The Winston-Salem Stealers Girls Basketball Program

Since 1996.

"When we accept the title of "Coach", we are accepting a huge responsibility, as it is our job to set the example that leads to a team-first attitude. In many cases, we are working with young people who desperately need a role model, they are begging for love, and discipline even though their attitude may not reflect that at first. Coaches are always under scrutiny by others with a different perspective than ours; any sign of favoritism, nepotism or many other "isms" lead to a divided team and that means failure. "Our integrity and work ethic must be above reproach and we must remember than no matter how many games we win this year, you do not know all there is to know about this great game. "Winning must be the result of what we do and not the reason we do it. "If you are an athlete and not willing to accept the team concept, then I suggest you sit down and ask yourself "Do I really know the meaning of teamwork?" "If the athlete is not happy with their role you have a whiner inside of your "family"...and you have a problem. "If the athlete cannot accept her role on the team, then everyone involved is happier if that person devotes their time and energy to an individual sport". - Ron Crawford - USA Basketball Representative on Youth Development Committee.

This page will be for our former or current Stealers' that have had some great experiences through the game of basketball. 

Our first blog will be by Jennifer Penley who will discuss her first year at the Naval Academy.

Our second blog will be by Brittany Cox who will talk about her freshman year at Pfeiffer University.

Keep checking back for our player blogs...

GO STEALERS!!!

Jennifer Penley is a former player in our program and was the head coach for our 10-and-under team this spring. Jennifer recentrly graduated from high school and will be entering her first year at the Naval Academy this fall. Here is her first blog on her preparation for what is ahead of her.



Looking forward…

            Training for the Naval Academy is hard. When I had school everyday it was easier to set aside time for running right after school but now that my summer has unofficially started since I am exempt from my exams, it gives me a lot of free time and provides low motivation. But I still try to run everyday and do abdominal and arm workouts but keeping myself motivated when all of my friends are free from staying in shape this early in the summer is tough. My mental perseverance has been tested, especially in the past month with school winding down and my free time expanding itself.

            I have never been a long distance runner or any type of runner other than a sprinter which makes the whole idea of running without a purpose hard to grasp, also adding to my lack of motivation to just run. I have always been decent at push ups and ab workouts but having a weightlifting class that designated an hour a day for me to lift weights and do some core work. Now that I do not have that hour, I have lost some muscle mass because I am not lifting as much or as often. In class, I would lift some and then I could come home and do my pushups. Lifting so much helped me maintain and build a lot of muscle. Its slowly getting there to the point I need it to be at though.

            However, whether I am in the best shape of my life or just barely in good enough shape to survive, Plebe Summer for six weeks will still be grueling. But the way I figure is that if everyone else can do it, then so can I. Surviving Plebe Summer will be my biggest challenge and a lot of people thinking I am going to fail only pushes me to want to endure that much more.

            For now though, my most difficult challenge is staying in shape and working out and not taking that nap that I feel like I need instead of running. I am going to the Bahamas for a week after graduation and I plan on maintaining my running and workout schedule but vacation will be just that much more distraction that I have to put aside for about an hour or two everyday to commit to what I signed up for. But I know deep down that everything I do now will pay off somehow in July and I will be thankful for the work I have done. And then once I have accomplished something rare and amazing, I can be proud of myself for overcoming so much adversity.

This week has been very final. I had packed up the clothes I didn’t want my sister to wear while I was gone away. Plus, not knowing what would officially be allowed in the rooms, I had to guess on what I box up for my parents to bring to me after the summer was over. This process was slow and procrastinated to the fullest extent simply because I did not want to do it and it seemed like I had plenty of time, when in reality I had less than a week.            

On Thursday, I had to get my haircut. I had gotten it cut before vacation and after graduation to the length that I was finally genuinely happy with: short enough to be easy to deal with in the mornings, but still cute and easy to put up and out of my face. My hair is no longer this length. Regulations say that the bulk of the hair can not exceed 2 inches. (Bulk being defined as the distance that the mass of the hair protrudes from the scalp.) I can not honestly say that I am a big fan of my new style but all my family and friends said it looked adorable so I just deal with it and count down the days until it gets back to the length I liked it. This will be the only time I have to get it cut at the Academy because during the academic year, hair standards are much more lenient.            

