The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

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GREETINGS FROM THE CARDINAL NATION and at Lamar Lady Cardinal Basketball, we believe that VICTORY OR DEFEAT IS NOT DETERMINED AT THE MOMENT OF CRISIS, BUT RATHER IN THE LONG AND UNSPECTACULAR PERIOD OF PREPARATION!! And prepare, we do!! Many long and countless hours of watching video / tape by both the assistant coaches and players is a necessary element to being ready to play our opponent and neither group has blinked an eye when instructed to do so.

Coaches Sondra Ancelot, Joey Wells, and Janet Eaton all have scouting report duties and all come to the table at our coaches meetings with a wealth of information as we prepare our game plan for the next game.

Likewise, our players have the WILL TO PREPARE thru watching tape / video and it has made a huge difference in their performance on the court as they know the "tendencies" of their opponent on both ends of the floor.

And, alot of that work ethic comes from our captains, Ashley Crawford, Nikki Williams, Emily Spickler, and Agnija Reke as they provide the leadership that makes a difference in winning or losing a close game.

Good job guys!! You make my job alot easier with your passion for the game!! THE MEASURE OF WHO WE ARE IS WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE!!

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SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE play has begun its third week and your LADY CARDINALS are a spotless 3 / 0 with two big homes games coming up this week against Central Arkansas and Northwestern State.

UTA and TEXAS STATE currently lead the league with 4 / 0 marks as LAMAR and A/M CORPUS CHRISTI follow with no losses in 3 games.

Your LADY CARDINALS lead the East Division but a much improved MCNEESE STATE team is close behind at 2 / 1.

For more information go to our website at www.lamarcardinals.com and always listen to our games via audio streaming with the excitable Drew Lacy providing play by play.

Lacy has garnered state wide recognition for his excellent " call of the game " and he is much appreciated by the LADY CARDINAL BASKETBALL staff for his efforts!! OVERWHELM THEM WITH YOUR ENERGY is what Pat Riley told the Miami Heat when they were down 0 / 2 to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals two years ago, and THEY DID!! This is the kind of energy that we get from Drew on our audio streaming broadcasts.!!

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LIFE IS LIKE A GAME OF BASKETBALL and this was proven to me by assistant Coach Joey Wells in one of his famous motivational hand-outs this past week!! Do not know the author but it sure made alot of sense!! It goes: TIP OFF - everyone starts out with the same opportunities; TIME OUT - is a chance to get new ideas from a person that you respect.

It is an opportunity to re-group and to work together as a team; FAST BREAK - the opportunity to get ahead; 3 POINT SHOT - ability to achieve long range goals; JUMP SHOT - the skill to rise above adversity; REBOUND - there is always a second chance opportunity; FREE THROW - dealing with life's everyday situations, one step at a time; BALL HANDLING - the strength and knowledge to overcome obstacles that may stand in your way!! REMEMBER, OUR ATTITUDE AND EFFORT NOT ONLY SHOWS ON THE COURT, BUT ALSO IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE AS WELL!!

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GOOD GUARDS are essential if you ever want to have a championship season!! Having dominate post players is always nice, but if you do not have someone to " deliver the mail to the mail box" then it is just a matter of time before the losses outnumber the wins!! At LAMAR, we have some really GOOD GUARDS that understand the game and understand the purpose of our game plan!! This is what we try to teach: 1.) Get your team into their offense, 2.) Know how to attack all kinds of pressure, 3.) Know when and how to feed the post, 4.) Create thru dribble penetration from the top, wing, or baseline areas of the floor, 5.) Make good decisions - VITAL for success, 6.) Be able to knock down the open jump shot, 7.) Have great footwork and be ready to use it, 8.) Defend the dribble, 9.) Run the show, and 10.) Be very, very coachable in practice and in games!! IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO SCORES THE POINTS, IT'S WHO CAN GET THE BALL TO THE SCORER and that quote is from one of the best players ever to play the game, Larry Bird!!

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SPECIAL THANKS go to many, many people at Lamar for the success that we are currently having with the LADY CARDINAL BASKETBALL team, and that includes the kingdoms of administration, marketing, sports medicine, sports information, maintenance, fellow coaches of all sports, etc.

And, all are vitally important.

But, one that you might not know about is our video coordinator Clint Burges.

Clint is in charge of making sure all of our games and practices are video taped and, done so in a professional manner.

Clint makes sure we have the latest game footage on all of our upcoming opponents so we can prepare a game plan while also providing the knowledge to get our games uploaded onto the Southland Conference scouting website to adhere to those rules.

Good job Clint, much appreciated!! THERE IS NEVER A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE EXTRA MILE!!

..... IN CLOSING, I will leave you with the words of one of my high school coaches that made a lasting impact on my life, BILLY ED NANCE, because I wanted to be like him when I grew up - yes, it is amazing that we as COACHES can and do MAKE A DIFFERENCE in young people's lives and we sometimes do not even realize that we are doing it - when he emphasized to myself and our high school team over and over again - IT TAKES NO TALENT TO HUSTLE!! That saying has stuck with me all of my life and has always been a huge part of my coaching philosophy as I believe NOTHING GREAT IS EVER ACHIEVED WITHOUT ENTHUSIASM, compliments of Henry David Thoreau!!

P - G - 2-2-0 , THINK RED, THINK LAMAR!!