Whew! The 2009 season is here! We had our first day of practice today and it went very well. I found it fairly easy to create excitement today considering the accomplishments of last year's team. Today we took care of a lot of "housekeeping" stuff - checking out practice gear, lockers, going over practice expectations, etc., but we also did a few skills and the focus was very good and we got better today. I'm always looking for 1% improvement each day - if each player can improve just 1% each day, we're on our way to where we want to be.
Today we talked about last spring - as coaches, we decided (with some advice from a University of Michigan asst. coach) that we needed to talk about the accomplishments of last year - not live them, but remember them. We defined success today and used John Wooden to help us do it. As a group we defined success as the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you did the very best you could to become the best that you are capable of becoming. We talked about one of the cornerstones of our program - working the process and letting the end result take care of itself.
Piece by piece we will work on putting the puzzle back together this year - different players, a couple different coaches, a different floor in our gym, but the same philosophies and values that have gotten us to this point. We're not going to try to defend our title this year - we're just going to try to win another one.
Hit 'em hard, run 60 feet, and turn left!
Coach Huntington
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Making History
I excited and proud to be able to witness such an historical event today - the Inauguration of the first African American President of the United States of America. I will be watching coverage on television - I'm not lucky enough to actually BE there, but what an inspiring and emotional moment in the history of our nation. I hope all Americans can appreciate what is taking place today regardless of political party - I have one word to describe it, although we still have so far to go - but that word is PROGRESS.
Carpe' diem!
Coach Huntington
Carpe' diem!
Coach Huntington
Monday, January 12, 2009
Facebook, revisited
I just joined the Group, Blugold Softball Alumni, on Facebook. WOW! There are a bunch of former players in the group already! It's exciting to see so many! I'm hoping this is going to be a real key for us to keep in touch with alumnae in the future. Thanks go out to Jill Janke, one of my student coaches, for getting the group up and running and to Mallory McKinney, another student coach, for adding some photos. I'd love to see more of that!
The weather this week is certainly NOT conducive to softball, as it will be -10 for a HIGH later this week! BRRRRRR!!!!! is all I can say! There are better days ahead!
Only 13 days 'til practice starts!
Coach Huntington
The weather this week is certainly NOT conducive to softball, as it will be -10 for a HIGH later this week! BRRRRRR!!!!! is all I can say! There are better days ahead!
Only 13 days 'til practice starts!
Coach Huntington
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Forgot to mention in last night's post that I now have a Facebook account. It's a little intimidating, but I'm using it for staying in touch with UWEC alumnae, as well as finding my old classmates from my high school and Buena Vista. It's amazing how many people I've reconnected with in less than a week! I'm still a little hesitant with it, but used the "right" way, I think it's an amazing use of technology!
Hits + runs = victory!
Coach Huntington
Hits + runs = victory!
Coach Huntington
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Belated Happy Holidays!
Hard to believe that the 2008-09 Holiday season has already come and gone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! It was a fun Christmas, as my nephews are now 7 (Cauy) and 5 (Tyler). The "big gift" this year was Nintendo Wii. I received the Rock Band World Tour for the Wii and it was played a lot right out of the box. My nephews became very skilled quickly as they played the Beginner level where all they had to do was either strum the guitar or bang on the drums - colors don't matter in Beginner mode - PERFECT for the young ones! My brother's family is very musically gifted, and it was HILARIOUS to watch Tyler on the drums, as he paid no attention to the bars on the TV but still managed to follow the beat. He's going to be a rock star, I'm sure of it! We enjoyed Christmas day at my parents' house here in Eau Claire and finished it off with the movie Wall-E, which I had never heard of before Christmas Day, but my nephews were experts on it already! It was an interesting, peculiar movie and although I liked it, I did manage to fall asleep with about 15 minutes left. :) It's tough keeping up with 2 nephews!
We are now working diligently on our annual planning for the season. We are in our Winterim right now at the University, so it's prime preparation time for spring. Needless to say, we are extremely excited about the season and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead. AND we are looking forward to less back and leg pain due to our new wood floor in the McPhee Center!!! The old tartan stuff was a killer after a couple hours of practice.
