So it's a BIG night tonight. Simpson Basketball is traveling to Pella, Iowa to take on THE biggest archrivals of the Storm Nation, the Central Dutch. It's always been an intense battle between the two neighboring schools, and I don't expect it to be anything less tonight.

The "competitive spirit" between colleges is so deeply-rooted within each of us that it continues to be ingrained in every newcomer's mind the minute they begin their preseason training. It's what makes each team bring their "A" game every time they play each other. It's what makes alumni return to their alma-mater to watch a big game and immerse themselves in the atmosphere. It's a tradition.

Still, with all the hype of rivalry and the cry of tradition, what really matters is what happens on the floor. Each team can talk, yell, and chant all they want, but when it really comes down to it, it depends on the players of each team; how they handle themselves on the floor throughout the entire game, if they help someone on the opposing team up or not, if someone is taking cheap shots against their opponents or if they are playing fair. Winning and losing with respect is what keeps the pride of each college's tradition alive.

But, when you do get a win, for some reason, it is much, much sweeter. J

On January 7, Coach Niemuth accomplished something that very few other coaches have. He won his 400^th career game. I mean, seriously, 400?!?! That's impressive. However, I've come to realize that this accomplishment was more than just a number. It's a testament to the leadership Coach Niemuth has obtained over the last 22 years as Simpson Women's Basketball Coach.

Like in the Spartan movie, 300, the leadership of King Leonidas inspires the rest of Sparta to take on their enemy and fight until the death. (Historically speaking, Sparta was a very active military power.) Every time the Spartans go into battle, King Leonidas demonstrates, through his leadership, the pride of Sparta. He won't allow anyone to cave or surrender, and he pushes every one of his soldiers to their greatest potential. It all sounds too familiar to me, and although death might be a little extreme in our case, we definitely would come pretty close if need be.

Coaching a team is obviously on a way smaller scale than leading a country into war, but they do share some of the same necessary qualities that make successful leaders. Dedicated to building a program that allows nothing less than your best, Coach Niemuth pushes everyone of his players to the best of their abilities. (Trust me, he'll let you know when you can run faster J ) He's proud of what he's established at Simpson and has every right to be. He also builds confidence and trust in every individual relationship he has with each of his players. This genuine interest in all of his players is what inspires our team to take on our enemies and never stop fighting. Finally, he's just a good coach. He knows the game and he knows the strengths of his team. It's as simple as that. (plus a little help from some superstitions never hurt).

Credit also needs to be given to all the players who have come before this team and have contributed to his wins as well. I'm sure they feel the same way about him as our team does now. They set the bar in what it takes to play in this program, and it hasn't let down since. Their hard work in the past has allowed us to enjoy Coach's accomplishment now. Thanks, gals. We are...SIMPSON!!

Here's a short wrap-up of the Simpson Women's Christmas Chaos...

-Wake up incredibly early to travel to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for Cruizin' Classic Tourney on Dec. 14^th.

-Defeat Muskingum and Marymount (Va.)

-Have fun in the sun!! Yes, it was mid-70s to low 80s all week...

-Wake up incredibly early (again) to come home to the Iowa tundra on Dec. 20^th.

-Take our NCAA-Required "7 day break"

-Return to Simpson for a two-a-day on Dec. 28^th

-First loss to St. Thomas on Dec. 30^th

-Return after our New Year's break, and defeat University of Dubuque on Jan. 3^rd.

Well, after a crazy busy Christmas break, it's that time again. It's like I don't even want to say it because it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Classes. I guess it's just one of those things you have to do being a Division III student/athlete. Waking up for 8 a.m. classes 4 out of 5 days of the week cramps my style quite a bit.

After the first couple days of the semester, I realized that there are some common traits between my classes and our recent loss to St. Thomas. For one, my classes this semester might be some of the hardest I've had and being an active member of the procrastination nation, I'm going to have to remember to do the small stuff. Reading all the chapters, taking super extensive notes, asking questions, studying in advance for tests, etc. are a just a few things that can/will be done, especially if I want to receive the grades I want. I won't be able to wait for the night-before-a-test cram sessions or blow off a chapter to play Wii. (My roommate got a Wii for Christmas and oh, the temptations!!!!) I can't wait for the results of my first tests to decide what I need to do to get the grades. This small stuff has to be done now, and trust me, I'll still be sweating when I'm taking the exams.