As far as my physical preparedness, I ran, lifted, and did workouts everyday but 3 while in the Bahamas. I have run about every other day since I have gotten back to maintain my workout. I accomplished 2 miles consecutively which isn’t all that bad so hopefully my training will help some during the summer. I keep thinking the summer will be like the movie Mulan where Mulan goes to camp before war and struggles at first but then begins to succeed and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” plays in the background. Either way it will be tough. This midshipman who just finished her plebe year told me to “picture how hard you think it will be. Then multiply that by 5 and that’s how tough it actually is.” Her comment scared me a little bit but it was honest and helped me prepare mentally that much more.            

Sunday was a rough day. I spent the day yesterday, Saturday, with all of my closest friends at Wet n’ Wild and then just having a good time for the rest of the day. Then Sunday rolled around. I had spent the night with my best friend and as I left her room to go to church for the last time as a resident in Winston-Salem, I realized it was not any regular “goodbye”. It seemed like this day would never get here after a long busy week and nothing had hit me until that moment. I had endured graduation and the last day of school without a tear shed but today, my last official day of residing in Winston-Salem, my home of 18 years, it has been almost unbearable. I have never been one to show a lot of emotion but it was hard to hold it all back today. Finding myself overwhelmed with emotions, I feel anxious, nervous, excited, melancholy, fear, and so many more that I can’t even identify. I know I will do well at the Academy and survive the infamous ‘Plebe Summer’ but it’s just a matter of preparing myself emotionally at this point rather than physically. I can not even imagine what it will be like to say goodbye to my parents on Wednesday after today; however, today has been like my “goodbye day” because on Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. I will be brushed along with all the other plebes into Alumni Hall for a series of stations to get my started at the Academy.           

It hit me today that today is the last day I will drive my first car or be recognized at the grocery store by a familiar face. It will be the last time I sleep in my bed, take a shower in my bathroom, or open the refrigerator as a resident in my own home. Home is always home but once you move away, it will be different because I will not be spending everyday in my house.            

On a side note, I do not have any access to the outside world during Plebe Summer other than letters from friends and family. I welcome any letters that anyone would like to send to me to keep my spirits up during the six weeks.

My address is: MIDN JENNIFER PENLEY / Class of 2013 / O Company 27 Platoon / Annapolis, MD 214126. If I do not write back, just know that your note was much appreciated and probably helped me get through the day. But from what I have heard, I do not have a lot of time to reply.

This experience is definitely one for the books. It is by far the most unique thing I have ever taken part in, but in a good way. Everyday, except for Sunday, we would wake up to bells, whistles, and sirens at 5:30 a.m. The worst part was waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom around 4 a.m., looking at the clock, and realizing that I only had maybe an hour left of solid sleep. You get used to it though.             Our physical trai ning in the morning, better known as PEP, killed. I thought it did but I am not a fan of running. An easy day was running about 1.5 miles but some of the worst days were running about 4-5 miles or running 1.5 miles to a field to do football field length sprints and then having to run back. After running we did strength and endurance which consisted of pushups, possibly some more running, ab workouts and stuff like that. But after PEP, the day was all good from there. We would go to classes on sailing, swimming, martial arts, wrestling, military bearings and rituals, leadership, or other random events around the yard, or campus. The worst part is dealing with exhaustion. PEP tires your body out to begin with but then within the walls of the dormitory, you run in the halls, or slow jog. The worst was running in the halls and climbing the 3 flights of stairs after meals. But overall, it wasn’t too bad.             The severity of Plebe Summer pretty much depends on the company/platoon, you are in. I am in 27th company for the academic year so 27th platoon during the summer, but my detailers, the seniors in charge of the plebes, were more respectful than degrading. They let us laugh occasionally and cut up sometimes as long as we were able to get serious again when we needed to. All20or my leaders have tried to treat us with respect or at least give us a chance to do something before giving out automatic punishment. On the other hand, the detailers in 25th and 26th platoons intimidated me and would yell a lot more than mine did at me. It really all depends. Most people I have talked to have not thought that anything was too horrible or ridiculous. Some detailers just like the power and control over the Plebes, but most try to learn how to lead of people through their experiences over the summer.             The coolest thing about Plebe Summer is being issued all this stuff. Everything that I have been issued is technically paid for by me with my own salary but it is taken in stages every month so I never really know when the money comes and goes but I assume its all taken care of. The receipts they give you tells you the amount you spent: on I-day I was issued $3,000-$4,000 worth, and then a few days later I was issued $7,000 worth, and then a few days later I was issued another $2,000-$3,000 worth. That stuff was mostly clothes, sweats, and shoes. Also, the Academy issues everyone a desktop, a new nettop which is small and perfect for compact travel and taking to class, a surge protector, and a new calculator that I might need a class just to figure out how to work which worked out to be about $3,000. I have never spent so much money on stuff that I am unaware of buying or don’t want in one month!             Lastly, I want to thank anyone who wrote me a letter or sent me mail over the summer. Our company got mail at night; so, every night I would get mail, I would go to bed happy to hear from family and friends. It was great to know that I had support behind me from home.             This weekend is Plebe Parents Weekend. We were able to watch television, listen to music, and do whatever we wanted within reason pretty much. It was much needed to feel a little bit of freedom from the grounds I felt permanently confined to for 5+ weeks. After this weekend, I have 9 days of Plebe Summer left including 6-7 days of PEP left. The end is near and the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight.

