Made my way over to the St. Paul side of town yesterday afternoon after work and down Snelling Avenue to catch Macalester's practice on this Monday afternoon. I got into Leonard Center about 15 minutes prior to the start of practice and was greeted by new Macalester Head Coach and former University of Minnesota standout and assistant coach Kelly Roysland and her new assistant - and last year's MIAC Player of the Year - Courtney Euerle. Both were bubbling with enthusiasm on this day and I couldn't help but remark that both could fit right into playing roles if they could somehow garner some extra NCAA eligibility.
To start things off, the team went through some dynamic stretching and warm-up exercises to help get loosened up for the day and then Roysland had the squad gather at mid-court to go over some things. The team also took time to sing "Happy Birthday" to sophomore post Park Masterson who was celebrating her birthday on this day (the big 2-0?). Then it was time to get down to business as Roysland's squad performed a corner lay-up drill whereby players line up on each baseline corner and each player takes a pass from the opposite side to make a lay-up. The opening minutes of the drill are not pleasing to Roysland and her quest for excellence as several easy lay-ups are missed. She stops the drill and tells the players "Put pressure on yourself!". The drill resumes and this time the squad responds in a much more crisp manner with a much better result in terms of lay-ups made. Roysland modifies this drill twice after a few minutes - once to have players shoot short-range jumpers off the glass and then again to have the players shoot medium-range jumpers from near the "elbow" area.
Next comes a series of fast-break drills. First is a full-court 5-person weave with lay-ups at both ends of the floor. Then the drill is modified to do a 5-person weave down the floor with a lay-up but coming back the other way it turns into a 3-on-2 situation. Then, going the other way, it turns into a 2-on-1 situation which is interesting. The next drill is called a "Timberwolves Drill" whereby (and I hope I'm describing this correctly) three players go down the court; one player does a lay-up and the two other players take passes from the baseline to take a jumper. After finishing this up, Roysland has her team do a round of sprints before the squad takes a well-deserved water break.
After a bit of 5-on-5 full-court work and a few minutes spent on charity stripe shots, Roysland has her squad perform another interesting drill - "pulls" - whereby the players are lined up in two lines and the player in action has to literally "pull" the ball away from either Roysland or assistant coach Jordi Gerking as if they were pulling the ball away from an opposing offensive players and then go to the hoop for a lay-up where they're greeted by Euerle under the net - an imposing enough sight as it is. Euerle, however, has a pad she holds with both hands that she uses to try and disrupt the players rhythm and concentration by pushing off on them just enough to get them a little off balance.
Next, Roysland sets up cones on the left wing side while players are lined up in two lines on the left baseline. The players have to go around the cones and one of the players is fed the ball to start a one-on-one situation. It's incredibly challenging for the defensive player to get around the cone and meet her opposing player with the ball in time to deter an easy lay-up or jumper. Roysland has the squad spend considerable time doing work on setting proper screens and several drills are incorporated into this facet of the game.
Next is another interesting drill - "Circle Rebounding". Here, five defensive players are in a circle underneath the basket while five offensive players are out along the perimeter. Euerle passes the ball out to one of the offensive players and the defensive players must sprint out to defend the ball. If the subsequent shot is missed and the defense is able to get the rebound, they go the other way in normal 5-on-5 fashion.
Lastly, Roysland has the squad do free throws and these are a bit more pressure-packed as one player is out on the charity stripe while the other players are along the baseline. If the player misses, the team must do either sprints or push-ups. The first few free throws are missed and rounds of sprints and push-ups are in the offing before most of the players begin to find their groove and make them. Masterson, the birthday girl, struggles with her first few attempts but sinks her last attempt; much to the delight of her teammates as Roysland calls it a day.
Afterward, I asked Roysland about what she feels is the biggest challenge in taking over a Macalester program that arguably struggled the last few years. She felt that the high academic standards at Macalester is primarily the big hurdle to overcome. Yet she seems confident and determined to go out and bring in the kind of players who can fit in both academically and with her program as well. She also pointed out that "buying in" to a new system is not always easy for the returning players. Yet, from what I saw, this team is buying in to Roysland's way of doing things hook, line and sinker. Additionally, she also felt that the youth factor of this squad is another area that's going to take some work as well as some of the newbies will likely have to grow up in a hurry. A glance at the Macalester roster shows one senior (forward Annie Drabot) along with two juniors (guards Erin Murray and Katelyn Kack), four sophomores and six freshmen. The one thing I pointed out to Roysland is that I felt that this squad his good chemistry and Roysland was quick to agree. "They're very supportive of each other" she said and that's obviously a big plus heading into this new season.
Outtakes: Even Roysland agreed that this squad is not the biggest out there and arguably Masterson will be carrying a huge load on her shoulders this season in the paint......Murray was at practice on this day but other than work on her free throw shooting she didn't participate in drills on this day as she had a wisdom tooth pulled (trust me, those kinds of things can be problematic) but should be back in action soon. Three sure bets at starters would include Masterson, Drabot, and Murray. Am guessing that Kack will somehow figure into the equation as well. Early schedule features matchups with three UMAC teams with both Crown and Northwestern visiting Leonard Center in November. UW-Superior will also pay a visit on 11-22 (unfortunately for me the same day as the UCLA-USC game). The Scots will also be playing in the Buena Vista Tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in Storm Lake, Iowa before diving into MIAC play the first part of December.
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