Hi out there! Hopefully everyone is getting into the swing of summer like we are here at CNU. Since my last blog post, we've had some pretty significant changes here in the Freeman Center offices. I'm not just talking about the addition of new head women's basketball coach Bill Broderick either (who by the way, wasted no time in bringing out the short man jokes against me…he's going to fit in very nicely up here).
 
I am actually referring to the retirement of longtime CNU athletic director C.J. Woollum, who has been bestowed the great honor and title of Athletic Director Emeritus. Coach Woollum has left an inedible mark on both CNU men's basketball and CNU athletics as a whole. I know that I personally have benefitted immensely from his guidance and leadership over the past two-plus years. From all of us here at CNU men's basketball: thank you Coach Woollum! (Although I am jealous of the amount of golf you will now be playing).
 
As interim athletic director Jon Waters takes the reins, we enter the heart of our summer. The past couple of weeks have been very eventful and exciting. All of our incoming freshmen recruits and most of the returners were on campus. They all worked our annual summer basketball camps, but more importantly, they had the opportunity to workout together in the weight room and on the court everyday after camp. The soon-to-be freshmen also underwent their CNU “Setting Sail” orientation along with the rest of the class of 2016.
 
The past few weeks were a great opportunity for our rising freshmen to become more comfortable with the campus and their new teammates. Having access to our first-class weightlifting and basketball facilities was another added benefit. All in all, the team bonding and player development that occurred with our guys (new and old) should hopefully set the tone for the rest of their summers and give us a head start on our fall player development.
 
It is frustrating as a coach to not be able to have a more hands-on approach with the team during the summer (due to NCAA rules), but what we have done in having most of the guys together on campus for an extended period of time is probably the next best thing. I know the whole coaching staff relished the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the guys!
 
Another positive to come out of our program recently was that we made it through another year of camp! Running day camps and high school team camps is an annual rite of passage for most college basketball programs. To put it bluntly though, organizing and coordinating such camps is not entirely a bundle of fun. There are many logistical issues to take care of, such as scheduling, registration, set-up, meals, attracting high school teams and campers, all sorts of paperwork, finances, staffing, customer service, and so on.
There is also the daily challenge of making sure 75-100 children and teenagers are learning the fundamentals of the game while also keeping their seemingly inexhaustible energy levels under control for an entire week. Those little guys certainly keep you on your toes! Fortunately, the rest of the coaching staff and our players all did a tremendous job and made the 2012 Captains Basketball Camps a rousing success.
 
One would think that the summer is a time for college basketball coaches to kick back and relax – but for better or worse this profession is a twelve-month a year grind. I know every spring I come up with a list of things I'd like to get accomplished over the summer, which includes areas like organization, administrative housecleaning, next year's preparations, and professional development (like players, coaches have to get better at what they do during the offseason as well!). Yet, between running summer camps, traveling all over to recruit, and the various other stuff that creeps up, summer always seems to fly by and I end up wishing that I had gotten more accomplished. It's a constant challenge to be more efficient and more productive!
 
These next two months are very important. It is up to all of us in the program to make the most of them. Each day is an opportunity to improve and develop. I came across a very wise saying not too long ago. It says: “What you do today is important, because you are exchanging 24 hours of your life for it.” So that's what I'll be trying to do during my summertime: accomplish something worthwhile everyday!