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recapthecourt · 2 years ago

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PPG's Final Ride (Edit)

Jacob Smith

Emma Weltz is a 5'7 point guard from Timmins Ontario who has won a national bronze medal, a national silver medal and a OUA silver medal, but long before that the journey started with a trio that would set the foundation for a build to one of the greatest in the country. Emma attended O'Gorman High up until grade 12 where she moved to Southwest Academy of the OSBA, far away from her home but towards two people who would go with her to the next destination.

Laura Donovan, a 5'11 shooting guard from London Ontario and Claire Litchfield, a 5'6 guard from London Ontario, also attended Southwest during the 2017 season, and the eventual friendship that would grow from their year together away from home made the transition to their next step that much easier.

"Playing with Laura and Claire was an awesome experience, I quickly became very good friends with the both of them and that made my transition to the OSBA a lot smoother and easier. There were so many good OSBA teams that we played against and that was crucial to my development as a player and allowed me to get to where I am today," Emma reflected on her year in the OSBA.

Though they all ended up in the OUA playing for the Queen's Gaels, Emma says "it was never a plan, it just worked very well for us. We were all being recruited by different schools at the time. I had committed to Queen's pretty early into the OSBA season and they decided a little later but I was so excited when they decided to commit because we were already great friends and we were that much more comfortable."

The easier transition to the next level and the Queen's Gaels coached by Dave Wilson, set Emma off on a strong foot as she earned Queen's Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year playing all 23 games at 14.2 minutes per game. Emma didn't become a full time starter until her third year but starting 15 of 22 games in her second year, she showed early that she could make an impact in the fast paced guard centric style that Queen's operates.

Emma came into Queen's with Laura Donovan who would be with her throughout her entire Gaels career and Abbey Hetherington who would be there through all but her final year. They were joining Bridget Mulholland who would also be there throughout all five years of Emma's career, and in her second year, a fifth was added. Julia Chadwick joined the team the year after to form a pact of five that grew closer and closer through the years.

"We got used to each other very quickly. Especially between the last two years, we've figured out how to really play with each other and we know how to distribute the ball between one another."

The Gaels got a new interim head coach in 2019, James Bambury who was an assistant coach under Dave Wilson previously. With that new leadership, the Gaels built on their previous results, finishing with the same 15 wins but making it a game further in the OUA playoffs, beating the Laurier Golden Hawks and falling to the TMU Bold in the second round. Emma doubled her points and rebounds per game in her second year shooting at a higher percentage and starting 15 of 22 games.

The next time Emma took the court was 2021-22 after the season was shut down in 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. "Training in COVID was certainly an adjustment. We definitely had to be creative in practice. For instance, we had outdoor basketball nets set up on the concrete behind the Queen's football stadium, and practiced there until we were able to be back together indoors. I think getting to play our first game after COVID was so exciting - it felt like the time would never come. I think playing through those times was a testament to our team's resilience."

Emma's first game back was a 85-52 preseason win over the Western Mustangs on October 16 2021, a lead-in to a very unique season. The OUA decided going into the 2021 season that due to the ongoing pandemic, the best option for a season was to limit as much travel as possible, creating a 14-game schedule where the OUA was split in half and the eastern and western conference would only play games within their own conference.

The Gaels went 9-5 during the shortened regular season, losing to the eventual undefeated champions in the TMU Bold, 67-58 in the second round of the OUA playoffs. Though the chance for a OUA title ended early, their season wasn't done yet as they hosted the U SPORTS Final 8 at the Queen's ARC, setting themselves up with a first round matchup with the Saskatchewan Huskies in front of a raucous crowd.

"It was an unbelievable experience, the support we had from friends and family and the alumni," Emma said of hosting the national championship tournament, "it was electric in the gym and I think that really helped us get to where we got to that year. We went in with nothing to lose and we just wanted to defend our home court. I wish we could host nationals every year because it was the best experience."

The Gaels game against the defending National Champs in the Saskatchewan Huskies ended with a 62-55 victory. Emma had 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting, backed up by 19 points from Julia and 12 rebounds from Sophie holding the Gaels efforts inside the paint against a physical Huskies squad.

Up next the Gaels went against the efficient shooting of the Winnipeg Wesmen in the U SPORTS Semifinals. Winnipeg shot 49 per cent from the field in the game leading them to a 80-78 victory, and it was the three point shooting of the Gaels and the point guard skills of Emma that kept the Gaels in it until the end.

With one game between the Gaels and a bronze on their own court, they used their physicality and relentlessness to get through the Brock Badgers. They defeated Brock 75-57 in the U SPORTS Bronze Medal game and behind six made threes from Isabella Belvedere, five assists from Emma and 16 points and 13 rebounds from Julia, the Gaels were medalists in the National Championship, with only room to grow going into the following year.

Emma's fourth season with the Gaels is by all counts her best. From a team perspective going 21-1 and making it to both the OUA and U SPORTS Championship final. The core of Laura, Bridget, Julia and Emma looked as dominant as ever and there was really no team outside of the other top two in their division in Carleton and Ottawa, that could run with them for 40 minutes.

From an individual perspective, Emma started the most amount of games in her fourth season in 22 games. She started 26 minutes per game, down from 30 the previous year but in an expanded back-to-normal schedule, shot a career best 35 per cent from three, put up a career high 72 assists and a career high 198 points over the course of the season.

The only team Queen's lost to throughout the year was Carleton, falling 64-32 to the Ravens in the regular season, 70-57 in the OUA championship and 71-59 in the National Championship final. The signature on a great season from Emma came in the first game of the championship tournament, against the UQAM Citadins. In a 75-72 overtime victory over UQAM, Emma put on display exactly why you want her leading your team in any situation. She played 40 minutes, shot 56 per cent for a game high 29 points, accrued four steals but on top of the numbers, she led the team through constant pushbacks from the Citadins.

Emma showed that she wanted it more than anyone she was going up against, and that leadership and energy is something she prides herself on, "A lot of my leadership is based off my energy that I have for my team."

It doesn't take you long watching the Gaels to see Emma's energy and the pride she plays with every minute of the game,

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recapthecourt · 3 years ago

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Canada Defeats Dominican Republic 95-75 in World Cup Qualifier

Jacob Smith

The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team defeated the Dominican Republic 95-75 on Friday Night in a 2023 FIBA World Cup Olympic Qualifier game. Canada moves to 5-0 in Group C with the Dominican at 3-2.

Canada started the first quarter from the perimeter making three of their first four baskets from outside. A Shai Gilgeous-Alezander dunk followed by a trio of threes put Canada up 11-8 while Dominican Republic used their physicality inside the paint to get baskets around the rim. Canada shot 11 threes in the first quarter, making five of them while Dominican shot only three making none. Canada’s 14-12 rebounding lead along with nine points from Nickeil Alezander-Walker and seven points from Gilgeous-Alexander gave Canada a slim 21-16 lead going into the second quarter.

The Dominican Republic pushed back in the second quarter with their ability to get to the free throw line. They forced numerous Canada turnovers and took advantage by pounding the paint and either creating a layup for Liz or creating space for a Araujo three-pointer. After two free throws from Kyle Alexander to put Canada up 37-35, that ballooned out to a double-digit lead at halftime thanks to the post play of Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Alexander and the shooting of Alexander-Walker.

Alexander-Walker and Gilgeous-Alexander both pushed their way to 12 points at halftime while Olynyk recorded 11 points along with seven rebounds. On the side of the Dominican, Jhonatan Araujo led with seven points, Victor Liz recording five points and Angel Delgado with four points and four rebounds. Canada led 46-36 over the Dominican at halftime.

The third quarter saw the ball go inside the paint often on both sides. Powell and Delgado scored a majority of the early points for either side and Canada kept their lead at 10. Once Canada was able to create turnovers, Shai found his rhythm from beyond the arc and two threes along with a set of jumpers extended Canada’s lead throughout the last five minutes of the third quarter.

Going into the fourth quarter, Shai pushed his total to 28 points with Olynyk at 17 and Canada led 76-48.

Dominican started the fourth quarter with six points inside the paint off of three different opportunities. With the lead at 78-54, Liz hit a three and immediately forced a steal where he fed the ball to Solano in transition for a dunk to bring the deficit to 19, 78-59. Now on a 11-2 Dominican run, Canada called a timeout. After a pair of defensive stops, Olynyk found Thomas Scrubb in the corner where he hit a three-pointer to put Canada up 22 and stop the Dominican run momentarily.

From then on, Canada and the Dominican traded buckets but Canada’s efficient ball movement kept their lead at around 20 points for the last five minutes of the quarter. Alexander-Walker and Gilgeous-Alexander paced the offence as Canada got their shots and made the most of them. Up 90-70 with 2:16 remaining, Canada held on to win 95-75 against the Dominican Republic.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game high 32 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Alexander-Walker finished with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Olynyk recorded 17 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Adonys Henriquez finished with 14 points and a pair of rebounds. Liz finished with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Both Rigoberto Mendoza and Jhonatan Araujo finished with 10 points.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Jenneke Pilling, the all-around leader

Jacob Smith

Jenneke Pilling came to Brock Women’s Basketball when coach Rao first started his tenure as head coach, and now she is an OUA champ, U SPORTS silver medalist and looking to build on it alongside coach Rao as the 2021 OUA season gets underway in November. The Windsor transfer 5th year guard has had a tremendous career of growth and success and now as she becomes one of the biggest leaders on the team, all of her progress is showing and will make this upcoming season, an exciting one for anyone following her journey.

The team has gotten significantly younger, and for players like Jenneke, that means teaching a new group the ropes and building chemistry with a much different squad than years past. She has not taken that responsibility lightly and as the team has practiced over the summer and the previous year when they were allowed to, Jenneke has shown the ability to both lead by example and lead vocally, all backed by her desire to improve and her mindset of coming into the gym and getting to work every single day.

Since Jenneke first joined the team, she’s been a player who will put her head down and get to work. During her 2018 season when she sat the year, she was in individual workouts with the coaches multiple times a week working on her shot and other fundamentals, to go along with the regular 5x a week practice schedule. She has shown a desire to get better every single day and she has done just that.

Jenneke was vital to the Badgers run during the 2nd half of the 2019-2020 season, and her hustle and heart didn't go unnoticed by anyone paying attention. She was the spark for the Badgers coming off the bench and in some cases starting, getting the offence going when we needed scoring and using her agility and toughness to get wherever she wanted on the floor. As she worked in individuals on her shooting, her range increased and she became a player who’s a threat from all over the offensive floor.

Jenneke has become a great all-around guard. She has agility and toughness to take guards to the rim or get by forwards if they’re switched onto her. She can shoot from deep or pull up for a floater and she can distribute the ball and facilitate the offence. Her impact on not only the team but on each game has increased gradually over her time in the program, and now that is taking shape in her ability to teach others.

She’s a very smart player, she understands what the right decision to make on the floor is and she knows when a mistake is made. She has gotten to a point where she can identify and correct herself instead of needing coaches pointing out errors and that recognition has rubbed off on the younger players. Whether its showing a decision that could’ve been made, showing proper form or answering questions about how to play in Rao’s system, Jenneke is always there to answer questions and she is truly an invaluable vet for Brock Women’s Basketball.

She can play all aspects of Rao’s system, she can teach, she can learn and she can lead. The Brock Women’s Basketball program is in good hands with Jenneke leading the charge and Brock fans should be excited to see Jenneke and the Badgers take the floor for the 2021 season as they look to repeat as OUA champions and build on their U SPORTS run from the 2019 season.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Mackenzie Robinson, Brock’s answer at the perfect time

Jacob Smith

A group of veterans has been key to the growth Brock Women’s Basketball has made over the last 7 years. Whether its Jenna Yumol, Melissa Tatti, Jess Morris, Kristin Gallant, Courtney McPherson or Sam Keltos, Brock has had veterans who have played big minutes and been vital for the adjustment of rookies and younger players. Over the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brock Women’s Basketball got younger and younger, Melissa Tatti, Kristin Gallant and Jess Morris moved on and a large group of recruits have fluttered in. Their group of core veterans that had been there and can teach the younger players their role, shrank and the responsibility has fallen on fewer and fewer people. Luckily for Brock, one of those people it now falls on is as experienced as almost anybody going into the OUA this year.