Brittany Cox is a former player in our program and recently coached our spring three month team. Brittany's blog about her work leading up to her freshman yaer in college is below.

June 1 marked the first Monday after graduation. It was officially summer. I pictured myself sleeping in and no more early alarms waking me from my sleep; however, that was quite the opposite of how my summer has been going. All of the players at Pfeiffer received a summer workout in the mail that includes shooting, conditioning and plyometrics. The freshmen weren’t given a weight workout but we were encouraged to do as much as possible. After looking over the summer workout packet, I realized how much I had ahead of me and after my past years playing basketball in AAU and high school, I recognized that it’s the time you put in during the off season that helps you the most which explains my first Monday off from school.

Instead of staying up late on Sunday night and sleeping in on Monday, I got my rest and woke up at 7:00 A.M. to go workout. Considering I didn’t even wake up that early for school, my parents thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it everyday but I woke up much more eager than I would for school. Getting to the gym around 7:45 excited me and made me approach the workouts with more enthusiasm. Many people know I’m not a morning person but for some reason I love waking up and shooting first thing in the morning. I may not love it as soon as the alarm sounds in the morning but once I get moving, I understand why I do it. I’ve learned that it takes dedication and time to be able to play at the next level. It’s a top priority so by doing it first thing in the morning, that’s my way of making it a top priority. I’ll be playing with six other freshmen next year as well as eight older players and being the weak link is something I refuse to let happen. When I don’t want to wake up in the mornings, my motivation is earning my spot at Pfeiffer. I want to contribute and do whatever I can to have an important role on the team.

My first week of workouts went well and I was in the gym everyday shooting, running and lifting weights. I’ve made a few new friends who I see everyday at the YMCA, including the majority of the staff. My shooting workout is split into two day segments so between Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday and Saturday, I have to shoot 150 three pointers, 100 free throws, and 75 off the dribble shots. The shooting isn’t too much and when you have to rebound for yourself, you learn to fix your misses pretty quickly. My conditioning workouts vary everyday. I have to do conditioning five days a week and there are about twenty different workouts to do that are assigned for specific days during each week. Conditioning is where I feel like I need to work twenty times harder because I’m not extremely quick and I’m currently not in the best shape. I think that being in great condition is how I can separate myself from others next year. In order to make an impact on the team and show that I can contribute, I have to be in top shape which also means I have to do a weight workout. I mentioned earlier that freshmen aren’t required to lift weights but when you really want something, you do more than is what asked or expected of you. I know that weight lifting will help prepare me for the fall so I’ve added that to my summer workouts. I admit that waking up every morning at 7:00 isn’t fun and can be difficult when you want to sleep in just another twenty minutes but I think it’s completely worth it to meet my goals. I’m sure that I’ll face problems in the workouts or be tempted to take a day or two off but I’ll overcome those obstacles because I understand the opportunity I’ve been given and as everyday ends, I move one day closer to becoming a freshman at Pfeiffer University.

The past couple of weeks I’ve continued my summer workout for Pfeiffer. The workout has been harder since I have less time with my job, coaching and preparing for college but I’ve learned to make time by time management. Since I begin working at 9 A.M. every morning and I usually help with skill lessons in the evening, the only time I have to workout is in the mornings. So for the past couple weeks, I’ve been waking up around 6:30 A.M. to go shoot. It’s not fun to hear my alarm go off that early and sometimes I just want to hit snooze, but I remember the goals I’ve set for myself. 

I’ve had a few challenges in the past weeks but I’ve worked through them with the help of others. One of the things I was worried about when I looked over my summer conditioning workout was the swim workouts. I was excited to see something other than running; however, I’m not the best swimmer, and when I say I’m not the best, I mean I can barely swim. Every summer since 4th grade I’ve spent my summers in the gym working to get to the place where I am now so I’ve never really had the time or needed to know how to swim laps. It would be easy to skip over that part of the workout, but that wouldn’t help me when the end of August rolls around and we have team workouts. So with the help of one of my high school teammates, Anna DeFrancesco, I improved my swimming skills. I’m still not a wonderful swimmer but with practice, I’ll improve.