We are making a lot of progress in our planning for our 25th Anniversary alumni event in April. We are looking forward to making this a great alumni event, and something for everyone to remember. The social/dinner is going to be held at the Quality Inn on Clairemont Ave. across from Sacred Heart Hospital, and they will have a block of rooms for alumni as well, at a great rate of $49.95 per night. We will be getting RSVP cards out by mid-February, so if you are an alum, look for it in the mail. We'll have something online as well, so in case we don't have your current address, you can still find the information.
Go Blugolds!
Coach Huntington
We are now working diligently on our annual planning for the season. We are in our Winterim right now at the University, so it's prime preparation time for spring. Needless to say, we are extremely excited about the season and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead. AND we are looking forward to less back and leg pain due to our new wood floor in the McPhee Center!!! The old tartan stuff was a killer after a couple hours of practice.
We are making a lot of progress in our planning for our 25th Anniversary alumni event in April. We are looking forward to making this a great alumni event, and something for everyone to remember. The social/dinner is going to be held at the Quality Inn on Clairemont Ave. across from Sacred Heart Hospital, and they will have a block of rooms for alumni as well, at a great rate of $49.95 per night. We will be getting RSVP cards out by mid-February, so if you are an alum, look for it in the mail. We'll have something online as well, so in case we don't have your current address, you can still find the information.
Go Blugolds!
Coach Huntington
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
I need to stay on top of this!
Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted - I really DO need to do a better job of this! As the Senior Women's Administrator for the Blugold Athletic Department, my focus during the "off season" shifts somewhat to more administrative responsibilities, so I guess I could use that as an excuse, if I were into making excuses. But I'm not really into that, so I'll just admit that I've dropped the ball a bit and move on......
Since my last post, the Blugolds have been busy with a lot of "off season" things - on Saturday, October 25th, some of the players participated in community service by helping with the tear down of Eau Claire Women Rock, an event that is held to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. That is a cause that is near and dear to the hearts of Blugold Fastpitch, as assistant coach, Robin Baker's mother is a survivor. We are planning a Breast Cancer Awareness event associated with one of our games in the spring as well. Our volleyball team held a special event during one of their games this fall to help with raising money for Breast Cancer and they raised over $6,000! Kudos to Blugold Volleyball!
On October 26th some of our players attended the Blugold Marching Band concert, held in Zorn Arena. It was important for us to have representatives there as a "thank you" to the Marching Band. They have been very supportive of Blugold Athletics, so it's important for us to reciprocate that support.
The Blugold Softball Halloween party is always a "hoot" as we anxiously anticipate the costumes that are going to appear. This year was no different as we saw a resurgence of two former players from the 2008 team (although DNA would prove that it wasn't really them), we had Boo from Monsters, Inc., as well as a dresser (as in what you keep your clothes in in your bedroom). When we have team get togethers, the players are all assigned to bring something to eat - and the coaches supply the main course. In the case of the Halloween party, I'm afraid I set a precendent with Buffalo Wild Wings - no one left hungry and "B-dubs" will be the meal of choice in the future!
Other than studying hard as finals week draws near, the team has been out supporting their peers at other sporting events. They were in full force for the WIAC volleyball tournament, joined by athletes from several other sports, giving the Blugolds a great "home court advantage" and tonight they will be supporting the women's basketball team, which includes 2 softball teammates who will don eye black and cleats in the spring (Heidi Arciszewski - senior, and Jess Freagon - freshman). We're all anticipating a great game between the Blugolds and the Knights from St. Norbert!
As I write this I am sitting in "study hall", which we have each semester, one night per week, for 2 hours. Freshmen are required to attend, and then we have other academic requirements that must be met for players to "get out of" study hall after their freshman year. Study hall is supervised by either myself, or asst. coach, Robin Baker. We feel that our players have really benefitted from this opportunity and they actually requested to have study hall during finals week. We do open this opportunity up to anyone who wants to attend also, not just softball players or student-athletes.
I've gotten kind of long-winded tonight, but had a lot to catch up on. Until next time.......
Coach Huntington
Since my last post, the Blugolds have been busy with a lot of "off season" things - on Saturday, October 25th, some of the players participated in community service by helping with the tear down of Eau Claire Women Rock, an event that is held to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. That is a cause that is near and dear to the hearts of Blugold Fastpitch, as assistant coach, Robin Baker's mother is a survivor. We are planning a Breast Cancer Awareness event associated with one of our games in the spring as well. Our volleyball team held a special event during one of their games this fall to help with raising money for Breast Cancer and they raised over $6,000! Kudos to Blugold Volleyball!