At the start of the 2019-2020 season, Brock added veteran guard Mackenzie Robinson, a transfer from Laurentian University. Mackenzie sat out the 2019 season as she got surgery and recovered, and was forced along with the rest of the OUA to sit during the 2020 school year, but now she is ready to play her fifth and final year of eligibility as the 2021 OUA season gets underway later this year. Mackenzie is now tasked to lead a team trying to implement their new young core in a way where they can pick up where they left off as much as possible, and let’s talk about how she is equipped to do that.

Mackenzie hasn't played an official game in a Badger uniform, but her understanding of the concepts and motions of Brock’s offence and defence reflect that of someone who’s been playing in that system for years. Her understanding of the game of basketball and the OUA in particular has allowed her to transition to the system coach Rao has in place, and pick up on what she needs to do with relative ease. Partly due to her desire to learn and be coached, Mackenzie has taken everything Rao has to tell her and applied it, often coaching herself when she knows she has made a mistake during practice.

Her ability to take and apply coaching without being pushed, matched with Jenneke Pilling’s ability to coach others, has allowed Mackenzie to be a leader by example and her work ethic makes her a player that younger players looking to find their place in the team, can look towards for mentorship. Her work ethic, shaped by the person she is, what she has overcome and the positions she’s been in, makes her a tough and relentless player who is focused on execution and playing her role to the finest detail. She is a tough guard that can take defenders in the paint with her grit, shoot the three with her range and form that is ever improving, and she has the vision to facilitate the ball. On the defensive side she is a pest on the boards, matched with her physicality, the relentlessness of her play makes her someone who will never give up on a play and fight and claw for every second chance opportunity or defensive rebound.

After years of being a vital rebounder and perimeter shooter with the Laurentian Voyageurs, 2 years of being put on the sidelines growing her urge to get back on the court, and the leadership role she will be put in as her fifth season gets underway, Mackenzie is a vet that is fully capable and ready to take on the responsibility, and she has the skillset to match those already in those positions. Brock is in good hands with veterans like Mackenzie playing alongside Jenneke and the fifth year for this Laurentian guard from Collingwood, Ontario is set to be one of the best as she takes a group of younger players through the ups and downs of a season and gets them as adjusted as possible as they go into their later years of their career and eventually the role that Mackenzie holds now.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Steadfast Momentum

Jacob Smith

Complementary play styles. The most successful teams play with and off each other. For Brock Women’s Volleyball, they sure know how cohesion and complementary play works and helps. Over the years they've had their stars and their glue players that held everything together, and their team chemistry and togetherness reflected that. For the last 3 years they've had one player in particular who dominated the front of the net and played her piece of the rotation so well that she contributed massively to a dominant run in the last OUA season and with her still in the lineup there’s significant hope that the run can be repeated.

Her name is Christina Jovetic and she’s entering her 4th year at Brock University. She’s only played 2 years because of the global pandemic but the beginning of her career has been nothing short of an incredible story of her personal development and the journey of Brock Women’s Volleyball. They’re beginning a journey back to the U SPORTS national championships which they were robbed of after acquiring their spot in the 2019 season and having it shut down, but for Christina this journey started when she was 12 years old playing club volleyball.

Christina started with the Niagara Rapids Volleyball Club where she played from age 12-17 to go along with her high school volleyball career at Westlane Secondary School. During her first two years of high school she was a dual-sport athlete playing both volleyball and basketball, but as she got closer to graduation she devoted herself just to volleyball and played only that for grade 11 and 12.

As she got into grade 12, the decision on where to go for post-secondary became very real. Being a Niagara native, Brock offered Christina the complete package. Brock is close to home, being a varsity student athlete would give Christina the experience she was looking for and she could save money. Adding on to that, then head coach Dale Melnick who recruited Christina to the program, was Christina’s coach with the Niagara Rapids. Brock was tough to turn down with those circumstances and Christina was added to the 2018 recruiting class alongside Sarah Rohr, Jaimie Holland and Michaela Miller.

Dale Melnick was replaced going into Christina’s first season which was an adjustment like any coaching change is, especially for a rookie who was recruited by the coach that got replaced. If you look at the record of those two years however it wouldn't look like there was that big of a change. 14-17 in 2017 and 13-7 in 2018, the team kept their consistency going.

For Christina, the transition to become a varsity athlete among all the other transitions the team was going through, came with a feeling of being a rookie again but the chemistry the team had made it that much smoother. Christina had gotten a chance to visit with the team during the 2016 and 2017 season and offseason, and she got to know many of the players that she’d be playing with the following year. Though she found out in the summer about the coaching change and that changed the expectations of the team, the group of players knew what they could do and they were comfortable and confident with each other.

Steve Delaney came in and made statements at the beginning of the season about what the team expects to do, and one of the first and biggest things was to make playoffs. That became a statement that fueled them over the next 2 years. Even though they accomplished that in Christina’s first year, they wanted more and more and they got better and better.

The 2018 season started up and down for Brock Women’s Volleyball. They went 1-3 in their opening 4 game road trip but answered back with 4 wins to finish the first semester 5-4. That 4 game winning streak during the month of November gave them momentum and they used that to storm through the 2nd semester and head into playoffs with a 13-6 record, 7-2 in the second semester.

Their run during the 2nd half of the season earned them a spot in the playoffs and their opponent was someone they would be very familiar with over the next 2-year period. With a new head coach, Brock making it to playoffs to take on the Toronto Varsity Blues was a big achievement, one the team talked about all season in their team statements and goals. They had battled their way through tough opponents in the second semester and dominated the latter half of their season and they went up against one of the best in the OUA in the University of Toronto. They would fall 3-1 in that playoff matchup but for Brock Women’s Volleyball the standard was set and they knew they had a platform to build off of as the chemistry between players and coaches got better in future years.

This wasn't the last time Brock saw the Varsity Blues, as their 2019 season went on they would prove to be close rivals and if it weren’t for what happened at the National Championship, they were set for one more matchup on the biggest stage.

Building off the momentum and chemistry of the 2018 season and the confidence they had in themselves as a team, Brock started the 2019 year with 6 straight wins, 7-2 in the first semester like they had done in the second half of the previous season. Momentum was rolling, the team was feeling good and they were closer than ever. With it being the 2nd year under their new head coach, the team felt like they were on the same page in all aspects and they understood what was expected of them and what they could do.

The momentum and confidence continued into the 2nd semester and a 7-3 record to finish the regular season 14-5, an improvement off last season and their playoff matchup lined up nicely. On November 9, 2019, Brock took on York on the road and took home a 3-1 victory off of 3 aces from Christina, and their first round matchup was the York Lions, so the team was feeling good. Christina finished the 2019 OUA season with 88 kills, 1.38 kills per set, 8 assists, 56 blocks and 49 digs, and Brock would need that dominant presence up front for their run.

Their victory over York was a swift 3-0. Christina dominated up front with 8 blocks and it was on to the second round. “We got to host playoffs after beating Lakehead on the road. We were really excited because winning the west and hosting playoffs was one of our statements we set at the beginning of the year” Christina said of their dominant performance. Well, they got what they wanted and they advanced. The Guelph Gryphons were set to take on Brock in the 2nd round and once again Brock had taken an impressive victory during the regular season, feeding their confidence going into the playoff matchup.

“That semi-final game gave me chills. We knew we were more prepared than Guelph and we knew we had beaten them in that phenomenal 5 set match at their place. We knew once we won that third set that we were going to the OUA championships and nationals, and that was an unbelievable feeling”, said Christina recapping the dominant victory in the OUA final-four.

Well they made it to the OUA final, and guess who their opponents were, the University of Toronto. They met once again and unfortunately for Brock it was the same outcome. Toronto showed their dominance in a 3-0 victory over Brock and Brock was left looking towards nationals. A few days later when the seeding was released for the 2020 U SPORTS championship, the anticipation grew even more as Brock found out they would get a chance at revenge in their first game on the national stage as they met the Varsity Blues.

Then something happened that needs no explaining. The coronavirus rattled the world and shut down sports, and Brock Women’s Volleyball was sent home before they could play their first game. A stunning blow to the team who had had such a great season and had their hearts set on redemption, but what happened on that day in March set the tone for a comeback that is still in the making for Brock Women’s Volleyball.

Trying to get people to buy in when games are cancelled and it’s just practices can be challenging because motivation is hard to find even in the best of times. Christina found her motivation in the knowledge that sports will resume again at some point, regardless of how long it will be. She knew that one day they will be back on the floor and most importantly, she knew how much she could get out of the time between when the season was cancelled and when the next season begins.

Brock set up training sessions where possible given the restrictions set by Ontario, and Christina with Brock Volleyball took full advantage. “Coming into the 2020 year we knew we had to keep as motivated as possible. Steve (Delaney) said there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, we knew there’d be a season but we didn’t know when it would come. We knew those who are mentally stronger coming out of COVID would perform the best when the season starts so we took advantage of an entire year to get prepared”. Christina was going into that year as a third year player so she had been in a system and was very comfortable with Brock Women’s Volleyball and the routine. For rookies coming in, the adjustment may have not been as easy, “Coming in as a rookie would’ve been hard because they lost their club season too. Collectively we had to come together as a group and remind ourselves that we will step on a court once again and even if it was going to be a tough year, we would come out of it stronger and even more ready to make another run”, Christina stated about the harsh reality of being a varsity student athlete during the pandemic.

Now that the 2021 season has been announced and there is a light on the horizon, that day they were talking about where they would once again step on the court, is coming, and they are fired up, “Our biggest thing is getting back to nationals, we want to prove that 2019 wasn't a fluke, that we’re a competitive team that isn’t easy to beat”. The 2022 U SPORTS national championships were also announced and with their eyes set on making it back there, they also have a bit of vengeance on their mind, “We want redemption in the OUA finals, coming into this season the west division is harder than the east, so we’re excited to prove ourselves”.

Previewing the schedule, Christina talked about how excited they are to play against Guelph, “We start off the season against them, we beat them on the road in an amazing 5 set game and we beat them at home and at the playoffs, so even though we’re excited for every game and the journey, we’re excited to continue that exciting rivalry.

Christina is ready to do whatever she has to do to win. She has a mindset of being the most prepared in the league and she has the work ethic to match. Brock Women’s Volleyball is coming off a year of getting to work in nothing but practices and the anticipation grew and grew for what is coming. They’re ready to work and ready to earn their way to the top spot in the OUA and the national championships, and they know it’s one game at a time, starting with their home opener, starting with the Guelph Gryphons on November 6, 2021 in the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Basketball is Back in the OUA

Jacob Smith

March 8th 2020, the last time Brock Women’s Basketball suited up for a game. When Brock plays their home opener for the 2021 season it would have been 605 days since the last buzzer sounded in Ottawa for their U SPORTS championship game. To say it’s been a long time would be an understatement. After a long year and a half, the OUA is getting going again and hope is on the horizon for the return of university basketball to Ontario.

The OUA recently released the schedules for the adjusted 2021-2022 season with 18 games and 2 conferences of 9 teams. Each team will play the other teams in their conference twice, once at home and on the road. In the eastern division the Carleton Ravens are grouped with the Laurentian Voyageurs, Nipissing Lakers, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, Ottawa Gee-Gees, Queen’s Gaels, Rams, Toronto Varsity Blues and York Lions. This puts the Brock Badgers in the western conference with the Algoma Thunderbirds, Guelph Gryphons, Lakehead Thunderwolves, McMaster Marauders, Waterloo Warriors, Western Mustangs, Laurier Golden Hawks and Windsor Lancers.

