The Mindset to Make a Difference

F&M's new President, Dr. Dan Porterfield, has been on the job for about 3 1/2 months and recently sat down with the Lancaster Sunday News to discuss his impressions of F&M and his goals moving forward.  Check out the article.

Camp

We finished a great week of camp today.  Throughout the four days, we worked on ball handling and shooting, rebounding, on the ball defense and many other skills.  We played a number of competitive games and had a lot of fun in the process.  Tuesday was our Olympic competition day - teams chose a country to represent, dressed in the country's colors, and even brought in some fun facts.  Today, we finished the afternoon with the Tournament of Champions - using all the skills we learned in a competitive way.  Thanks to all the campers for a great week!  We are looking forward to next year. 

Team Jamaica made their own shirts for our Olympic Competition Day!

Reunion Weekend

This past weekend was the 2011 Reunion Weekend on campus.  Classes ending in 1 and 6 were back to celebrate with their former classmates.  It was neat to see so many people on campus, reuniting with folks they haven't seen in some time.  I also love to see alums walking around with their family, proudly giving a tour to their children. 

The weekend was packed with events and a good time was had by all!

CAMP!

It's hard to believe that it's about time for basketball camps to begin.  We will be running a skill development day camp June 13-16.  Check out our camp website for more information.  It will be a great week full of individual skill instruction, competitive drills, and lots of fun.  Please contact me with any questions.  

Class of 2011

Saturday's rain moved commencement inside but it did not dampen the spirits of the Class of 2011. The crowd celebrated the 541 graduates including our Class of 2011 women's basketball players, Ali Menna and Amy Chabitnoy. Both Ali and Amy played a huge role in the success of our 2010-2011 season and I know the alums are looking forward to adding some recent grads to the Odd Years team in the alumnae game.

During the ceremony, President Porterfield had some wonderful remarks about the making of meaning. Check it out online.

Despite the rainy weather, it was a great day. Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

 Amy Chabitnoy gets ready to walk across the stage to receive her diploma. 

Ali Menna receives her diploma.

The Class of 2011 celebrates. 

Race Against Racism

On Saturday morning, our team was up bright and early to volunteer at the 13th Annual Race Against Racism. The race is a local 5K that raises money for the YWCA and it's social justice initiatives. First, our team helped with the Kids Fun Run. There were three age groups - all were adorable. Then we got swept down the block to the staging area where our players helped get the runners organized by how fast they would run the race. Finally, we finished the morning helping fill and cap what seemed to be thousands of water bottles. It was a beautiful morning and great to be able to give back to our local community in this small way.

NCAA Hall of Champions

When I was in Indianapolis at the beginning of the month for our National Coaches Convention and the Final Four, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the NCAA Headquarters and the Hall of Champions. It is definitely worth a stop if you are in the Indianapolis area. Check out their website: www.ncaahallofchampions.org. New NCAA President, Dr. Mark Emmert, spoke to our group from the convention, then we had time to explore the Hall of Champions. Below are a few pictures.

Dr. Emmert speaks to our group.

The NCAA banner above is made of all these small squares depicting NCAA athletes.

TeamWork

Hundreds of student-athletes, coaches, members of clubs and campus organizations joined other members of the College community for TeamWork VIII on Sunday. In groups, we fanned out all over the neighborhoods surrounding campus to do litter sweeps, clean up projects at schools and churches and other neighborhood beautification projects. This was the 8th annual TeamWork, an event started and run by our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Our very own Allison Bauer is a co-president of SAAC this year and was instrumental in the event's organization and success. It was a great afternoon to spend together as a team while contributing to the greater good around campus.

Junior Allison Bauer gives instructions to the crowd.

Part of our team following the completion of our litter sweep.

Final Four

What great final four games! I just got back from Indianapolis where I attended our WBCA Coaches Convention and the Final Four. I heard some really insightful speakers during our convention that got me thinking about some new things we can do for our team and how we can continue improving all aspects of our program. The Final Four games were both fun to watch, especially when Notre Dame upset UConn. That set up a very exciting National Championship game that was back and forth until Texas A&M hit the game winning shot with time ticking down. Check out the pictures from Indy!

Early Saturday morning hundreds of people participated in the 4Kay Run/Walk to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. This year the race was one lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was really neat to be out on the track and take in the sights.

You can almost get a sense of how banked the turns are at the track. It gets really steep in some spots.

At Conseco Fieldhouse

The National Anthem before the Championship game

Texas A&M vs Notre Dame

Texas A&M wins it!

The National Champions celebrate!

Sweet Sixteen

On Sunday, our team headed down to Temple University to watch the Sweet Sixteen games in the Philadelphia Region. The first game pitted UConn against Georgetown. Georgetown had a lead for the first two-thirds of the game or so, but UConn put together a nice run to close out the game. In the second game, Duke beat DePaul. At the beginning, it looked like it might be a Duke blow out, but DePaul battled back and kept it close, getting within 3 twice in the final minutes. We had a great time watching the games in person. I really enjoyed being with the team as a whole group, which doesn't happen as much in the off-season. Tonight's Elite Eight match up of Duke and UConn should be a good one!