The small stuff is what got us in trouble in our game against St. Thomas. Believe me, we busted our butts during that game, but there was one lull in the beginning of the second half that contributed to the outcome of the game. You wouldn't really think that two and a half minutes would make such a difference, but it did. We let down just enough for that little amount of time to make a difference. However, we definitely picked it back up and didn't rest until the after final horn blew. Another part of the small stuff that we failed to execute was our rebounding. We got beat on the boards and it also contributed to our loss, and yes, we're taking appropriate measures to prevent that from happening again. So when people say that you shouldn't sweat the small stuff, maybe they're right, in some aspects of life. But, when it comes to hard classes and basketball games, the "small stuff" is the difference between passing and failing, and winning and losing.

I woke up this morning and looked out the window and thought, "Uh oh, is BV (Buena Vista University) going to even make it here?!" It was snowing like crazy. I wouldn't even hesitate to call it a blizzard, and of course, it would just so happen to be on the day of our first home game, plus our first game of the conference season. This morning on my way to class, a billion tiny little snowflakes pelted my face, only allowing a very small of amount of seeing capabilities out of the skinny slivers of my tightly squinted eyelids. It's like that annoying blowing rain that attacks your face, only in the form of micro sized icy darts. So with minimum sight and fighting a relentless attack to the face, I quickly was reminded about another thing involving winter weather. There's actually ice beneath the newly-fallen white blanket making every step one step closer to meeting the ground face to face. Luckily, I didn't ever come in close contact with the ground, but I'm sure it was pretty entertaining watching me as my arms were flailing about and trying to regain my footing on the ridiculously slippery snow-covered ice. Yes, I walked like a robot the rest of the way to class. Welcome to Iowa.

There's always something very exciting about playing the first home game of the year. What makes it even better is that it's our first conference game of the year, too! This is when it really starts to count. From here on out, it's ultra-serious ball. The comfort of your own gym, the roar of your own student body, the blaring warm up music that gets your blood flowing hot and that smell of popcorn as you run in the gym to get ready for warm ups is what makes playing at home so great. You get that something extra that you don't get when you're on the road that makes you want to work harder. It's the atmosphere. It's almost like getting an extra build-up of excited energy, which ends up showing in every aspect of the game. Its that drive that makes us want to grind our opponent into the ground even more. It's our turf.

'No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around.' -former Notre Dame head coach Dan Devine (from the movie, Rudy).

This is why they call it the home team advantage. Ahh, Home Sweet Home. Welcome to Simpson.

Ever been in one of those games where your shots just won't fall? Those shots that no one misses in practice now dance in and out of that orange metal ring during the game? Shooting "lights out" in practice, then turning around and I quote "not being able to throw a ball in the ocean from a boat" when it comes time for them to really count? I'm sure everyone has had a few of those games. Luckily, it still didn't prevent us from winning our opening three games of the season. Now, a 3-0 record is nothing to complain about, and believe me, I'm pretty stoked about it, but it still feels like we haven't found our grove yet. However, I have composed a list of what to do when you don't know what to do...

#1: Trust in the Coach- With the record our coach, Coach Niemuth, has had throughout his years as Simpson Women's Basketball coach, you would be a fool not to trust him. I mean seriously, close to 400 wins plus all kinds of other honors? (Really, check his bio on our website) He obviously knows what he's doing. A good team does what their coach tells them, but a great team believes in what their coach is telling them. He's been able to prove time and time again through his coaching abilities that he knows the game of basketball and how to win, and that's what makes his players trust him.

#2: Trust Your Teammates- Let's get serious here, too. You spend hours upon hours with them, you play ball with them everyday, you end up accidentally snuggling up to them at night in those hotels beds that you stay in all the time. They are your family. You know their personalities, what makes them tick and what ticks them off. You laugh with them and you compete with them. They push you as hard as you work to push them, and that right there, should be enough. It it isn't, then here: They were recruited by a coach that you trust. You've seen their abilities in practice. They are working towards the same goals you are. The End.

#3: Rely on What the Team's Strengths are- If it's executing plays, running the floor, setting the tempo, or a number of other things, stick to it. People are most comfortable doing things they are good at. Go back to your fundamentals and execute. I heard this once from a very intense, and hardworking coach. "Punish them with your abilities. Make them pay for how good you are." Thanks, Coach Snyder.