The Badgers start their season on November 3rd 2021 at home. The Home Opener for the new Badgers squad will be against a Laurier Golden Hawks team who the Badgers haven’t lost to since the home opener of the 2018-2019 season where they lost 63-51. Since then the Badgers have owned the matchup, knocking them out of the 2018-19 playoffs with a great second half defensive effort and beating them twice during the 2019 season including a game where Melissa Tatti scored 30 points on the road in a dominant 81-70 victory.

After a road trip to Lakehead, the Badgers host the Windsor Lancers. If you remember the last time the Badgers took on the Lancers it was in the OUA Playoffs where they pulled off a miraculous 4th quarter comeback to seal their ticket to the OUA semi-finals against the Western Mustangs. With a different Badgers and Lancers team following the graduation of players over the year and a half of no OUA basketball, this matchup will be an interesting one to see how two teams who were among the top in the OUA, matchup early on.

Another OUA playoff opponent, the Western Mustangs, meet the Badgers in a back to back on February 2ndand 5th 2022. The Mustangs will have a relatively new lineup entering the 2021 season having lost several significant veterans over the last year, but the addition of two players, one being Brock alumni Jess Morris should make this matchup a must see for Badger fans during the 2021 season. Two top teams during the previous season, with the Mustangs addition of a former Badger who was instrumental in the Badgers success, going against each other.

The Badgers end the season with the Windsor Lancers once again and then 2 games against the 2018 U SPORTS Champion McMaster Marauders. The tough competition to end the season should be a great way to test how the Badgers chemistry has come together throughout the season and as they hopefully push into the OUA Playoffs, it will be a sign of the things they still have to put together to make another run like they did in 2019.

Looking at the strength of schedule and the talent the Badgers are expected to have for the 2021 season with returning veterans and signed recruits, Brock is in a very good spot to make another run at the OUA Critelli Cup. Led by Jenneke Pilling, Sam Keltos, Mackenzie Robinson and others, the Badgers will try and bring the team together once again and roll like they were to end the 2019 season as they make another run in the OUA and hopefully to Queen’s in March of 2022 for the U SPORTS Women’s Basketball National Championship.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Badgers Take the Floor With Former Player on the Coaching Staff

Jacob Smith

The OUA is getting ready to start once again. After 14 months of a global pandemic which rocked every aspect of life including shutting down sports in Canada, University Sport, the CCAA and other amateur and professional leagues are starting back up. The OUA schedule for 2 semester sports is releasing on July 7th and tryouts are being set for the start of the 2021 school year. For Brock Women’s Basketball, they are back practicing on an outdoor court and showing the new recruits how they’re expected to play is the coaching group from the 2019 nationals season along with the addition of a Brock Women’s Basketball alumni, Allie Columbus.

There are a lot of benefits to having a former player on the coaching staff. Being able to relate to players and their experiences will help keep the chemistry of the team together and focused. Being the mouthpiece for the coach for when terms or systems are confusing. An assistant coach who has been a player for the coach they’re assisting for can be a massive help. Allie comes in to the coaching staff with a unique perspective.

Brock Women’s Basketball has grown tremendously over the course of Allie’s playing career. During her rookie season in 2015, the Badgers reached the national rankings for the first half of the season as they rolled through their opponents. The second half of the season with injuries and a tough Guelph opponent in the playoffs ended the Badgers season in a disappointing way and the team switched massively going into Allie’s 2nd year.

Allie along with a handful of players returned for the following season but the coaching staff completely changed. Now in her 2nd year Allie had to adjust to a new cast of coaches leading the charge for a group that wants to build on the consistency that rolled into 2015. Over the next 2 years, Allie became a vet in a younger and younger Brock Badgers squad and when the team got a large group of rookies in her 3rd year her leadership and experience was a much needed resource.

Over her first 3 years as coaches changed and the lineup dramatically shifted, Allie had dealt with adjustments and a thrust into a veteran role and she handled it with utter professionalism. When Rao came in for her 4th year as a player, Allie was once again one of the veterans and someone who set the tone at practices. Her willingness to give everything she got at every practice and game whenever she’s called upon gained the respect of the new rookies and continued to impress her veteran teammates and she pushed everybody to be better.

Now after a year of watching the Badgers make their run to nationals and becoming a masters student, Allie joined the Badgers staff for the 2020-2021 year and now looks to make a continued impact on the bench as games get started once again.

The respect she has earned from players who have seen her play or played with her in her fourth year, paired with her mindset towards improvement and dedication she will surely be a great aspect of a solid staff. She has fully bought in to her role on the staff and her knowledge of Rao’s system from her 4th year as a player gives her an extra tool to work with the group of players getting ready for the 2021 season. Whether it's a resource to learn from, an example to build from or a friendly face to talk to about the life of being a student athlete and the many different things that goes into it, Allie is a tremendous asset for every player and I’m sure she will make a large impact as the season gets rolling.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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The Case for Canadian Varsity Athletics

Jacob Smith

Why should you care about Canadian varsity athletics, meaning at the university and collegiate level, and why they deserve a bigger audience and more discourse. Coming from a background of marketing for a Canadian varsity basketball program on the men’s and women’s side, this topic is something I’ve taken to heart. Let me explain to you from my perspective, why you should care about your varsity athletes on the university and collegiate level, and what can be done other than the obvious increase in broadcasting which is a side I’m not qualified to talk about.

I’ve always found it interesting how much attention Canadian athletes get when they’re playing outside of Canada, regardless of the level of promotion the team they go to has, compared to the attention they get if they stay within their borders. Sure the American and European media put more attention on their athletes and broadcast it to a wider audience, but we can’t act like there isn’t things we could be doing to help and it’s all the networks fault.

Step 1 to increasing the audience for Canadian varsity athletics, research. Yes, the answer is “the networks need to broadcast it and tell me about everyone”, but you’d be amazed at how much you’ll find when you go onto sites like google or on the usports or ccaa website. One of the best ways to grow the audience for varsity athletics is through discourse, and one of the best ways to produce discourse is through research based statements. Look up your local team, find the players on that team, do a bit more research to find out about certain players, and tell your friends about them. Discourse doesn't always have to be started by the organization or league, it can be started and should be started by the fans, and the way to start that is by looking for your local team and talking about them the same way you look up how many points that Canadian player in the NCAA had in their game the night before so you can brag about it.

Discourse is powerful, the word of mouth is a strong tool and fans should realize that. Leagues like the CEBL are branded as having homegrown athletes, so why not brand varsity athletics the same way and have that same passion and excitement. It’s your local school, there are probably people on those teams that are from your area or close to it. Guys and girls your friends grew up with, attended high school with, played against at another level. They are citizens of the same city or province or country as you, be proud of them and talk about them to your friends because they are what this country has to be proud of, just as much as Canadians playing in other countries.

This brings me to my next point, pride. We love finding things to show off about Canada and the people in Canada. On the side of sports, we love talking about athletes and the stars that come out of this country, so why don't we talk about the athletes that represent this country while never leaving this country? Why don't we hold the athletes that decide to call Canada their home during their post-secondary journey, to the same level of pride as we do the athletes who go on to represent Canada elsewhere. These athletes, the ones you see at your local university and college, have a lot of pride for the school they represent, and they all look to represent not only their city but their province to a high standard and be the best example of an athlete for other young aspiring Canadians.

Athletes like Bridget Hardy, played basketball for Team Canada before she entered university, played for Guelph University, Brock University and ended her career at Niagara College. Someone who poured so much into her sport and the teams she represented, and held Team Canada to a high standard, graduating just 2 years ago. Athletes like her and the many that came before her, women and men who gave everything they had to their varsity team because they wanted it to be the best.

The CCAA and U Sports are filled with people who grew up probably not too far away from you, have the same amount of pride for them as you do the person who went down to the NCAA or overseas.

My last point regarding discourse and ways you can grow Canadian Varsity Athletics besides broadcasting, is using your platform. This isn’t talking to your friends and family, this is growing the imprint varsity athletics makes on social media. Social media is a massive thing, many people hav an account of some sort, Instagram, twitter, facebook, reddit. The world of hashtags on twitter or Instagram or creating discussions on Facebook can snowball fast and gain a lot of traction. This isn’t asking for discussion sessions or dedicated time for promotion, but voicing your opinion and using the platform you have. Regardless of if you have 5 followers, 50, 500 or 5000, when you put your opinion out there, it stays out there.

If you do your research and find a team or player you like, tweet about them, post about them on facebook, share a post about them on your Instagram story. You may have a small audience, but you will get the word out there and it will stay out there so the next person who is doing their research will see that you talked about them, and see how popular that person is that their gaining this much discussion. Be the reason why someone says “oh wow a lot of people care about this person or team, I should too”. Help get the message out there and grow the group of individuals that keep the discussion going.

Lastly, keep it going all year round. This one especially gets me. The season may last from October-March or September-February, but the discourse doesn't have to. Building hype around a team requires maintaining it. If you get a fanbase excited about a team during the season but don't mention the team during the offseason, there’s a good chance that team will fall rather far in the memory of the fans. Especially during this pandemic, the last thing people are thinking about is university or college basketball, unless they are directly connected. Maintaining the hype you've built during the season, during the offseason is really important to keep the ball rolling and keep the audience growing. It’s easier to grow the conversation around a team going into the next season, than it is to reset it and re-frame it because it wasn't continued during the months of the offseason.

A big part of the growth of Canadian varsity athletics is how the media covers the sport, but there’s also things that fans and the people interested in growing the market can do, that should be taken more seriously. I hope this article gave you a bit more of an idea of the things that could be done, at least the things I feel could be done from what I’ve seen in my history of doing marketing for varsity teams.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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The Fight for Women’s Basketball

Jacob Smith

Let me ask you something. You post comments like “if they could dunk it would be better”, “they don't have any athleticism”, “they should get back in the kitchen”. You try and degrade women’s basketball and show how you have a superior taste in sports because of your preconceived notions of what women’s basketball is. You have never actually seen a game, yet you insist on telling everyone else how it shouldn't be supported. You claim if it was more dunks and high scoring games, you’d enjoy it more and others might too. So let me ask you, supposed basketball fan, are you a fan of the game of basketball, or are you a fan of the spectacle that is certain basketball games?

Are you a fan of how the game is played, or are you a fan of the flash and the awe of the lights and the dunks and the 40 pieces? Let me explain to you why you, a self-proclaimed fan of basketball, would see the value in women’s basketball if it really is basketball that you’re a fan of.

Basketball in its truest form is a mastery of the fundamentals, dribbling, shooting, defending and passing. You look at any of the best players at any positioning, and you can boil their skill down to the fundamentals. Steph Curry mastered shooting to the point where he can score from anywhere. Westbrook with his triple doubles is a combination of shooting, being able to dribble past his defenders and the ability to see the court and execute the proper passes. Kyrie with is handles is a mastery of dribbling.

You don't become a great basketball player by just being athletic. Jump as high as you want and run as fast as you possibly can, if you can’t do the fundamentals, you’re screwed on any team you try out for. If you can watch a video of Curry making 40 3’s in practice and acknowledge how special it is, you should be able to acknowledge what he had to practice to get to that point. You should be able to take the athleticism or the physique of the player out of it, and acknowledge the mastery of the skills It takes to perform at that level. You should be able to look at a basketball player who dominates on the court not as someone who can jump high enough for their head to be above the rim, but as someone who’s perfected the fundamentals of the game and make it look a lot simpler than it actually is, because that's what basketball is.

You watch the Greg Popovich led spurs with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan and you are amazed at the technical skills they have and the ability to make the extra pass. There’s nothing inherently flashy about it, it’s the perfection of the team sport of basketball and a lot of unselfish play. You watch them pick apart teams through their passing and off-ball movement, much like the Warriors of today do with Klay, Curry and Draymond, and you’re amazed, yet you discredit women’s basketball for the athleticism you claim doesn't exist and refuse to give their game as much credit as you do these great teams who perfect the fundamentals and execute them to a level above everyone else.

