’s basketball is definitely on the way, and I for one, am very excited about it.