Hello from the newly expanded Freeman Center! The month of August is already halfway through, and excitement abounds as a new academic year is upon us. For a college basketball coach, this time of year is always refreshing and reinvigorating. You are finally able to get back to performing more coaching-related duties, as opposed to the administrative and recruiting tasks that have filled up the past several months. As the wide-eyed freshmen move in and all the upperclassmen return, there is a vibrant energy that fills the campus. Being immersed in this kind of atmosphere is definitely a perk of working at a college.
This past weekend the newest CNU Captains moved into their dorm rooms on campus. There is a great tradition here at CNU in which upperclassmen assist with the freshmen move-in. As soon as the car pulls up to the front of the residence hall, a group of upperclassmen swoop in to grab the freshman's belongings and carry them up to the room.
The men's basketball squad got in on the action this year, as a group of about ten of us spent Saturday afternoon carrying boxes upon boxes all throughout York River East Hall. We want the men's basketball program to be a fixture in campus life, and for our players to be constantly engaged in campus activities. Assisting with freshmen move-in was a fun time that we were very happy to be a part of. Most importantly, and a little surprising considering the hands of some of our guys, no mirrors or flat screen TV's were damaged in the process – so I'd call the day a rousing success.
Now, our incoming freshmen continue with their Welcome Week activities – meeting with their advisors, learning the nuances of dorm living, and beginning to build relationships that will be the foundation of their next four years and beyond. We have a very big freshmen class by basketball standards, so keeping track of all of them early on will certainly keep us coaches on our toes!
Getting off to a good start every year is critical for any student-athlete, but this is especially true for freshmen. Due to their complete inexperience with this whole “college” thing, all freshmen tend to face some difficulties early on. The demands of being on a sports team only add to the load that freshmen must learn to successfully balance. This path to enlightenment and efficiency is a process, one that takes time for many a freshman student-athlete. This is one reason why there is an old coaches' saying: the best thing about freshmen is…they eventually become sophomores.
The truth of that statement notwithstanding, it is critical for a team to provide a support system that its freshmen can utilize. This is where the culture, values, and camaraderie that CNU men's basketball holds so strongly to can prove to be very beneficial. Our freshmen will navigate CNU and meet the expectations of being a CNU student-athlete through the guidance of the coaches and, more importantly, from the examples set by their upperclassmen teammates. We've spent a lot of time recruiting these freshmen over the past year. It is great to finally have them on campus as official CNU students.
In just a few days the entire squad will be on campus, and the 2011-2012 version of CNU men's basketball will have its first team meeting. Coach Krikorian will address the team and reiterate our vision, goals, and expectations for the year. Then, it'll be time to get to work – both in the classroom and on the court. A new part of the journey begins, and there's a wide-open road in front us. Where will it lead? Keep checking back in to find out!