Why? Do you have this notion that the game is different? They pass differently? They shoot differently? They run differently? The level of analysis and credit you give the men’s game and how you’re willing to acknowledge how great they are at shooting or passing or moving off the ball, you don't do that for the women’s side. You have this mindset that women’s sport will always be worse and not enjoyable to watch because you claim they aren’t strong and can’t dunk even though there is many examples of both and if you got in the paint against some of the forwards that exist in women’s basketball, I guarantee you won’t have a good result.

You see a picture comparing the weight rooms made available at the women’s NCAA Final Four and the men’s, and your response is “it’s not like they use them” or “if they made more money they would have better weight rooms”, and your response isn’t “why aren’t we treating these amazing athletes the same”. I ask you why.

Why do you constantly have evidence shown to you about how more coverage could lead to better revenue for women’s basketball, and still claim it’s because its women’s basketball, they will never make money regardless of what’s done. Why do you see clips of high school girls dunking and go complain about athleticism. Why do you say the basketball is worse when players such as Allie Quigley of the WNBA, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Sabrina Ionescu are some of the best players in the game on both sides. Sabrina Ionescu may I remind you set a record with 2 thousand points, 1 thousand assists and 1 thousand rebounds in her career at Oregon, a feat no other D1 man or woman has accomplished.

Why do you have evidence shown to you constantly but you stick to your narrative of it being inferior. If you’re a fan of the game, why do you not see the level of basketball being played by these stars at high levels, the mastery of the fundamentals, the team basketball and unselfish play. Let me tell you, it exists, if you are willing to open your eyes.

Go back to the 2019 WNBA All-Star weekend, and specifically the 3-poiint contest final between Allie Quigley and Kayla McBride, and tell me that isn’t impressive shooting. Watch the 2018 playoffs between Seattle and Phoenix, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, and tell me that isn’t exhilarating basketball. If you’re willing to tell me that, ask yourself if it's the game you’re a fan of, or if it's the flashy dunks and sprint speed that you’re a fan of, I think you may surprise yourself.

Listen to people explain the game of basketball, not at the NBA level, but internationally. Talk to basketball coaches, and their definition of what the game is may make you realize that the game you've been slashing for so long while you pride yourself on how much of a “basketball fan” you are, really is very similar, and maybe you've just chosen to ignore it. Next time you want to go to your preconceived notions of what women’s basketball is, watch the greats, watch Diana, Sue, watch the national teams for whatever country you represent, and watch it from the perspective of the game of basketball, the movement, the shooting, the team work, the communication, the level of efficiency those things are done to. Next time you talk about women’s basketball in a way that takes away from the level these athletes perform at, think to yourself, is what you’re saying, actually true, or something you just like to believe because you refuse to acknowledge and evolve.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Diving into University Sport Part 2: New Beginnings

Jacob Smith

The first weeks of the women’s team was basically the same as the men’s for me, if not more anxiety. This women’s team I was joining, like the men’s, had a core group of veterans that kept things going and the chemistry of the team felt much like a family. For me, while I was comfortable with my job, I definitely wasn't confident, I hadn’t felt like I proved myself yet and I definitely believed nobody really had a reason to know who I am. I would walk into practices in September and immediately go do what I was instructed to do and what I knew I would have to do from doing it for the men the previous year.

I didn't talk to basically anyone aside from Rao and I was slowly getting used to being around the squad. I felt star struck I guess. I was around all these people that I had looked up to for years and I was now in charge of getting people to their games. I walked into practice every day and would see Jess and Tatti, Baelie and Allie, Kristin and Shannon. I was the new guy at work except work is 18 good friends and you’re the 19th with no real connection to anyone. Shit got my heart going that's for sure. I knew I had to get to know them so my job would be easier but I had no idea how I would do that. All I knew for sure was I really didn't want to fuck this up, so I had to get to work.

One of the first players I got to know was Jenneke, transferred from the University of Windsor. Her birthday was about 2 weeks after I started the job. Trying to figure out how I was going to do a post on social media wishing her a happy birthday when she was a new addition to the team and I was still getting settled into the new team was interesting. I wasn't exactly a photographer at that time and marketing hadn’t really gotten going yet because there was still about a month and a half until the season actually started. I was trying to figure out how to get a post out wishing the new transfer a happy birthday, get her name out there more amongst the Brock community that she’s so involved in having been raised in St Catharines. The idea I came up with wasn't exactly what you’d call professional but it got me off on the right foot, not missing a task.

I figured out a way to introduce myself to the girls I guess. Through posts and asking for different things for social media. I met Jenneke through that request for a photo taken from my iPhone against the wall in Bob Davis gym. Over the course of the next 3 years she would end up becoming one of my closest friends, a person I care about a lot and one of the most committed people I’ve ever met. Her, along with a few others, really made me feel at home when I was with the team and she fueled my passion for what I do because I constantly reminded myself that I was doing it for her and not for me. I wanted to do all I could for her because she was always so nice to me, and that thought carried with me for the years to come, and it still does.

The mindset of not doing what I do, for me, but for the players and staff on the team, pushed me to do things I didn't think I was capable of doing, and that mindset only got drilled in further as I met more and more people on the team.

The next person I started to get to know was Elise. Before every practice I would shoot around, and you could say I enjoyed a 3-pointer. I started extending my range for fun and that turned into half court shots. I think with some interest gained from players seeing the half court shots, a half-court tournament started happening at the start and end of practices with Cedi, Elise, Sofia and myself with Taylor going in when he could. We bet chocolate milk tokens, tim hortons, other meals, anything you could think of. That went on throughout the season and it allowed me to get to know Elise who is one of the most positive individuals you will ever meet, and made me laugh constantly.

As the first semester went on and I spent more and more time around the team I got to know 2 people who had pushed me to join the women’s team in Baelie and Allie. As I mentioned, I looked up to them during my first two years at Brock, so I was incredibly excited to get to meet them, once I got the confidence to do so. I had reached out to Baelie near the end of the 2017-18 year once we got back from Nationals because the WEAREREADY team was doing a series where we interview players and Baelie was one of them, but we never got the chance to really introduce ourselves to each other so we were still not so acquainted. I of course did what I did for Jenneke, reached out to them about content for social media, and our discussion stemmed from there. They proved me completely correct on my presumptions about the type of hard worker and selfless people they were. They became my best friends rather quickly and they’re still people I hold very close to my heart and will always do whatever I can to help them even a fraction of the amount that they’ve helped me. I can go on and on about the two of them but as I talk about what transpired throughout the year I think you’ll get the idea.

So back to what transpired throughout the year. September went by rather quickly. Practices, couple exhibition games meetings, prep for the season, the standard things teams do in the off-season. I spent a lot of September kind of in the shadows, still getting my footing with the team and figuring out where I stand and what kind of liberties I would be able to take. I had a plan for social media but September was still a time to experiment and watch to see if there’s something else I could do, perhaps stemming from the closeness of the team and the relationships within. I slowly started working on more things, putting my writing into effect as fast as possible because that was something I definitely wanted to grow, putting a lot of effort into. I got used to the birthday posts and alongside my excellent partner Mackenzie, we devised a plan for the season and how promotion and game days would work.

October came around, the season was now under a month away. On the basketball side I was still getting used to being around everyone and used to my role. The feeling of being the new guy never went away that season. On the promotional side, I could really feel myself getting into a groove. I knew what I was doing and I was getting to a point where I was so efficient at what I was doing that I felt like I needed to add more. The basketball articles I was writing were taking a maximum of 30 minutes to do. Despite the fact I was doing a significant amount between practices, full course schedule, writing, planning and general management of social media, I felt like I wasn't doing enough because I had so much time to spare. I felt like since I had this free time and I was so committed to going above and beyond that season with what I was doing with the team, I had to devote that time to basketball and do more than I was doing.

Could I really tell myself I was doing all I could if I had so much extra time at night after doing school work? I could be using the extra time to write more articles, plan more projects, study more film, get to know the players better, something that would help me with my position. So that's what I did. I wrote articles about other teams to grow my writing skills. Wrote an article about Jensen Murphy of the women’s hockey team, Laura Condotta of the women’s volleyball team, I had written an article about Taylour Hurd of women’s rugby in September. I started using the time to get better at my craft and become more productive.

This led to what some would call an insane work schedule. By the start of the season and throughout the year I would wake up at around 6-6:30am, catch the 6:50 416 bus to Brock to get there just after 7am, and I would be on campus, whether it was in class, practice, or the office, until the last 416 bus came at 11:30pm. This became a regular occurrence for me, even on weekends where I’d be on campus in the office from 10am-7pm.

I wanted to give as much as I could to the team to help them as much as possible. I wanted to spread the word about them and help drive conversation towards their team and what they were accomplishing. I say “their team” because for the first while I was still struggling to accept that I was a part of the team. For the first months I felt more a part of marketing which didn't really exist in the form it did the previous year, as I did the team whose practices I attended 5 days a week. I felt like the guy who just brought people to their games and attended practices so I could know what to talk about, not like the guy who was a team manager and assistant to go along with my marketing role.

Going back to the home opener and driving people to their games, that was probably the best turnout aside from seniors night that we had all year. If I remember correctly we sold out the home opener, as we usually do and it created a buzz that I could try and build off. Unfortunately the turnout didn't exactly get better. This is where I’m going to talk about my biggest regret of the year. I couldn't figure out what it was but no matter what happened, the turnout never matched that of the home opener. The games following that significantly decreased, and throughout the month of November it got visibly worse.

That made me do more, I wanted to push their attendance higher but what I was doing wasn't working, so I worked harder. I thought about new ideas on the promotional side like individual feature articles on top of the ones I was doing. I put out more content on social media and gave people a better look at the team with the hope of driving interest. I kept working 12-15 hours a day. I spent every waking hour of the day at school and I dedicated all of me that wasn't being occupied by classes, to the team. I came on more weekends when there wasn't games and earlier when there was. I pushed myself more and I really wanted to figure out what the key was to driving fans to games.

The meridian game came and that was the biggest shock of the year. The game is usually something we smack out of the park. We do everything at a higher level than we ever have and the night turns out to be an unforgettable one. For this game against Ryerson it was one I wanted to forget. I guess I thought I was doing a better job than I was doing but that night left me with so much disappointment. The arena was maybe a quarter of what it usually is for those games, the crowd that was there wasn't the loudest bunch aside from the group of Ryerson students that took the trip down. People definitely noticed the lack of fans and I saw and heard several comments myself regarding the emptiness, and it hit me hard.

The biggest night of the year and by what I was hearing, it did nothing but let people down. I thought I could handle doing the job myself and I thought I could keep up with what we were doing the previous year but boy was I wrong. Nothing like going through photos and seeing nothing but empty seats in the background to really let you know shit could’ve been a lot better.

That got me down for quite a while, not going to lie. I thought about that Saturday night and I still do. I still wonder what I did wrong because I felt like I was doing everything at the time. It got me down, and it annoyed me, to the point where I came back in January following the winter break with a mindset and determination I never had for anything before. I was pissed off at myself and I felt ashamed for the product I had put out on the biggest night of the year. I put that anger into my work ethic and I pushed the hell out of myself in the month of January.

I wanted to make up for that night and the letdown that it was. I did 3 hallway promotional walks, put up posters, posted on social media every day of the week leading up to the meridian game, wrote 2 articles during the build-up, and it all led to nothing. I wasn't going to let that be my legacy with the team I joined ready to lead it to new heights. I got a camera over the winter break and I was coming back in January ready to add another asset to my what I do. If what I was doing wasn't enough, there had to be more, and there was.

The second semester started with a trip to Niagara College for 2 days and 2 games. It started out with quite the debacle that I wasn't expecting but I think it brought me closer with a lot of the players on the team. There was an issue with the timing of practice and the clarity around how long it was and whether it was optional or not. By this point in the year I wasn't exactly close with many people aside from the coaches, Elise, Jenneke, Baelie and Allie. We had our Niagara College games in the afternoon but practice before hand was in the form of a shoot around. What had been told to everyone is that shoot around is for 30 minutes and you can show up any time within the hour the gym was open, as long as you were in there for 30 minutes. I got a drive to the gym and then to Niagara with the two people I was the most comfortable with at the time, Baelie and Allie.