#4: Work Your Butt Off- There's that quote that states, "Hard work will beat Talent if Talent doesn't work hard" guess what?!?! WE HAVE BOTH!! and we exercise our use of them rather well, might I add. But in cases (or in games) where things aren't exactly going your way, the only thing you can do is continue to trust the coach and your teammates, and work two to three times as hard. We're talking 220-330% here! (that is, if the coach is asking for 110% at the starting point) All-out, full-hearted, butt-kicking, in-their-shorts pace.

#4.5: Give 'em a little Kung Fu- enough said.

Last Friday, we participated in our annual Red/Gold Scrimmage. It's an inter squad scrimmage where we split up into two teams, put on our game gear, and play a game against each other. With the lead bouncing from one team to the other throughout the entire game, all I could think about was how amazingly interchangeable we obviously were, and last time I checked, that was a good thing. What a great start to a great weekend!

The continuation of greatness flowed into Saturday's football game where we faced our archrivals, Central College at Central. Not only is Central our biggest rival in the Iowa conference, but it was the last game of the year for our football team. This was probably the most exhilarating, most nerve-racking display of all-out effort and heart that I have ever seen from our football squad in the past four years. I don't know what it was, but those boys had something special that drove them through regulation time and into overtime for one of their most glorified wins, finishing 24-17 in OT. It was almost like the Storm football gods had given them a special, super hero powers.

Still in amazement of the super awesome weekend, I still couldn't get over how thrilling the weekend had been. What was it in those athletes that I had seen compete, both in basketball and football, that made them so successful? Was it some kind of supernatural power? Was it good coaching and scheming of the game plan?

On Sunday, I found my answer. I watched Kung Fu Panda. Yes, you better believe it.  I watched it and loved every minute of it. The message in this movie was pretty incredible. Looking on from the outside, anyone would think that these teams, our basketball team and the football team, had some sort of secret ingredient that made us successful. But as it turns out, as you find out in the movie, there is no secret ingredient to the Kung Fu at all. What makes these teams so successful isn't from a super power the Sports Gods bestowed upon them, it's from the BELIEF that each team has what it takes to BE something special. It comes from the hard work and heart of each and every one of the players on the team. It comes from respect, inspiration, and minds of the coaches. It comes from the support from the die-hard fans. So what's our secret ingredient? It's our belief in our ability; our ability to push each other, run faster, jump higher, and nail our shots. We BELIEVE in OURSELVES. The secret ingredient isn't so secret now is it? Watch out, we know Kung Fu.

I've never actually thought about the idea of a "blog" let alone write one, so bear with me, it could get interesting. Last year, I had the luck (the bad kind), should we say, to declare a medical redshirt due to an ACL injury occurring during the last game of our summer league. With this injury, came an opportunity to become a student assistant to my coaches and team, in which I am very grateful. At first, I thought, 'Yes! I get to travel with the team, AND get paid for it as a workstudy job! Wahoo!!' As it turns out, it could have been one of the better things that happened to me. Don't get me wrong, the paycheck was great, but the things I learned from sitting next to my head coach, Brian Niemuth, throughout the season and all the way in to the Sweet 16 was even more rewarding than that little slip of paper. However after sitting out of basketball for what seemed like centuries, (actually it was only a season, but seriously, that's six long months of ordering pizzas for the team--yes, I'm an expert now) I realized how much I loved playing the game. That's what kept me motivated.

Anyway, enough about last year, it's time to talk about the new year. Let's just say this preseason was the worst/best I've ever endured. I'm truly able to say I was proud of every one of the girls after every single workout. Yes, it was that hard. I mean, really, fifteen 150yd sprints in one workout? Who does that? Turns out, we do. Not everyone can say they've been "Snyderized," as we like to call it J (our strength and conditioning coach is Justin Snyder) We have him to thank for that great next-day soreness we felt after every day we worked out and for the constant reminder to "stay hungry" and to "take advantage of every opportunity to get better."  No matter how you look at it though, we're lucky we busted our butts, because it's paid off already.

Yesterday, (Nov. 11) we had our annual scrimmage against Division II NW Missouri State  in Maryville. We loaded up into Simpson's very own bus (which we like to call the 'people-mover' because it looks like a public transit bus) and started south for our second scrimmage of the season. As it turns out, that preseason workout stuff worked. Our recovery time after coming off the floor was super fast, and we were able to put forth awesome effort every time we stepped on the court. Not only do we feel better, but we can see its effects in each other. We played great and Coach Niemuth was pleased. I'd say that's a pretty good start. It feels good to be back. J