Another thing I’ve had to improve on is my shooting workouts when I’m alone. I enjoy shooting with other people, especially since it doesn’t involve rebounding all of your misses but when the only time I have to shoot is early in the morning, it’s hard to find people to shoot with. Luckily, I have a couple people who I shoot with occasionally, including fellow Winston Salem Stealer Mackenzie Rochford, which works well because we both get something out of the workout. During my individual workouts, I’ve learned that in order to get the most out of it, you have to go full speed the whole time. It can be hard to walk after a rebound when your tired but that gives you no incentive to work harder to make the shot next time. My shooting has improved a lot just because I’ve learned to fix my mistakes quicker for the sake of my legs. 

August 14th is approaching very quickly and with every day I lose the opportunity to make myself better. I always keep my goals in mind and that’s all the motivation it takes for me to work harder. Basketball is a game where you can always improve. You can’t ever be completely satisfied, or as Coach R. has told my team, “Don’t be complacent.”

That is the one thing I keep in the back of my head every time I step on the court. I’ve played basketball since the 2nd grade and I still have so far to go. I’m a perfectionist so I know I’ll never be satisfied and I’ll always come up with new goals. It’s important to know what you’re working toward, whether it be making a team, working for playing time, winning a championship, or playing in college. I encourage all of the players in the organization and any other athletes to take advantage of the time they have and the instruction that they’ve been given because time goes by quickly and it’s important to work as hard and as much as possible before it’s too late. The best players put the most time in before it’s crunch time.

Even though I work out alone, I’m competing against my teammates for a spot and a leadership role. I’m also competing with every other athlete that I’ll play against in the upcoming season. I have to prove that I can’t only play at their level, but I can also contribute in any way needed to the team. I have to keep all of this motivation in mind as I move closer to the first day of my freshman year. I just keep pushing myself to be better everyday and capitalize on the opportunities I’ve been given. 

Basketball season is finally here. Now all the hours of weight lifting, conditioning, and individual workouts from pre-season have added up and can finally be put into use on the court. Pre-season was long and it was extremely challenging. In order to get through it, you had to be tough and motivate yourself everyday, no matter how hard it got. I dreaded conditioning but now that we’ve started practice, I can tell a huge difference in my speed and endurance. Weight training with my assistant coach, Coach P, was also tough. He put us through circuits where half the team was in tears just to get through; however, we did get through it and it made us stronger individually and as a team. 

Practices started and many of the drills were familiar for me. The main focuses of our practices were the little things, which is exactly what I’ve been taught is most important while I played for the Stealers. Even though I wasn’t used to practices being over two hours, I loved it. Sometimes it’s easy to get a little burnt out when we have two-a-days but I’m excited to be playing with a new group of girls and learn this program. Throughout the first weeks of practice, I was able to stand out by playing smart and working hard. I’m by far not the most athletic player on the team but I’ve learned in the past that if you play “hard, smart, and concentrated,” you’ll get things done the right way. Our style of basketball is different than the styles I’ve played in the past but I’m getting used to it. Our team is finally meshing together and despite the fact that over half of our team is freshmen, we’re looking like we’ll have a strong season.

We’ve played two games so far and unfortunately they have been losses; however, we showed spurts of greatness in those games and proved ourselves against a nationally ranked team. There are never any excuses to a loss but if we would’ve played a little smarter, those games would’ve been ours. Our pre-season standings poll in our conference doesn’t have us very high on the list. We have just chosen to use that as a motivator to work harder than everyone else so we can prove them wrong. As a freshman playing college basketball, usually it’s hard to be a leader or get a lot of time on the court. With my team being so young, that isn’t the case. I’ve earned a starting position that I’m working to keep and I get to play a lot in the games. I’m working to keep that spot and making sure every time I step on the floor that I’m not complacent. I can always get better whether that means getting quicker, smarter or stronger. After speaking with the coaches, I know that a lot is expected of me this season. My goals are to stay positive and do whatever I have to do on the court to get a win. Some may look at it as pressure to have all of these expectations but this is what I wanted. I’m continuing to learn more about the game of basketball everyday and I love it. I may get tired or frustrated at times, but it’s all worth it in the end. I’m lucky that I’ve had the training and experiences I’ve had in the past because they make it much easier on me now. My past coaches and teammates have really gotten me where I am. As the season progresses, I’m going to keep pushing myself and keep working to get better everyday.