We showed up part way through the hour, an issue arose with the scheduling and miscommunication, I ended up explaining what the issue was in front of the entire team and it was probably the most anxious thing I did that year, but things were cleared up and nothing came of it, so I would say situation well handled.

Long story short, a situation blew up larger than it had to be, I got anxiety from it, the players respected it and me sticking up for them and we were on to Niagara College. Needless to say we won both games very easily. The OCAA competition that took part in that event wasn't exactly up to our level. We had actually played at Niagara at the start of October before the season started and I was told at half time to stop keeping score as they weren’t going to finish the game. I don't know if they told the same thing to the players but that evening was a great confidence booster.

We went on to start the second half of the season against the injury riddled Western Mustangs, got a nice W and things were on their way. It was the last month and a half of the season already and I had to kick things into gear if I wanted my legacy to really improve. Thankfully 2 weeks later I got the chance to cement my legacy and I feel like I did just that. Something that didn't really hit me with WEAREREADY, was just how much effort went into the Bell Let’s Talk and Shoot for the Cure games, I just saw it from the perspective of a very small cog in the machine. By this point in the year, my work all day every day in isolation was in full swing. I was working 7am-11pm Monday to Friday and 10-7 on Saturday and Sunday to build the brand that is Brock Women’s Basketball, disappointing people with outcomes of fans, hating myself for it and trying again harder the next week. I was determined to knock one out of the park even if the results didn't show that.

I wasn't going around talking about my hours on campus working, unless they were curious or brought it up. I was very much stay in the office until everyone went home, go for a stroll to stretch the legs, get food and go back to the office that nobody knew how to find unless you had been in it before. I lived in my little work filled isolation and the hours flew by, mostly without me realizing, until the weeks of Bell Let’s Talk and Shoot for the Cure when I decided to keep track, and it surprised me even though I knew what I had been doing.

13 days in a row working on campus, 182 hours over those 13 days. That includes the hours set for classes but I figured that counted as me working and taking in information on campus, instead of the many things people could do off campus to spend their time. That number blew me away and made me realize I really could do anything. I was passionate about what I do and that showed it. Leading up to the Shoot for the Cure game we had a table set up in the Walker Complex which I organized and beautifully designed if I say so myself. Getting people to register to sit at the table was slightly easier than getting them to register for a hallway promotional walk which was good, but the one constant at the table was me. I was there basically all day that the table was. I would be there when players got there and I’d be there when they left. I oversaw the entire operation and by the end of the game we had raised over 700$ which I and the team was very proud of.

The following night was the Bell Let’s Talk night which required a bit less promotion but ran just as well and was just as impactful. So overall the 13 days in a row were very rewarding as we successfully ran 2 events with 2 very important messages. That did take everything out of me though, and boy was I ready to go back to just working 13 hours a day in the office writing and planning. I think those two events and the 13 days leading up to them really cemented the legacy I had tried all year to build. A guy who would do anything and everything if he was put into a position he’s passionate about and a guy with a work ethic that was unmatched, though that is still up for debate. I was extremely proud of what I had done that month and especially those 13 days and I felt like I was really setting myself apart, and putting Brock Women’s Basketball in a place it hadn’t been in a long time with its standing in the public and the media. I stuck with my mindset of everything im doing being for other people, I found ways to always push spotlight onto others and I felt like I had found a rhythm that fit me, what I was trying to do and I loved every part of it.

January came to an end, and let’s do a little recap of where I am at this point. We only had 3 home games remaining and 2 away games. My social media promotional aspect of the job was quickly coming to an end as it does every year and I only had a few more chances to knock it out of the park. I would say I was good friends with everyone on the team by the end of January. I had gotten more chances to meet the people whom I had looked up to when I was just a wee freshman, and I was pumped. What I was doing was being noticed by players, especially my best friends Baelie and Allie who always asked what was new, how long I had been working and how long I plan on working, and always shocked when my answer to both was “all the time”. I had talked with both Baelie and Allie significantly more as the season went on and they continued to be the amazing people I thought they were and they pushed me constantly throughout the year. If I had no other motivation, they were it. So many days where there wasn't a game for another week and no real event to promote, the reminder that people like that were on the team I was on, pushed me to want to do more.

Two other people that were my motivation when nothing else was, was Jess and Tatti. The two other people I had idolized two years before and the two I was probably the most eager to be around once I heard about their return on that cold evening in August. It took me a long time to say something to them during the year. That even became a joke with Rao one practice. Somehow we ended up talking about being nervous and I brought up how I was nervous to talk to Jess and Tatti because I was the new guy. It was true, I always felt like the new insignificant guy and I backed away from starting conversation with them because of my anxiety. It didn't effect my job because at that point the stuff I was writing was strictly basketball based and I could write that by just watching film. I still asked them about basketball things but when it came to off the court getting to know them as people, that was a bit of a struggle.

They were the vets and I was the new guy and I couldn't break the aura of them being the elite vets for quite a while, but I slowly got to know them and as I got more comfortable that they were in-fact the incredible humble, hardworking and compassionate people I thought they were, I became more comfortable around them and they were people I did everything I could for because they meant so much to the program and they were such incredible people. I got to learn more about Tatti’s life outside basketball and her business she owns and operates. I got to know about how committed Jess is to her future, how smart she is and how much she takes out of every day regardless of what is going on. They became more than just idols but two people I really learned from and two people who shaped me as a person and who inspire and motivate me on a daily basis. If you told me to name 5 people from my years with Brock Basketball that impacted me the most beyond just the team, those two would be on that list. They were incredible basketball players and even more amazing people and I can’t begin to talk about how much of an honor it was that I got to spend the time I did with them, and it’s another thing that makes being a part of a basketball team so awesome, you gain connections and relationships with people you’d never expect and you learn that the people you see on the court are far more than athletes and they have phenomenal stories.

On the work side of things, the last 3 home games were the final stand, and I was ready to finish strong. Ending with seniors night on February 9th where my good friends Allie and Courtney would be graduating alongside Kayla Teeter who was the team trainer and another friend of mine. That was the final game of the season so selling tickets wasn't as difficult, just like selling tickets for the home opener was, so the focus went to the execution of the event. I worked alongside the gameday operations crew to facilitate how it was going to work and it went off without a hitch. By that point I was in such a groove that the gameday activities were normal for me and didn't require much thought. I had been through everything and I was ready to get done with the night, the regular season and end off on a bang.

I didn't exactly knock any of them out of the park, though seniors night did drive a great crowd of parents and graduating players friends. The regular season didn't really end how I had imagined it would but the season was done. The two away games at Lakehead to end the year didn't require much work from me and I set my sights on playoffs and the home game we had.

We had 1 playoff home game against Laurier and I treated it almost like any other game honestly. I had already been doing everything I felt I possibly could for home games so there wasn't much else I could add to make this game special from a promotional perspective, other than unique messaging and increased promotions. The one thing I remember from that game was that we put the clamps on Laurier and it was not a very competitive matchup. I would say I remember the fans but with that game I was so focused on delivering the in-game messages and making everything look as professional as possible that the only thing I was thinking about was what I was about to say, and what was happening in the game.

Our last playoff game against McMaster, for me, was an opportunity to show how far the team had come. After the game against Laurier we used the messaging that we hadn’t won a first round playoff game in a long time, and that built up the hype for our road game in the next round. Once we got to McMaster, the messaging shifted to an underdog mentality and showing how far this team has come and how we’re entering the Marauders gym ready to fight and we shouldn't be taken lightly.

That McMaster game was one of the best games I’ve ever covered as a part of Brock Basketball. The energy was electric, both the Badgers and Marauders were scrapping it out for all 40 minutes and it came down to the final minutes. Though it ended in disappointment, the energy around the team was one of accomplishment and gratitude for what we had been through as a group. That was hard to capture in the moment but once I got to writing the post-game article, that was immediately my focus.

It had been a rollercoaster of a year, going on winning streaks and following it with an equivalent losing streak. Fighting to stay at .500 while keeping playoff hopes alive. Promoting a large group of new players to the Badger fans and getting them, including me, accustomed to the Brock Women’s Basketball lifestyle. Trying to impact the way people looked at Brock Women’s Basketball and spread the word, all while learning as much as possible about the game itself.

2018 was a year of serious growth for me, and a year of making an impact and feeling accomplished once that season ended. Though the results from a fans perspective wasn't exactly what I had been working for and I never really got that “knock it out of the park” feeling with games, my efforts did get noticed and at the end of March 2019 I felt like everything I did had paid off in some form.

The 2018-2019 Brock Athletic Banquet was a unique one. Instead of meeting in a banquet hall in the city like we had the year before, this one was held in our own Ian Beddis Gym. Teams sat together as they usually do and the entire gym was draped in black and red. For a gymnasium, you would be surprised at how fancy they made it look. Aside from looking up and seeing basketball nets above you, you wouldn't be able to tell you were in a gym. Players of the year, teams of the year, athletic therapists of the year were all announced. Teams clapped, recognition was given and everyone was having a great time, oh and great food was consumed as well.

There was one award that wasn't given to athletes or coaches, and that was the Marilou Iusi Memorial Directors Service Award. That award was given to a person who had dedicated their life to Brock Athletics over the year and who was at every meeting and practice, always helping out the coaches and players with whatever was needed. That person was me. I won a Directors Service Award, much to the surprise of me. The players found out, I don't know how or when but they had a picture of me working, put onto a canvas and everybody on the team signed the side of the canvas. I was blown away.

Here I was thinking as much as I worked my ass off, the results were never there and my impact would have to be more from a personal perspective, but damn. Rod Mawhood started reading the description of the person who won the award and when he started describing a work ethic that was mine and mentioned Women’s Basketball, a wave of emotion came over me, then all the players started cheering and another wave came over me. I had never been so overwhelmed with happiness in my life.

Everybody, Baelie, Allie, Ginny, Kristin, Jess, Jenneke, Elise, Miranda, they were all cheering and clapping for me. Baelie filmed the event and I still have the video saved on my phone because it still feels so surreal. I cant believe I was one of the first people to win that award who was currently a student when they won it. Out of everybody, me. The dude who struggled to find confidence to even talk to people, had his work recognized at that level. I had and still have a hard time believing that I deserved that award but if theres anything that would make me feel like it was all worth it, all the long nights, busy days and hours by myself inside the office determined to grow the program I had been lucky enough to join, it was this award.

What an unexpected thrill, and the night got even more special as I actually went with a few of the players to Jess house for an after party pre going out to the bar. It turned out to be truly a night of celebration that I had no clue was coming, and even with the restlessness and severe anxiety that came after it all ended, that's a night I will never forget, and put a cap on the unbelievable 2018-2019 season.

Unfortunately, that was the last season I would have as the social media coordinator, as I graduated from Brock in October of 2019 after finishing classes over the summer. It ended rather abruptly as my job with social media and the website suddenly stopped. The marketing team informed me they would be “hiding” the page I had been writing for because I was graduating, which was upsetting to me because I had already had my portfolio deleted with the order to take down the weareready website, but hey that's how it was going to work. I spent the summer taking classes online to finish up and I finished everything in August, with commencement scheduled for October. I continued my time in the basketball industry with an internship with Ontario Basketball in September and for 4 months I focused myself on the next level, but due to push from the coaches and few players, my time with Brock Women’s Basketball wasn't completely done, and I got settled into the 2019 season just a few weeks into my Ontario Basketball internship started.

Here we go again.

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recapthecourt · 4 years ago

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Diving Into University Sport: Part 1

My Years with Brock Basketball

Jacob Smith

If I could tell shy university students one piece of advice that I learned, it would be to find something you’re passionate about and join a group or a team that is gathered around that thing. For me, I came into university a massive fan of basketball with it being in my household for my entire life. I know it’s not easy to join a club or team sometimes, but I’m telling you it’s worth it and if it's the something you’re really passionate about, you’ll be surrounded by people who share your passion.