On October 26th some of our players attended the Blugold Marching Band concert, held in Zorn Arena. It was important for us to have representatives there as a "thank you" to the Marching Band. They have been very supportive of Blugold Athletics, so it's important for us to reciprocate that support.
The Blugold Softball Halloween party is always a "hoot" as we anxiously anticipate the costumes that are going to appear. This year was no different as we saw a resurgence of two former players from the 2008 team (although DNA would prove that it wasn't really them), we had Boo from Monsters, Inc., as well as a dresser (as in what you keep your clothes in in your bedroom). When we have team get togethers, the players are all assigned to bring something to eat - and the coaches supply the main course. In the case of the Halloween party, I'm afraid I set a precendent with Buffalo Wild Wings - no one left hungry and "B-dubs" will be the meal of choice in the future!
Other than studying hard as finals week draws near, the team has been out supporting their peers at other sporting events. They were in full force for the WIAC volleyball tournament, joined by athletes from several other sports, giving the Blugolds a great "home court advantage" and tonight they will be supporting the women's basketball team, which includes 2 softball teammates who will don eye black and cleats in the spring (Heidi Arciszewski - senior, and Jess Freagon - freshman). We're all anticipating a great game between the Blugolds and the Knights from St. Norbert!
As I write this I am sitting in "study hall", which we have each semester, one night per week, for 2 hours. Freshmen are required to attend, and then we have other academic requirements that must be met for players to "get out of" study hall after their freshman year. Study hall is supervised by either myself, or asst. coach, Robin Baker. We feel that our players have really benefitted from this opportunity and they actually requested to have study hall during finals week. We do open this opportunity up to anyone who wants to attend also, not just softball players or student-athletes.
I've gotten kind of long-winded tonight, but had a lot to catch up on. Until next time.......
Coach Huntington
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Calling all Alumnae!!
We are in the process of planning a GREAT Blugold Fastpitch Alumnae weekend the weekend of April 4-5, 2009. Our players are also in the process of researching their individual jersey number, so many of you will be contacted by a current Blugold in the near future, hopefully by Christmas. They will have a series of questions they'll be asking you relative to your experience as a Blugold Fastpitch player, and UW Eau Claire student. We are looking forward to their reports, which will be completed by our first day of practice on January 26th!
If you are a Blugold Fastpitch alumnae, we ask that you go to our alumnae information form and submit your current contact information, etc., so we can stay in touch with you! That form can be found here: http://www.uwec.edu/athletics/soft/0809/alumni.htm. We are working hard to update our alumnae database in time for the program's 25th Anniversary this spring! We want you to be a part of it, but we need your contact information!!!
Alumae will also be receiving a mailing from us in the near future, reminding you to save the date for the Alumnae weekend in April, and also asking you to update your information.
There is a proud, rich tradition of fastpitch softball at UW Eau Claire, and our current staff and players are excited to learn more about the history prior to the 2002 season!
We are also working on Jo Ellen Bailey's and Deb Steward's return to Eau Claire to help us with our 25th year celebration!!!
Thank you for your continued support of Blugold Fastpitch Softball!!
Coach Huntington
If you are a Blugold Fastpitch alumnae, we ask that you go to our alumnae information form and submit your current contact information, etc., so we can stay in touch with you! That form can be found here: http://www.uwec.edu/athletics/soft/0809/alumni.htm. We are working hard to update our alumnae database in time for the program's 25th Anniversary this spring! We want you to be a part of it, but we need your contact information!!!
Alumae will also be receiving a mailing from us in the near future, reminding you to save the date for the Alumnae weekend in April, and also asking you to update your information.
There is a proud, rich tradition of fastpitch softball at UW Eau Claire, and our current staff and players are excited to learn more about the history prior to the 2002 season!
We are also working on Jo Ellen Bailey's and Deb Steward's return to Eau Claire to help us with our 25th year celebration!!!
Thank you for your continued support of Blugold Fastpitch Softball!!
Coach Huntington
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