I came to Brock as a 2nd year student after completing a year at Carleton in 2014 and taking 2015/16 off to work and figure out what my next step was. That next step proved to be Media Communications at Brock because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my dad who was a sports journalist with a big online presence. One of the main things that kept my self-conscious mind distracted during my 2nd year was going to watch Varsity Basketball games. In September of 2016 I was walking through athletics while doing the usual stroll through campus that I do and I peaked into Bob Davis Gym and saw the Women’s Basketball team playing their annual Alumni game, though it was closed to spectators I peaked through the window and told myself I’d come back and watch an actual game.

So I did, I came to one of their first games of the season and I tried to catch as many other home games as possible that year. Though I was a fan of basketball, as a lot of brock students would probably tell you, 4 hours of basketball as a fan in that gym is a lot of basketball. Because of those conditions, I often only stayed for the women’s game which was at 6 and the first half of the men’s game which started at 8 and I’d head home around 9:15 to finish whatever assignments I had and relax for the night.

Watching Melissa, Bridget, Jess, Alex and the team play got me really interested in being a part of a team. Their cohesion and the atmosphere of a game made me want to be some part of that process and throughout the season a thought kept popping into my head that I should get involved, I just didn't know how yet.

Until near the end of the season when I was at a game with my dad who was friends with the men’s head coach Charles Kissi. Kissi approached me and my dad at the end of the game to say hello and after a brief chat about being at Brock and basketball, Kissi mentioned that I should help them out the next year, and my opportunity appeared.

In September of 2017 I got called to meet with Kissi in his office. He talked with me about my interests and skills and recommended that I try running their social media and newsletter that they send to alumni every week. I got told to meet with Avneet who was running the social media and then it all started.

The social media was all being run by the WEAREREADY promotional team that had been around for years at Brock, and my introduction into social media meant I was introduced to the WEAREREADY team and instructed on what my job would entail. I now went from a shy 2nd year who knew he wanted to be a part of the team but had no idea how it would go because he didn’t know anybody, to the social media coordinator for the Brock Men’s Basketball team and suddenly I was in the place I wanted to be.

Part 1: Quite the Start

Well, here I was, part of a massive promotional team and a team manager for Brock Men’s Basketball. Shit got real really fast. In our social media group of the promotional team I was working alongside Shenique, Mackenzie and Charles with Tyler and Carly providing insight and guidance. I wasn't given the full reigns yet as I was learning the job but practices as a manager was a different story.

Those first few practices were both exhilarating and anxiety filled. I had no idea what I was doing, none of the players knew me yet and there was a routine to practices that I was unaware of. I was mostly standing around until I was told to do something by another manager because I had no clue what to do and I quickly tried to take in as much information as I could.

Back at home I was normally one of the tallest in the room, being 6’4 and also one of the lankiest in the room, but when I joined the basketball team and walked into practice I felt like a mouse. When I tell you I was intimidated. It took me a while to get over the intimidation but boy those first few weeks were tough.

October 25, 2017, the home opener and first game of the regular season for Brock Men’s Basketball. We had the shirts, we sold out the stadium, we got the gameplan set up for operations and we got our roles set for the games. For my first game as Social Media Coordinator I couldn't feel more confident and excited to get started. I was of course trying to figure out how often I would update people of the score but I figured I’d feel that out as the game went on.

We played the Western Mustangs and a wild season started off very well with a 83-58 victory. Nothing like starting off your first season with a sold out win in-front of a rowdy student crowd. That was the most exhilarating experience I’d had at a sporting event aside from Raptors games. I knew after the first game that I was going to like this job and as a bonus we had another game 3 days later.

This team was a special one. From the senior Dani Elgadi, the fourth years Cassidy Ryan and Johneil Simpson, the third years Daniel Cayer, Tyler Brown and Mitchell Saunders and a large group of new recruits including 7-foot Donald Mims. The team was full of personalities from many backgrounds, but most importantly it was full of people who loved the game and had one goal in mind, making it the farthest they can go.

There’s something about sports teams that bring out a feeling very few other things do. A group of people coming together towards a common goal, all sharing the same passion and interest. There was nothing that made me feel more at home than walking into the Bob Davis Gym for practices or games, and that was a feeling I was very happy to get used to over the coming years.

We won our second game, 80-70 over Laurier, and our third game 101-72 over York. We actually won our first 9 games to go 9-0 heading into the biggest weekend of the season thus far. What a first year to join a team, join on the heels of something that had been growing for 4+ years and ride the coat tails of a core of guys who had worked harder than anybody to get to where they were.

Meanwhile, I was growing more and more comfortable in my environment. As the days went on I got adjusted to practices and what my role generally consisted of and I was able to be more efficient and also take more time to get to know some of the guys. It took me a while to really get comfortable around the players because I felt quite intimidated being honest and I was very aware that I was just a new guy that didn't quite know what he was doing yet and they could probably see that.

The coach helped a lot with getting me involved and comfortable around the guys, sometimes almost too helpful. The day where I was thrown in to a 5on5 half court drill to be a post player and prevent the other post from getting positioning was fun. I got a bit beat up and almost got flattened because I was being told to take a charge if they drove the lane. That was definitely a wake-up call for me and a realization moment that I was really here and I was definitely a part of this.

On the promotional side, I got into a groove rather quickly. I like to think of the WEAREREADY team as more of a family. We had each-others back and whatever we needed to do, all we had to do was ask. We designated jobs for promotion of games during the week and we always made sure every task was covered at the beginning of the week. I quickly became fond of the group and the office and I started to spend a lot of my time there.

I wasn't really fond of the residence situation my first year and my second year I often wanted to be left alone, something that couldn't really happen at home, so I found peace in doing my work at the office. I eventually got added to the list of people who can get the key to access the office and once I did, I was there every day before and after classes, always working on projects or schoolwork. The office became my second home, a trend you’ll notice I hold onto as the years go on. I loved that place and whenever I was in there I was always reminded of what I was a part of, and the people coming and going provided fun distractions throughout the day as I worked away.

We kept selling out games, we actually sold out 8 games by the end of the regular season, and it became quite a routine for us and what we did felt more natural. When you have a group of people (mainly volunteers) all together because of one passion and pride, the desire to work hard is contagious and you realize everyone around you wants this to be the best it can be, just as much as you.

We came up with themed nights throughout the season like Jersey Night and Winter Storm night. Jersey Night we informed the crowd to come wearing their favorite jersey and we would find the best jerseys in the crowd. Winter Storm night happened at the end of January and it was probably our most extravagant night of the year. We decorated the entire gym in white and draped white all over the side of the bleachers, and we had special “THIS IS OUR HOUSE” white t-shirts made for everyone on the WEAREREADY and basketball teams to wear. Those nights made me realize the power of a group working together, but they weren’t the thing that drove that fact home.

Paint the Meridian Red, Saturday December 2nd against the phenomenal and historic Carleton Ravens. We went in 9-1 after a loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees at home the night before, and this was the biggest night of the season and it took a lot of prep. I wasn't sure how it all worked, I attended the 2016 game as a fan but I was very oblivious to the process of it. That week leading up to the game was unlike any promotional week leading up to that. Everything was inflated, more tickets, more graphics on social media, more hallway walks telling students to buy tickets, more meetings to discuss game day and the in-game activities. Every day there was something going on in and out of the office and boy it was exhilarating.

The excitement built as the event got closer. We sold roughly 200 tickets a day from Monday-Wednesday and then everything picked up Thursday and Friday as people figured out what they were doing on the weekend. We sold out the event and the afternoon of the game when all the preparations at the arena went off without a hitch, but there was a slight problem, 80% of the people who bought tickets showed up in time for the men’s game and avoided the women’s game.

We, the WEAREREADY team, had it raised to us during the year that we were not delivering enough people to the women’s game, and with us feeling like we were doing all we could be doing, we had to brainstorm other ways that will possibly work better, ways that we weren’t doing for the men’s game considering we were doing the same things for both teams up until that point. That took a while to figure out and it still hasn't been completely figured out but if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that I’ve tried every possible thing I could with the resources I had over my 4 years to generate discussion and interest in the women’s team and balancing out the crowds so its not as obvious that more people wanted to watch the men’s game.

I spent the next 3 years after this scratching my head as I experimented with different forms of media to get the message out to students and the community. This is what still pains me the most about my time with Brock Basketball. I could never truly figure out what the key is to having consistently large numbers of people at the women’s game. I know a large part of it is record. People who maybe don't understand basketball as much would see a game and check how good the teams are based on their record or winning streak. If the teams have two great records, the game would be more appealing realistically. But I could never quite figure out what the key was beyond that and it always frustrated me that there’s probably something I’m missing that would give the team the exposure they probably deserved.

The men lost their game against Carleton in overtime in-front of a packed arena, but the end of their regular season was almost as great as you could ask. They won all their remaining games up until the final game of the season where they travelled to Windsor and were defeated. They finished 21-3 and we had a playoff game to set up for.

Over the course of those 1 and a half months ending off the season, we sold out several more home games like the well-oiled machine we were, and we sold out a bus trip to Waterloo and Ryerson for two fantastic games. The most memorable moment being a Cassidy Ryan shoulder 3 and walking back down the court smiling as the crowd went crazy in a game we won emphatically.

Ryerson got their revenge though. Our playoff run didn't go as planned, but the promotional side was still a blast. As I said, we were operating on automatic as the 2nd semester rolled on. We went from having meetings to discuss roles, to having meetings to discuss whatever fun new thing we want to implement at later games. I had never been a part of a team that had so much chemistry and had so much fun every day as I did with WEAREREADY, that group was special and I wish that year wasn't the end.

We started with a game against Laurier at home and the thing I remember the most was the graphic we made to promote the game and OUA playoffs coming to Brock. “Playoffs Is Here” in big white lettering with shadows of players behind it and a maroon tint, with Dani in clear colour at the bottom. I loved that graphic and it’s stuck with me, I don't know why. We ramped up the hallway walks for this one, including one with Johneil to get the students excited. The crowd for the game was electric, just like it was for our next playoff game against Ryerson.

This is where Ryerson got their revenge. February 28, 2018, a Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Bob Davis was sold out and the crowd was energized. This is the environment every person in charge of marketing for teams strives for. It was probably our best crowd inside the Bob Davis Gym all year. We had noisemakers, we had the drums, students everywhere yelling and cheering, it felt as massive as it was. Unfortunately, Ryerson came out on top 69-63 and the crowds 2 hours of hype and excitement came to a rushed end, along with our playoff hopes.

This whole year hadn’t quite set in yet. How I was put onto a team that went 21-3 and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. How I was put in the WEAREREADY team and got to experience a team of 25 people working every single day and loving every minute of the work they did. It definitely kept my passion going and got me inspired to do more.

In January of that year, I started writing articles for the WEAREREADY site about the team, and game recaps. I had started writing game recaps for Raptors games over the holidays and Mohammed who is one of the leaders of WEAREREADY suggested that I move onto the WEAREREADY site and write there. I did and as the last few weeks passed, I got into quite the rhythm of being a regular contributor to the site. The views of each article were rising and rising and I started getting feedback on my work. It was definitely inspiring, I enjoyed writing and basketball and hearing that people were enjoying it gave me the motivation to keep going.

By the end of February I had gotten used to promotion and the job of the social media coordinator, I got into a swing of writing for the website and I wanted to try more, I wanted to expand, into a bigger role and take on more responsibility. I started to get this sense that my goal is to leave an impact. I wanted to do something special and make the program better than it was when I joined it. I wanted to make an impact, larger than myself. That became my saying and fueled me for the years to come.

But wait, the year wasn't done. The National Championships included a Wild Card seed and near the end of the regular season and into playoffs I had heard that we were definitely in the running for it, if not in the lead because of our stellar regular season. I then found out we had been granted the Wild Card seed, and suddenly we were put into the biggest promotional push we had all year. We were going to Halifax to compete for a National Championship, as if the year couldn't get any crazier. Our work was going to be thrust into the national spotlight and a week in Halifax was in the future.

As a promotional team, we met prior to being awarded the Wild Card spot, and talked about how we were favored to receive the seed. It was the 10 year anniversary of the 2008 men’s team that won the National Championship, so the storylines for promotion if we did receive the wild card came easy, but we wanted to go bigger. We wanted to be there, as a full promotional team and as Badger fans.

We went to Athletics and the University asking for the biggest favor we had asked for all year. We wanted to take a bus trip to Halifax. We wanted to fill the Badger bus with people and take a road trip to Halifax to meet the men’s team and watch their games on the national stage, and we did. We immediately started pushing the bus trip to Halifax campaign and got a group of dedicated students to take a week of their lives off and hop on a bus for a drive to Halifax.

I didn't end up going on the bus. I was going to, I was getting hotel accommodations set up with others in the WEAREREADY team, until the night before when I got a call from coach Frank Mete. He asked me if I would like to go with them to nationals. He bought me a plane ticket with them and I would have a hotel room with the team. I was blown away. I had no clue I would be asked to go with them and I was all ready to have plans with the WEAREREADY team, but those plans changed. I quickly packed and the next day I walked over to Athletics and got on a bus with the men’s basketball team to the Toronto Island airport for a flight to Halifax Nova Scotia.

Coach Kissi said he had something special planned for the bus ride, I had no clue what he meant or what he could mean, I just thought we were driving to the airport. First we stopped at a restaurant in Toronto for lunch and I had excellent pasta. We took a team picture at the restaurant and got back on the bus. The surprise that came next definitely shocked me, and it involved going to the Scotiabank Arena. We stopped the bus outside the arena, the doors opened and Bet on Yourself Fred VanVleet walked on the bus. As you'd expect, everyone erupted in joy and cheer. Fred told us to enjoy our time and play hard, a message I’m sure everyone took to heart given the fact it was coming from a Toronto Raptors point guard and a man who knows all about being an underdog.

If getting the wild card spot and being asked to join the team on the plane didn't make going to the national championships sink in, this definitely made me realize what exactly we were about to do. We were on our way to the U Sports National Championships along with the 7 best teams in Canada.

An afternoon flight from the Island Airport put us in Halifax early in the evening, and the routine immediately started. Team meetings, film, prep for practices, we went straight to business and prepped for our first game against Calgary. Walking into that arena in Halifax for the first time and seeing the U Sports logo at center court and the decal around the arena was surreal. I had been to a national championship as a fan at the end of the 2014 season when I went to cheer on my Carleton Ravens men’s team in Toronto to a national championship victory, but this was different. I was actually a part of one of the programs participating, I had the credential with the word team at the bottom, I was official. Shit was about to get real and boy did it ever.

Throughout our 3 games at nationals and the many practices between, it was still sinking in that we were on the biggest stage in Canadian University sport. The result didn't go as we planned but that week in Halifax gave me memories I will never forget. Walking in with Dani Elgadi and Johneil Simpson for our final game and hearing them talk about how this could be their last game hit me and made me appreciate the moment more because none of us knew if we’d ever get that moment again.

We came home from nationals, I wrote a 12-page paper on the day that we travelled home for one of my classes, and the year was wrapping up. I should mention prior to the season we had gotten pictures taken that were for sportsnet during the nationals tournament, probably used if we had made it farther than we did, but still a cool experience nonetheless. We got those pictures once we returned and I still keep it as a memory of the week in Halifax and the team that was the 2017 Men’s Basketball team.

Before the year fully wrapped up, the WEAREREADY team had one last event, the athletic banquet.

Near the end of March 2018, the WEAREREADY team gathered with every other Brock sports team at a local convention building to hold the annual Athletic Banquet where teams are awarded and recognized for their efforts and results. It was a really fun night, though my social anxiety killed me for it afterwards and I couldn't sleep that night.

WEAREREADY didn't have much to do with the proceedings, we were more there because we were a part of the system and Brock Athletics. It was really great to see all the athletes from various sports get recognized for a years’ worth of hard work, and it was a great environment to be in overall because of the chemistry all the athletes had with eachother. Seeing everyone together having fun and not in their workout clothes or practice jerseys is cool, kind of a different and more relaxed side of everybody.

Our recognition came after the Athletic Banquet, in a subtler form. The Brock Press ran a student survey which acted like a fan voted banquet, and Brock Men’s Basketball won Social Media account of the year. Not bad for the squad I’d say. We definitely worked hard for it. Me, Shenique, Charles, Mackenzie, Carly, Tyler, Mohammed…everyone put in work to make the account the best it could be, and it seemed to be paying off. Wait until we start again next year…or so I thought.

Like the Avatar series where they say “everything changed after the fire nation attacked”, well everything changed after the university wanted a bigger hold on what we did. I’m not going to get into detail but over the summer of 2018, while I was doing an internship with Canada Basketball, WEAREREADY was crumbling over the course of several meetings with the university, and the group was more or less disbanded and our resources were seized by marketing, best way I could put it.

The school’s Ancillary Services were set to take over as the heads of Brock Athletics social media and shit was about to change fast. This didn't sit well with the WEAREREADY team at all. We, (others more than me) had spent a lot of time putting our soul into what we had built and having it taken and us told that the brand that we built from the ground up wouldn't be allowed to exist anymore and the site would have to have no association with Brock whatsoever, was tough to hear.

A lot of emotions in the final meeting where we were told the opportunities we still had, and that group was never the same after that. For me, I was extremely frustrated. Over the 2nd semester of the 2017-18 year, I was getting into the rhythm of my job and I had included writing into my set of skills, contributing to the site, and hearing the site would be taken away from under me right when I felt I was building something took a big hit on my confidence. I had finally found something I could pour my heart and soul into, and after a momentous year, I felt like I could sink my teeth into the job and really make the most out of it and make an impact, but a massive obstacle was put in my way with the many changes.

I had no idea where I would write or how my writing would have to change, but I definitely wasn't going to let it stop me. I was still with the team, I was still a team manager, so I’ll just write for the tumblr page I had going and just publish it myself, no association with Brock needed. I would keep writing and everything would be fine.

That wasn't exactly how it went. Brock created a page for me on the athletics website and allowed me to post my articles through them which was great and gave me a second life and motivation to keep improving the writing. A lot of restrictions were placed around the social media side but I’d adjust, I loved this shit, I wasn't going to go down easy.

The size of the group significantly decreased with people not taking the new ownership nicely. A lot of the same work was now placed on a significantly smaller group of individuals, and I saw that as a challenge. Sure our social media team was now 3 people instead of the 6 we had last year, but I could make up for that, I was ready to go all in.

Back at the end of August 2018 I was at Brock on a Friday night watching a varsity game and that's when I met with the leader of WEAREREADY Mo where he told me what was going to happen with WEAREEREADY. That was also the same evening where I came across the women’s basketball team practicing and I was asked by Mike Rao to help out with the women’s team that year. I wasn't sure what was going to happen after I heard about WEAREREADY, and I told Rao how I was feeling and he informed me I could always help him out as a team manager, but I had no intention of letting go of social media without trying all I could.

Also that night I had an unknown run-in with two veterans of the women’s team that I’d spend a lot of time with as the year went on, even though I didn’t know it at the time. I had no idea the women were practicing until I was sitting in the walker complex downstairs after meeting about WEAREREADY, and two women who I recognized as seniors Jess Morris and Melissa Tatti walked by me going back to the gym. I was really shocked because the last time I had seen either of them was the 2016-17 season, and from what I heard I thought they were done with Brock Basketball.

Finding out they were back got me really excited because coming into 2017 before I found out they were no longer with the team, I had been really pumped to possibly get to meet them through the basketball teams I was now working with, and see them play at a closer level. That, along with the idea of meeting and knowing a few other people on the team, made the decision to become a manager for the women’s team very easy.

As I mentioned, going to women’s basketball games was one of the few things I did during the 2016-17 year. I was very invested in the team and the players on the team. I tried to study how they played and predit how they would play against different opponents. Aside from Melissa and Jess, two players I got to see in 2016 and gained an interest in was Baelie Campbell and Allie Columbus. I respected how they played. Baelie the vocal leader that did whatever was needed of her. Allie the leader by example who would give 110% every minute she was on the floor and committed everything she had to the team and winning.

For a very self-contained guy looking for a way to get into the school culture and begin to fit in, they sparked my interest in women’s basketball and the way they carried themselves on the court gave me something to learn from as I tried to more or less fit in amongst my new universities students. I told myself that I wanted to find some way to meet them and ask them about their playstyle that I found so intriguing. Lucky for me, the women’s team gave me that opportunity in 2018 and the two who had been role models for me and how I carry myself throughout my years at Brock, started to become my best friends and two people I go to for everything, and people who understand me better than anybody. So I have the women’s team and my experiences to thank for that.

Continuing with the 2016 team, Bridget and Alex. Bridget is probably the best overall player I’ve ever seen in varsity basketball. Her command of her skills and her toughness combine to create a ferocious duo and she proved to be unstoppable all year long. Watching her play in games made them so much fun to watch and she showed me what the best of the best are like in the league. She showed me the dominance that comes from working hard, like Melissa, and she truly made the experience enjoyable every weekend. Alex running alongside Melissa and Bridget caught my interest because of her ability to space the floor and find her spots, and her pull up jumper. Even though she was a senior who ended up not playing basketball after 2016, she helped spark my interest in the women’s team and was another person I wanted to get to know.

In 2017 I got to watch Kristin Gallant, the person who would go on and become part of the OUAs All-Rookie team and take Brock by storm. Her athleticism, ability to take contact and her leadership immediately stuck out to me as she became a rookie that was heavily depended on. So many aspects of her game seemed outstanding to me because of her just being a rookie. She had incredible toughness and will to win and she immediately caught my eye and I knew I had to find out what went into the excellence she showed on the court every week. I wanted to look closer at her game and how she prepared, and the women’s team gave me that opportunity. She, like Baelie and Allie, became one of my closest friends and what I learned throughout 2018 and 2019 and the years after, only reinforced the great things I heard about her during the 2017 season when I was watching from a distance while working with the men’s team.

Those are the people who influenced my transition from the men’s team to the women’s team from a basketball perspective, but from a work and marketing perspective it was something completely different.

I got comfortable with what the job demanded of me during the 2017 season, and going into the next year I wanted to raise the bar. I wanted to grow everything I did and I wanted to make a larger impact, whether that be from what I do or how much I do. The women’s team and the situation around marketing gave me that opportunity. With the small amount of people returning from the WEAREREADY group, a smaller group of people were tasked with almost the same amount of responsibility. I saw an opportunity, working alongside my great friend Mackenzie Gerry, to take hold of a team and really push myself to raise the bar. The women’s team gave me an opportunity with a new team that had its struggles on the marketing side despite WEAREREADY’s restless effort, and I saw it as a chance to do something special and work alongside a special group of individuals in the people I knew were on that team.

We may have lost ¾ of our promotional team, but I was now in an environment where I knew what I was doing and I was going to try my hardest to not make it seem like we lost as many people as we did. I went into that year with the mindset of they may have taken WEAREREADY away but they didn't take the passion and love for what we do, away, so I’m going to use that to the best way I can. So the year started and I got to work immediately, ready to make an impact larger than myself.

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recapthecourt · 5 years ago

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Life Post Basketball Part 6: Melissa Tatti

Stories of graduated Brock Women’s Basketball players

Jacob Smith

Being a student athlete can be very rewarding but also very taxing. Long seasons, team changes, stress of managing the very busy schedule, these are all things that can contribute to what can be remembered as a great or not so great career. Different people go through different experiences when they are a student athlete, even though they may play on the same team, and those experiences can not only affect their thoughts about their playing career, but also their transition to no longer being a student athlete. I interviewed 7 graduated players from the Brock Women’s Basketball program and asked them about how they thought their career went, and what they are doing now that they no longer have the student athlete schedule and lifestyle. In this series, I will take you through each of them and tell you their experiences both in the program, and how they have adjusted to no longer being a student athlete, and what they are doing now with all the free time they have.

Melissa Tatti

Melissa started her career with the Badgers in 2014. With schools across the country and the United States recruiting her, she chose Brock as her destination, and after 6 years, she has seen and done it all. In her first season, Melissa immediately became a starting guard for the Badgers, and averaged 12.6 points per game along with 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. This standout performance by a rookie led her to be on the OUA All-Rookie team, and earn the team MVP award for that season. The badgers finished 8-11 on the season, losing to UofT in the first round of the playoffs.

Throughout the 2014-2015 season, head coach Si was building a core of players that would push the Badgers to even greater heights in the 2015 season. Melissa followed her standout rookie season by helping the Badgers improve to 10-9 in 2015, and a spot on the national rankings for the first half of the season. With just 3 games left in the regular season, Melissa suffered a concussion in a game against Nipissing where they won 85-49, and sat out the rest of the season, including a 51-69 playoff loss to Guelph who had Bridget Atkinson, 2014 Rookie of the Year and 2015 all-star, a player who would become a Badger the following season. Melissa earned herself an OUA 2nd team all-star commendation for the 2015 season, another accomplishment added to what would become the long list of OUA and U Sports accomplishments she achieved.

Her third season was the first season of Ashley MacSporran as the head coach, and it ended up being a year that would push Melissa to take a year off during the 2017-18 season. The Badgers roster changed almost completely going into 2016-2017, aside from a small group of players that had been formed the year before. Under the new coaching style, the Badgers saw less success on the court and players desire to continue with basketball dwindled. Brock finished the season 8-11, tied with Lakehead for 2nd in the OUA Central division, and lost to Lakehead in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 67-49. Despite the complications that the team had, Melissa averaged the highest points of her career to that point, scoring 13.8 per game, along with a career high 4.6 assists per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Alongside new Badger and standout player Bridget Atkinson, the Badgers backcourt continued to make an impact in the OUA, and Melissa continued to improve her game, earning another team MVP award.

During the 2017-2018 school year, Melissa took time off, and during that time, she was able to focus on new passions that she would turn into full time careers. After a season of trials and tribulations, Melissa was ready for her year off, and she’s glad she took it, “honestly, I ended on such a sour note after my third year at Brock that when I took my year off I did not really miss basketball or want to touch a basketball again. My year off was actually really good as I found other passions such as my YouTube channel and clothing business”. Now after everything that has happened with how Melissa’s last two season with the Badgers went, she remembers “after that year I wouldn't have thought I’d be ending my career so successfully at Brock, things came full swing”.

Things did come full swing, and it started with Melissa’s return to the Women’s program for the 2018-2019 season, along with teammate Jess Morris, under the new head coach Mike Rao. Deciding to play basketball again meant transitioning back to the student athlete schedule, and more time management, especially with the new passions she had picked up during her year off. Like anybody picking up a routine as demanding, Melissa met the challenge, with a little complications and understanding from coach Rao, “of course it was a bit of a challenge from having no schedule to going back to a full time student athlete, you aren’t used to having to be somewhere every day. I was also trying to keep up my business and YouTube so my days were usually pretty jammed. You can ask Rao, I was always running into the gym just on time or a little late”.

Melissa was running back to a new team, with only 5 or so players that were on the team the last time Melissa was. The 2017-2018 season under Ashley MacSporran introduced a large group of recruits, and coach Mike Rao brought in his own group when he took over in the summer of 2018. Melissa would have a new backcourt combination, no longer Bridget Atkinson and Alex Symonds, but Jess Morris and 2017 All-Rookie team member Kristin Gallant who was coming into her second year excited and anxious to play with her new trio.

Melissa made an instant impact on the Badgers play, just as she did when he started as a rookie. She was thrusted back into the starting point guard position and averaged the most minutes she had in her career. Melissa was the focal point of the Badgers offence and she led the team to a 11-13 record and a 2nd round appearance in the OUA playoffs, losing to McMaster 81-70. She earned another 2nd team all-star commendation and pushed her way higher and higher up the all-time lists of Brock Women’s Basketball.

Her final season was her best, not only from an individual performance perspective but a team perspective. Brock added pieces in the offseason, replacing players who weren’t returning to the team, and the trio of Jess Morris, Kristin Gallant and Melissa were clicking more and more. Brock finished the regular season with a 17-5 record and a first round bye in the OUA playoffs. They went on to defeat Windsor and Western to earn themselves a spot in the OUA championship game where they defeated Ryerson to capture the OUA banner, and a spot in the U Sports Final 8. Brock continued to fight their way through the national championship and made it to the gold medal game where they lost to Saskatchewan and earned a silver medal. Amongst all of the teams accomplishments, Melissa was a first team all-star, a team MVP and the OUA Player of the Year. She is now the Badgers all-time leading scorer and is amongst the top 10 in many more stats in Brock Women’s Basketball.

“My career at Brock was filled with ups and downs for sure”, Melissa said, looking back at her journey as a Brock Badger, “I went through 3 different coaches and about 5 completely different teams but I wouldn't have it any other way. Throughout the years I never would have thought my career would end on such a positive and high note. From being a middle pack team for 4 of my years, to finishing with an OUA title, Player of the Year award and not only making an appearance at nationals, but making it to the finals. The culture has changed so much over the years, and that’s the key to being a successful team”.

Melissa’s third coach, Mike Rao, was a big part of the push the Badgers made and his playstyle led to much more enjoyment of the game, and proven results with how the Badgers did over Melissa’s last two seasons. Following the 2019-2020 season, head coach Mike Rao earned OUA Male and U Sports coach of the year, along with the Brock Coach of the Year award. Melissa knows how important he is to the team chemistry and buying into what the team had to do and she expressed that by saying, “it started of course when Rao took the head coaching position, he implemented a new culture for Brock Women’s Basketball, he figured out what worked best for the athletes he had and created a fun, positive and competitive environment. Having a great coach makes you want to play and win even more. We also got along really well, and when you love your teammates, you aren’t just playing and fighting for yourself, you’re playing for all of them and your coach”.

Melissa said it, it was a career of ups and downs with lots of changes along the way, but ever since 2017, there’s been one constant, her business and YouTube channel that she works full time on now. If you were to ask her what she’s doing now she would say, “I’m back into my full business mode”. She told me “I’ve been really busy with it as the online world has been crazy with the corona virus going on”. This busy agenda maintaining her business and all the different aspects has made the transition from being a full time student athlete easy, but she credits part of that also to the success the team had and how proud she is of the ending, “I think I would’ve been a little more disappointed to finish my career if we didn't end on such a high note, but we absolutely killed it this year and I do feel like I left everything I had on the court”.

She gave Brock everything she had for her 5 seasons, statistically she is one of the best players to play in the program, and now she can move on to her other goals in her life with the same devotion and dedication she showed the Badgers for 5 years. With all of the accomplishments and the success the team had, Tatti has no regrets about how her career went, “I am extremely thankful for the way this year went. I’m now excited to see what they can do next year and I’ll be on the sidelines cheering”.

The Badgers have big shoes to fill, but the impact Melissa has left on the program will span far longer than her time around the program. She’s set an example for many and her work ethic should be a clear tell of how she has done the things she’s done. One of the greatest is now working towards her dreams off of the basketball court, and the Badgers can’t wait to see her on the sidelines, cheering on the next generation of Badgers as they build on the foundation Melissa has helped build.

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recapthecourt · 5 years ago

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Life Post Basketball Part 5: Courtney McPherson

Stories of graduated Brock Women’s Basketball players

Jacob Smith

Courtney McPherson

Courtney burst onto the scene in 2014 when she started her time at Niagara College. In her first of 3 seasons, the Knights finished 11-7, with a loss to Humber and St. Clair in the OCAA Championships. The 2014 season was the first of two seasons that Courtney played alongside her sister, Kaitlyn McPherson. Averaging 12.9 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game, Courtney earned the teams’ MVP and Rookie of the Year Award, as well as a 2nd team all-star recognition, a standout season that would set her off on a very successful journey as a Knight.

The following two seasons with Niagara saw just as much success for Courtney. She was awarded the team’s MVP award in both of the following years, and first team all-star in 2015 and 2016. As a team, in 2015 the Knights finished 8-10 with a loss to Algonquin followed by a victory over Lambton and St. Clair in the OCAA championship. 2015 was also the first year for teammate and longtime friend Brooke-Lyn Murdoch, who’d transfer with Courtney after the 2016 season, to Brock to continue their careers as a Badger.

The 2016 season was the year Courtney put an exclamation mark on her OCAA impact, but as a group, the level of enjoyment wasn't what it was prior, “my last year was the least amount of fun I’d say. It was still fun but not as fun as before because the regular group of girls weren’t there anymore”. The Knights made a lot of changes going into the 2016 season, with an influx of transfers and recruits. Courtney alongside Brooke-Lyn and Mary Ingribelli, who had been with the Knights since Courtney arrived, pushed Niagara to a 12-6 record, with a 2-1 record in the OCAA championship ending in a win in the consolation final over Algonquin.

Courtney ended her Niagara career averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds on her career, an academic All-Canadian and a 3-time all-star. Even though there were changes to the roster after every season, the most coming in her final year, Courtney made connections with people during every season, and set a goal to make at least one friend on every team, showing her care and support of others.

Courtney transferred to Brock for the 2017-2018 season, and played her final two seasons with the Badgers. “I came in feeling like a rookie. I felt shy and nervous because even though I had played at Niagara, I hadn’t been in the OUA before. I only got more comfortable as I got more playing time, and began to get into a rhythm in the new environment I was in”, Courtney said of her 2017 season. Courtney’s first season with the Badgers was under head coach Ashley MacSporran, and with the injury troubles the Badgers had that season, she was asked to play a lot of minutes. She became a very dependable piece for the Badgers as they pushed through that season, and she showed herself to be a person you can always count on to give effort, even going into her next and final year with even more changes, under new head coach Mike Rao.

Courtney finished her playing career with the Badgers by helping them push to the 2nd round of the OUA Playoffs in the 2018-19 season. She showed her strong rebounding ability and her willingness to fight through contact to go back up under the rim, and she was a big piece of the Badgers push throughout the season. Once the season ended, Courtney’s playing career was done, but her time with the Brock Women’s Basketball was far from over.

Courtney joined the coaching staff for the 2019-2020 season, becoming an assistant coach alongside Mike Rao, to lead the team to the gold medal game of the national championship. The transition to being a coach however, was not easy. During the summer of 2019 leading up to the season as an assistant coach, and throughout the beginning of the season, Courtney had to shift her brain from being a teammate, to being a coach, “I really tried to pull myself away from the girls to put myself in a coaches role over friend role. I pulled away so when I was talking with them I was talking as a coach rather than as a friend”. She was able to change her mindset to be a more effective coach, and it was a little easier than she had originally expected, “I thought I was going to miss playing a lot more, miss getting subbed into games. I actually really enjoyed helping the girls more and times where I could clarify the coaches’ decisions, and I think that’s one of the aspects I enjoyed the most”.

Going into what will be her 2nd year as an assistant coach for Brock Women’s Basketball, the transition has been unexpected, but one she loves, looking back at the past few years Courtney says, “I didn't think I’d be where I am. I thought I’d be a little kids coach or doing something as a volunteer. I didn’t think I’d be an assistant coach at Brock, so it’s been a fun and surreal experience for me really my whole career. If I could change one thing about how I approached coaching this year, it would be that I wish I spoke out more in groups. I would encourage myself to speak more because I get scared in-front of larger groups”.

Courtney has had a standout career. An all-star and MVP at Niagara College followed by a playoff push with the Badgers and helping grow a foundation that led to further success while she was an assistant coach, Courtney has experienced a lot at the university and college level, and she now takes that knowledge and experience and applies it to her coaching of younger players. She’s got a bright future in the game of basketball and the passion for others success and love for the game, sets her apart and makes her a great coach.

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